JP7742665B2 - MOBILE BODY EVALUATION DEVICE, MOBILE BODY EVALUATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an evaluation device for evaluating moving objects.

Previously, maintenance status data for used vehicles, including data on past accidents, was stored in a database, and evaluation devices existed that performed evaluations based on this maintenance status data (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-259573 (page 1, Figure 1, etc.)

However, data that could lower the rating, such as accident data, is not actively provided and may not be stored in the database, so the above-mentioned conventional rating devices may not be able to accurately evaluate moving objects.

The moving body evaluation device of the first invention is a moving body evaluation device comprising: a reception unit that receives moving body information including one or more pieces of actual dimension information that are the actual dimensions of one or more locations of one moving body; an initial dimension information acquisition unit that acquires one or more pieces of initial dimension information that are the initial dimensions of one or more locations of one moving body; a dimension difference information acquisition unit that acquires, for each of the one or more locations of one moving body, one or more pieces of dimension difference information relating to the difference between the actual dimension information included in the moving body information received by the reception unit and the initial dimension information acquired by the initial dimension information acquisition unit; an evaluation unit that acquires evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the one moving body using the one or more pieces of dimension difference information acquired by the dimension difference information acquisition unit; and an evaluation information output unit that outputs the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation unit.

With this configuration, moving objects can be evaluated accurately by being evaluated based on changes in their dimensions. For example, a vehicle involved in an accident is likely to have had its dimensions changed, so an accurate evaluation can be made that takes into account the possibility that it is an accident vehicle.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the second invention is a moving body evaluation device in which, compared to the first invention, the moving body information includes one or more pieces of actual dimension information and intensity change information relating to changes in the strength of the body of a moving body, and the evaluation unit uses one or more pieces of dimension difference information and intensity change information to obtain evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the moving body.

This configuration allows for more accurate evaluation of a moving object by evaluating it based on changes in its dimensions and body strength.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the third invention is a moving body evaluation device according to the first or second invention, further comprising an actual dimension information acquisition unit that acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information, which are the actual dimensions of one or more locations of a moving body, and the reception unit acquires moving body information including the one or more pieces of actual dimension information acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit.

This configuration eliminates the need to input actual dimensional information, making evaluation easier.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the fourth invention is a moving body evaluation device in which, compared to the third invention, the actual dimension information acquisition unit acquires two or more pieces of angular position information indicating the positions of two or more corners of a moving body, and uses the two or more pieces of angular position information to acquire one or more pieces of actual dimension information that are the actual dimensions of each of one or more locations.

This configuration allows for efficient acquisition of actual dimension information.

Furthermore, the mobile object evaluation device of the fifth invention is a mobile object evaluation device according to the third or fourth invention, in which the one or more locations include one or more of the body, doors, hood, and trunk lid.

This configuration makes it possible to obtain actual dimensional information for areas where dimensions are likely to change due to accidents, etc.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the sixth invention is a moving body evaluation device according to any one of the third to fifth inventions, in which the actual dimension information acquisition unit acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information by irradiating a moving body with a laser.

This configuration allows for highly accurate actual dimensional information to be obtained.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the seventh invention is a moving body evaluation device according to any one of the third to sixth inventions, in which the actual dimension information acquisition unit acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information using one or more range images captured of a moving body.

This configuration makes it possible to obtain three-dimensional actual dimension information. In particular, by irradiating a moving object with a laser and capturing one or more distance images of the moving object, it is possible to obtain one or more pieces of actual dimension information with high accuracy, making it possible to obtain three-dimensional actual dimension information.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the eighth invention is a moving body evaluation device in which, compared to the seventh invention, the actual dimension information acquisition unit acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information using at least four distance images taken of a single moving body from at least four sides: front, back, left, and right.

This configuration allows for efficient acquisition of actual three-dimensional dimensional information.

In addition, the mobile object evaluation device of the ninth invention, compared to the second invention, further includes an intensity change information acquisition unit that acquires intensity information indicating the intensity of one or more parts of a mobile object and acquires one or more pieces of intensity change information using the intensity information, and the reception unit is a mobile object evaluation device that acquires mobile object information including the one or more pieces of intensity change information acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit.

This configuration eliminates the need to input intensity change information, making evaluation easier.

The moving body evaluation device of the tenth invention is a moving body evaluation device according to any one of the first to ninth inventions, further comprising a moving body diagram storage unit that stores a moving body diagram, which is a diagram relating to one moving body; a diagram construction unit that uses dimensional difference information for one or more locations acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit to construct a dimension difference representation diagram, which is a diagram in which locations where there is a difference between the initial dimensions and the actual dimensions can be recognized on the moving body diagram; and a diagram output unit that outputs the dimension difference representation diagram constructed by the diagram construction unit.

This configuration helps users intuitively recognize areas where dimensions have changed on a moving object.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the eleventh invention is a moving body evaluation device in which, compared to the tenth invention, a moving body diagram is stored for each type of moving body, and the diagram construction unit uses the dimensional difference information for one or more locations acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit to construct a dimension difference representation diagram in which locations where there is a difference between the initial dimensions and the actual dimensions can be recognized on the moving body diagram corresponding to one type of moving body.

This configuration can help users intuitively recognize areas of dimensional change in various moving objects.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device of the twelfth invention is a moving body evaluation device according to any one of the first to eleventh inventions, wherein the evaluation unit uses two or more pieces of dimensional difference information acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit to acquire evaluation information having two or more pieces of partial evaluation information indicating an evaluation of each part of a moving body.

This configuration allows a moving object to be evaluated in two or more parts.

Furthermore, the mobile object evaluation device of the thirteenth invention is a mobile object evaluation device according to any one of the first to eleventh inventions, wherein the evaluation unit uses one or more pieces of dimensional difference information acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit to acquire evaluation information having characteristic evaluation information indicating an evaluation for each of two or more characteristics, including dimension evaluation information indicating an evaluation related to dimensions.

This configuration allows a moving object to be evaluated for two or more characteristics.

The present invention allows for accurate evaluation of a moving object based on changes in its dimensions.

Conceptual diagram of an information system according to an embodiment Block diagram of the information system A flowchart explaining the operation of the information system Data structure diagram of the mobile management information Figure showing an example of the evaluation information output Figure showing an example of the output of the dimension difference representation diagram External view of the computer system FIG. 1 shows an example of the internal configuration of the computer system.

Embodiments of a mobile object evaluation device and the like will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that components with the same reference numerals in the embodiments perform similar operations, and therefore may not be described again.

Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram of an information system in this embodiment. The information system includes a mobile object evaluation device 1, one or more terminal devices 2, one or more distance image sensors 3, and one or more intensity sensors 4. The mobile object evaluation device 1 is communicatively connected to each of the one or more terminal devices 2, one or more intensity sensors 4, and one or more distance image sensors 3, for example, via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or a wireless or wired communication line.

The mobile object evaluation device 1 is, for example, a server of an operator who operates an information system. The operator is, for example, a mobile object dealer that handles mobile objects. The mobile object is, for example, a car, but it can also be a motorcycle, a ship, an airplane, etc., and the type does not matter. Furthermore, the mobile object is usually a used car, but it can also be a new car.

However, the operator may be, for example, an inspector who inspects the mobile object, or a user of the mobile object, and the type does not matter. Furthermore, the mobile object evaluation device 1 may be, for example, a cloud server or an ASP server, and the type and location do not matter.

The terminal device 2 is, for example, a PC, but it may also be a mobile terminal. A mobile terminal is a terminal that can be carried around. Mobile terminals include, for example, tablet terminals, smartphones, mobile phones, etc., but they may also be laptop PCs, and the type of mobile terminal is not important.

The distance image sensor 3 is a sensor that captures distance images of objects such as moving objects. Note that image sensors such as the distance image sensor 3 may also be referred to as, for example, cameras or imaging devices. A distance image is an image that contains distance information. Distance information is information related to distance. Distance information is, for example, three-dimensional position information (x, y, z), but it can also be a set of distance and direction (r, θ, φ), and the representation format is not important. A distance image is, for example, a collection of pixels (x, y, z, brightness value), but it can also be a collection of pixels (x, y, z, pixel value), and its structure is not important. Note that pixel values are RGB, YUV, etc., but the format is not important.

The distance image sensor 3 may be placed, for example, in front, behind, left, or right of the moving object, and captures a distance image of the moving object. However, the distance image sensor 3 may also be placed, for example, above or below the moving object, or at an angle to the moving object; its position relative to the moving object is not important.

In more detail, for example, it is preferable to place four range image sensors 3 on the front, back, left, and right of a moving object and capture four range images from the four sides of the moving object. Furthermore, it is even more preferable to place two range image sensors 3 on the top and bottom of the moving object and capture two range images from the two sides above and below the moving object (i.e., for example, six range image sensors 3 capture images from the front, back, left, right, and top and bottom). Each of the four or more range image sensors 3 outputs the captured range image in pairs with a range image sensor identifier.

The range image sensor identifier is information that identifies the range image sensor 3. The range image sensor identifier may be, for example, a MAC address or IP address, but it may also be an ID, or any other information that can identify the sensor. The range image sensor identifier may also be, for example, position information ("front," "back," "left," "right," etc.) that indicates the position of the range image sensor 3 relative to the moving object.

However, one range image sensor 3 may be moved in a predetermined order to four or more predetermined positions, such as front, back, left, and right, relative to one moving object, and four or more range images may be taken from four or more directions. In this case, the position at which the images were taken can be determined based on the order of the four or more range images. Alternatively, by rotating the platform on which the moving object is placed, one range image sensor 3 may take images from four or more directions, including front, back, left, and right.

The distance image sensor 3 is, for example, a laser distance image sensor. A laser distance image sensor is a sensor that captures distance images using a laser. Specifically, a laser distance image sensor may be, for example, a laser radar (also known as a lidar).

Laser radar can be described as radar that uses lasers instead of radio waves. Laser radar, for example, emits a pulsed laser into a space containing a moving object while changing direction using a polygon mirror or similar device, and receives the reflected and scattered light from the moving object. Laser radar then measures the distance to two or more points on the surface of the object based on, for example, the time it takes for the laser emitted in each direction to be received, and outputs a distance image made up of two or more pixels with three-dimensional position information based on the measurement results. Laser radar can capture distance images over a wide range with high accuracy. Laser radar is a well-known technology, so a detailed description will be omitted.

However, laser range image sensors other than radar-based ones can also capture range images with high accuracy. Furthermore, by using such a laser range image sensor to capture two or more range images at different positions and combining these two or more range images, it is possible to obtain a range image with high accuracy and a wide range.

However, the distance image sensor 3 does not have to be a laser distance image sensor; it can be a sensor that captures distance images by irradiating light other than laser (for example, LED light), or a sensor that captures distance images using natural light; the type is not important.

The strength sensor 4 is a sensor that detects the strength of a moving object and outputs strength information based on the detection results. The strength sensor 4 may be composed of, for example, a strain sensor or a stress sensor, but the type is not important. Strength is, for example, the modulus of elasticity. The modulus of elasticity is a value that indicates the resistance to deformation. The modulus of elasticity is, for example, the value obtained by dividing stress by strain, but it can also be the modulus of rigidity or Young's modulus, and the type is not important. Furthermore, various strength detection methods are well known, so detailed explanation will be omitted.

The strength sensor 4 is typically attached to the body of the mobile object and detects the strength of the body. However, the strength sensor 4 may also be attached to a part other than the body, and the attachment location is not important.

In more detail, for example, one or more strength sensors 4 are attached to one or more parts of a mobile object. A mobile object to which one or more strength sensors 4 are attached is, for example, driven on a road or test-driven on a test bench, and vibrations during the drive cause stress and strain in parts such as the body. Each of the one or more strength sensors 4 detects strength based on the stress and strain of the part to which the strength sensor 4 is attached, and outputs one or more pieces of strength information that are the detection results, paired with a part identifier.

The "part" may be a component of a moving object. The part to which the intensity sensor 4 is attached is typically the body, but it may also be a component other than the body (for example, the chassis, drivetrain, etc.). Alternatively, the part to which the intensity sensor 4 is attached may be, for example, one or more elements that make up the body. Examples of elements that make up the body include the left door, right door, hood, trunk lid, etc., but it may also be the member to which the left and right doors or other elements are attached (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the main body), regardless of type.

Specifically, for example, four intensity sensors 4 may be attached to, for example, the left door, right door, hood, and trunk lid of a single mobile object.

In the following, "body" refers to the "entire body" consisting of, for example, the left door, right door, hood, and trunk lid, but may also refer to one or more of these elements. Furthermore, the body dimensions refer to, for example, one or more of the overall length or overall width, but may also refer to height, the wheelbase (described below), the maximum diameter (described below), etc. Furthermore, the body strength may refer to, for example, two or more representative strength values corresponding to two or more elements that make up the body (specifically, for example, representative values for the strength of the left door, the strength of the right door, the strength of the hood, and the strength of the trunk lid). Note that the representative value is, for example, the average, but may also be the median or the mode (same below).

Alternatively, for example, if only one intensity sensor 4 is attached to one mobile object, the intensity sensor 4 is attached to, for example, one element of the body (specifically, for example, the left door, the right door, the hood, or the trunk lid), but it may also be attached to the body itself or to a part other than the body.

As such, the number of intensity sensors 4 and the part to which each intensity sensor 4 is attached are not important. Furthermore, for example, two or more intensity sensors 4 may be attached to one part. In this case, the mobile object evaluation device 1 may obtain a representative value based on two or more pieces of intensity information output from two or more intensity sensors 4, and this representative value may be obtained as the intensity information for that one part.

A part identifier is information that identifies one or more parts of a moving object. Part identifiers are, for example, part names such as "body" or component names such as "left door" or "hood," but they can also be intensity sensor identifiers or IDs linked to part names. An intensity sensor identifier is information that identifies an intensity sensor 4. An intensity sensor identifier is, for example, a MAC address or IP address, but any information that can identify the intensity sensor 4 is acceptable.

However, the strength sensor 4 may be of any type (e.g., a mechanical force gauge) that is pressed against one or more parts of a moving object by a user's hand, detects the strength of those parts, and outputs strength information based on the detection results. In this case, the user simply inputs the output strength information, for example, paired with a part identifier, via an input device such as a keyboard.

However, instead of the distance image sensor 3, the information system may also be equipped with a normal image sensor or a set of a light-emitting element array and a light-receiving element array (see the modified examples described below). Furthermore, the information system can also be realized, for example, by a single PC or a single mobile terminal with a built-in camera or an external camera connected, and the hardware configuration is not important.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the information system. The moving body evaluation device 1 includes a storage unit 11, a reception unit 12, a processing unit 13, and an output unit 14. The storage unit 11 includes a moving body diagram storage unit 111. The processing unit 13 includes an initial dimension information acquisition unit 131, an actual dimension information acquisition unit 132, a dimension difference information acquisition unit 133, an intensity change information acquisition unit 134, an evaluation unit 135, and a diagram construction unit 136. The output unit 14 includes an evaluation information output unit 141 and a diagram output unit 142.

The terminal device 2 includes a terminal storage unit 21, a terminal reception unit 22, a terminal transmission unit 23, a terminal reception unit 24, a terminal processing unit 25, and a terminal output unit 26.

The storage unit 11 constituting the moving body evaluation device 1 can store various types of information. Examples of such information include moving body diagrams, which will be described later. The storage unit 11 may also store, for example, initial strength information, which will be described later, initial dimension information, which will be described later, first correspondence information, which will be described later, and second correspondence information, which will be described later. Other information will be explained as appropriate.

The moving body diagram storage unit 111 stores moving body diagrams. A moving body diagram is a diagram relating to a single moving body. A moving body diagram may be, for example, a blueprint of the moving body, an illustration of the moving body, a photograph of the moving body, etc., but the format is not important. Note that a moving body diagram may also have, for example, one or more pieces of initial dimension information.

The mobile object map storage unit 111 may store one or more mobile object maps, for example, associated with vehicle type information described below.

The reception unit 12 receives various types of information. Examples of such information include mobile object information, which will be described later. The various types of information also include instructions such as an instruction to output a dimension difference representation diagram, which will be described later.

The reception unit 12 receives information such as mobile object information input via an input device such as a keyboard or touch panel.

Alternatively, the reception unit 12 may receive information such as mobile unit information sent from the terminal device 2. In more detail, the reception unit 12 receives information such as mobile unit information paired with a terminal identifier from the terminal device 2, for example. The terminal identifier is information that identifies the terminal device 2. The terminal identifier is, for example, an address such as a MAC address or IP address, or an ID, but it may also be a user identifier that identifies the user of the terminal device 2, or any other information that can identify the terminal device 2. The user identifier is information that identifies a user. The user identifier is, for example, an email address, telephone number, ID, or any other information that can identify a user. However, if the information system comprises only one terminal device 2, the terminal identifier does not need to be sent or received. The reception unit 12 may also receive information read from a recording medium such as a disk or semiconductor memory, and the reception method is not important.

Mobile object information is information about a single mobile object. Mobile object information is usually associated with a mobile object identifier. Note that association also includes cases where the mobile object information has a mobile object identifier. A mobile object identifier is information that identifies a mobile object. A mobile object identifier is, for example, a license plate number or a vehicle identification number, but it can also be an ID, or any other information that can identify a mobile object. It is also preferable that mobile object information also include, for example, vehicle model information. Vehicle model information is information that indicates the type of mobile object. Vehicle model information consists of, for example, the manufacturer name and the vehicle model name such as "Corolla XX", but it can also be a classification name such as "sedan" or "van".

Moving body information typically includes one or more pieces of actual dimension information. Actual dimension information is information relating to the actual dimensions of a moving body. Actual dimension information typically indicates the actual dimensions of one or more locations on a moving body. Actual dimension information is typically associated with a location identifier. A location identifier is information that identifies one or more locations on a moving body. Location identifiers are, for example, part names or IDs, but any information that can identify a location can be used.

Actual dimensions are dimensions that are actually measured. For example, actual dimensions may be referred to as dimensions at the current time. A location may be referred to as a part or a section. In other words, the location where the strength is detected and the location where the actual dimensions are measured are usually the same, but they may be different.

Specifically, the vehicle information may include, for example, actual dimension information for each of the body, left door, right door, hood, and trunk lid. Note that the one or more pieces of actual dimension information included in the vehicle information may be information automatically acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 (described below), but may also be information input by the user via an input device such as a keyboard.

In other words, it is preferable for the reception unit 12 to receive moving body information that includes one or more pieces of actual dimension information acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132. However, the reception unit 12 may also receive moving body information that includes one or more pieces of actual dimension information input by the user.

Moving body information may also include, for example, one or more pieces of intensity change information in addition to one or more pieces of actual dimension information. Intensity change information is information related to changes in the strength of a moving body. Intensity change information is typically information related to changes over time in the strength of one or more parts of a moving body. Intensity change information includes, for example, information related to changes in the strength of the body. It is also preferable that the intensity change information also includes, for example, information related to changes in the strength of each part that makes up the body. Note that the intensity change information may also include information related to changes in the strength of parts other than the body (for example, the chassis, drivetrain, etc.).

Note that the one or more pieces of intensity change information included in the mobile object information are, for example, information automatically acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit 134 described below, but may also be information input by the user.

In other words, it is more preferable for the reception unit 12 to receive moving body information including, for example, one or more pieces of actual dimension information acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 and one or more pieces of intensity change information acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit 134.

However, the receiving unit 12 may also receive moving object information including one or more pieces of actual dimension information acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 and one or more pieces of intensity change information input by the user. Alternatively, the receiving unit 12 may receive moving object information including one or more pieces of actual dimension information input by the user and one or more pieces of intensity change information acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit 134. Alternatively, the receiving unit 12 may receive moving object information including one or more pieces of actual dimension information input by the user and one or more pieces of intensity change information input by the user.

However, the intensity change information may also be, for example, information regarding spatial changes in the intensity of a single moving object. A spatial change means that the intensity changes depending on the location within a single moving object. A location may be one or more parts of a single moving object, or a different position within a single part. Such spatial changes in intensity may occur, for example, when part of a moving object is damaged in an accident or the like and the damaged part is repaired (e.g., by replacing a part, repainting, etc.).

The processing unit 13 performs various types of processing. These types of processing include, for example, processing by the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131, actual dimension information acquisition unit 132, dimension difference information acquisition unit 133, intensity change information acquisition unit 134, evaluation unit 135, and diagram composition unit 136. The processing unit 13 also performs various types of determination, which will be explained using flowcharts, for example. Other types of processing will be explained as appropriate.

The initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 acquires initial dimension information. Initial dimension information is information related to the initial dimensions of a moving object. Initial dimensions are initial dimensions. For example, initial dimensions are dimensions listed in a catalog (i.e., design values), but they may also be dimensions actually measured on a new vehicle (i.e., the actual dimensions at the time of purchase). Dimensions include, for example, length, width, height, length, breadth, thickness, maximum diameter, etc., but the type is not important. Note that the maximum diameter is the longest dimension of the part in question (e.g., diagonal length, major axis, diameter, etc.).

The initial dimension information is typically information relating to the initial dimensions of one or more locations on a single moving body. As mentioned above, a location may also be referred to as a part or component. The initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 typically acquires one or more pieces of initial dimension information corresponding to one or more locations on a single moving body.

Alternatively, the dimension may be, for example, the distance between two parts. This type of dimension is, for example, the distance between the front axle and the rear axle (wheelbase), but it may also be the distance between two front wheels or the distance between two rear wheels, or any combination of two parts.

The one or more pieces of initial dimension information acquired include, for example, information related to the initial dimensions of the body. The initial dimension of the body is, for example, one or more of the initial length of the body (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the initial overall length) or the initial width of the body (hereinafter referred to as the initial overall width). It is also preferable that the one or more pieces of initial dimension information also include, for example, information related to the initial dimensions of each part that makes up the body (e.g., left and right doors, hood, trunk lid, etc.). Note that the initial dimension of a part is, for example, the initial maximum diameter (hereinafter referred to as the initial maximum diameter), but the type does not matter. An initial dimension related to the distance between two parts is, for example, the initial wheelbase.

The initial dimension information may be, for example, a set of initial overall length and initial overall width (initial overall length, initial overall width), or a set of location identifier and initial maximum diameter (location identifier, initial maximum diameter), and its format is not important.

The initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 acquires one or more pieces of initial dimension information such as those described above from, for example, a server of a manufacturer or retailer. The server of the manufacturer or the like stores catalog data for one or more moving objects, including the moving object in question, and the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 may download the catalog data for the moving object in question and acquire one or more pieces of initial dimension information from the catalog data.

Alternatively, one or more pieces of initial dimension information may be stored in advance in, for example, storage unit 11, and the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 may acquire one or more pieces of initial dimension information from storage unit 11.

However, the initial dimension information may also be actual dimension information at the time of new vehicle production. In more detail, for example, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132, which will be described later, may acquire one or more pieces of actual dimension information for the mobile body or a mobile body of the same model at the time of new vehicle production, and the processing unit 13 may store the acquired one or more pieces of actual dimension information in the storage unit 11 as one or more pieces of initial dimension information for the mobile body.

The actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information. As mentioned above, actual dimension information is typically information indicating the actual dimensions of one or more locations on a single moving object (e.g., overall length, overall width, maximum diameter of each of the left and right doors, etc.). The actual dimension information may be, for example, a set of overall length and overall width (total length, overall width), or a set of location identifier and maximum diameter (location identifier, maximum diameter), and its format is not important.

The actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information for a moving object, for example, using one or more distance images captured by one or more distance image sensors 3 of the moving object. In more detail, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 detects a contour based on the brightness values of two or more pixels (e.g., (x, y, z, brightness value), etc.) that make up the captured distance image. Note that methods for detecting contours are well known, and therefore will not be described here.

Next, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires two or more pieces of angular position information based on two or more pieces of three-dimensional position information (x, y, z) corresponding to the detected contour line. Angular position information is information indicating the positions of two or more corners of a single moving object. The acquired angular position information is, for example, coordinates such as (X1, Y1, Z1), (X2, Y2, Z2), etc., but the format is not important. Note that while it is preferable for the angular position information to be three-dimensional information, it may also be two-dimensional information (see the modified example described below).

A corner may be defined as a location where the curvature is greater than the surrounding area. A corner may also be defined as a corner, for example. Two or more corners may be, for example, the four corners of a rectangular part (e.g., the upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right corners of a door). Alternatively, two or more corners may be two opposing corners of a rectangular part (e.g., the upper left and lower right corners of a hood). Alternatively, a corner may be the most protruding part (e.g., the front, rear, left, or right end).

The actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 then uses the two or more detected corner position information to acquire one or more pieces of actual dimension information (e.g., overall length, overall width, maximum diameter of the left door, maximum diameter of the right door, etc.).

The actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information, for example, using at least four distance images of a moving object captured from at least four sides: front, back, left, and right.

Specifically, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires angular position information for the left and right ends of a moving object, for example, based on a distance image captured from the front or rear, and then uses the acquired two pieces of angular position information to calculate the distance between the left ends, thereby acquiring actual dimension information indicating the overall width.

The left and right ends can be determined, for example, by calculating the spatial change in distance information held by each of two or more pixels that make up the distance image, and finding the leftmost and rightmost positions among a set of positions (which can be called a contour) where the change is greater than a threshold. Furthermore, the left and right corner position information can be calculated as the three-dimensional position of the pixel corresponding to the leftmost position, and the three-dimensional position of the pixel corresponding to the rightmost position. Furthermore, the front and rear ends of a moving object, the four corners of each of the left and right doors, and the maximum diameter of the hood, trunk lid, etc. can also be obtained by this type of contour detection.

The actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 also acquires angular position information for the leading edge and trailing edge of a moving object, for example, based on a distance image captured from the left or right side, and uses the acquired two pieces of angular position information to calculate the distance between the leading edge and trailing edge, thereby acquiring actual dimension information indicating the total length.

In addition, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires, for example, two pieces of corner position information corresponding to two opposing corners of the four corners of the left door (e.g., the upper right corner and the lower left corner) based on a distance image captured from the left side, and calculates the distance between the two corners to acquire actual dimension information indicating the maximum diameter of the left door.

In addition, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires, for example, two pieces of corner position information corresponding to two opposing corners (e.g., the upper left corner and the lower right corner) of the four corners of the right door based on a distance image captured from the right side, and calculates the distance between the two corners to acquire actual dimension information indicating the maximum diameter of the right door.

Furthermore, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 may, for example, acquire actual dimension information indicating the maximum diameter of the hood using a distance image captured from the front, and may also acquire actual dimension information indicating the maximum diameter of the trunk lid using a distance image captured from the rear.

In addition, one or more of the actual dimension information indicating the overall length or the actual dimension information indicating the overall width may be obtained using, for example, a distance image captured from the top or bottom. Furthermore, actual dimension information indicating the maximum diameter of the hood, etc., may also be obtained from a distance image captured from the top.

Furthermore, for example, measured dimension information regarding the wheelbase may be calculated based on the position information of the center points of the front and rear wheels obtained using a distance image captured from the left or right side, for example.

Furthermore, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 may acquire, for example, one or more pieces of actual dimension information for each of one or more moving bodies. The acquired one or more pieces of actual dimension information may be stored in the storage unit 11 by the processing unit 13, for example, in association with the moving body identifier.

The dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 acquires dimension difference information. Dimension difference information is information related to the difference between the initial dimension and the actual dimension. Dimension difference information is, for example, information indicating the result of subtracting the initial dimension from the actual dimension. The result of the subtraction is either 0, a positive value, or a negative value. 0 indicates that the actual dimension is the same as the initial dimension. A positive value indicates that the actual dimension has expanded by that absolute value relative to the initial dimension, and a negative value indicates that the actual dimension has contracted by that absolute value relative to the initial dimension.

However, the dimensional difference information may also be the result of subtracting the actual dimension from the initial dimension. In this case, the correspondence between positive/negative and expansion/contraction is reversed from that described above. Alternatively, the dimensional difference information may be the absolute value of either subtraction result.

Furthermore, the dimensional difference information is not limited to information indicating the subtraction results, etc., as described above, but may also be information indicating the result of dividing the subtraction results, etc., by the initial dimensions, for example. This allows for accurate evaluation of dimensional differences regardless of the size of the moving body or each part thereof.

The dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 acquires one or more pieces of dimension difference information, for example, using one or more pieces of initial dimension information acquired by the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 and one or more pieces of actual dimension information acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132. In more detail, the dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 may acquire dimension difference information relating to the difference between the initial dimension information acquired by the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 and the actual dimension information acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 for one or more locations of a single moving body.

Alternatively, the dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 may acquire, for example, one or more pieces of dimension difference information relating to the difference between the actual dimension information included in the moving body information accepted by the acceptance unit 12 and the initial dimension information acquired by the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 for each of one or more locations of a moving body.

In addition, each of the one or more pieces of acquired dimensional difference information may be stored in the storage unit 11 in association with a part identifier.

The dimensional difference information acquisition unit 133 may, for example, acquire one or more pieces of dimensional difference information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as dimensional difference information groups) for each of one or more moving bodies. Each of the acquired one or more dimensional difference information groups may be stored in the storage unit 11 in association with a moving body identifier.

The intensity change information acquisition unit 134 acquires intensity information. Intensity information is information related to the strength of a moving object. Intensity information is typically information indicating the intensity of one or more parts of a moving object. As mentioned above, a part may be referred to as, for example, a component or a location. The intensity change information acquisition unit 134 typically acquires one or more pieces of intensity information corresponding to one or more parts of a moving object, and uses the acquired one or more pieces of intensity information to acquire one or more pieces of intensity change information.

The part may be, for example, the left door, right door, hood, trunk lid, etc. That is, the intensity change information acquisition unit 134 may acquire intensity information indicating the strength of the left door of a mobile object, and use the acquired intensity information to acquire intensity change information related to changes in the strength of the left door. Similarly, intensity change information for each of the right door, hood, and trunk lid of the mobile object may also be acquired.

Alternatively, the part may be, for example, the body. That is, the intensity change information acquisition unit 134 acquires, for example, intensity information indicating the intensity of the body of a moving object, and uses the acquired intensity information to acquire intensity change information related to changes in the intensity of the body.

In more detail, the intensity change information acquisition unit 134 may acquire two or more pieces of intensity change information corresponding to two or more parts of a single moving body (e.g., left door, right door, hood, and trunk lid), and may consider a representative value (e.g., average, median, etc.) of the acquired two or more pieces of intensity change information as the intensity change information for the body of the single moving body.

Note that the one or more portions from which strength change information is acquired may be the same as, for example, the one or more locations from which actual dimension information is acquired, but they may also be different. In other words, while it is preferable to acquire actual dimension information and strength information from a single part, the actual dimension information and strength information may also be acquired from different parts.

The acquired intensity information is, for example, a set of initial intensity information and actual intensity information. The initial intensity information is, for example, associated with a partial identifier and stored in the storage unit 11 in advance. Alternatively, the initial intensity information may be acquired only the first time and stored in the storage unit 11, and then acquired from the storage unit 11 from the second time onwards. The actual intensity information is information related to the intensity actually measured, and may also be referred to as the current intensity. The actual intensity information is, for example, the intensity information output from the intensity sensor 4.

In more detail, for example, an intensity sensor 4 is attached to one or more parts of a moving object, and the intensity change information acquisition unit 134 acquires intensity information output in pairs with part identifiers from the one or more intensity sensors 4, while also acquiring one or more pieces of initial intensity information corresponding to the one or more part identifiers from the storage unit 11. The intensity change information acquisition unit 134 then acquires the change in measured intensity relative to the initial intensity for each of the one or more part identifiers, and acquires intensity change information related to the acquired changes.

The change obtained is, for example, the result of dividing the measured intensity by the initial intensity. The division result is usually 1 or a value smaller than 1, but it can also be a value greater than 1. For example, if the division result is "0.9", this indicates that the current intensity is 90% of the initial intensity. The intensity change information obtained in this case is, for example, a numerical value such as "1" or "0.9" indicating the division result, but it can also be information indicating either "less than 1", "1", or "greater than 1".

However, the change may also be the result of subtracting the initial intensity from the actual intensity. In this case, the result of the subtraction is usually 0 or a negative value, but it may also be a positive value. 0 indicates that the actual intensity is the same as the initial intensity, and a negative value indicates that the actual intensity has decreased by its absolute value relative to the initial intensity. Alternatively, the change may be the result of further dividing the result of subtracting the initial intensity from the actual intensity by the initial intensity (i.e., a normalized value: hereafter referred to as a normalized value). The intensity change information obtained in this case is, for example, a numerical value indicating the result of the subtraction, but may also be information indicating either "negative", "0", or "positive".

Intensity change information is not limited to the change in measured intensity relative to the initial intensity, but may be, for example, the change or rate of change in the current measured intensity relative to the measured intensity N times ago (N is a natural number). Alternatively, intensity change information may be the change in the measured intensity of one mobile object relative to a representative value of the measured intensity of one or more other mobile objects of the same model and year; the type of intensity change information is not important.

The intensity change information acquisition unit 134 acquires intensity change information for, for example, one or more locations of a single moving object. Each of the acquired one or more pieces of intensity change information may be stored in the storage unit 11 in association with a partial identifier.

The intensity change information acquisition unit 134 may, for example, acquire one or more pieces of intensity change information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "intensity change information groups") for each of one or more moving bodies. Each of the acquired one or more intensity change information groups may be stored in the storage unit 11 in association with a moving body identifier.

The evaluation unit 135 acquires evaluation information related to the evaluation of a moving object. Evaluation can be said to be an estimation of the value of a moving object. Evaluation information is information indicating the evaluation of a moving object. The evaluation is, for example, an evaluation based on dimensional difference information, but it may also be an evaluation based on intensity change information. It is preferable that the evaluation is, for example, an evaluation based on dimensional difference information and intensity change information.

That is, the evaluation information includes, for example, an evaluation regarding dimensions. It is also preferable that the evaluation information also includes an evaluation regarding strength, and even more preferable that the evaluation information also includes an evaluation regarding other characteristics. Examples of other characteristics include reflectance and color. Reflectance can be thought of as the smoothness of the surface. Reflectance can be obtained, for example, based on the luminance values of two or more pixels that make up the distance image captured by the distance image sensor 3. Color can also be obtained based on the pixel values, such as RGB, of each pixel.

The other characteristic may be any characteristic that can be obtained based on the output from the distance image sensor 3 or the intensity sensor 4, for example. Furthermore, the other characteristic may be a characteristic that can be obtained based on the output from another sensor (not shown) that the information system has, for example, and the type of characteristic does not matter. Note that the same applies to the partial evaluation information and overall evaluation information described below.

The evaluation information may be an integer value such as "3," "2," or "1," but it may also be a letter such as "A," "B," or "C" that corresponds to the integer value. Alternatively, the evaluation information may be a numerical value with a decimal point, such as "2.5" or "1.9," or an arrangement of two or more letters or symbols, such as "B+" or "AA-." Alternatively, the evaluation information may be, for example, dimensional information or strength information, or a term such as "mint condition" or a sentence such as "no signs of accidents," and the format of the expression is not important. Note that the same applies to the partial evaluation information and overall evaluation information described below.

The evaluation information may include, for example, one or more pieces of partial evaluation information. Partial evaluation information is information that indicates an evaluation of one or more parts of a moving object. Partial evaluation information may include, for example, an evaluation related to dimensions. The partial evaluation information may also include an evaluation related to characteristics other than dimensions. Characteristics other than dimensions include, for example, the intensity mentioned above, but may also be reflectance, color, etc., and the type is not important. Note that reflectance can be obtained, for example, based on the brightness values of two or more pixels that make up the distance image. Furthermore, color can be obtained based on the pixel values, such as RGB, of each pixel.

The evaluation information may also include, for example, overall evaluation information. Overall evaluation information is information that indicates the overall evaluation of a single moving object. The evaluation unit 135 typically obtains the overall evaluation information using one or more pieces of partial evaluation information. The evaluation unit 135 may, for example, obtain a representative value of one or more pieces of partial evaluation information and obtain overall evaluation information that indicates the obtained representative value. However, there may be partial evaluation information that is not used to obtain the overall evaluation information. The overall evaluation information may also include evaluation values for each characteristic, such as dimensions and strength. Furthermore, the overall evaluation information may also include an overall evaluation value based on the evaluation values for each characteristic. The overall evaluation value may, for example, be a representative value of the evaluation values for each characteristic.

Note that the evaluation information may, for example, not include one or more pieces of partial evaluation information, but include only overall evaluation information. The overall evaluation information may also be simply referred to as evaluation information.

The evaluation unit 135 acquires such evaluation information based on, for example, one or more pieces of dimensional difference information, but it may also acquire it based on one or more pieces of dimensional difference information and one or more pieces of intensity change information. However, there may be some dimensional difference information that is not used to acquire the evaluation information. There may also be some intensity change information that is not used to acquire the evaluation information.

The evaluation unit 135 acquires evaluation information for a moving object, for example, using one or more pieces of dimensional difference information acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit 133 for one or more portions of the moving object. In more detail, the evaluation unit 135 may calculate the evaluation information by, for example, acquiring a representative value for one or more pieces of dimensional difference information and substituting the representative value into a function that uses the dimensional difference information as a parameter. Note that, for example, if each piece of dimensional difference information is an absolute value, it is preferable that the function be a decreasing function. Furthermore, if each piece of dimensional difference information can take a negative value, the evaluation information may be calculated using a decreasing function that uses the absolute value (or square) of each piece of dimensional difference information as a parameter.

Alternatively, for example, first correspondence information, which is a set of pairs of dimensional difference information and evaluation values, may be stored in the storage unit 11, and the evaluation unit 135 may search the first correspondence information using the acquired representative value as a key, and acquire the evaluation value paired with the dimensional difference information that matches or is closest to the representative value.

Alternatively, the evaluation unit 135 may, for example, calculate a partial evaluation value by substituting one or more pieces of dimensional difference information into a function, and obtain evaluation information having the calculated one or more partial evaluation values. Note that the functions into which each piece of dimensional difference information is substituted are usually different. However, for example, if the dimensional difference information is a normalized value obtained by subtracting the initial dimension from the actual dimension and then dividing the result by the initial dimension, each piece of dimensional difference information may be substituted into the same function.

Alternatively, the evaluation unit 135 may acquire evaluation information for one moving body, for example, using one or more pieces of dimensional difference information acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit 133 for one or more locations of the moving body and one or more pieces of intensity change information acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit 134 for one or more parts of the moving body.

In more detail, the evaluation unit 135 may, for example, obtain one or more representative values of dimensional difference information and one or more representative values of intensity change information, and calculate the evaluation information by substituting these two representative values into a function that uses the dimensional difference information and intensity change information as parameters.

Alternatively, for example, second correspondence information, which is a set of pairs of dimensional difference information and intensity change information (hereinafter referred to as group information) and evaluation values, is stored in the storage unit 11, and the evaluation unit 135 may search the second correspondence information using the acquired pair of two representative values as a key, and acquire the evaluation value paired with the group information that matches or is closest to the pair of two representative values.

Alternatively, the evaluation unit 135 may, for example, calculate a partial evaluation value by substituting one or more pieces of group information into a function, and acquire evaluation information having the calculated one or more partial evaluation values. As above, the functions into which each piece of group information is substituted are usually different, but if each piece of group information is a normalized value, each piece of group information may be substituted into the same function. The acquired evaluation value may, for example, be stored in the storage unit 11 in association with the mobile unit identifier.

The evaluation unit 135 may acquire evaluation information including two or more pieces of characteristic evaluation information. Characteristic evaluation information is information that indicates an evaluation of the characteristics of a moving object. The characteristic may be, for example, dimensions, but may also be strength, reflectance, color, or any other characteristic of a moving object.

It is preferable that the evaluation unit 135 acquires two or more pieces of characteristic evaluation information, including dimension evaluation information. Dimension evaluation information is information that indicates an evaluation regarding dimensions. It is even more preferable that the evaluation unit 135 acquires two or more pieces of characteristic evaluation information, including dimension evaluation information and strength evaluation information. Strength evaluation information is information that indicates an evaluation regarding strength.

In more detail, the evaluation unit 135 may, for example, acquire one or more pieces of dimension evaluation information using one or more pieces of dimension difference information acquired by the dimension difference information acquisition unit 133, and further acquire one or more pieces of strength evaluation information using one or more pieces of intensity change information acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit 134, and then acquire evaluation information having the acquired one or more pieces of dimension evaluation information and the acquired one or more pieces of strength evaluation information.

For example, the processing unit 13 may also acquire the aforementioned reflectance change information, the aforementioned color change information, etc. for each of one or more portions, and the evaluation unit 135 may also acquire one or more pieces of reflectance evaluation information indicating an evaluation regarding reflectance, one or more pieces of color evaluation information indicating an evaluation regarding color, etc., thereby acquiring evaluation information that includes the acquired one or more pieces of reflectance evaluation information, the acquired one or more pieces of color evaluation information, etc.

The diagram construction unit 136 constructs one or more diagrams. A diagram is, for example, a dimension difference display diagram. A dimension difference display diagram is a diagram in which areas where there is a difference between the initial dimensions and the actual dimensions can be recognized on the moving body diagram. Areas where there is a difference are, for example, areas where the difference is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

For example, the diagram composition unit 136 determines whether the dimensional difference information for one or more locations acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit 133 for one moving body is greater than or equal to a threshold value. The diagram composition unit 136 then acquires a moving body diagram for the one moving body from the moving body diagram storage unit 111, acquires dimensional difference information for one or more locations determined to be greater than or equal to the threshold value, and places the acquired one or more pieces of dimensional difference information at corresponding locations on the acquired moving body diagram, thereby constructing a dimensional difference display diagram in which locations with large dimensional differences are clearly indicated on the moving body diagram. The corresponding locations are locations identified by location identifiers associated with the acquired one or more pieces of dimensional difference information.

Alternatively, for example, the moving body diagram storage unit 111 may store two or more moving body diagrams corresponding to two or more types of moving body, including the one moving body described above, and the diagram construction unit 136 may, for example, obtain, for each type of moving body, dimensional difference information for one or more locations where there is a difference between the initial dimensions and the actual dimensions, in the same manner as described above, while obtaining a moving body diagram corresponding to that type, and arranging the obtained dimensional difference information for each of the one or more locations at the corresponding locations on the obtained moving body diagram, thereby constructing one or more dimensional difference expression diagrams corresponding to one or more types of moving body.

The diagram composition unit 136 composes a dimension difference representation diagram, for example, when the reception unit 12 receives moving body information and the dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 acquires dimension difference information. Alternatively, the diagram composition unit 136 may compose a dimension difference representation diagram when the reception unit 12 receives an instruction to output a dimension difference representation diagram. The instruction to output a dimension difference representation diagram is received, for example, together with the moving body information, but may also be received after or before the moving body information is received, and the timing of reception is not important.

In this way, once the dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 has acquired the dimension difference information, the drawing composition unit 136 can compose a dimension difference expression drawing using the acquired dimension difference information at any time.

The output unit 14 outputs various types of information. Examples of such information include evaluation information and dimensional difference display diagrams. The output unit 14 transmits information such as evaluation information to, for example, the terminal device 2 that is the sender of the mobile object information received by the reception unit 12.

However, information such as evaluation information may be displayed on a display, printed out by a printer, stored on a recording medium, or passed to another program; the output format is not important. This also applies to the evaluation information output unit 141 and the diagram output unit 142.

The evaluation information output unit 141 outputs the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation unit 135. For example, when the reception unit 12 receives mobile object information via an input device such as a keyboard, the evaluation information output unit 141 outputs the acquired evaluation information via an output device such as a display.

Alternatively, when the reception unit 12 receives mobile object information from a terminal device 2, the evaluation information output unit 141 transmits the acquired evaluation information to the terminal device 2. In particular, when the reception unit 12 receives mobile object information paired with a terminal identifier, the evaluation information output unit 141 transmits the acquired evaluation information to the terminal device 2 identified by the received terminal identifier.

The evaluation information output unit 141 typically outputs the acquired evaluation information in response to the evaluation unit 135 acquiring the evaluation information. However, the evaluation information may also be output in response to, for example, the reception unit 12 receiving an instruction to output the evaluation information, and the trigger and timing of the output are not important.

The diagram output unit 142 outputs the dimension difference representation diagram constructed by the diagram construction unit 136. For example, when the reception unit 12 receives an instruction to output moving body information or a dimension difference representation diagram via an input device such as a keyboard, the diagram output unit 142 outputs the constructed dimension difference representation diagram via an output device such as a display.

Alternatively, when the reception unit 12 receives an output instruction for moving body information or a dimension difference representation diagram from a terminal device 2, the diagram output unit 142 transmits the constructed dimension difference representation diagram to the terminal device 2. In particular, when the reception unit 12 receives an output instruction for moving body information or a dimension difference representation diagram paired with a terminal identifier, the diagram output unit 142 transmits the constructed dimension difference representation diagram to the terminal device 2 identified by the received terminal identifier.

The diagram output unit 142 typically outputs the constructed evaluation information in response to the diagram construction unit 136 constructing a dimension difference representation diagram. However, the evaluation information may also be output, for example, in response to the reception unit 12 receiving an instruction to output the evaluation information, and the trigger and timing of the output are not important.

The terminal storage unit 21 that constitutes the terminal device 2 can store various types of information. Examples of such information include a terminal identifier.

The terminal reception unit 22 receives various information and instructions. Examples of such information include mobile object information and instructions to output a dimensional difference display diagram.

The terminal transmission unit 23 transmits various types of information. For example, the terminal transmission unit 23 transmits information such as mobile object information received by the terminal reception unit 22 to the mobile object evaluation device 1 in pairs with the terminal identifier stored in the terminal storage unit 21.

The terminal receiving unit 24 receives various types of information. Examples of such information include evaluation information and dimensional difference display diagrams.

The device processing unit 25 performs various types of processing, such as converting the format of received information into the format of information to be transmitted.

The terminal output unit 26 outputs various types of information. Examples of such information include evaluation information and dimension difference display diagrams. The terminal output unit 26 typically displays evaluation information and other information on a display, but it may also print it out on a printer, store it on a recording medium, transfer it to another program, or send it to another device.

The storage unit 11, moving body map storage unit 111, and terminal storage unit 21 are preferably non-volatile recording media such as a hard disk or flash memory, but can also be implemented using volatile recording media such as RAM.

The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 11, etc. is not important. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 11, etc. via a recording medium, information transmitted via a network or communication line, etc. may be stored in the storage unit 11, etc., or information input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 11, etc. The input device may be, for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.

The reception unit 12 and the terminal reception unit 22 may or may not be considered to include an input device. The reception unit 12, etc. may be realized by driver software for the input device, or by the input device and its driver software.

The processing unit 13, initial dimension information acquisition unit 131, actual dimension information acquisition unit 132, dimension difference information acquisition unit 133, intensity change information acquisition unit 134, evaluation unit 135, diagram composition unit 136, and terminal processing unit 25 can typically be realized using an MPU, memory, etc. The processing procedures of the processing unit 13, etc. are typically realized using software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, the processing procedures may also be realized using hardware (dedicated circuits).

The output unit 14, evaluation information output unit 141, diagram output unit 142, and terminal output unit 26 may or may not be considered to include output devices such as displays and speakers. The output unit 14, etc., may be realized by driver software for the output device, or by an output device and its driver software.

The transmission functions of the terminal transmitter 23 and output unit 14 are typically implemented using wired or wireless communication means (e.g., a communication module such as a network interface controller (NIC) or modem), but may also be implemented using broadcasting means (e.g., a broadcasting module).

The receiving functions of the terminal receiving unit 24 and the acceptance unit 12 are typically implemented using wired or wireless communication means, but may also be implemented using a means for receiving broadcasts (e.g., a broadcast receiving module).

Next, the operation of the information system will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 3. Note that this flowchart shows the process when evaluating one mobile object. When evaluating two or more mobile objects, the same process is performed for each of the two or more mobile objects.

(Step S301) The processing unit 13 determines whether the reception unit 12 has received mobile object information.

In this flowchart, "reception" typically refers to the reception of information entered via an input device such as a keyboard, but may also refer to reception from the terminal device 2. When reception is from the terminal device 2, information such as mobile object information is typically received in pairs with a terminal identifier. The received mobile object information includes one or more pieces of actual dimension information acquired by the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 and one or more pieces of intensity change information acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit 134.

If it is determined that the reception unit 12 has received the mobile object information, the process proceeds to step S302; if it is determined that the mobile object information has not been received, the process proceeds to step S308.

(Step S302) The initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 acquires one or more pieces of initial dimension information, for example, from a server of a mobile object manufacturer.

(Step S303) The dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 acquires one or more pieces of dimension difference information using one or more pieces of actual dimension information contained in the moving body information accepted in step S301 and one or more pieces of initial dimension information acquired in step S302.

(Step S304) The evaluation unit 135 evaluates one moving object using one or more pieces of dimensional difference information acquired in step S303 and one or more pieces of intensity change information contained in the moving object information received in step S301, and acquires evaluation information.

The acquired evaluation information may include one or more pieces of partial evaluation information. Furthermore, each of the one or more pieces of partial evaluation information may include dimensional characteristic evaluation information and strength characteristic evaluation information.

(Step S305) The evaluation information output unit 141 outputs the evaluation information acquired in step S305. Then, the process returns to step S301.

In this flowchart, output typically refers to output via an output device such as a display, but it may also refer to transmission to the terminal device 2. In the latter case, information such as mobile unit information is typically transmitted to the terminal device 2 identified by the terminal identifier received in pair with the mobile unit information in step S301.

(Step S306) The processing unit 13 determines whether or not to output a dimension difference display diagram. For example, in response to one or more pieces of dimension difference information being acquired in step S303, the processing unit 13 determines to output a dimension difference display diagram. Alternatively, in response to the reception unit 12 receiving an instruction to output a dimension difference display diagram, the processing unit 13 may determine to output a dimension difference display diagram.

If it is determined that a dimension difference representation diagram should be output, proceed to step S307; if it is determined that a dimension difference representation diagram should not be output, return to step S301.

(Step S307) The diagram construction unit 136 constructs a dimension difference representation diagram using one or more pieces of dimension difference information acquired in step S303 and the moving body diagram stored in the moving body diagram storage unit 111.

(Step S308) The diagram output unit 142 outputs the dimension difference representation diagram created in step S303. Then, the process returns to step S301.

In the flowchart of FIG. 3, the evaluation in step S304 is performed with respect to size and strength, but it may be performed with respect to size only, for example. Alternatively, instead of or in addition to strength, evaluation may be performed with respect to other properties such as reflectance or color.

In the flowchart of Figure 3, processing begins when the mobile object evaluation device 1 is powered on or a program is started, and ends when the power is turned off or an interrupt occurs to end processing. However, the trigger for starting or ending processing is not important.

The following describes a specific example of the operation of the information system in this embodiment. Note that the following description is subject to various modifications and does not limit the scope of the present invention. A conceptual diagram of the information system is shown in Figure 1.

The information system in this example includes a mobile object evaluation device 1, four distance image sensors 3, and four intensity sensors 4. The mobile object evaluation device 1 is a PC installed in the examination room of an inspector who inspects mobile objects. The target mobile object (hereinafter sometimes referred to as mobile object X) is a sedan.

In this example, the parts are the body, left door, and right door. The dimensions of the body in this example are the overall length and width of the body. Furthermore, the strength of the body in this example is a representative value of the strength of the left door, right door, hood, and trunk lid.

A sedan-type mobile body diagram corresponding to mobile body X is pre-stored in the mobile body diagram storage unit 111 of the mobile body evaluation device 1.

The storage unit 11 may store, for example, mobile object management information such as that shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of mobile object management information. Mobile object management information includes a mobile object identifier (e.g., "X"), one or more pieces of partial information, and overall evaluation information (e.g., "dimension B, strength A, overall B+").

Partial information is information about one or more parts of a moving object. Partial information includes, for example, a part identifier, actual dimension information, initial dimension information, dimension difference information, intensity change information, and part evaluation information. Note that actual dimension information and intensity change information are elements of the moving object information described above. Each piece of one or more pieces of partial information is associated with an ID (e.g., "1", "2", etc.).

For example, the part information corresponding to ID "1" (hereinafter sometimes referred to as part information 1) has the part identifier "body", actual dimension information "(total length 3895, total width 1700)", initial dimension information "(initial total length 3900, initial total width 1700)", dimension difference information "(total length difference -5, total width difference 0)", strength change information "intensity ratio 0.98", and part evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 2, strength evaluation 3)".

Furthermore, the partial information corresponding to ID "2" (partial information 2) has the partial identifier "left door", actual dimension information "maximum diameter 1204", initial dimension information "initial maximum diameter 1200", dimension difference information "maximum diameter difference +4", strength change information "intensity ratio 0.95", and partial evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 2, strength evaluation 2)".

Similarly, part information 3 has part identifier "right door", actual dimension information "maximum diameter 1200", initial dimension information "initial maximum diameter 1200", dimension difference information "maximum diameter difference 0", intensity change information "intensity ratio 1", and part evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 3, strength evaluation 3)".

Now, an inspection of mobile object X is about to be carried out in the inspection room. At this point, no mobile object management information has yet been stored in the storage unit 11. First, a mobile object identifier "X" that identifies mobile object X is entered via an input device such as a keyboard.

In the mobile object evaluation device 1, the reception unit 12 receives the input mobile object identifier, and the processing unit 13 associates the received mobile object identifier with ID "1" and stores it in the storage unit 11. As a result, mobile object management information having the mobile object identifier "X" is stored in the storage unit 11.

Note that in the mobile entity management information at this point, all elements other than the mobile entity identifier are "Null." Null is information indicating that the element does not exist. For example, the evaluation information is "(Null, Null, Null)."

Next, four distance image sensors 3 are placed on the front, back, left and right sides of the moving body, and these four distance image sensors 3 output four distance images (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the front distance image, rear distance image, left side distance image and right side distance image) capturing the front, rear, left side and right side of the moving body.

In the mobile object evaluation device 1, the reception unit 12 receives the above four distance images, and the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 acquires four pieces of actual dimension information based on the four received distance images. Note that the method for acquiring various actual measurement values from distance images has been described above and will not be repeated here. Here, for example, assume that "total length 3895" is acquired from the left side distance image, "total width 1700" is acquired from the front distance image, "maximum diameter of left door 1204" is acquired from the left side distance image, and "maximum diameter of right door 1200" is acquired from the left side distance image.

Of the four acquired actual measurement values, the processing unit 13 uses "total length 3895" and "total width 1700" to construct partial evaluation information having the part identifier "body", actual dimension information "(total length 3895, total width 1700)", initial dimension information "(Null, Null)", dimension difference information "(Null, Null)", intensity change information "Null", and partial evaluation information "(Null, Null)".

Furthermore, the processing unit 13 uses the "maximum diameter of the left door 1204" to construct partial evaluation information having the part identifier "left door", actual dimension information "maximum diameter 1204", initial dimension information "Null", dimension difference information "Null", strength change information "Null", and partial evaluation information "(Null, Null)". Furthermore, the processing unit 13 uses the "maximum diameter of the right door 1200" to construct partial evaluation information having the part identifier "right door", actual dimension information "maximum diameter 1200", initial dimension information "Null", dimension difference information "Null", strength change information "Null", and partial evaluation information "(Null, Null)".

The processing unit 13 then stores the three pieces of partial evaluation information acquired, associated with IDs "1", "2", and "3". As a result, the three pieces of partial information 1 to 3 are added to the mobile unit management information.

Next, the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 acquires four pieces of initial dimension information from the manufacturer's server. In this example, it is assumed that "initial overall length 3900", "initial overall width 1700", "initial maximum diameter of left door 1200", and "initial maximum diameter of right door 1200" are acquired. Note that for the left and right doors, for example, the length and width may be acquired, and the diagonal length calculated from the length and width may be considered to be the maximum diameter.

Of the four initial values obtained, the processing unit 13 uses "initial overall length 3900" and "initial overall width 1700" to update the initial dimension information "(Null, Null)" in evaluation information 1 to "(initial overall length 3900, initial overall width 1700)". Furthermore, using "initial maximum diameter of the left door 1200", the processing unit 13 updates the initial dimension information "Null" in evaluation information 2 to "initial maximum diameter 1200". Furthermore, using "initial maximum diameter of the right door 1200", the processing unit 13 updates the initial dimension information "Null" in evaluation information 3 to "initial maximum diameter 1200".

Next, for evaluation information 1, the dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 subtracts the initial dimension information (initial total length 3900, initial total width 1700) from the actual dimension information (total length 3895, total width 1700), and updates the dimension difference information (Null, Null) to (total length difference -5, total width difference 0) based on the result of the subtraction. For evaluation information 2, the dimension difference information "Null" is subtracted from the actual dimension information (maximum diameter 1204) and updates the dimension difference information "Null" to "maximum diameter difference +4" based on the result of the subtraction. For evaluation information 3, the dimension difference information "Null" is subtracted from the initial dimension information (initial maximum diameter 1200) from the actual dimension information (maximum diameter 1200), and updates the dimension difference information "Null" to "maximum diameter difference 0" based on the result of the subtraction.

Next, the evaluation unit 135 obtains an evaluation value for dimensions based on the dimensional difference information "(total length difference -5, total width difference 0)" for evaluation information 1. Note that the method for obtaining an evaluation value for dimensions based on dimensional difference information has been described above, so it will not be repeated here. Here, it is assumed that "dimension evaluation 2" has been obtained. The processing unit 13 updates the partial evaluation information "(Null, Null)" to "(dimension evaluation 2, Null)".

Furthermore, for evaluation information 2, a "dimension evaluation value 2" is obtained, and the partial evaluation information "(Null, Null)" is updated to "(dimension evaluation 2, Null)". Furthermore, for evaluation information 3, a "dimension evaluation value 3" is obtained, and the partial evaluation information "(Null, Null)" is updated to "(dimension evaluation 3, Null)". This completes the evaluation of the dimensions of each part.

Next, to evaluate the strength, four strength sensors 4 are attached to the hood, trunk lid, left door, and right door. The vehicle is placed on a test bench within the facility and a test run is performed on the test bench. The four strength sensors 4 output measured strength information for the hood, trunk lid, left door, and right door.

In the mobile object evaluation device 1, the storage unit 11 pre-stores initial strength information for the hood, trunk lid, left door, and right door. The strength change information acquisition unit 134 calculates the strength change of the above three parts based on the four pieces of actual strength information from the four strength sensors 4 and the four pieces of stored initial strength information. In this example, it is assumed that hood strength change information "1", trunk lid strength change information "1", left door strength change information "0.92", and right door strength change information "1" have been acquired.

Next, the intensity change information acquisition unit 134 acquires a representative value of the above four pieces of intensity change information (in this example, an average value of 0.98), and sets this representative value as the body's intensity change information "intensity ratio 0.98." The processing unit 13 updates the intensity change information "Null" in partial information 1 to "0.98," the intensity change information "Null" in partial information 2 to "0.92," and the intensity change information "Null" in partial information 3 to "1."

Next, the evaluation unit 135 acquires an evaluation value related to strength for evaluation information 1 based on the intensity change information "0.98." Note that the method for acquiring an evaluation value related to strength based on intensity change information has been described above and will not be repeated here. Here, it is assumed that "Intensity Evaluation 2" is acquired. Similarly, it is assumed that "Intensity Evaluation 2" is acquired for evaluation information 2, and "Intensity Evaluation 3" is acquired for evaluation information 3.

The processing unit 13 updates the partial evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 2, Null)" in partial information 1 to "(dimension evaluation 2, strength evaluation 3)", updates the partial evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 2, Null)" in evaluation information 2 to "(dimension evaluation 2, strength evaluation 2)", and updates the partial evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 3, Null)" in evaluation information 3 to "(dimension evaluation 3, strength evaluation 3)". This completes the evaluation of the strength of each part.

Next, the evaluation unit 135 uses the partial evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 2, strength evaluation 3)" contained in partial information 1, the partial evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 2, strength evaluation 2)" contained in partial information 2, and the partial evaluation information "(dimension evaluation 3, strength evaluation 3)" contained in partial information 3 to first obtain a representative value (here, mode "2") from the three dimension evaluations (2, 2, 3) and obtain the corresponding evaluation information "dimension B." The evaluation unit 135 also obtains a representative value "3" from the three strength evaluations (2, 3, 3) and obtains the corresponding evaluation information "strength A." Furthermore, the evaluation unit 135 obtains "total exterior B+" based on "dimension B" and "strength A."

The processing unit 13 updates the evaluation information "(Null, Null, Null)" to "(Dimensions B, Strength A, Overall B+)". This completes the mobile object management information shown in Figure 4.

The evaluation information output unit 141 uses the above-mentioned mobile object management information to construct evaluation information for output and outputs it via an output device such as a display. As a result, evaluation information such as that shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display. This evaluation information includes "Body evaluation: dimensions 2, strength 3," "Left door evaluation: dimensions 2, strength 2," "Right door evaluation: dimensions 3, strength 3," and "Overall evaluation: dimensions B, strength A, overall B+."

The diagram construction unit 136 uses the above-mentioned mobile body management information and the stored mobile body diagram to construct a dimension difference display diagram that shows areas where the dimension evaluation is "2" or less, and the diagram output unit 142 outputs the constructed dimension difference display diagram via the display. As a result, a dimension difference display diagram such as that shown in Figure 6 is displayed on the display. In this dimension difference display diagram, the dimension line corresponding to the overall length of the body is highlighted in bold, and the left door is highlighted with hatching.

(Variation 1) In the embodiment, the distance image sensor 3 captures a distance image of the moving object, but instead of measuring the distance, for example, a laser may be irradiated onto the moving object to capture a silhouette of the moving object.

In more detail, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 may, for example, capture (e.g., raster scan) one or more silhouettes of a moving object using a light-emitting element array and a light-receiving element array that are arranged at corresponding positions across the moving object and are movable forward, backward, left, and right relative to the moving object. The light-emitting element array is an array of one or more light-emitting elements that emit a laser. The light-receiving element array is an array of one or more light-receiving elements that receive the laser.

For example, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 may position the light-emitting element array and the light-receiving element array on the left and right sides of a moving object and move them back and forth to capture a silhouette of the moving object from the left or right side, and calculate the horizontal distance between the leading and trailing ends of the silhouette to obtain the moving object's total length. Alternatively, the light-emitting element array and the light-receiving element array may be moved from front to back (or back to front) relative to the moving object at a constant speed v, and the time t1 is obtained from when the light-receiving element array changes from a light-receiving state to a non-light-receiving state (i.e., when the light-emitting element array becomes invisible to the light-receiving element array) to when the non-light-receiving state changes to a light-receiving state (i.e., when the light-emitting element array becomes visible again to the light-receiving element array), and the total length of the moving object can be obtained by multiplying the speed v by the time t1. It goes without saying that the light-emitting element array and the light-receiving element array may be fixed and the moving object may be moved.

In addition to or instead of this, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 may position the light-emitting element array and the light-receiving element array in front of or behind a moving object and displace them left and right to capture a silhouette from the front or rear of the moving object, and calculate the horizontal distance between the left and right edges of the silhouette to obtain the overall width of the moving object. Note that the overall width of the moving object can also be obtained by, for example, moving the light-emitting element array and the light-receiving element array from left to right (or right to left) relative to the moving object at a constant speed v, obtaining the time t2 from when the light-receiving state of the light-receiving element array changes from a light-receiving state to a non-light-receiving state and then changing from a non-light-receiving state to a light-receiving state, and multiplying the speed v by the time t2.

(Variant 2) Alternatively, instead of using laser irradiation, one or more two-dimensional images may be captured using a normal image sensor (e.g., a still camera, video camera, or camera built into a mobile device), and actual dimension information may be obtained by analyzing the two-dimensional images (e.g., detecting contours, obtaining angular position information, etc.); the method of acquisition is not important.

In more detail, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 may, for example, use one or more image sensors to capture an image of a moving object from one or more of the front, back, left, and right sides, and perform contour detection using one or more captured images, and acquire two or more pieces of two-dimensional angular position information (e.g., (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2), ... etc.) using information such as the size of the area surrounded by the contour in one image and the distance from the image sensor to the moving object.

However, the actual dimension information acquisition unit 132 may also acquire three-dimensional angular position information by, for example, acquiring three-dimensional position information for each pixel from two or more images of a moving object taken at different angles, using the parallax between the images. Note that acquiring three-dimensional position information using parallax is a well-known technique, and therefore will not be described here.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the mobile body evaluation device 1 receives mobile body information including one or more pieces of actual dimension information that are the actual dimensions of one or more locations of a mobile body, acquires one or more pieces of initial dimension information that are the initial dimensions of one or more locations of the mobile body, acquires one or more pieces of dimension difference information relating to the difference between the actual dimension information included in the received mobile body information and the acquired initial dimension information for each of the one or more locations of the mobile body, acquires evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the mobile body using the acquired one or more pieces of dimension difference information, and outputs the acquired evaluation information, thereby enabling accurate evaluation of a mobile body based on changes in the dimensions of the mobile body. For example, because an accident vehicle is likely to have changed dimensions, an accurate evaluation can be made that takes into account the possibility that it is an accident vehicle.

Moving body information also includes one or more pieces of actual dimension information and strength change information related to changes in the strength of the body of a moving body. The moving body evaluation device 1 uses one or more pieces of dimension difference information and strength change information to obtain evaluation information indicating an evaluation of a moving body, thereby enabling a more accurate evaluation of the moving body based on changes in the dimensions and body strength of the moving body. For example, by lowering the evaluation of a moving body whose dimensions have changed and whose body strength has decreased, while not lowering the evaluation of a moving body whose dimensions have changed but whose body strength has not decreased, an evaluation can be made that takes into account the possibility that the vehicle has been involved in an accident.

In addition, the mobile body evaluation device 1 acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information, which are the actual dimensions of one or more locations on a mobile body, and acquires mobile body information including the acquired one or more pieces of actual dimension information, thereby eliminating the need to input the actual dimension information and making evaluation easier.

In addition, the moving body evaluation device 1 acquires two or more pieces of corner position information indicating the positions of two or more corners of a moving body, and uses the two or more pieces of corner position information to acquire one or more pieces of actual dimension information that are the actual dimensions of one or more locations, thereby efficiently acquiring actual dimension information.

Furthermore, by including one or more of the body, doors, hood, and trunk lid as the one or more locations, the mobile body evaluation device 1 can obtain actual dimensional information for locations whose dimensions are likely to change due to an accident, etc.

In addition, the moving body evaluation device 1 can obtain highly accurate actual dimension information by irradiating a moving body with a laser and obtaining one or more pieces of actual dimension information.

The moving object evaluation device 1 can also obtain three-dimensional actual dimension information by acquiring one or more pieces of actual dimension information using one or more distance images taken of a moving object. In particular, by irradiating a moving object with a laser and acquiring one or more pieces of actual dimension information using one or more distance images taken of the moving object, highly accurate three-dimensional actual dimension information can be obtained.

In addition, the moving body evaluation device 1 can efficiently obtain three-dimensional actual dimension information by acquiring one or more pieces of actual dimension information using at least four distance images taken of a moving body from at least four sides: front, back, left, and right.

In addition, the mobile body evaluation device 1 acquires intensity information indicating the intensity of one or more parts of a mobile body, uses the intensity information to acquire one or more pieces of intensity change information, and then acquires mobile body information including the acquired one or more pieces of intensity change information, thereby eliminating the need to input the intensity change information and making evaluation easier.

In addition, the moving body diagram storage unit 111 stores a moving body diagram, which is a diagram relating to one moving body, and the moving body evaluation device 1 uses the acquired dimensional difference information for each of one or more locations to construct a dimension difference representation diagram, which is a diagram that allows locations where there is a difference between the initial dimensions and the actual dimensions to be recognized on the moving body diagram, and by outputting the constructed dimension difference representation diagram, it is possible to assist in intuitive recognition of locations where dimensions have changed on the moving body.

In addition, a moving body diagram is stored for each type of moving body, and the moving body evaluation device 1 uses the acquired dimensional difference information for one or more locations to construct a dimensional difference representation diagram in which locations where there is a difference between the initial dimensions and the actual dimensions can be recognized on the moving body diagram corresponding to one type of moving body, thereby supporting intuitive recognition of locations where dimensions have changed in various moving bodies.

Furthermore, the moving body evaluation device 1 can evaluate each of two or more parts of a moving body by using two or more pieces of acquired dimensional difference information to obtain evaluation information containing two or more pieces of partial evaluation information that indicate the evaluation of each part of a moving body.

Furthermore, the mobile body evaluation device 1 can evaluate a mobile body for each of two or more characteristics by using the acquired one or more pieces of dimensional difference information to acquire evaluation information having an evaluation for each of two or more characteristics, including dimensional characteristic evaluation information that indicates an evaluation related to dimensions.

Furthermore, the processing in this embodiment may be implemented by software. This software may then be distributed by software download, etc. This software may also be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed. This also applies to the other embodiments in this specification.

Note that software that realizes the information processing device in this embodiment is, for example, the following program. In other words, this program causes a computer to function as: a reception unit 12 that receives moving body information including one or more pieces of actual dimension information that are the actual dimensions of one or more locations of a single moving body; an initial dimension information acquisition unit 131 that acquires one or more pieces of initial dimension information that are the initial dimensions of one or more locations of the single moving body; a dimension difference information acquisition unit 133 that acquires, for each of the one or more locations of the single moving body, one or more pieces of dimension difference information relating to the difference between the actual dimension information included in the moving body information received by the reception unit 12 and the initial dimension information acquired by the initial dimension information acquisition unit 131; an evaluation unit 135 that acquires evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the single moving body using the one or more pieces of dimension difference information acquired by the dimension difference information acquisition unit 133; and an evaluation information output unit 141 that outputs the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation unit 135.

Figure 7 is an external view of a computer system 900 that executes a program in this embodiment to realize the mobile object evaluation device 1 or terminal device 2. This embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed on it. In Figure 7, the computer system 900 comprises a computer 901 including a disk drive 905, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, and a display 904. Note that the entire system, including the keyboard 902, mouse 903, and display 904, may also be referred to as a computer.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a computer system 900. In Figure 8, the computer 901 includes, in addition to a disk drive 905, an MPU 911, a ROM 912 for storing programs such as a boot-up program, a RAM 913 connected to the MPU 911 for temporarily storing application program instructions and providing temporary storage space, storage 914 for storing application programs, system programs, and data, a bus 915 for interconnecting the MPU 911, ROM 912, etc., and a network card 916 for connecting to networks such as an external network or an internal network. The storage 914 is, for example, a hard disk, SSD, or flash memory.

A program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the mobile object evaluation device 1 and the like may be stored on a disk 921, such as a DVD or CD-ROM, inserted into the disk drive 905, and transferred to storage 914. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to the computer 901 via a network and stored in storage 914. The program is loaded into RAM 913 when executed. The program may also be loaded directly from the disk 921 or the network. The program may also be read into the computer system 900 via another removable recording medium (e.g., a DVD or memory card) instead of the disk 921.

The program 901, which shows details of the computer, does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or third-party programs that execute functions of the mobile object evaluation device 1, etc. The program may include only instruction portions that call appropriate functions or modules in a controlled manner to achieve the desired results. How the computer system 900 operates is well known, so a detailed description will be omitted.

Note that while the computer system 900 described above is a server or a desktop PC, the mobile object evaluation device 1, etc. may also be implemented as a mobile device such as a tablet terminal, smartphone, or laptop PC. In this case, for example, the keyboard 902 and mouse 903 may be replaced with a touch panel, the disk drive 905 with a memory card slot, and the disk 921 with a memory card. However, the above is merely an example, and the hardware configuration of the computer implementing the mobile object evaluation device 1, etc. is not important.

Note that in the above program, the sending step of transmitting information and the receiving step of receiving information do not include processing performed by hardware, such as processing performed by a modem or interface card in the sending step (processing that can only be performed by hardware).

Furthermore, the computer that executes the above program may be a single computer or multiple computers. In other words, it may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

It goes without saying that in each of the above embodiments, two or more communication means (such as the terminal transmitting unit 23 and the terminal receiving unit 24) present in one device may be physically realized by a single medium.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be realized by centralized processing in a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing in multiple devices.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the moving object evaluation device of the present invention has the effect of being able to accurately evaluate a moving object based on changes in the dimensions of the moving object, and is useful as a moving object evaluation device, etc.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Moving object evaluation device 2 Terminal device 3 Range image sensor 4 Intensity sensor 11 Storage unit 12 Reception unit 13 Processing unit 14 Output unit 21 Terminal storage unit 22 Terminal reception unit 23 Terminal transmission unit 24 Terminal reception unit 25 Terminal processing unit 26 Terminal output unit 111 Moving object diagram storage unit 131 Initial dimension information acquisition unit 132 Actual dimension information acquisition unit 133 Dimension difference information acquisition unit 134 Intensity change information acquisition unit 135 Evaluation unit 136 Diagram construction unit 141 Evaluation information output unit 142 Diagram output unit

Claims (7)

a receiving unit that receives actual dimension information that is the actual dimensions of one or more locations of one moving object;
an intensity change information acquisition unit that acquires intensity information indicating an intensity of one or more portions of the one moving object and acquires one or more pieces of intensity change information using the intensity information;
an initial dimension information acquisition unit that acquires one or more pieces of initial dimension information that are initial dimensions of one or more locations of the one moving object;
a dimension difference information acquisition unit that acquires, for each of one or more locations of the one moving body, dimension difference information relating to a difference between the actual dimension information accepted by the acceptance unit and the initial dimension information acquired by the initial dimension information acquisition unit;
an evaluation unit that acquires evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the one moving object using the one or more pieces of dimension difference information acquired by the dimension difference information acquisition unit and the one or more pieces of intensity change information acquired by the intensity change information acquisition unit;
and an evaluation information output unit that outputs the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation unit. further comprising an actual dimension information acquisition unit that acquires one or more pieces of actual dimension information that are actual dimensions of one or more locations of the one moving body;
The reception unit
The moving body evaluation device according to claim 1 , wherein the actual dimension information acquisition unit acquires the one or more pieces of actual dimension information. The intensity change information acquisition unit
A moving body evaluation device as described in claim 1 or claim 2, which acquires initial intensity information for each of the one or more parts from a storage unit in which initial intensity information indicating the initial intensity of each of the one or more parts of the moving body is stored, acquires intensity information output from an intensity sensor of each of the one or more parts of the moving body, acquires a change in the actual intensity indicated by the intensity information relative to the initial intensity indicated by the initial intensity information for each of the one or more parts, and acquires the intensity change information related to the acquired change . a moving body diagram storage unit in which a moving body diagram relating to the one moving body is stored;
a diagram construction unit that constructs a dimension difference representation diagram, which is a diagram in which a location where there is a difference between an initial dimension and an actual dimension can be recognized on the moving body diagram, using the dimension difference information of one or more locations acquired by the dimension difference information acquisition unit;
2. The moving body evaluation device according to claim 1, further comprising a diagram output unit for outputting the dimension difference representation diagram constructed by said diagram construction unit. A mobile object diagram is stored for each type of mobile object.
The diagram construction unit
A moving body evaluation device as described in claim 4, which uses the dimensional difference information of one or more locations acquired by the dimensional difference information acquisition unit to create a dimensional difference expression diagram, which is a diagram that can be recognized on a moving body diagram corresponding to the type of moving body where there is a difference between the initial dimensions and the actual dimensions. A moving body evaluation method comprising all of the processes performed by the moving body evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . Computer,
A program for causing the mobile object evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 to function .