Patent Publication Number: US-2023142642-A1

Title: Vehicle control system, apparatus, and method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system, an apparatus, a method, and a computer readable medium. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     In recent years, technologies for autonomous vehicles have been attracting attention. Autonomous driving is classified into a plurality of levels, i.e., into five levels from a level 1 at which a vehicle assists the driver in driving the vehicle to a level 5 at which the vehicle travels in a completely autonomous manner. When a vehicle travels in a completely autonomous manner, no driver needs to be in the vehicle. However, if autonomous driving becomes impossible in the state where no driver is in the vehicle, the vehicle may remain at a standstill and be unable to move. It is thus considered that when, in particular, an autonomous vehicle is made to travel without any driver, remote monitoring of the vehicle is important. 
     As a related art, Patent Literature 1 discloses an apparatus for remote monitoring and remote control of an autonomously traveling vehicle. In Patent Literature 1, each vehicle capable of autonomous traveling is assigned to a vehicle manager. The vehicle manager is used for remote monitoring and remote control of the vehicle. The vehicle is automatically assigned to a vehicle manager assignment queue by using, for example, a machine learning technology. Patent Literature 1 discloses that a load distribution is performed among vehicle managers. 
     In Patent Literature 1, a system receives status data from a plurality of vehicles. The vehicle manager determines whether or not the status data of a vehicle indicates that the vehicle is autonomously operating in a state in which a parameter is outside a defined parameter value range. When it is determined that the status data of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is autonomously operating in the state in which the parameter is outside the defined parameter value range, the vehicle manager transmits specific instruction data to the vehicle. 
     As another related art, Patent Literature 2 discloses a system for remotely monitoring a mobile object such as an autonomous bus. In Patent Literature 2, a plurality of observers remotely monitor a plurality of autonomous buses. In Patent Literature 2, for example, one observer A remotely monitors three autonomous buses, and another supervisor B remotely monitors two autonomous buses. 
     When a predetermined event indicating a possibility of a failure has occurred in a bus, an observer transmits information indicating that the predetermined event has occurred to a determination apparatus by using a terminal apparatus. The determination apparatus determines that the bus satisfies a predetermined condition(s) based on the information indicating that the predetermined event has occurred in the bus, acquired from the terminal apparatus. The determination apparatus determines a monitoring mode for the plurality of buses when the bus satisfies the predetermined condition(s). For example, when the predetermined event has occurred in one of the buses monitored by the observer A, the determination apparatus changes the observer who monitors the remaining two buses, which has been monitored by the observer A, to the observer B. 
     Citation List 
     Patent Literature 
     
         
         Patent Literature 1: Published Japanese Translation of PCT International Publication for Patent Application, No. 2019-537155 
         Patent Literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-206222 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
      Patent Literature 1 discloses that a remote support apparatus receives status data from a vehicle and assigns the vehicle to a remote driving support queue based on the received status data. The remote support apparatus receives the status data of the vehicle including an instruction about the destination of the vehicle. The remote support apparatus assigns a plurality of vehicles having the same destination to the same remote driving support queue (to the same vehicle manager). In Patent Literature 1, the assignment between a vehicle and a vehicle manager is determined according to the status data received from the vehicle. Therefore, there is a possibility that the remote support apparatus cannot accurately recognize the situation of the vehicle and hence cannot assign the vehicle to an appropriate vehicle manager. 
     In Patent Literature 2, the determination apparatus acquires, from a bus to be monitored, information such as sounds in the bus and moving images of the bus. The determination apparatus determines whether or not the situation of the bus to be monitored satisfies a predetermined condition(s) based on the acquired information. The determination apparatus determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied when an event that prevents the movement of the bus has occurred, when a failure occurs in the bus, or when a trouble or the like has occurred ahead of the bus. However, in Patent Literature 2, the predetermined condition is used as a trigger for changing the correspondence relationship between the observer and the bus. In Patent Literature 2, there is also a possibility that the situation of the vehicle cannot be accurately recognized and hence the bus that needs to be remotely controlled cannot be assigned to an appropriate observer. 
     In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control system, an apparatus, a method, and a computer readable medium capable of assigning mobile objects to be monitored to observers according to the situations of the mobile objects. 
     Solution to Problem 
     In order to achieve the above-described object, the present disclosure provides a vehicle control system including: a plurality of vehicles, each of the plurality of vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven; an analysis means for receiving information about each of the plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles; a plurality of remote control means, each of the plurality of remote control means being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles; and an assignment determination means for determining a correspondence relationship between the vehicles and the remote control means based on the state information analyzed by the analysis means. 
     The present disclosure provides a vehicle control apparatus including: an analysis means for receiving information about each of a plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles, each of the vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven; a plurality of remote control means, each of the plurality of remote control means being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles; and an assignment determination means for determining a correspondence relationship between the vehicles and the remote control means based on the state information analyzed by the analysis means. 
     The present disclosure provides a vehicle control method including: receiving information about each of a plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles, each of the vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven; and determining a correspondence relationship between a plurality of remote control apparatuses and the vehicles based on the analyzed state information, each of the plurality of remote control apparatuses being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles. 
     The present disclosure provides a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform processes including: receiving information about each of a plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles, each of the vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven; and determining a correspondence relationship between a plurality of remote control apparatuses and the vehicles based on the analyzed state information, each of the plurality of remote control apparatuses being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles. 
     ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION 
     A vehicle control system, an apparatus, a method, and a computer readable medium according to the present disclosure can assign mobile objects to be monitored to observers according to the situations of the mobile objects. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram schematically showing a vehicle control system according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram for showing a vehicle control system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle control apparatus 101; 
         FIG.  4    shows an example of observer information; 
         FIG.  5    is a flowchart showing an operation procedure performed in a vehicle control system; and 
         FIG.  6    is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a computer apparatus. 
     
    
    
     EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT 
     Prior to describing an example embodiment according to the present disclosure, an outline of the present disclosure will be described.  FIG.  1    schematically shows a vehicle control system according to the present disclosure. The vehicle control system  10  includes a vehicle control apparatus  20  and a plurality of vehicles  30 . The vehicle control apparatus  20  includes an analysis means  21 , an assignment determination means  22 , and a plurality of remote control means  23 . In the vehicle control system  10 , the vehicle control apparatus  20  and each of the vehicles  30  communicate with each other through a network. 
     Each vehicle  30  is configured so as to be able to be remotely driven. Each vehicle  30  transmits information about the vehicle itself to the vehicle control apparatus  20  through the network. In the vehicle control apparatus  20 , the analysis means  21  receives the information about each of the vehicles. The analysis means  21  analyzes state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles. 
     Each of the remote control means  23  performs at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles  30 . The assignment determination means  22  determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicles  30  and the remote control means  23  based on the state information analyzed by the analysis means  21 . The remote control means  23  performs at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for a vehicle(s) assigned thereto. 
     In the present disclosure, the analysis means  21  analyzes information acquired from the vehicles  30 , and analyzes state information of each of the vehicles. The assignment determination means  22  determines, based on the result of the analysis, which of the remote control means  23  each of the vehicles  30  should be assigned to. Each of the remote control means  23  is associated with, for example, an observer who performs remote monitoring and remote control. The vehicle control system  10  assigns each of the vehicles to one of the remote control means  23  based on the result of the analysis of the state information of each of the vehicles. In this manner, the present disclosure makes it possible to assign mobile objects to be monitored to observers according to the situations of the mobile objects. 
     An example embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail.  FIG.  2    shows a vehicle control system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. A vehicle control system  100  includes a vehicle control apparatus  101  and a plurality of vehicles  200 . In the vehicle control system  100 , the vehicle control apparatus  101  and the plurality of vehicles  200  are connected to each other through a network  102 . The network  102  includes, for example, a network in conformity with communication line standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), a radio communication network such as WiFi (Registered Trademark), or a fifth generation mobile communication system. The vehicle control system  100  corresponds to the vehicle control system  10  shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     Each of the vehicles  200  is constructed as a mobile object such as an automobile, a truck, a bus, a taxi, or a train. The plurality of vehicles  200  include vehicles (passenger vehicles) that carry passengers, such as buses and taxis. Each of the plurality of vehicles  200  has an associated sensor  201 . The sensor  201  includes a camera that photographs a surrounding area of the vehicles. Further, the sensor  201  includes a camera that photographs the inside of the vehicle. In this example embodiment, the vehicle  200 , in particular, the passenger vehicle  200 , includes a camera that photographs the inside of the vehicle. The sensor  201  may include a sensor that detects the traveling speed, the position, and the like of the vehicle  200 . The sensor  201  may include, but is not limited to, a range sensor or the like, an environmental sensor or the like, and a vehicle body sensor or the like. The range sensor or the like includes, for example, at least one of a laser radar (LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging), a millimeter-wave radar, or an ultrasonic sensor. The environmental sensor or the like includes sensors that detect a temperature, a sound, a humidity, and the like. The vehicle body sensor or the like includes sensors that detect a steering angle of a steering wheel, a rpm (revolutions per minute) of an engine, a remaining amount of fuel, and the like. 
     Each vehicle  200  transmits sensor information acquired by the sensor  201  to the vehicle control apparatus  101  through the network  102 . Each vehicle  200  may transmit information different from the sensor information to the vehicle control apparatus  101  through the network  102 . Each vehicle  200  is configured so as to be able to be remotely driven. At least one of the plurality of vehicles  200  may be configured so as to be able to perform automatic driving (autonomous driving). When the vehicle  200  is configured so as to be able to perform automatic driving (autonomous driving), the vehicle  200  performs autonomous driving by using the sensor information acquired by the sensor  201 . The vehicle  200  corresponds to the vehicle  30  shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     The vehicle control apparatus  101  remotely monitors and remotely controls the plurality of vehicles  200  through the network  102 .  FIG.  3    shows an example of a configuration of the vehicle control apparatus  101 . The vehicle control apparatus  101  includes an analysis unit  111 , an assignment determination unit  112 , and a plurality of remote control units  113 . The vehicle control apparatus  101  corresponds to the vehicle control apparatus  20  shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     The analysis unit  111  receives sensor information transmitted from each of the vehicles  200  as information related to each of the vehicles (i.e., information related to that vehicle). The analysis unit  111  may receive other information transmitted from each of the vehicles  200  as information related to the vehicles. The analysis unit  111  analyzes state information of each of the vehicles based on the sensor information thereof. The assignment determination unit  112  determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicles  200  and the remote control units  113  based on the state information of each of the vehicles analyzed by the analysis unit  111 . In this example embodiment, the number of remote control units  113  is, for example, equal to or smaller than the number of vehicles  200 . One remote control unit  113  may be associated with two or more vehicles  200 . Alternatively, one vehicle  201  may be associated with two or more remote control units  113 . The analysis unit  111  corresponds to the analysis means  21  shown in  FIG.  1   . The assignment determination unit  112  corresponds to the assignment determination means  22  shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     The remote control unit  113  performs at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for a vehicle(s)  200  that has been associated therewith by the assignment determination unit  112 . Each of the remote control units  113  is associated with an observer. In the remote monitoring of a vehicle, the remote control unit  113  displays sensor information transmitted from the vehicle on a monitoring screen. The observer remotely monitors the vehicle  200  by watching or observing sensor information, e.g., an image which is obtained by photographing the surrounding area of the vehicle, displayed on the monitoring screen. 
     In the remote control of a vehicle, the remote control unit  113  transmits, for example, a command for remotely controlling the vehicle  200  to the vehicle  200 . For example, the vehicle  200  receives a command for instructing to perform control, such as to avoid an obstacle, to start a right turn, or to move closer to a road shoulder and stop there, and moves according to the control, i.e., according to the received command. The remote control unit  113  may include a device that imitates, for example, a steering wheel or an accelerator pedal of the vehicle  200 . The remote control unit  113  may remotely steer the vehicle  200  by transmitting, to the vehicle  200 , information indicating an amount of an operation performed on the device imitating a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, or the like by the observer. The remote control unit  113  corresponds to the remote control means  23  shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     When the vehicle  200  is configured so as to be able to perform autonomous driving, the remote control unit  113  can control the autonomous driving performed by the vehicle  200  by specifying a control policy based on the sensor information received from the vehicle  200  and transmitting the specified the control policy to the vehicle  200 . Note that the control policy is information indicating a control policy to be applied to the autonomous driving performed by the vehicle. The control policy has, for example, a hierarchical structure including a plurality of layers, and the highest layer provides an abstract instruction to the vehicle. In the control policy, the lower the layer is, the more specific the instruction to be provided becomes. The control policy includes, for example, information indicating switching from autonomous driving to remote driving, a change in an AI (Artificial Intelligence) application rule in the driving performed on the vehicle side, or a change in the policy (a control algorithm of the autonomous driving) currently applied in the autonomous driving. 
     The remote control unit  113  determines whether or not the vehicle  200  can continue the autonomous driving based on, for example, the sensor information. When the remote control unit  113  determines that the vehicle  200  cannot continue the autonomous driving, the remote control unit  113  transmits, to the vehicle  200 , a control policy indicating switching from the autonomous driving to remote control. In this case, the vehicle  200  hands over the right to control the vehicle to the remote control unit  113  according to the control policy. The sensor information used for specifying the control policy may be the same as the sensor information used for analyzing the state information of the vehicle in the analyzing section  111 , or may be partially or entirely different therefrom. 
     For example, the assignment determination unit  112  holds, for each of the remote control units  113 , information about an observer (observer information) associated with that remote control unit  113 , and uses this information to determine the correspondence relationship between that remote control unit  113  and the vehicle(s)  200 .  FIG.  4    shows an example of the observer information. In this example, the observer information includes information indicating categories of licenses and suitability information for road-surface conditions. The information indicating the category of the license indicates whether or not the observer can drive a passenger vehicle. The suitability information indicates whether or not the observer can take charge of the remote driving of the vehicle when the road-surface condition is “wet”, “snow-covered”, or “icy”. The assignment determination unit  112  can determine the correspondence relationship between the remote control unit  113  and the vehicle  200  based on the observer information and the result of the analysis by the analysis unit  111 . 
     For example, the analysis unit  111  receives an image(s) of the inside of the vehicle  200  which is a passenger vehicle such as a bus or a taxi. The analysis unit  111  analyzes whether or not a passenger is in the vehicle  200  based on the received image. The assignment determination unit  112  determines the correspondence relationship between the remote control unit  113  and the vehicle  200  based on the result of the analysis as to whether or not a passenger is in the vehicle and the type of the license indicated in the remote observer information. 
     When a passenger is in the vehicle  200 , which is a passenger vehicle, the assignment determination unit  112  assigns this vehicle  200  to a remote control unit  113  that is associated with a remote observer who possess a license for driving passenger vehicles. When no passenger is in the vehicle  200 , which is a passenger vehicle, the assignment determination unit  112  assigns a remote control unit  113  that is associated with an arbitrary observer to this vehicle  200 . For example, in the example shown in  FIG.  4   , observers A and C are capable of driving passenger vehicles. When a passenger is in the vehicle  200 , the assignment determination unit  112  assigns this vehicle  200  to a remote control unit  113  associated with the observer A or C. In this case, when it becomes necessary to remotely drive the vehicle  200 , it is possible to smoothly shift the state of the vehicle  200  from the remote monitoring to the remote driving. When no passenger is in the vehicle  200 , the assignment determination unit  112  assigns the vehicle to a remote control unit  113  associated with any of the observers A to C. 
     The analysis unit  111  may receive information indicating whether or not the vehicle  200 , which is a passenger vehicle, is out of service from the vehicle  200 , and analyze whether or not the vehicle is out of service based on the received information. The assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the remote control unit  113  based on the result of analysis as to whether or not the vehicle  200  is out of service and the type of the license of the remote observer. For example, when the vehicle is not out of service, the assignment determination unit  112  assigns the vehicle to a remote control unit  113  associated with a remote observer who possesses a license for driving passenger vehicles. In this manner, when it becomes necessary to remotely drive the vehicle  200 , it is possible to smoothly shift the state of the vehicle  200  from the remote monitoring to the remote driving. When the vehicle is out of service, the assignment determination unit  112  assigns the vehicle to a remote control unit  113  associated with an arbitrary observer. 
     The analysis unit  111  may analyze the road-surface condition of the place where the vehicle is traveling based on the sensor information. The analysis unit  111  may analyze, for example, the weather and the road-surface condition by performing an image analysis on an image(s) acquired from the vehicle. The analysis unit  111  may receive information about the weather in the place where the vehicle is traveling from an external server, and analyze the road-surface condition based on the received information about the weather. The analysis unit  111  analyzes, for example, whether the road-surface condition is a dry road surface, a wet road surface, a snow-covered road surface, or an icy road surface. 
     The assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  based on the analyzed road-surface condition and the suitability information included in the remote observer information. When the road-surface condition is analyzed or determined as a “dry road surface”, the assignment determination unit  112  assigns the vehicle to a remote control unit  113  associated with an arbitrary observer. When the road-surface condition is analyzed as a “wet road surface”, a “snow-covered road surface”, or an “icy road surface”, the assignment determination unit  112  assigns the vehicle to a remote control unit  113  associated with a remote observer capable of taking charge of the analyzed road-surface condition. For example, when the road-surface condition is analyzed as an “icy road surface”, the assignment determination unit  112  refers to the observer information shown in  FIG.  4    and assigns the vehicle traveling on the icy road surface to the remote control unit  113  associated with the observer A. In this case, when it becomes necessary to remotely drive the vehicle  200 , it is possible to smoothly shift the state of the vehicle  200  from the remote monitoring to the remote driving. 
     Next, an operation procedure performed in the vehicle control system  100  will be described.  FIG.  5    shows an operation procedure (a vehicle control method) performed in the vehicle control system  100 . Each of the vehicles  200  transmits sensor information acquired by the sensor  201  to the vehicle control apparatus  101  through the network  102 . 
     In the vehicle control apparatus  101 , the analysis unit  111  collects information of each of the vehicles (Step S 1 ). The information collected by the analysis unit  111  in the step S 1  includes the sensor information transmitted from each of the vehicles  200 . The information collected by the analysis unit  111  may include information other than the sensor information transmitted from each of the vehicles  200 . Further, the information collected by the analysis unit  111  may include information transmitted from an external apparatus, such as an external server, other than the vehicle  200 . 
     The analysis unit  111  analyzes state information of each of the vehicles based on the information collected in the step S 1  (Step S 2 ). The assignment determination unit  112  determines a remote control unit  113  that will take charge of the remote monitoring and the like of the vehicle  200  based on the result of the analysis of the state information of each of the vehicles (Step S 3 ). Each of the observers who have been associated with respective remote control units  113  performs the remote monitoring or the remote control of the vehicle  200  according to the determination made by the assignment determination unit  112 . 
     In this example embodiment, the analysis unit  111  analyzes the state information of each of the vehicles based on the sensor information of the vehicles. The assignment determination unit  112  determines the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  based on the result of the analysis of the state information. In this manner, the assignment determination unit  112  can assign the vehicle  200  to a remote control unit  113  associated with an appropriate observer according to the situation of the mobile object to be monitored, i.e., the vehicle  200  to be monitored. For example, it is possible to smoothly shift the state of the vehicle  200  from the remote monitoring to the remote driving (the remote control) by assigning beforehand the vehicle  200  to a remote control unit  113  associated with an observer capable of driving that vehicle  200 . 
     Note that the assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  with consideration given to not only the result of the analysis by the analysis unit  111  but also to other information. For example, the assignment determination unit  112  may hold information about the skill of each observer in advance, and determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  by using this information. For example, the assignment determination unit  112  stores, for each observer, the number of times of remote driving the observer performed in the past (and/or the number of occurrences of troubles) for each area where the vehicle  200  travels. The assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  with consideration given to this information. Alternatively, the assignment determination unit  112  stores, for each observer, the number of times of remote driving the observer performed in the past (and/or the number of occurrences of troubles) for each type of vehicles  200 . The assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  with consideration given to this information. 
     The assignment determination unit  112  may hold, for each observer, information that is obtained by converting the skill of that observer for the remote driving into a score in advance, and may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  with consideration given to this information. For example, when an important person is in the vehicle  200 , the assignment determination unit  112  may preferentially assign a remote control unit  113  associated with an observer having a high score to this vehicle  200 . Alternatively, a user may select, when making a contract, a desired course from a plurality of courses having different fees (i.e., different prices), and the assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  according to the course selected by the user. For example, for a vehicle for which a user has made a contract for a course having the highest fee (i.e., the highest price), the assignment determination unit  112  may assign a remote control unit  113  associated with an observer having a predetermined score or higher to that vehicle. For example, for a vehicle for which a user has made a contract for a course having the lowest fee (i.e., the lowest price), the assignment determination unit  112  may assign a remote control unit  113  associated with an observer having a low score or an inexperienced observer to that vehicle. 
     The assignment determination unit  112  may schedule, before the vehicle  200  reaches a place where the vehicle  200  cannot travel by performing autonomous driving, the correspondence relationship between the vehicle  200  and the remote control unit  113  by using the traveling plan of the vehicle  200 . Further, the assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicles  200  and the remote control units  113  so that the workloads for the remote monitoring or the remote control of all the observers are leveled or uniformly distributed. For example, the assignment determination unit  112  calculates, for each of the vehicles, a workload score for the remote monitoring or the remote control based on information related to the number of curves, the degree of congestion, and the like in the place where the vehicle travels. The assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicles  200  and the remote control units  113  so that the workload scores of all the observers are leveled or uniformly distributed. Further, the assignment determination unit  112  may determine the correspondence relationship between the vehicles  200  and the remote control units  113  so that the workloads are leveled, i.e., in order to prevent any of the remote observers from carrying out remote monitoring or remote control for a large number of vehicles  200 . 
     In the present disclosure, the vehicle control apparatus  101  can be configured as a computer apparatus (a server apparatus).  FIG.  6    shows an example of a configuration of a computer apparatus that can be used as the vehicle control apparatus  101 . The computer apparatus  500  includes a control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit)  510 , a storage unit  520 , a ROM (Read Only Memory)  530 , a RAM (Random Access Memory)  540 , a communication interface (IF: Interface)  550 , and a user interface  560 . 
     The communication interface  550  is an interface for connecting the computer apparatus  500  to a communication network through wired communication means, wireless communication means, or the like. The user interface  560  includes, for example, a display unit such as a display. Further, the user interface  560  includes an input unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel. 
     The storage unit  520  is an auxiliary storage device that can hold various types of data. The storage unit  520  does not necessarily have to be a part of the computer apparatus  500 , but may be an external storage device, or a cloud storage connected to the computer apparatus  500  through a network. 
     The ROM  530  is a non-volatile storage device. For example, a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory having a relatively small capacity can be used for the ROM  530 . A program(s) that is executed by the CPU  510  may be stored in the storage unit  520  or the ROM  530 . The storage unit  520  or the ROM  530  stores, for example, various programs for implementing the function of each unit in the vehicle control apparatus  101 . 
     The aforementioned program can be stored and provided to the computer apparatus  500  by using any type of non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer readable media include any type of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic storage media such as floppy disks, magnetic tapes, and hard disk drives, optical magnetic storage media such as magneto-optical disks, optical disk media such as CD (Compact Disc) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), and semiconductor memories such as mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, and RAM. Further, the program may be provided to a computer using any type of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer readable media include electric signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. Transitory computer readable media can provide the program to a computer via a wired communication line such as electric wires and optical fibers or a radio communication line. 
     The RAM  540  is a volatile storage device. As the RAM  540 , various types of semiconductor memory apparatuses such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) can be used. The RAM  540  can be used as an internal buffer for temporarily storing data and the like. The CPU  510  deploys or loads a program stored in the storage unit  520  or the ROM  530  in the RAM  540 , and executes the deployed or loaded program. The function of each unit in the vehicle control apparatus  101  can be implemented by having the CPU  510  execute a program. The CPU  510  may include an internal buffer in which data and the like can be temporarily stored. 
     Although example embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described above in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described example embodiments, and the present disclosure also includes those that are obtained by making changes or modifications to the above-described example embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. 
     The whole or part of the example embodiments disclosed above can be described as, but not limited to, the following Supplementary notes. 
     Supplementary Note 1 
     A vehicle control system comprising:
     a plurality of vehicles, each of the plurality of vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven;   an analysis means for receiving information about each of the plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles;   a plurality of remote control means, each of the plurality of remote control means being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles; and   an assignment determination means for determining a correspondence relationship between the vehicles and the remote control means based on the state information analyzed by the analysis means.   

     Supplementary Note 2 
     The vehicle control system described in Supplementary note 1, wherein 
     the plurality of vehicles include a passenger vehicle, and each of the plurality of remote control means is associated with a remote observer who remotely controls the vehicle,   the analysis means receives an image of the inside of the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle from the vehicle, and analyzes whether or not a passenger is in the vehicle based on the received image, and   the assignment determination means determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle and the remote control means based on a result of the analysis as to whether or not the passenger is in the vehicle and a type of license possessed by the remote observer.   

     Supplementary Note 3 
     The vehicle control system described in Supplementary note 2, wherein when a passenger is in the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle, the assignment determination means assigns this vehicle to a remote control means associated with a remote observer possessing a license for driving the passenger vehicle, whereas when no passenger is in the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle, the assignment determination means assigns this vehicle to a remote control means associated with a remote observer possessing a license for driving the passenger vehicle or a remote observer who does not possess the license. 
     Supplementary Note 4 
     The vehicle control system described in Supplementary note 1, wherein 
     the plurality of vehicles include a passenger vehicle, and each of the plurality of remote control means is associated with a remote observer who remotely controls the vehicle,   the analysis means receives information indicating whether or not the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle is out of service from the vehicle, and analyzes whether or not the vehicle is out of service based on the received information, and   the assignment determination means determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle and the remote control means based on a result of the analysis as to whether or not the vehicle is out of service and a type of license possessed by the remote observer.   

     Supplementary Note 5 
     The vehicle control system described in Supplementary note 4, wherein when the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle is not out of service, the assignment determination means assigns this vehicle to a remote control means associated with a remote observer possessing a license for driving the passenger vehicle, whereas when the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle is out of service, the assignment determination means assigns this vehicle to a remote control means associated with a remote observer possessing a license for driving the passenger vehicle or a remote observer who does not possess the license. 
     Supplementary Note 6 
     The vehicle control system described in Supplementary note 1, wherein 
     each of the plurality of remote control means is associated with a remote observer who remotely controls the vehicle,   the analysis means analyzes a road-surface condition of a place where the vehicle is traveling based on information about the vehicle, and   the assignment determination means determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the remote control means based on the analyzed road-surface condition and information about suitability of the remote observer for the road-surface condition.   

     Supplementary Note 7 
     The vehicle control system described in Supplementary note 6, wherein 
     the information about the suitability includes information indicating whether or not the remote observer is suitable for at least one of a dry road surface, a wet road surface, a snow-covered road surface, or an icy road surface, and   the assignment determination means refers to the information about the suitability and assigns, to the vehicle, a remote control means associated with a remote observer who is suitable for driving the vehicle under the analyzed road-surface condition.   

     Supplementary Note 8 
     The vehicle control system described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 7, wherein the information about each of the vehicles received by the analysis means includes an image taken by a camera disposed in each of the vehicles. 
     Supplementary Note 9 
     The vehicle control system described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 8, wherein 
     each of the plurality of vehicles is further configured to be able to perform autonomous driving, and   the remote control means controls the autonomous driving of the vehicle by specifying a control policy in the autonomous driving based on information about the vehicle and transmitting the specified control policy to the vehicle.   

     Supplementary Note 10 
     A vehicle control apparatus comprising:
     an analysis means for receiving information about each of a plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles, each of the vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven;   a plurality of remote control means, each of the plurality of remote control means being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles; and   an assignment determination means for determining a correspondence relationship between the vehicles and the remote control means based on the state information analyzed by the analysis means.   

     Supplementary Note 11 
     The vehicle control apparatus described in Supplementary note 10, wherein 
     the plurality of vehicles include a passenger vehicle, and each of the plurality of remote control means is associated with a remote observer who remotely controls the vehicle,   the analysis means receives an image of the inside of the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle from the vehicle, and analyzes whether or not a passenger is in the vehicle based on the received image, and   the assignment determination means determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle and the remote control means based on a result of the analysis as to whether or not the passenger is in the vehicle and a type of license possessed by the remote observer.   

      Supplementary Note 12 
     The vehicle control apparatus described in Supplementary note 10, wherein 
     the plurality of vehicles include a passenger vehicle, and each of the plurality of remote control means is associated with a remote observer who remotely controls the vehicle,   the analysis means receives information indicating whether or not the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle is out of service from the vehicle, and analyzes whether or not the vehicle is out of service based on the received information, and   the assignment determination means determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicle which is the passenger vehicle and the remote control means based on a result of the analysis as to whether or not the vehicle is out of service and a type of license possessed by the remote observer.   

     Supplementary Note 13 
     The vehicle control apparatus described in Supplementary note 10, wherein 
     each of the plurality of remote control means is associated with a remote observer who remotely controls the vehicle,   the analysis means receives information about weather in a place where the vehicle is traveling, and analyzes a road-surface condition of the place where the vehicle is traveling, and   the assignment determination means determines a correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the remote control means based on the analyzed road-surface condition and information about suitability of the remote observer for the road-surface condition.   

     Supplementary Note 14 
     A vehicle control method comprising:
     receiving information about each of a plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles, each of the vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven; and   determining a correspondence relationship between a plurality of remote control apparatuses and the vehicles based on the analyzed state information, each of the plurality of remote control apparatuses being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles.   

     Supplementary Note 15 
     A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform processes including:
     receiving information about each of a plurality of vehicles from each of the vehicles through a network, and analyzing state information of each of the vehicles based on the received information about each of the vehicles, each of the vehicles being configured so as to be able to be remotely driven; and   determining a correspondence relationship between a plurality of remote control apparatuses and the vehicles based on the analyzed state information, each of the plurality of remote control apparatuses being capable of performing at least one of remote monitoring or remote control for at least one of the plurality of vehicles.   

     Reference Signs List 
     
       
         
           
               
               
            
               
                 
                   10 
                 
                 VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM 
               
               
                 
                   20 
                 
                 VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS 
               
               
                 
                   21 
                 
                 ANALYSIS MEANS 
               
               
                 
                   22 
                 
                 ASSIGNMENT DETERMINATION MEANS 
               
               
                 
                   23 
                 
                 REMOTE CONTROL MEANS 
               
               
                 
                   30 
                 
                 VEHICLE 
               
               
                 
                   100 
                 
                 VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM 
               
               
                 
                   101 
                 
                 VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS 
               
               
                 
                   102 
                 
                 NETWORK 
               
               
                 
                   111 
                 
                 ANALYSIS UNIT 
               
               
                 
                   112 
                 
                 ASSIGNMENT DETERMINATION MEANS 
               
               
                 
                   113 
                 
                 REMOTE CONTROL UNIT 
               
               
                 
                   200 
                 
                 VEHICLE 
               
               
                 
                   201 
                 
                 SENSOR