JP7773443B2 - Severe weather video providing system, management device, and severe weather video providing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to technology for providing video footage of severe weather conditions such as torrential rain, heavy snow, and typhoons.

Conventionally, systems have been known in which an onboard device installed in a vehicle acquires and displays camera images from other locations.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a distribution system in which an in-vehicle device sets a localized area of heavy rain, such as a sudden downpour, as a point of interest, selects in-vehicle cameras mounted on other vehicles that are scheduled to pass through the point of interest, or fixed cameras that can capture the point of interest, as candidate cameras, and acquires and displays camera images from the candidate cameras.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-56191

The distribution system described in Patent Document 1, for example, can display camera footage of currently occurring severe weather along the route to the destination, but cannot display footage of severe weather that may occur in the future along the route to the destination. This is also true for other conventional systems.

In one aspect, the present invention aims to provide occupants with images of severe weather that may occur in the future along the vehicle's route to its destination.

A severe weather video provision system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a management device, an imaging device, and an on-board device mounted on a vehicle. The management device includes a memory unit, a severe weather information acquisition unit, an identification unit, a request unit, a management-side severe weather video data acquisition unit, a memory control unit, a route information acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a management-side provision unit. The severe weather information acquisition unit acquires severe weather information including information regarding the current severe weather occurrence area and a predicted future movement of the severe weather. The identification unit identifies imaging devices present in the occurrence area. The request unit requests severe weather video data from the imaging devices identified by the identification unit. The management-side severe weather video data acquisition unit acquires the severe weather video data from the imaging devices identified by the identification unit. The memory control unit associates the severe weather video data with the severe weather information and stores it in the memory unit. The route information acquisition unit acquires route information including information regarding the route to the vehicle's destination. The determination unit determines whether a future position on the vehicle's route is included in the area where severe weather will occur in the future. If the determination unit determines that the data is included, the management-side providing unit provides the inclement weather video data to the invehicle-mounted device. The imaging device includes a request acquisition unit, an imaging unit, and an imaging-side providing unit. The imaging unit captures images of inclement weather conditions and generates inclement weather video data. The request acquisition unit acquires a request for inclement weather video data from the management device. If the request acquisition unit acquires the request, the imaging-side providing unit provides the inclement weather video data generated by the imaging unit to the management device. The invehicle-mounted device includes a display unit, an invehicle-side inclement weather video data acquisition unit, and a display control unit. The invehicle-side inclement weather video data acquisition unit acquires the inclement weather video data from the management device. The display control unit displays inclement weather video represented by the inclement weather video data as video of inclement weather that may occur in the future along the route, along with a map showing the route, on the display unit.

A management device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a memory unit, a severe weather information acquisition unit, an identification unit, a request unit, a severe weather video data acquisition unit, a memory control unit, a route information acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a provision unit. The severe weather information acquisition unit acquires severe weather information, including information regarding the current severe weather occurrence area and the predicted future movement of the severe weather. The identification unit identifies imaging devices present in the occurrence area. The request unit requests severe weather video data from the imaging devices identified by the identification unit. The severe weather video data acquisition unit acquires the severe weather video data from the imaging devices identified by the identification unit. The memory control unit associates the severe weather video data with the severe weather information and stores it in the memory unit. The route information acquisition unit acquires route information, including information regarding the route to the vehicle's destination. The determination unit determines whether a future position on the vehicle's route is included in the area where severe weather will occur in the future. If the determination unit determines that the location is included, the provision unit provides the severe weather video data to an on-board device installed in the vehicle.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for providing severe weather information involves a computer executing a process in which it acquires severe weather information including information regarding the current severe weather occurrence area and the predicted future movement of the severe weather, identifies an imaging device present in the occurrence area, requests severe weather video data from the identified imaging device, acquires the severe weather video data from the identified imaging device, associates the severe weather video data with the severe weather information and stores it in a memory unit, acquires route information including information regarding the route to the vehicle's destination, determines whether a future position on the vehicle's route is included in the future severe weather occurrence area, and if it is determined that the position is included, provides the severe weather video data to an on-board device installed in the vehicle.

It can provide occupants with images of potential future severe weather along the vehicle's route to its destination.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a stormy weather video providing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of an imaging device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an in-vehicle device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed in a management device. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed in a management device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a display unit. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a display screen of the display unit.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the severe weather video provision system 1.

The severe weather video provision system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a management device 10, an imaging device 20, and an in-vehicle device 40 mounted on a vehicle 30. The management device 10, the imaging device 20, and the in-vehicle device 40 are connected to a communications network 50; for example, the management device 10 and the imaging device 20, or the management device 10 and the in-vehicle device 40, can communicate via the communications network 50. A weather server 60 and a map server 70 are also connected to the communications network 50; for example, the management device 10 and the weather server 60, or the in-vehicle device 40 and the map server 70 can communicate via the communications network 50.

For example, when the management device 10 obtains severe weather information from the weather server 60, including information about the current severe weather area and the predicted future movement of that severe weather, it identifies the imaging device 20 located in the current severe weather area, requests severe weather video data from that imaging device 20, and obtains the severe weather video data from that imaging device 20. Furthermore, when the management device 10 obtains route information, including information about the route to the vehicle's 30 destination, from an on-board device 40 installed in the vehicle 30, it determines whether the vehicle's 30 future location on the route is included in the future severe weather area, and if it determines that the location is included, provides the severe weather video data to the on-board device 40 installed in the vehicle 30. The management device 10 is, for example, a computer such as a server.

For example, when the imaging device 20 receives a request for severe weather video data from the management device 10, it captures images of the severe weather conditions (e.g., severe weather condition 21) to generate severe weather video data and provides the generated severe weather video data to the management device 10. The imaging device 20 is, for example, a fixed camera such as a surveillance camera, a camera mounted on the vehicle 30 (e.g., a drive recorder), or a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet with a camera. Note that an in-vehicle device 40 equipped with a camera may also operate as the imaging device 20.

The in-vehicle device 40 searches for a route to the destination of the vehicle 30 based on, for example, map data acquired from the map server 70 and the current position of the in-vehicle device 40 (vehicle 30), and provides route guidance (navigation) to the destination. The destination is input, for example, by an occupant of the vehicle 30. The in-vehicle device 40 also transmits route information, including information about the searched route, to the management device 10. Furthermore, when the in-vehicle device 40 acquires severe weather video data from the management device 10, it displays a map (not shown) showing the route to the destination of the vehicle 30, along with severe weather video (e.g., severe weather video 41) represented by the severe weather video data as video of severe weather that may occur in the future along that route. This display may also include related messages (e.g., message 42), etc.

The weather server 60 provides severe weather information to the management device 10, etc., including information on the current area where severe weather is occurring and the predicted future movement of that severe weather. This provision is performed, for example, periodically.

The map server 70 provides map data to the in-vehicle device 40, etc. This provision is performed, for example, every time the map data is updated.

Such a severe weather video provision system 1 can provide the occupants of the vehicle 30 with video of severe weather that may occur in the future along the route to the destination. The severe weather video provision system 1 will be described in more detail below.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the management device 10.

The management device 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a control unit 101, a memory unit 102, and a communication unit 103.

The control unit 101 controls each part of the management device 10.

The control unit 101 also includes a severe weather information acquisition unit 111, an identification unit 112, a request unit 113, a severe weather video data acquisition unit (management-side severe weather video data acquisition unit) 114, a memory control unit 115, a route information acquisition unit 116, a determination unit 117, and a provision unit (management-side provision unit) 118.

The storm information acquisition unit 111 acquires storm information from the weather server 60 via the communication unit 103. The storm information includes information about the current storm occurrence area and the predicted future movement of that storm, and may further include information about the type and state of the storm. Information about the current storm occurrence area indicates, for example, an area (occurrence area) where the storm level (precipitation, snowfall, etc.) is above a predetermined threshold. Alternatively, information about the current storm occurrence area may indicate areas (occurrence areas) by storm level, such as an area where precipitation is above a first threshold, an area where precipitation is above a second threshold, etc. Information about the predicted future movement of stormy weather indicates, for example, the predicted movement location of the currently occurring storm at each future time. The predicted movement location is, for example, the location predicted to be the location where the storm level will be at its highest (the center of the area where the storm level will be at its highest).

The identification unit 112 identifies imaging devices 20 that are present in the current severe weather area indicated by the severe weather information acquired by the severe weather information acquisition unit 111. This identification is performed, for example, based on imaging device information stored in the storage unit 102. The imaging device information includes current location information for each imaging device 20. The current location information for each imaging device 20 includes the imaging device 20's identifier and information about the current location. Note that in the imaging device information, the current location information for imaging devices 20 whose locations may change (e.g., mobile terminals, cameras mounted on vehicles 30, and in-vehicle devices 40 operating as imaging devices 20) is updated each time based on current location information periodically transmitted from the imaging devices 20 to the management device 10. Furthermore, the current location information for imaging devices 20 whose locations may not change (e.g., fixed cameras) is registered in the imaging device information, for example, when the imaging device 20 is installed. Such updating and registration may be performed by the control unit 101.

The request unit 113 requests severe weather video data from the imaging device 20 identified by the identification unit 112 via the communication unit 103.

The severe weather video data acquisition unit 114 acquires severe weather video data from the imaging device 20 identified by the identification unit 112 via the communication unit 103.

The storage control unit 115 stores the severe weather video data acquired by the severe weather video data acquisition unit 114 in the storage unit 102 in association with the severe weather information acquired by the severe weather information acquisition unit 111. Note that if multiple imaging devices 20 are identified by the identification unit 112 and multiple pieces of severe weather video data are acquired by the severe weather video data acquisition unit 114, the multiple pieces of severe weather video data may be stored in the storage unit 102 in association with the severe weather information.

The route information acquisition unit 116 acquires route information, including information about the route to the destination of the vehicle 30, from the on-board device 40 installed in the vehicle 30 via the communication unit 103. The route information may also include information about the predicted time of passing each point on the route to the destination of the vehicle 30 and the predicted time of arrival at the destination.

The determination unit 117 determines whether the future position of the vehicle 30 on the route indicated by the route information acquired by the route information acquisition unit 116 is included in an area where severe weather will occur in the future. Here, the area where severe weather will occur in the future is based on information regarding future movement predictions included in the severe weather information stored in the memory unit 102, and may be, for example, an area within a circle with a radius of a predetermined distance (e.g., 10 km) centered on the predicted severe weather movement point indicated by the information regarding the movement prediction. In this case, the predetermined distance may be determined, for example, taking into account errors that may occur between the predicted severe weather movement point and the actual movement point.

If the determination unit 117 determines that the severe weather information is included, the provision unit 118 provides, via the communication unit 103, the severe weather video data stored in the memory unit 102 in association with the severe weather information used at the time of the determination to the in-vehicle device 40 that transmitted the route information acquired by the route information acquisition unit 116. When providing the severe weather video data, the provision unit 118 may also attach additional information to the severe weather video data, including the earliest time when the future position of the vehicle 30 on the route is predicted to be included in the future severe weather occurrence area, the position of the vehicle 30 at that time, and information about the type of severe weather at that time. The additional information may also include a portion of the severe weather information. Such additional information may be generated by the control unit 101 based on the route information and severe weather information. Furthermore, if there are multiple pieces of severe weather video data stored in the memory unit 102 in association with the severe weather information, the provision unit 118 may provide the multiple pieces of severe weather video data to the in-vehicle device 40.

The control unit 101 may further include an analysis unit 119 that analyzes the severe weather video data acquired by the severe weather video data acquisition unit 114. In this case, if the analysis unit 119 determines that the severe weather video represented by the severe weather video data is inappropriate for video representing severe weather, the severe weather video data may not be provided to the in-vehicle device 40. Specifically, the memory control unit 115 may associate severe weather video data analyzed as inappropriate with severe weather information and prevent it from being stored in the memory unit 102. Note that severe weather video analyzed as inappropriate by the analysis unit 119 is severe weather video that cannot be visually confirmed as severe weather, such as severe weather video represented by severe weather video data captured by a camera (imaging device 20) mounted on a vehicle 30 traveling through a tunnel or severe weather video represented by a mobile terminal (imaging device 20) stored in a bag.

The memory unit 102 stores imaging device information, severe weather video data and severe weather information associated by the memory control unit 115, etc. The memory unit 102 may also store route information acquired by the route information acquisition unit 116.

The communication unit 103 communicates with external devices (e.g., the imaging device 20, the in-vehicle device 40, and the weather server 60) via the communication network 50.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the imaging device 20.

The imaging device 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a control unit 201, an imaging unit 202, a current position detection unit 203, a storage unit 204, and a communication unit 205. Note that an imaging device 20 whose position does not change (e.g., a fixed camera) may not include the current position detection unit 203.

The control unit 201 controls each part of the imaging device 20.

In addition, the control unit 201 periodically transmits current location information, including the identifier of the imaging device 20 and information about the current location (current location of the imaging device 20) detected by the current location detection unit 203, to the management device 10 via the communication unit 205.

The control unit 201 also includes a request acquisition unit 211 and a provision unit (imaging side provision unit) 212.

The request acquisition unit 211 acquires a request for severe weather video data from the management device 10 via the communication unit 205.

When a request for severe weather video data is acquired by the request acquisition unit 211 via the communication unit 205, the provision unit 212 provides the severe weather video data generated by the imaging unit 202 to the management device 10.

The imaging unit 202 captures images of stormy weather conditions and generates stormy weather video data.

The current position detection unit 203 detects the current position (the current position of the imaging device 20).

The storage unit 204 stores stormy weather video data generated by the imaging unit 202, information about the current position detected by the current position detection unit 203 (current position data), etc.

The communication unit 205 communicates with an external device (for example, the management device 10) via the communication network 50.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the in-vehicle device 40. As shown in FIG.

The in-vehicle device 40 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a control unit 401, an imaging unit 402, a current position detection unit 403, a display unit 404, a memory unit 405, and a communication unit 406.

The control unit 401 controls each part of the in-vehicle device 40.

The control unit 401 also searches for a route to the destination of the vehicle 30 based on map data acquired from the map server 70 via the communication unit 406 and the current position (current position of the in-vehicle device 40 (vehicle 30)) detected by the current position detection unit 403, and provides route guidance to the destination. The destination at this time is input, for example, by the occupant. The control unit 401 also transmits route information including information about the searched route to the management device 10 via the communication unit 406. The route information at this time may include an identifier for the in-vehicle device 40.

The control unit 401 also includes a severe weather video data acquisition unit (vehicle-mounted severe weather video data acquisition unit) 411 and a display control unit 412.

The severe weather video data acquisition unit 411 acquires severe weather video data from the management device 10 via the communication unit 406.

The display control unit 412 causes the display unit 404 to display, together with a map showing the route to the destination of the vehicle 30, severe weather video represented by the severe weather video data acquisition unit 411 as video of severe weather that may occur in the future along that route. In this display, the display unit 404 may also display related messages, etc., based on additional information attached to the severe weather video data. Furthermore, if multiple pieces of severe weather video data are acquired by the severe weather video data acquisition unit 411, the severe weather video represented by each piece of severe weather video data may be displayed in sequence on the display unit 404.

The imaging unit 402, for example, captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 30 in which the in-vehicle device 40 is installed, and generates video data.

The current position detection unit 403 detects the current position (the current position of the in-vehicle device 40 (vehicle 30)).

The display unit 404 displays, for example, a map showing the route to the destination, as well as severe weather images represented by the severe weather image data as images of severe weather that may occur in the future along that route.

The memory unit 405 stores map data obtained from the map server 70, video data generated by the imaging unit 402, information about the current position detected by the current position detection unit 403, etc.

The communication unit 406 communicates with external devices (e.g., the management device 10, the map server 70) via the communication network 50.

The management device 10, imaging device 20, and in-vehicle device 40 may be realized by a computer 80 having the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 5.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of computer 80.

The computer 80 illustrated in FIG. 5 includes a processor 801, memory 802, storage device 803, reading device 804, communication interface 806, and input/output interface 807, which are connected via a data bus 808 to enable data transmission and reception between them.

The processor 801 may be, for example, a single processor, or a multi-processor or multi-core. The processor 801 uses the memory 802 to execute a program (for example, a program describing the processing procedures described below) to function as the control unit 101 of the management device 10, the control unit 201 of the imaging device 20, or the control unit 401 of the in-vehicle device 40.

The processor 801 may be connected to a camera 811 and a GPS device 812. The camera 811 includes an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS. The GPS device 812 includes a sensor that detects the current position. When the imaging device 20 is realized by the computer 80, the camera 811 and the GPS device 812 may provide the functions of the imaging unit 202 and the current position detection unit 203. When the in-vehicle device 40 is realized by the computer 80, the camera 811 and the GPS device 812 may provide the functions of the imaging unit 402 and the current position detection unit 403. Note that GPS is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System. CCD is an abbreviation for Charge Coupled Device. CMOS is an abbreviation for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor.

Memory 802 is, for example, semiconductor memory and includes a RAM area and a ROM area. Note that RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory. ROM is an abbreviation for Read Only Memory.

The storage device 803 is, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a hard disk or flash memory, or an external storage device. When the management device 10 is implemented using the computer 80, the storage device 803 may provide the functions of the storage unit 102. When the imaging device 20 is implemented using the computer 80, the storage device 803 may provide the functions of the storage unit 204. When the in-vehicle device 40 is implemented using the computer 80, the storage device 803 may provide the functions of the storage unit 405.

The reading device 804 accesses the removable storage medium 805 in accordance with instructions from the processor 801. The removable storage medium 805 may be realized, for example, as a semiconductor device (such as a USB memory), a medium that inputs and outputs information magnetically (such as a magnetic disk), or a medium that inputs and outputs information optically (such as a CD-ROM or DVD). Note that USB is an abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. CD is an abbreviation for Compact Disc. DVD is an abbreviation for Digital Versatile Disk.

The communication interface 806 communicates via various communication networks (e.g., communication network 50) in accordance with instructions from the processor 801. When the management device 10 is implemented using the computer 80, the communication interface 806 may provide the functions of the communication unit 103. When the imaging device 20 is implemented using the computer 80, the communication interface 806 may provide the functions of the communication unit 205. When the in-vehicle device 40 is implemented using the computer 80, the communication interface 806 may provide the functions of the communication unit 406.

The input/output interface 807 provides an interface with the input device 813 and output device 814. The input device 813 is a keyboard, mouse device, button switch, touch panel, etc. The output device 815 is a display device, audio output device, etc. When the in-vehicle device 40 is realized by the computer 80, the output device 814 provides the functions of the display unit 404, and the input device 813 may be used by the occupant to input a destination, etc.

The program executed by the processor 801 of the computer 80 is provided, for example, in the following form.
(1) It is pre-installed in the storage device 803.
(2) Provided by a removable storage medium 805.
(3) Provided from a program server via a communication network 50.

Note that the hardware configuration of computer 80 is an example, and embodiments are not limited to this. For example, part of the configuration may be deleted, or new components may be added. Also, for example, some or all of the functions of the above-mentioned functional configuration may be implemented as hardware using FPGA, SoC, ASIC, PLD, etc. Note that FPGA is an abbreviation for Field Programmable Gate Array. SoC is an abbreviation for System-on-a-chip. ASIC is an abbreviation for Application Specific Integrated Circuit. PLD is an abbreviation for Programmable Logic Device.

Next, we will explain the processing performed in the storm weather video provision system 1, focusing on the processing performed by the management device 10.

Figures 6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating processing executed by the management device 10. Note that the processing illustrated in Figure 6 is, for example, processing performed each time severe weather information is provided to the management device 10 from the weather server 60, and the processing illustrated in Figure 7 is, for example, processing performed each time route information is sent from the in-vehicle device 40 to the management device 10.

In the process illustrated in FIG. 6, first, in S101, the control unit 101 (storm information acquisition unit 111) of the management device 10 acquires storm information from the weather server 60.

Next, in S102, the control unit 101 (identification unit 112) identifies the imaging devices 20 that are present in the current severe weather area indicated by the severe weather information acquired in S101. This identification is performed, for example, based on the imaging device information stored in the memory unit 102, as described above.

Next, in S103, the control unit 101 (request unit 113) requests severe weather video data from the imaging device 20 identified in S102.

When the imaging device 20 receives the request for stormy weather video data in the processing of S103, it captures images of the stormy weather conditions, generates stormy weather video data, and provides the generated stormy weather video data to the management device 10.

After S103, in S104, the control unit 101 (stormy weather video data acquisition unit 114) acquires stormy weather video data from the imaging device 20 identified in S102.

Next, in S105, the control unit 101 (storage control unit 115) stores the severe weather video data acquired in S104 in the storage unit 102 in association with the severe weather information acquired in S101. Note that if multiple imaging devices are identified in S102 and multiple pieces of severe weather video data are acquired in S104, the multiple pieces of severe weather video data may be stored in the storage unit 102 in association with the severe weather information.

When S105 ends, the processing illustrated in Figure 6 ends.

In the process illustrated in FIG. 7, first, in S201, the control unit 101 (route information acquisition unit 116) of the management device 10 acquires route information from the in-vehicle device 40.

Next, in S202, the control unit 101 (determination unit 117) determines whether the future position of the vehicle 30 on the route indicated by the route information acquired in S201 is included in the area where severe weather will occur in the future. Here, the area where severe weather will occur in the future is based on information regarding future movement predictions included in the severe weather information stored in the memory unit 102, and may be, for example, an area within a circle with a radius of a predetermined distance (e.g., 10 km) centered on the predicted movement point of severe weather indicated by the information regarding movement predictions.

If the determination result in S202 is YES, in S203, the control unit 101 (providing unit 118) provides the inclement weather video data stored in the memory unit 102 in association with the inclement weather information used when the determination in S202 was YES to the invehicle-mounted device 40 that transmitted the route information acquired in S201. When providing this data, the above-mentioned additional information may be provided to the inclement weather video data. Furthermore, if there are multiple pieces of inclement weather video data stored in the memory unit 102 in association with the inclement weather information, multiple pieces of inclement weather video data may be provided to the invehicle-mounted device 40.

When S203 ends, or if the determination result in S202 is NO, the processing illustrated in Figure 7 ends.

When the in-vehicle device 40 receives the severe weather video data provided by the processing of S203, it displays the severe weather video represented by the severe weather video data on the display unit 404 as video of severe weather that may occur in the future along a map showing the route to the destination of the vehicle 30 on which the in-vehicle device 40 is installed. During this display, related messages, etc. may also be displayed on the display unit 404 based on additional information attached to the severe weather video data. Furthermore, if multiple pieces of severe weather video data are acquired, the severe weather video represented by each piece of severe weather video data may be displayed in order on the display unit 404.

Examples of the display screen displayed on the display unit 404 at this time are explained using Figures 8 and 9.

Figure 8 shows an example of a display screen of the display unit 404. Figure 9 shows another example of a display screen of the display unit 404.

8 shows a map 902 indicating a route 901 to the destination of the vehicle 30, along with severe weather video 903 represented by severe weather video data as video of severe weather that may occur in the future on the route 901. The display screen 90 also displays a related message 904, a severe weather icon 905, a current location icon 906, and the like. The related message 904 and severe weather icon 905 may be displayed based on the aforementioned additional information attached to the severe weather video data. The severe weather icon 905 is an icon indicating a position on the route 901 where the vehicle 30 is likely to encounter severe weather in the future. The shape of the severe weather icon 905 may change depending on the type of severe weather (heavy rain, heavy snow, etc.). The current location icon 906 is an icon indicating the current location of the vehicle 30.

In addition, this type of display screen 90 also displays severe weather images 903, related messages 904, severe weather icons 905, etc. superimposed on the display screen during route guidance.

Display screen 91, shown in FIG. 9 as another example of a display screen, displays a map 912 showing a route 911 to the destination of vehicle 30, along with severe weather video 913 represented by severe weather video data as video of severe weather that may occur in the future on route 911. Display screen 91 also displays a current severe weather occurrence area 914, a predicted travel route 915 for that severe weather, a future severe weather occurrence area (future severe weather occurrence area) 916, a current location icon 918, and the like. Here, current severe weather occurrence area 914, predicted travel route 915 for that severe weather, and future severe weather occurrence area 916 may be displayed based on the above-mentioned additional information attached to the severe weather video data. Current severe weather occurrence area 914 may be, for example, an area where precipitation is above a first threshold, an area where precipitation is above a second threshold, and the like, which indicates areas with different severe weather levels, distinguishable by color or the like. The future severe weather occurrence area 916 indicates an area on the route 911 where the vehicle 30 is likely to encounter severe weather in the future. The future severe weather occurrence area 916 may be a circular range with a radius of a predetermined distance (e.g., 10 km) centered on the predicted movement point 917 of the severe weather. The current location icon 918 is an icon that indicates the current location of the vehicle 30.

In addition, such a display screen 91 also displays, superimposed on the display screen during route guidance, a severe weather image 913, a current area where severe weather is occurring 914, a predicted route for that severe weather 915, a future area where severe weather will occur 916, a predicted location for that severe weather 917, etc.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the display unit 404 of the in-vehicle device 40 installed in the vehicle 30 displays a display screen such as that shown in the example display screens of Figures 8 and 9, making it possible to provide the occupants of the vehicle 30 with images of severe weather that may occur in the future on the route to the destination of the vehicle 30. This allows the occupants to take evasive action to avoid severe weather, such as stopping the vehicle 30 in a safe place before encountering severe weather.

In this embodiment, the on-board device 40 searches for a route to the destination of the vehicle 30. However, this search may also be performed by another device connected to the communication network 50 (e.g., the management device 10, the map server 70, or another server not shown). In this case, the on-board device 40 may transmit information regarding the identifier of the on-board device 40, the destination of the vehicle 30, and the current location of the vehicle 30 to the other device. The other device may then search for a route to the destination based on the information regarding the destination and current location of the vehicle 30 and map data, and transmit information regarding the searched route to the on-board device 40. Furthermore, if the other device is a device other than the management device 10, the other device may transmit route information to the management device 10. In this case, the route information may include, in addition to information regarding the searched route, the identifier of the on-board device 40 transmitted from the on-board device 40 so that the management device 10 can identify the on-board device 40.

Note that the embodiments described above also include the following programs and recording media on which these programs are recorded.

obtaining storm information including information regarding the current area of storm occurrence and the predicted future movement of said storm;
Identifying an imaging device present in the occurrence area;
a request for severe weather video data is made to the identified imaging device;
Acquire the stormy weather image data from the identified imaging device;
storing the stormy weather image data in a storage unit in association with the stormy weather information;
obtaining route information including information regarding a route to a destination of the vehicle;
determining whether a future location of the vehicle on the route is within the future occurrence area of the severe weather;
If it is determined that the severe weather image data is included, the program causes a computer to execute a process of providing the severe weather image data to an in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle.

The above describes an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Severe weather video provision system 10 Management device 20 Imaging device 21 Severe weather conditions 30 Vehicle 40 In-vehicle device 41 Severe weather video 42 Message 50 Communication network 60 Weather server 70 Map server 80 Computer 90, 91 Display screen 101 Control unit 102 Memory unit 103 Communication unit 111 Severe weather information acquisition unit 112 Identification unit 113 Request unit 114 Severe weather video data acquisition unit 115 Memory control unit 116 Route information acquisition unit 117 Determination unit 118 Provision unit 119 Analysis unit 201 Control unit 202 Imaging unit 203 Current position detection unit 204 Memory unit 205 Communication unit 211 Request acquisition unit 212 Provision unit 401 Control unit 402 Imaging unit 403 Current position detection unit 404 Display unit 405 Storage unit 406 Communication unit 411 Severe weather video data acquisition unit 412 Display control unit 801 Processor 802 Memory 803 Storage device 804 Reading device 805 Removable storage medium 806 Communication interface 807 Input/output interface 808 Data bus 811 Camera 812 GPS device 813 Input device 814 Output device

Claims (5)

A severe weather video providing system including a management device, an imaging device, and an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle,
The management device
A memory unit;
a storm information acquisition unit that acquires storm information including information about a current storm occurrence area and a future movement prediction of the storm;
an identification unit that identifies the imaging device present in the occurrence area;
a request unit that requests stormy weather video data from the imaging device identified by the identification unit;
a management-side stormy weather image data acquisition unit that acquires the stormy weather image data from the imaging device identified by the identification unit;
a storage control unit that stores the stormy weather image data in the storage unit in association with the stormy weather information;
a route information acquisition unit that acquires route information including information about a route to a destination of the vehicle;
a determination unit that determines whether a future position of the vehicle on the route is included in the future occurrence area of severe weather;
a management-side providing unit that provides the in-vehicle device with the stormy weather image data when the determining unit determines that the stormy weather image data is included;
The imaging device is
an imaging unit that captures the stormy weather conditions and generates the stormy weather video data;
a request acquisition unit that acquires a request for the stormy weather video data from the management device;
an imaging side providing unit that provides the stormy weather video data generated by the imaging unit to the management device when the request obtaining unit obtains the request,
The in-vehicle device
A display unit;
an in-vehicle stormy weather image data acquisition unit that acquires the stormy weather image data from the management device;
a display control unit that causes the display unit to display, together with a map showing the route, severe weather images represented by the severe weather image data as images of severe weather that may occur in the future on the route. The severe weather image providing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the area of future occurrence of severe weather is an area within a circle having a radius of a predetermined distance centered on the predicted point of movement of the severe weather based on information regarding the future movement prediction of the severe weather. The management device
an analysis unit that analyzes the storm video data,
The severe weather image providing system of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that if the analysis unit analyzes that the severe weather image represented by the severe weather image data is inappropriate as an image representing severe weather, the severe weather image data is not provided to the vehicle-mounted device. A memory unit;
a storm information acquisition unit that acquires storm information including information about a current storm occurrence area and a future movement prediction of the storm;
an identification unit that identifies an imaging device present in the occurrence area;
a request unit that requests stormy weather video data from the imaging device identified by the identification unit;
a stormy weather image data acquisition unit that acquires the stormy weather image data from the imaging device identified by the identification unit;
a storage control unit that stores the stormy weather image data in the storage unit in association with the stormy weather information;
a route information acquisition unit that acquires route information including information about a route to a destination of the vehicle;
a determination unit that determines whether a future position of the vehicle on the route is included in the future occurrence area of severe weather;
a providing unit that provides the severe weather image data to an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle when the determining unit determines that the severe weather image data is included. obtaining storm information including information regarding the current area of storm occurrence and the predicted future movement of said storm;
Identifying an imaging device present in the occurrence area;
a request for severe weather video data is made to the identified imaging device;
Acquire the stormy weather image data from the identified imaging device;
storing the stormy weather image data in a storage unit in association with the stormy weather information;
obtaining route information including information regarding a route to a destination of the vehicle;
determining whether a future location of the vehicle on the route is within the future occurrence area of the severe weather;
and providing the severe weather image data to an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle when it is determined that the severe weather image data is included.