JP7672290B2 - Terminal device, management system and in-vehicle terminal device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal device, a management system, and an in-vehicle terminal device .

Conventionally, there is an information collection system that uploads video captured by an onboard camera to a center every time a vehicle passes a preset point. In such an information system, for example, if an accident occurs, the uploaded video is used to investigate the accident (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-237945 A

However, with conventional technology, all video footage shot by each vehicle is uploaded, which means that even unnecessary video footage is uploaded, making it inefficient. Therefore, with conventional technology, there is room for improvement in terms of efficiently managing video footage shot by vehicles.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a terminal device, a management system, and a video management method that can efficiently manage video captured by a vehicle.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the terminal device according to the present invention includes a generation unit and an upload unit. The generation unit generates a search tag linked to the capture time of the driving video captured by the camera. The upload unit uploads a cut-out video of the driving video at the capture time specified based on the search tag generated by the generation unit.

The present invention allows for efficient management of video footage captured by vehicles.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the management system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the management device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display mode of search tags. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a playback screen of a cut-out video. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the in-vehicle device. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the management device.

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

First, an overview of the terminal device, management system, and video management method according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the video management method. The video management method according to the embodiment is executed by the in-vehicle device 1 shown in FIG. 1.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device 1 is a drive recorder with communication capabilities mounted on each vehicle, and captures driving footage while the vehicle is traveling. The in-vehicle device 1 is an example of a terminal device, and the terminal device may be, for example, a variety of portable communication devices with a camera, such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, and may be a terminal that can be removed from the vehicle. The management device 100 is a device that aggregates the driving footage captured by each in-vehicle device 1. For example, when an accident occurs, the management device 100 extracts and provides footage of the accident from the aggregated driving footage.

For example, a typical drive recorder system is one that, if a vehicle collision is detected, uploads driving footage before and after the collision to a server device. However, in such a system, if a collision is not detected, for example, if the vehicle scrapes against something, the driving footage is not uploaded to the server.

For example, a driver would upload driving footage from a few minutes before and after a time specified based on their own memory, and the footage would be checked on the server side. However, it is rare for a driver to directly recall a time, making this task difficult.

Therefore, in the video management method according to the embodiment, search tags linked to time are generated for the driving video, and the driving video is managed based on these search tags. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the in-car device 1 generates a search tag for the driving video Ia (step S1).

Here, a search tag is information that indicates a specific event that occurred at the corresponding image capture time. For example, information about points passed through or stopped at is used as a search tag. Note that the example shown in Figure 1 shows a case where search tags Ta, Tb, and Tc are generated for driving video Ia.

In addition, information about the generated search tags is transmitted to the management device 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the management device 100 displays the vehicle's travel route on the map M by arranging the above search tags in chronological order and superimposing them on the map M.

For example, the administrator can specify an icon displayed on the map M to specify a driving video of a search tag corresponding to the specified icon. For example, the administrator can ask the driver about a location where the vehicle may have been scraped, and select the corresponding icon displayed on the map M. This causes the corresponding tag to be selected, and specification information related to the specified search tag is transmitted from the management device 100 to the in-vehicle device 1.

When the in-vehicle device 1 receives the specification information (step S2), it generates a cut-out image Ic by cutting out the image captured at the capture time specified by the specification information from the driving image Ia, and uploads the generated cut-out image (step S3).

This allows the administrator to check the driving footage for the specified search tag. In this way, the management system S according to the embodiment generates a search tag using information that indirectly evokes the time of capture, and uploads the specified cut footage Ic based on the generated search tag.

As a result, in the management system S according to the embodiment, even if the image capture time is not directly known, the relevant driving footage can be confirmed using other information linked to the image capture time.

In addition, in the management system S according to the embodiment, by uploading a portion of the driving video specified by a search tag, the management device 100 can efficiently manage the driving video.

Therefore, the management system S according to the embodiment makes it possible to efficiently manage images captured by vehicles.

Next, an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle device 1 includes an in-vehicle camera 10, a communication unit 11, a storage unit 20, and a control unit 30.

The vehicle-mounted camera 10 is equipped with various imaging elements and generates driving footage by capturing images of the vehicle's surroundings. The communication unit 11 is realized, for example, by a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like. The communication unit 11 is connected to a specified communication network so as to be capable of two-way communication, and transmits and receives information to and from the management device 100, etc.

The storage unit 20 is a storage unit configured with a storage device such as a non-volatile memory, a data flash, or a hard disk drive. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 20 has a driving image storage unit 21 and a search tag storage unit 22.

The driving video storage unit 21 is a storage area that stores driving video captured by the in-vehicle camera 10. The search tag storage unit 22 is a storage unit that stores information related to the above-mentioned search tags.

The control unit 30 includes a generation unit 31 and an upload unit 32, and includes, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, input/output ports, etc., and various other circuits.

The computer's CPU functions as the generation unit 31 and upload unit 32 of the control unit 30, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

In addition, at least a part or all of the generating unit 31 and uploading unit 32 of the control unit 30 can be configured with hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The generation unit 31 generates a search tag associated with the capture time of the driving video. For example, the generation unit 31 generates information about an event that occurred at the corresponding capture time as a search tag.

For example, the generation unit 31 can generate information about the imaging location linked to the imaging time, such as information about surrounding facilities that the vehicle passed through and information about stop-off points that the vehicle stopped at, as search tags.

For example, the generation unit 31 generates a search tag related to the image capture location based on the current location and destination obtained from a car navigation device (not shown) and image recognition of the driving video. In this way, by using information about the image capture location as a search tag, the image capture time can be identified by location, thereby improving the searchability of the driving video.

When generating search tags by image recognition, the generation unit 31 may use information that indirectly evokes location information as a search tag. Specifically, for example, when passing an impressive car or an impressive passerby, a search tag may be generated from the results of image recognition as an event. In this case, voice inside the car may also be used in combination. For example, the results of image recognition may be generated as a search tag based on a voice inside the car saying, "What's that?"

The generation unit 31 may also generate a search tag based on operation information for the vehicle. For example, the generation unit 31 obtains information related to the operation information from various sensors (not shown) and generates a search tag.

As a specific example, information such as right turns, left turns, lane changes, slowing down, etc. can be generated as search tags. In this way, generating search tags based on operation information can also improve searchability for driving videos.

When the generation unit 31 generates a search tag, it links the image capture time for each generated tag and transmits it to the management device 100, and also writes it to the search tag storage unit 22.

The upload unit 32 uploads a cut-out video obtained by cutting out the driving video at a specified capture time based on the search tag generated by the generation unit 31. For example, the upload unit 32 generates a cut-out video obtained by cutting out a part of the driving video based on the capture time specified by the management device 100, and uploads the cut-out video to the management device 100.

Next, a configuration example of the management device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the management device 100. In addition to the management device 100, FIG. 3 also shows a display unit 150 and an operation unit 151.

The display unit 150 is a display that displays information input from the management device 100. The operation unit 151 accepts various operations by the administrator and outputs information related to the accepted operations to the management device 100.

The management device 100 includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a control unit 130. The communication unit 110 is realized, for example, by a network interface card (NIC). The communication unit 110 is connected to a predetermined communication network so as to be capable of two-way communication, and transmits and receives information to and from the in-vehicle device 1, etc.

The storage unit 120 is a storage unit configured with a storage device such as a non-volatile memory, a data flash, or a hard disk drive. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage unit 120 has a search tag database 121 and a cut video database 122.

The search tag database 121 is a database that stores information about search tags received from each vehicle-mounted device 1. The cut video database 122 is a database that stores information about cut videos received from each vehicle-mounted device 1.

The control unit 130 includes a display control unit 131 and an instruction unit 132, and includes, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, input/output ports, etc., and various other circuits.

The computer's CPU functions as the display control unit 131 and the instruction unit 132 of the control unit 130, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

In addition, at least a part or all of the display control unit 131 and the instruction unit 132 of the control unit 130 can be configured with hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The display control unit 131 controls various pieces of information to be displayed on the display unit 150. For example, the display control unit 131 performs various processes to display search tags. For example, the display control unit 131 reads out search tags from the search tag database 121 and displays them on the display unit 150.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display mode of search tags. For example, as shown in Figure 4, a list of search tags displayed in chronological order is displayed. In this case, for example, the display control unit 131 may display only those tags that are related to a predetermined reason based on an operation on the operation unit 151.

For example, if "convenience store" is specified, it is possible to display a list of only search tags that include "convenience store." By displaying search tags in a list in this way, the administrator can understand the search tags at a glance, making it easy to understand the search tags.

Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the display control unit 131 may superimpose the search tag on the map M. In this case, the administrator can easily understand the relationship between the search tag and the location information, and even in this case, the administrator can easily understand the search tag.

The display control unit 131 may also display search tags as chapters when playing back a cut-out video. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a playback screen for a cut-out video. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the display control unit 131 displays search tags in text in line with a seek bar.

In other words, the display control unit 131 controls the screen so that when the seek bar is moved, the search tag of the playback position to which it has been moved is displayed in text form. This allows the administrator to easily understand the relationship between the actual cut video and the search tag.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the instruction unit 132 will be described. The instruction unit 132 instructs the in-car device 1 to upload the cut video based on a predetermined operation by the administrator on the search tag displayed on the display unit 150.

For example, the specified operation may be an operation to select a search tag, or an operation to specify the image capture time based on the search tag (for example, 10 minutes after the search tag). When an operation to select a search tag is performed, the instruction unit 132 instructs the in-vehicle device 1 to upload driving footage for, for example, three minutes before and after the search tag. The generation and uploading of the cut-out footage is performed on the in-vehicle device 1 side in response to an instruction from the instruction unit 132.

Next, the processing procedure executed by the in-vehicle device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure executed by the in-vehicle device 1. Note that the processing procedure shown below is executed by the control unit 30.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the in-vehicle device 1 acquires driving video (step S101), it generates a search tag (step S102). Next, the in-vehicle device 1 uploads the generated search tag (step S103), and then acquires instruction information from the management device 100 (step S104).

Next, the in-car device 1 uploads the specified cut video based on the instruction information and ends the process (step S105).

Next, the processing procedure executed by the management device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure executed by the management device 100. Note that the processing procedure shown below is executed by the control unit 130.

As shown in FIG. 7, the management device 100 displays the search tag received from the in-vehicle device 1 (step S201), and then transmits instruction information to the in-vehicle device 1 based on the administrator's operation (step S202).

Then, the management device 100 receives the cropped image from the in-vehicle device 1 (step S203), plays the received cropped image (step S204), and ends the process.

As described above, the in-vehicle device 1 (an example of a terminal device) according to the embodiment includes a generation unit 31 and an upload unit 32. The generation unit 31 generates a search tag linked to the capture time of the driving video captured by the in-vehicle camera 10 (an example of a camera). The upload unit 32 uploads a cut-out video clip of the driving video at the capture time specified based on the search tag generated by the generation unit 31. Therefore, according to the in-vehicle device 1 according to the embodiment, the video captured by the vehicle can be efficiently managed.

In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle device 1 uploads search tags as the first step, but this is not limited to the above. For example, in addition to search tags, videos and still images may also be uploaded. In this case, the videos and still images may also be displayed on the map M (see FIG. 1).

In addition, in the above embodiment, a case where a search tag is generated for driving video has been described, but this is not limited to this. In other words, the present invention may be applied to generate search tags for various types of video other than driving video.

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

1. Vehicle-mounted device (an example of a terminal device)
31 Generation unit 32 Upload unit 100 Management device (an example of a server device)
131 Display control unit 132 Indication unit S Management system

Claims (5)

The names of the facilities in the vicinity that the vehicle has passed through are converted into text and generated as search tags , which are then linked to the driving video outside the vehicle captured by the onboard camera and stored.
Sending the search tag to an external server;
A control unit is provided for uploading a driving video associated with a search tag specified by the external server to the external server .
Terminal device. The control unit is
generating the search tag by performing image recognition processing on the driving video outside the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera;
The terminal device according to claim 1 . A management system including a terminal device and an external server,
The terminal device
The names of the facilities in the vicinity that the vehicle has passed through are converted into text and generated as search tags, which are then linked to the driving video outside the vehicle captured by the onboard camera and stored.
Sending the search tag to an external server;
uploading the driving video associated with the search tag specified by the external server to the external server;
The external server is
When playing an uploaded driving video, a search tag corresponding to the driving video is displayed in text at the position of the seek bar.
Management system. The terminal device
generating the search tag by performing image recognition processing on the driving video outside the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera;
The management system according to claim 3. Generate text data of facility names for a plurality of facilities on a route traveled by the vehicle;
A driving video captured by an in-vehicle camera is stored in association with a search tag including a time when the vehicle passed through the facility and the text data;
Transmitting the search tag to an external server;
A control unit is provided for uploading a driving video associated with the selected search tag from the external server to the external server.
In-vehicle terminal device.

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