Information processing apparatus, computer-readable recording medium, and information processing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9851211-B2
Application number	US-201615175402-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 7, 2016
Priority date	Jun 12, 2015
Publication date	Dec 26, 2017
Grant date	Dec 26, 2017

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes: a travel purpose acquisition unit that acquires a travel purpose of a mobile object; a setting unit that sets multiple travel routes in different travel directions in a forward area with respect to the mobile object; a calculation unit that calculates, regarding each of the multiple travel routes, a predictive value of a travel state in which the mobile object travels along each of the multiple travel routes; a computing unit that computes, regarding each of the multiple travel routes, an evaluation value for the mobile object to realize traveling according to the travel purpose from weighting values that are predetermined according to the travel purpose and the predictive values; and a determining unit that determines, as a travel route to be followed next, a travel route with the highest evaluation represented by the evaluation value among the multiple travel routes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:
circuitry configured to
acquire a travel purpose of a mobile object,
set multiple travel routes in different travel directions in a forward area with respect to the mobile object,
calculate, regarding each of the multiple travel routes, a predictive value of a travel state in which the mobile object travels along each of the multiple travel routes,
compute, regarding each of the multiple travel routes, an evaluation value for the mobile object to realize traveling according to the travel purpose from weighting values that are predetermined according to the travel purpose and the predictive values, and
determine, as a travel route to be followed next, a travel route with a highest evaluation represented by the evaluation value among the multiple travel routes.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to compute the evaluation value from products each between the weighting value according to the travel purpose and the predictive value.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the travel state is determined by multiple variable factors that vary depending on the traveling of the mobile object, and
the circuitry is further configured to
calculate predictive values of the respective multiple variable factors as the predictive value of the travel state, and
compute the evaluation value for each of the multiple travel routes from the weighting values that are predetermined for the respective variable factors according to the travel purpose and their corresponding predictive values.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the weighting value increases according to an increase in effect of the variable factor on traveling for achieving the corresponding travel purpose.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to
acquire a current moving speed of the mobile object,
compute, for each of the variable factors, a product of the weighting value that is predetermined for each of the variable factors according to the travel purpose and its corresponding predictive value, and
compute, as the evaluation value for the corresponding travel route, a product of a sum of the products computed for the respective variable factors and a speed coefficient of the moving speed.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the variable factors include at least any one of attitude of the mobile object, degree of swing of the mobile object, sinking of the mobile object, and color of ground of the forward area.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to set the multiple travel routes representing routes following the respective multiple travel directions in which the mobile object is mobile.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to
acquire geographic information representing a geography of the forward area, and
calculate the predictive values of the travel states in which the mobile object travels along each of the multiple travel routes at a current moving speed on the geography represented by the geographic information.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein worse the travel state is, larger the calculated predictive value is.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that contains an information processing program for causing a computer to execute a method comprising:
acquiring a travel purpose of a mobile object;
setting multiple travel routes in different travel directions in a forward area with respect to the mobile object;
calculating, regarding each of the multiple travel routes, a predictive value of a travel state in which the mobile object travels along each of the multiple travel routes;
computing, regarding each of the multiple travel routes, an evaluation value for the mobile object to realize traveling according to the travel purpose from weighting values that are predetermined according to the travel purpose and the predictive values; and
determining, as a travel route to be followed next, a travel route with a highest evaluation represented by the evaluation value among the multiple travel routes.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 10 , wherein the computing includes computing the evaluation value from products each between the weighting value according to the travel purpose and the predictive value.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 10 , wherein
the travel state is determined by multiple variable factors that vary depending on the traveling of the mobile object,
the calculating includes calculating predictive values of the respective multiple variable factors as the predictive value of the travel state, and
the computing includes computing the evaluation value for each of the multiple travel routes from the weighting values that are predetermined for the respective variable factors according to the travel purpose and their corresponding predictive values.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12 , wherein the weighting value increases according to an increase in effect of the variable factor on traveling for achieving the corresponding travel purpose.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12 , wherein
the method further comprises acquiring a current moving speed of the mobile object,
the computing includes computing, for each of the variable factors, a product of the weighting value that is predetermined for each of the variable factors according to the travel purpose and its corresponding predictive value and computing, as the evaluation value for the corresponding travel route, a product of a sum of the products computed for the respective variable factors and a speed coefficient of the moving speed.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12 , wherein the variable factors include at least any one of attitude of the mobile object, degree of swing of the mobile object, sinking of the mobile object, and color of ground of the forward area.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 10 , wherein the setting includes setting the multiple travel routes representing routes following the respective multiple travel directions in which the mobile object is mobile.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 10 , wherein
the method further comprises acquiring geographic information representing a geography of the forward area,
the calculating includes calculating the predictive values of the travel states in which the mobile object travels along each of the multiple travel routes at a current moving speed on the geography represented by the geographic information.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17 , wherein worse the travel state is, larger the predictive value calculated at the calculating is.

19. An information processing system comprising:
an information processing apparatus;
a sensor connected to the information processing apparatus; and
a drive motor that is connected to the information processing apparatus and drives a mobile mechanism that cause

Assignees

• Hatanaka Wataru
• Inaba Daiki
• Shimura Hiroshi
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hatanaka Wataru
• Inaba Daiki
• Shimura Hiroshi

Classifications

• G01C21/34 Primary

  Route searching; Route guidance · CPC title

• G05D2201/0209

  Physics · mapped topic

• G05D1/0217

  in accordance with energy consumption, time reduction or distance reduction criteria · CPC title