Patent Publication Number: US-2022215701-A1

Title: Method, server, and non-transitory computer readable medium

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-001671, filed on Jan. 7, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a method, a server, and a non-transitory computer readable medium. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technology to use vehicles for disaster relief is known. For example, patent literature (PTL) 1 discloses the use of a general vehicle as a rescue vehicle during a disaster. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     PTL 1: JP 2008-041032 A 
     SUMMARY 
     There is a desire for improvement in technology to use vehicles for disaster relief. 
     It would be helpful to improve technology to use vehicles for disaster relief. 
     A method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a method to be executed by a server, the method comprising: 
     acquiring first vehicle information, which is information regarding a vehicle before use of the vehicle for disaster relief; 
     acquiring second vehicle information, which is information regarding the vehicle after use of the vehicle for disaster relief; and 
     notifying an administrator of the vehicle of information regarding a difference between the acquired first vehicle information and the acquired second vehicle information. 
     A server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a controller configured to: 
     acquire first vehicle information, which is information regarding a vehicle before use of the vehicle for disaster relief; 
     acquire second vehicle information, which is information regarding the vehicle after use of the vehicle for disaster relief; and 
     notify an administrator of the vehicle of information regarding a difference between the acquired first vehicle information and the acquired second vehicle information. 
     A non-transitory computer readable medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure stores a program configured to cause a computer to execute operations, the operations comprising: 
     acquiring first vehicle information, which is information regarding a vehicle before use of the vehicle for disaster relief; 
     acquiring second vehicle information, which is information regarding the vehicle after use of the vehicle for disaster relief; and 
     notifying an administrator of the vehicle of information regarding a difference between the acquired first vehicle information and the acquired second vehicle information. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, technology to use vehicles for disaster relief is improved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the accompanying drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a vehicle; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a server; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating first operations of the server; and 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating second operations of the server. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 
     Outline of Embodiment 
     An outline of a system  1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to  FIG. 1 . The system  1  includes a vehicle  10  and a server  20 . The vehicle  10  and the server  20  are communicably connected with a network  30  including, for example, a mobile communication network, the Internet, and the like. 
     The vehicle  10  is an automobile, for example, but is not limited to this, and may be any appropriate vehicle. The vehicle  10  may be driven by a driver. The vehicle  10  may be capable of automated driving such as any one of Level 1 to Level 5 as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), for example. The number of vehicles  10  provided in the system  1  may be freely determined. The server  20  is one computer or a plurality of computers in communication with each other. 
     In the present embodiment, the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief during a disaster but is used for a predetermined purpose other than disaster relief at normal times. For example, the vehicle  10  may be managed by an administrator of a car-sharing business. In this case, the vehicle  10  is used as a shared car at normal times but is used for disaster relief during a disaster. Alternatively, the system may be managed by an administrator who is an individual user of the vehicle  10 . In this case, the vehicle  10  is used by the individual administrator at normal times but is used for disaster relief during a disaster. When used for disaster relief, the vehicle  10  can be driven by a worker of a disaster relief organization, for example, and dispatched to a disaster area to provide supplies or power. The mode of use for disaster relief is not limited to this example, however, and may be determined freely. 
     First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described, and details thereof will be described later. The server  20  acquires vehicle information (first vehicle information) regarding the vehicle  10  before use of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief. The server  20  acquires vehicle information (second vehicle information) regarding the vehicle  10  after use of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief. The server  20  then notifies the administrator of the vehicle  10  of information regarding the difference between the acquired first vehicle information and the acquired second vehicle information. 
     According to the present embodiment, the administrator of the vehicle  10  is thus notified of information regarding the difference in the vehicle information before and after the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. The administrator of the vehicle  10  can therefore check whether the vehicle  10  has been damaged, for example, while on loan to a disaster relief organization. For example, if the vehicle  10  is damaged while on loan, the administrator of the vehicle  10  could claim compensation for the damage from the disaster relief organization based on the information provided in the notification. Alternatively, if a disaster relief organization borrows the vehicle  10  from the administrator on the condition that the vehicle  10  is restored to its original condition (i.e., to the condition in which the vehicle  10  was borrowed), the administrator can check whether the vehicle  10  has been restored to its original condition by the disaster relief organization. Accordingly, technology to use vehicles  10  for disaster relief is improved in that the likelihood of the administrator of a vehicle  10  hesitating to lend the vehicle  10  for disaster relief is reduced. 
     Next, configurations of the system  1  will be described in detail. 
     (Configuration of Vehicle) 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the vehicle  10  includes a communication interface  11 , a positioner  12 , an imager  13 , a memory  14 , and a controller  15 . 
     The communication interface  11  includes at least one communication interface for connecting to the network  30 . The communication interface is compliant with mobile communication standards such as the 4th generation (4G) standard or the 5th generation (5G) standard, for example, but these examples are not limiting. 
     The positioner  12  includes one or more apparatuses configured to acquire positional information for the vehicle  10 . Specifically, the positioner  12  includes, for example, a receiver compliant with GPS, but is not limited to this example and may include a receiver compliant with any appropriate satellite positioning system. 
     The imager  13  includes one or more cameras. Each camera included in the imager  13  may be installed in the vehicle  10  so as to be able to capture a subject outside or inside the vehicle, for example. The images generated by the imager  13  can, for example, be used for automatic driving control of the vehicle  10 . 
     The memory  14  includes one or more memories. The memories are semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, optical memories, or the like, for example, but are not limited to these. The memories included in the memory  14  may each function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The memory  14  stores any information used for operations of the vehicle  10 . For example, the memory  14  may store a system program, an application program, embedded software, and the like. The information stored in the memory  14  may be updated with, for example, information acquired from the network  30  via the communication interface  11 . 
     The controller  15  includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination of these. The processor is a general purpose processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor that is dedicated to specific processing, for example, but is not limited to these. The programmable circuit is a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), for example, but is not limited to this. The dedicated circuit is an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), for example, but is not limited to this. The controller  15  controls the operations of the entire vehicle  10 . 
     (Configuration of Server) 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the server  20  includes a communication interface  21 , a memory  22 , and a controller  23 . 
     The communication interface  21  includes at least one communication interface for connecting to the network  30 . The communication interface may be compliant with, for example, mobile communication standards, wired local area network (LAN) standards, or wireless LAN standards, but these examples are not limiting. The communication interface may be compliant with any appropriate communication standards. 
     The memory  22  includes one or more memories. The memories included in the memory  22  may each function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The memory  22  stores any information used for operations of the server  20 . For example, the memory  22  may store a system program, an application program, a database, map information, and the like. The information stored in the memory  22  may be updated with, for example, information acquired from the network  30  via the communication interface  21 . 
     The controller  23  includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination of these. The controller  23  controls the operations of the entire server  20 . 
     (Server Operation Flow) 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the flow of the first operations of the server  20  will be described. To summarize, the first operations are operations to notify the administrator of the vehicle  10  of information and the like regarding the difference in the vehicle information before and after the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. 
     Step S 100 : The controller  23  of the server  20  acquires the vehicle information regarding the vehicle  10  before use of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief as the first vehicle information. 
     The vehicle information includes any information on the vehicle  10  that may change as a result of the vehicle  10  being used for disaster relief. For example, the vehicle information may include a captured image of the vehicle  10  as information indicating the condition of the exterior or interior of the vehicle  10 . The image is, for example, an image capturing part or all of the vehicle  10  from outside or inside the vehicle. The controller  23  may acquire an image generated by the imager  13  of the vehicle  10 , before the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief, from the vehicle  10  via the communication interface  21  as the first vehicle information. Alternatively, the controller  23  may acquire an image generated by a camera, mounted in a terminal apparatus (such as a smartphone) used by the administrator of the vehicle  10 , a worker in a disaster relief organization, or another person, before the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. The controller  23  acquires this image from the terminal apparatus via the communication interface  21  as the first vehicle information. 
     The vehicle information is not limited to a captured image of the vehicle  10  but may, for example, include information indicating the results of an inspection of the vehicle  10 . The inspection of the vehicle  10  may be carried out in accordance with the periodic inspection of the vehicle  10  specified by national law (such as the periodic inspection based on the Japanese automobile inspection and registration system), or the inspection may be carried out in accordance with independent inspection standards. Typically, the results of an inspection of the vehicle  10  may include information indicating whether the lighting system, brakes, various meters, and the like are functioning properly. 
     The timing at which the first vehicle information is generated is before the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. The timing at which the controller  23  acquires the generated first vehicle information, however, may be either before or after the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. 
     Step S 101 : The controller  23  acquires the vehicle information regarding the vehicle  10  after use of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief as the second vehicle information. The timing at which the second vehicle information is generated and the timing at which the controller  23  acquires the generated second vehicle information are both after the vehicle  10  has been used for disaster relief. 
     Step S 102 : The controller  23  determines whether the difference between the first vehicle information acquired in step S 100  and the second vehicle information acquired in step S 101  is equal to or less than a predetermined standard. When the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is determined to be equal to or less than the standard (step S 102 : Yes), the process advances to step S 103 . Conversely, when the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is determined to be greater than the standard (step S 102 : No), the process advances to step S 105 . 
     The difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information, and the aforementioned standard used to evaluate the difference, may be freely determined in accordance with the content of the vehicle information. For example, when the vehicle information is a captured image of the vehicle  10 , the controller  23  may detect a difference in the number of scratches on the vehicle  10  as the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information. The detection of scratches on the vehicle  10  can be performed using, for example, image recognition processing. The aforementioned standard may, for example, be a reference value indicated by any integer equal to or greater than 0. In this case, the controller  23  determines that the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is equal to or less than the standard when the difference in the number of scratches on the vehicle  10  is equal to or less than the reference value. Conversely, the controller  23  determines that the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is greater than the standard when the difference in the number of scratches on the vehicle  10  is larger than the reference value. 
     Step S 103 : when the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is determined to be equal to less or than the standard (step S 102 : Yes), the controller  23  acquires history information on operations performed on the vehicle  10  while the vehicle  10  was used for disaster relief. 
     For example, the history information may indicate whether driving operations leading to reckless driving occurred, or whether unauthorized access to information regarding the vehicle  10  or the administrator of the vehicle  10  occurred. Examples of reckless driving include, but are not limited to, erratic steering, sudden braking, and sudden acceleration. Examples of the information regarding the vehicle  10  include, but are not limited to, the driving history of the vehicle  10 . Examples of the information regarding the administrator of the vehicle  10  include, but are not limited to, personal information on the administrator. The information regarding the vehicle  10  or the administrator of the vehicle  10  may be stored in advance, for example, in the memory  14  of the vehicle  10  or in a cloud storage with which the vehicle  10  can communicate via the communication interface  11 . Access to the information regarding the vehicle  10  or the administrator of the vehicle  10  may be subject to control using, for example, password authentication, biometric authentication, or access rights. 
     Step S 104 : The controller  23  notifies the administrator of the vehicle  10  of the information regarding the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information and of the history information on the operations performed on the vehicle  10 . 
     The notification of information can be carried out by any appropriate method. For example, the controller  23  may e-mail the information using an e-mail address of the administrator of the vehicle  10  stored in advance in the memory  22 . Alternatively, the controller  23  may notify the user account of the administrator of the vehicle  10  of the information. In this case, the administrator of the vehicle  10  can check the information using any terminal apparatus logged into the administrator&#39;s user account. 
     Step S 105 : When the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is determined in step S 102  to be greater than the standard (step S 102 : No), the controller  23  instructs that the vehicle  10  be repaired. 
     Specifically, the controller  23  establishes a repair plan for the vehicle  10 , for example, and notifies the disaster relief organization of the repair plan to instruct the disaster relief organization to repair the vehicle  10  in accordance with the repair plan. The repair plan for the vehicle  10  may, for example, include information indicating the operator that is to repair the vehicle  10 , a schedule, and information indicating the difference between the first and second vehicle information, along with the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information. 
     When repairs to the vehicle  10  are complete, the second vehicle information is generated anew, and the process returns to step S 101 . Accordingly, the controller  23  reacquires the second vehicle information in step S 101  and then redetermines whether the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is equal to or less than the standard in step S 102 . Consequently, the controller  23  repeatedly instructs that the vehicle  10  be repaired and reacquires the second vehicle information until the difference between the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information is determined to be equal to or less than the standard in step S 102 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 5 , the flow of the second operations of the server  20  will be described. The vehicle  10  is described here as being used as a shared car at normal times but as being used for disaster relief during a disaster. To summarize, the second operations are operations to award different points to the administrator of the vehicle  10  when the vehicle  10  is used as a shared car and when the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. 
     Step S 200 : The controller  23  of the server  20  determines whether the vehicle  10  has been used as a shared car. When it is determined that the vehicle  10  has been used as a shared car (step S 200 : Yes), the process advances to step S 201 . Conversely, when it is determined that the vehicle  10  has not been used as a shared car (step S 200 : No), the process advances to step S 202 . 
     Specifically, upon the vehicle  10  being used as a shared car, the controller  15  of the vehicle  10  may transmit information, to the server  20 , indicating a usage record of the vehicle  10  as a shared car. When the controller  23  receives this information from the vehicle  10  via the communication interface  21 , the controller  23  may determine that the vehicle  10  has been used as a shared car. The usage record of the vehicle  10  as a shared car may, for example, include information such as the usage time, the distance traveled, the number of people transported, and the weight of cargo transported, although these examples are not limiting. Any information regarding the usage record of the vehicle  10  as a shared car may be included. 
     Step S 201 : when it is determined in step S 200  that the vehicle  10  has been used as a shared car (step S 200 : Yes), the controller  23  awards first points to the administrator of the vehicle  10  in accordance with the usage record of the vehicle  10  as a shared car. 
     Specifically, the controller  23  determines the first points based on the usage record of the vehicle  10  as a shared car and awards the determined first points to the administrator of the vehicle  10 . Examples of the first points include, but are not limited to, legal tender, electronic money, and cryptocurrency. The first points may be a benefit to be earned by the administrator of the vehicle  10  when the vehicle  10  is used as a shared car. For example, the controller  23  may increase the amount of the first points as the usage time, the distance traveled, the number of people transported, or the weight of the cargo transported during use as a shared car is greater. 
     Step S 202 : After step S 201 , or when it is determined in step S 200  that the vehicle  10  has not been used as a shared car (step S 200 : No), the controller  23  determines whether the vehicle  10  has been used for disaster relief. When it is determined that the vehicle  10  has been used for disaster relief (step S 202 : Yes), the process advances to step S 203 . Conversely, when it is determined that the vehicle  10  has not been used for disaster relief (step S 202 : No), the process returns to step S 200 . 
     Specifically, upon the vehicle  10  being used for disaster relief, the controller  15  of the vehicle  10  may transmit information, to the server  20 , indicating a usage record of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief. When the controller  23  receives this information from the vehicle  10  via the communication interface  21 , the controller  23  may determine that the vehicle  10  has been used for disaster relief. The usage record of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief may, for example, include information such as the usage time, the distance traveled, the number of people transported, and the weight of cargo transported, although these examples are not limiting. Any information regarding the usage record of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief may be included. 
     Step S 203 : when it is determined in step S 202  that the vehicle  10  has been used for disaster relief (step S 202 : Yes), the controller  23  awards second points to the administrator of the vehicle  10  in accordance with the usage record of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief. The process subsequently returns to step S 200 . 
     Specifically, the controller  23  determines the second points based on the usage record of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief and awards the determined second points to the administrator of the vehicle  10 . Examples of the second points include, but are not limited to, legal tender, electronic money, and cryptocurrency. The second points may be a benefit to be earned by the administrator of the vehicle  10  when the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. For example, the controller  23  may increase the amount of the second points as the usage time, the distance traveled, the number of people transported, or the weight of the cargo transported for disaster relief is greater. Here, the controller  23  may set the second points higher than the first points when, for example, the actual usage such as the usage time, the distance traveled, the number of people transported, or the weight of the cargo transported are assumed to be equal during use as a shared car and use for disaster relief. 
     As described above, the server  20  according to the present embodiment acquires the first vehicle information regarding the vehicle  10  before use of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief. The server  20  acquires the second vehicle information regarding the vehicle  10  after use of the vehicle  10  for disaster relief. The server  20  then notifies the administrator of the vehicle  10  of information regarding the difference between the acquired first vehicle information and the acquired second vehicle information. 
     According to this configuration, the administrator of the vehicle  10  is notified of information regarding the difference in the vehicle information before and after the vehicle  10  is used for disaster relief. The administrator of the vehicle  10  can therefore check whether the vehicle  10  has been damaged, for example, while on loan to a disaster relief organization. For example, if the vehicle  10  is damaged while on loan, the administrator of the vehicle  10  could claim compensation for the damage from the disaster relief organization based on the information provided in the notification. Alternatively, if a disaster relief organization borrows the vehicle  10  from the administrator on the condition that the vehicle  10  is restored to its original condition (i.e., to the condition in which the vehicle  10  was borrowed), the administrator can check whether the vehicle  10  has been restored to its original condition by the disaster relief organization. Accordingly, technology to use vehicles  10  for disaster relief is improved in that the likelihood of the administrator of a vehicle  10  hesitating to lend the vehicle  10  for disaster relief is reduced. 
     While the present disclosure has been described with reference to the drawings and examples, it should be noted that various modifications and revisions may be implemented by those skilled in the art based on the present disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications and revisions are included within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, functions or the like included in each component, each step, or the like can be rearranged without logical inconsistency, and a plurality of components, steps, or the like can be combined into one or divided. 
     For example, some or all of the operations executed by the server  20  in the above embodiment may be executed by the vehicle  10 . The operations executed by the server  20  may be distributed and executed by a plurality of computers that can communicate with each other. 
     For example, an embodiment in which a general purpose computer functions as the server  20  according to the above embodiment can also be implemented. Specifically, a program in which processes for realizing the functions of the server  20  according to the above embodiment are written is stored in a memory of a computer, and the program is read and executed by a processor of the computer. Accordingly, the present disclosure can also be implemented as a program executable by a processor, or a non-transitory computer readable medium storing the program.