Patent Publication Number: US-10769945-B2

Title: Information processor and vehicle system

Description:
This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/156,475, filed Oct. 10, 2018 which claims priority to the disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-198648 filed on Oct. 12, 2017, the entire contents of which all are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to an information processor and a vehicle system configured to notify a vehicle driver of information. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A technology is known by which, at an intersection, when a vehicle should stop for a stop signal of a traffic light but is traveling at a predetermined speed or higher, the display of a traffic light on an intersecting road, which intersects the road on which the vehicle is travelling, is changed, so that a person in a vehicle traveling on the intersecting road is notified of the vehicle ignoring the stop signal to enter the intersection (see JP-A-2009-151701, for example). 
     With the abovementioned technology, however, an accident prevention system needs to be installed for each intersection at which the existence of a dangerous vehicle needs to be announced. Accordingly, it is not realistic to announce the existence of a dangerous vehicle at an arbitrary intersection. 
     SUMMARY 
     The embodiments address the above-described issue, and a general purpose thereof is to provide an information processor and a vehicle system capable of performing, at an arbitrary intersection, notification of accurate caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. 
     To resolve the issue above, an information processor of one embodiment includes: a first acquirer configured to acquire, when a first vehicle is traveling on a first road toward an intersection and a second vehicle is traveling on a second road, which intersects the first road, toward the intersection, a traveling tendency of the first vehicle from a first storage unit storing the traveling tendency at an intersection of each of a plurality of vehicles; a second acquirer configured to acquire, when the first vehicle is traveling on the first road toward the intersection and the second vehicle is traveling on the second road toward the intersection, riskiness of the intersection from a second storage unit storing the riskiness of each of a plurality of intersections; a judgment unit configured to judge whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, based on the traveling tendency of the first vehicle acquired by the first acquirer and the riskiness of the intersection acquired by the second acquirer; and a notification unit configured to notify, when the judgment unit has judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the second vehicle of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, before the second vehicle enters the intersection. 
     According to the embodiment, when the first vehicle is traveling on the first road toward the intersection and the second vehicle is traveling on the second road toward the intersection, the traveling tendency of the first vehicle is acquired from the first storage unit, and the riskiness of the intersection is acquired from the second storage unit. Based on the traveling tendency of the first vehicle and the riskiness of the intersection, whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection is judged, and, when it is judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the second vehicle is notified of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. Therefore, accurate caution information at the time of passing through the intersection can be conveyed at an arbitrary intersection. 
     The information processor may further include: a third acquirer configured to acquire vehicle information at the time of entering an intersection of each of a plurality of vehicles; a first deriver configured to derive the traveling tendency at an intersection of each vehicle based on the vehicle information of each of a plurality of vehicles acquired by the third acquirer and to store the traveling tendency thus derived in the first storage unit; and a second deriver configured to derive the riskiness of each intersection based on the vehicle information of each of a plurality of vehicles acquired by the third acquirer and to store the riskiness thus derived in the second storage unit. 
     The judgment unit may judge the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection, as the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. 
     When the traveling tendency of the first vehicle indicates a tendency to contravene the traffic regulations, the judgment unit may judge the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection to be higher, and, when the riskiness of the intersection is higher, the judgment unit may also judge the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection to be higher. 
     The first road may be a road with a stop instruction, and the second road may be a priority road. 
     Another embodiment relates to a vehicle system. The vehicle system includes: a first storage unit storing a traveling tendency at an intersection of each of a plurality of vehicles; a second storage unit storing riskiness of each of a plurality of intersections; a first acquirer configured to acquire, when a first vehicle is traveling on a first road toward an intersection and a second vehicle is traveling on a second road, which intersects the first road, toward the intersection, the traveling tendency of the first vehicle from the first storage unit; a second acquirer configured to acquire, when the first vehicle is traveling on the first road toward the intersection and the second vehicle is traveling on the second road toward the intersection, the riskiness of the intersection from the second storage unit; a judgment unit configured to judge whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, based on the traveling tendency of the first vehicle acquired by the first acquirer and the riskiness of the intersection acquired by the second acquirer; and a notification unit configured to notify, when the judgment unit has judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the second vehicle of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, before the second vehicle enters the intersection. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings that are meant to be exemplary, not limiting, and wherein like elements are numbered alike in several figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of a vehicle system according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of a vehicle-mounted device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of a server device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  shows an example of an intersection monitored by an intersection monitoring unit shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart that shows vehicle information processing performed by the server device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart that shows processing for intersection monitoring performed by the server device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of a vehicle-mounted device according to a second embodiment; and 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of a server device according to the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments now will be described. The embodiments are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of a vehicle system  1  according to the first embodiment. The vehicle system  1  comprises multiple vehicle-mounted devices  10  and a server device  12 .  FIG. 1  shows three vehicle-mounted devices  10  among the multiple vehicle-mounted devices  10 . 
     Each vehicle-mounted device  10  is mounted on a vehicle  14 , which is an automobile. Each vehicle-mounted device  10  performs wireless communication with the server device  12 . The wireless communication standard is not particularly limited, and may be 3G (third-generation mobile communication system), 4G (fourth-generation mobile communication system), or 5G (fifth-generation mobile communication system), for example. Each vehicle-mounted device  10  may perform wireless communication with the server device  12  via a base station, which is not illustrated. The server device  12  may be installed in a data center, for example, and functions as an information processor for processing big data transmitted from the multiple vehicle-mounted devices  10 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of a vehicle-mounted device  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . The vehicle-mounted device  10  comprises a vehicle information acquirer  20 , a communication unit  22 , and an output unit  24 . The vehicle information acquirer  20  regularly acquires vehicle information of the subject vehicle, on which the vehicle-mounted device  10  is mounted, and outputs the vehicle information to the communication unit  22 . The vehicle information may include position information of the subject vehicle, bearing information indicating the traveling direction of the subject vehicle, speed information of the subject vehicle, deceleration information of the subject vehicle, and brake operation amount information of the subject vehicle, for example. The position information may be acquired from a GPS receiver, not illustrated, for example. The bearing information, speed information, deceleration information, and brake operation amount information may be acquired from various sensors, not illustrated, for example. The frequency of acquiring the vehicle information can be appropriately determined through experiments or the likes, and may be several times to several tens of times per second, for example. The frequency of acquiring the vehicle information may be different for each type of vehicle information. 
     The communication unit  22  performs wireless communication with the server device  12 . The communication unit  22  regularly transmits, to the server device  12 , vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquirer  20 . To the vehicle information, information for identifying the vehicle  14  as the transmission source is attached. The frequency of transmitting the vehicle information can be appropriately determined through experiments or the likes, and may be the same as the frequency at which the vehicle information acquirer  20  acquires the vehicle information, for example. 
     When caution information at the time of passing through an intersection is transmitted from the server device  12  to the subject vehicle, the communication unit  22  receives the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. The output unit  24  then provides, to the driver, the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection thus received by the communication unit  22 . The communication unit  22  and the output unit  24  will be detailed later. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of the server device  12  shown in  FIG. 1 . The server device  12  comprises a communication unit  30 , a third acquirer  32 , a vehicle information storage unit  34 , a first deriver  36 , a second deriver  38 , a first storage unit  40 , a second storage unit  42 , and multiple intersection monitoring units  44 . 
     The communication unit  30  performs wireless communication with the communication unit  22  of each of the multiple vehicle-mounted devices  10 . The communication unit  30  receives vehicle information of multiple vehicles  14  from the communication units  22  of the multiple vehicle-mounted devices  10 . The vehicle information includes vehicle information at the time of entering an intersection. The communication unit  30  outputs the vehicle information of the multiple vehicles  14  to the third acquirer  32 . 
     The third acquirer  32  acquires the vehicle information of the multiple vehicles  14  received by the communication unit  30 . The third acquirer  32  then outputs the vehicle information of the multiple vehicles  14  to the vehicle information storage unit  34 . Accordingly, the vehicle information storage unit  34  stores the vehicle information of the multiple vehicles  14  acquired by the third acquirer  32 . 
     Based on the vehicle information of the multiple vehicles  14  stored in the vehicle information storage unit  34 , the first deriver  36  regularly derives the traveling tendency at an intersection of each vehicle  14  and stores the traveling tendency thus derived in the first storage unit  40 . Namely, the traveling tendency at an intersection is specific to each vehicle  14  and is regularly updated. The frequency of deriving the traveling tendency at an intersection can be appropriately determined through experiments or the likes. The first storage unit  40  stores the traveling tendency at an intersection of each of the multiple vehicles  14 . 
     The traveling tendency at an intersection of each vehicle  14  indicates whether or not the driver of the vehicle  14  tends to contravene the traffic regulations at an intersection. More specifically, the traveling tendency at an intersection of each vehicle  14  indicates whether the driver tends not to stop or tends to stop late at an intersection with a stop instruction. The stop instruction includes a red signal, a stop sign, and a stop line, for example. The position of the stop instruction can be identified based on map data stored in a storage unit, which is not illustrated. 
     The traveling tendency at an intersection of each vehicle  14  can be expressed as a numerical value, for example. In the following, an example will be described in which, when the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency at an intersection of a vehicle  14  is larger, the driver of the vehicle  14  is more likely to contravene the traffic regulations at an intersection, and is more likely not to stop or more likely to stop late at a stop instruction. As the ratio of the number of times a vehicle  14  has not stopped or has stopped late at a stop instruction to the number of times the vehicle  14  has passed through an intersection becomes larger, the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency at an intersection of the vehicle  14  also becomes larger. 
     When a vehicle  14  travels on a road with a stop instruction and when the speed of the vehicle  14  passing through an intersection is a first threshold or higher, the first deriver  36  judges that the vehicle  14  has not stopped at the stop instruction, so as to increase the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency at an intersection of the vehicle  14 . When the speed of the vehicle  14  passing through the intersection is less than the first threshold, the first deriver  36  judges that the vehicle  14  has stopped at the stop instruction. 
     When a vehicle  14  travels on a road with a stop instruction and when the degree of deceleration of the vehicle  14  entering an intersection is a second threshold or greater and, in addition, the brake operation amount of the vehicle  14  entering the intersection is a third threshold or greater, the first deriver  36  judges that the vehicle  14  has stopped late at the stop instruction, so as to increase the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency at an intersection of the vehicle  14 . When the degree of deceleration is less than the second threshold or when the brake operation amount is less than the third threshold, the first deriver  36  judges that the vehicle  14  has appropriately stopped at the stop instruction. The optimum value of each of the first threshold, second threshold, and third threshold can be appropriately determined through experiments or the likes. 
     The first deriver  36  may set the amount by which the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency at an intersection is increased when it is judged that the vehicle  14  has not stopped, to be greater than the amount by which the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency at an intersection is increased when it is judged that the vehicle  14  has stopped late. 
     Based on the vehicle information of the multiple vehicles  14  stored in the vehicle information storage unit  34 , the second deriver  38  regularly derives the riskiness of each intersection and stores the riskiness thus derived in the second storage unit  42 . Namely, the riskiness is specific to each intersection and is regularly updated. The second storage unit  42  stores the riskiness of each of multiple intersections. 
     The riskiness of each intersection may be expressed as a numerical value, for example, and is the sum of first riskiness and second riskiness. The first riskiness indicates how many vehicles  14  have not stopped or have stopped late at a stop instruction at the intersection. For example, if drivers cannot visually recognize a stop instruction easily at an intersection, the first riskiness of the intersection will be higher. 
     When a vehicle  14  travels on a road with a stop instruction and when the speed of the vehicle  14  passing through an intersection is the first threshold or higher, the second deriver  38  judges that the vehicle  14  has not stopped at the stop instruction, so as to increase the first riskiness of the intersection. When the speed of the vehicle  14  passing through the intersection is less than the first threshold, the second deriver  38  judges that the vehicle  14  has stopped at the stop instruction. 
     When a vehicle  14  travels on a road with a stop instruction and when the degree of deceleration of the vehicle  14  entering an intersection is the second threshold or greater and, in addition, the brake operation amount of the vehicle  14  entering the intersection is the third threshold or greater, the second deriver  38  judges that the vehicle  14  has stopped late at the stop instruction, so as to increase the first riskiness of the intersection. When the degree of deceleration is less than the second threshold or when the brake operation amount is less than the third threshold, the second deriver  38  judges that the vehicle  14  has appropriately stopped at the stop instruction. 
     The second deriver  38  may set the amount by which the first riskiness is increased when it is judged that the vehicle  14  has not stopped, to be greater than the amount by which the first riskiness is increased when it is judged that the vehicle  14  has stopped late. 
     The second riskiness indicates the poorness of visibility at the intersection, and, if the visibility from one road toward another road is poor at an intersection because of an obstacle, such as a building and a wall, located near the intersection, the second riskiness of the intersection will be higher. The second riskiness is a fixed value preset for each intersection and is stored in the second storage unit  42  in advance. The second riskiness may be updated with some frequency, such as once a year. Also, the second riskiness needs not necessarily be used. 
     The multiple intersection monitoring units  44  respectively monitor predetermined intersections. Each of the multiple intersection monitoring units  44  has the same functions except monitoring a different intersection. In the following, an intersection monitoring unit  44  monitoring an intersection  100  shown in  FIG. 4  will be described with reference to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  shows an example of the intersection  100  monitored by an intersection monitoring unit  44  shown in  FIG. 3 . At the intersection  100 , a first road R 1  and a second road R 2  intersect. The first road R 1  is a road with a stop line  102  as a stop instruction provided before the intersection  100 , and the second road R 2  is a priority road with no stop line. 
     The intersection monitoring unit  44  comprises a traveling vehicle identifier  50 , a first acquirer  52 , a second acquirer  54 , a judgment unit  56 , and a notification unit  58 . The traveling vehicle identifier  50  acquires, from the vehicle information storage unit  34 , current position information and current bearing information of each vehicle present near the predetermined intersection  100 . The vehicle information thus acquired includes information of a first vehicle  14   a  and a second vehicle  14   b  traveling toward the intersection  100 , and may also include information of a vehicle that has passed through the intersection  100 . Based on map data and the acquired current position and traveling direction of each vehicle present near the predetermined intersection  100 , the traveling vehicle identifier  50  identifies the first vehicle  14   a  traveling on the first road R 1  with a stop instruction toward the intersection  100 , and the second vehicle  14   b  traveling on the second road R 2  as a priority road toward the intersection  100 . The traveling vehicle identifier  50  then notifies the first acquirer  52  and the second acquirer  54  of the identification of the first vehicle  14   a  and the second vehicle  14   b . In this example, the vehicle-mounted device  10  is mounted on each of the first vehicle  14   a  and the second vehicle  14   b.    
     When the first vehicle  14   a  is traveling on the first road R 1  toward the intersection  100  and the second vehicle  14   b  is traveling on the second road R 2  toward the intersection  100 , the first acquirer  52  acquires the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  from the first storage unit  40 . The first acquirer  52  then outputs the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  to the judgment unit  56 . 
     When the first vehicle  14   a  is traveling on the first road R 1  toward the intersection  100  and the second vehicle  14   b  is traveling on the second road R 2  toward the intersection  100 , the second acquirer  54  acquires the riskiness of the intersection  100  from the second storage unit  42 . The second acquirer  54  then outputs the riskiness of the intersection  100  to the judgment unit  56 . 
     Based on the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  acquired by the first acquirer  52  and the riskiness of the intersection  100  acquired by the second acquirer  54 , the judgment unit  56  judges whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. 
     For example, the judgment unit  56  may judge whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, based on an evaluation value calculated by substituting the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  and the riskiness of the intersection  100  into a predetermined calculation formula. The predetermined calculation formula may be a calculation formula for calculating as the evaluation value the sum of the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  and the riskiness of the intersection  100 , a calculation formula for calculating as the evaluation value the product of the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  and the riskiness of the intersection  100 , or another calculation formula. When the evaluation value is a judgment threshold or greater, the judgment unit  56  judges that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, and, when the evaluation value is less than the judgment threshold, the judgment unit  56  judges that there is no caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. The optimum value of the judgment threshold can be appropriately determined through experiments or the likes. 
     The judgment unit  56  may retain a table containing correspondence relationships between the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a , the riskiness of the intersection  100 , and whether or not there is caution information, and may refer to the table to judge whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. 
     The judgment unit  56  may judge the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection, as the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. In this case, the judgment unit  56  may use the aforementioned evaluation value, as the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection. Namely, when the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  indicates a tendency to contravene the traffic regulations, the judgment unit  56  judges the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection to be higher, and, when the riskiness of the intersection  100  is higher, the judgment unit  56  also judges the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection to be higher. 
     For example, when the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  is large and the first vehicle  14   a  is highly likely to contravene the traffic regulations at an intersection, the judgment unit  56  judges the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection to be high, even if the riskiness of the intersection  100  is low. Also, when the riskiness of the intersection  100  is high, the judgment unit  56  judges the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection to be high, even if the numerical value indicating the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  is small and the first vehicle  14   a  is less likely to contravene the traffic regulations at an intersection. 
     The judgment unit  56  outputs the judgment result to the notification unit  58 . When the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the notification unit  58  notifies, via the communication unit  30 , the second vehicle  14   b  of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, before the second vehicle  14   b  enters the intersection  100 . More specifically, the notification unit  58  outputs the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection to the communication unit  30 . The communication unit  30  then transmits the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection to the second vehicle  14   b . To the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, information for identifying the second vehicle  14   b  as the transmission destination is attached. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the communication unit  22  of the vehicle-mounted device  10  on the second vehicle  14   b  receives the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection transmitted from the communication unit  30  of the server device  12 . The communication unit  22  provides the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection to the output unit  24 . Accordingly, the output unit  24  provides to the driver the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection provided by the communication unit  22 , before the second vehicle  14   b  enters the intersection  100 . The output unit  24  may be configured as a display unit that displays the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection in the form of text and images, as a speaker or the like that outputs the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection in the form of sound, or as a combination thereof. When the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection is judged as the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the output unit  24  outputs the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection. When the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection is higher, the output unit  24  may display text and images with more distinctive colors or sizes, or may output sound drawing the driver&#39;s attention more strongly. 
     When the vehicle-mounted device  10  is not mounted on the first vehicle  14   a , the traveling vehicle identifier  50  is unable to identify the first vehicle  14   a , and the first acquirer  52  is unable to acquire the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a . Even in this case, the judgment unit  56  judges whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, based on the riskiness of the intersection  100  acquired by the second acquirer  54 . When the riskiness of the intersection  100  is higher, the judgment unit  56  judges that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. 
     The configuration described above may be implemented by a CPU or memory of any given computer, an LSI, or the like in terms of hardware, and by a memory-loaded program or the like in terms of software. In the present embodiment is shown a functional block configuration realized by cooperation thereof. Therefore, it would be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks may be implemented in a variety of forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof. 
     There will now be described the overall operation performed by the vehicle system  1  having the configuration set forth above.  FIG. 5  is a flowchart that shows vehicle information processing performed by the server device  12  shown in  FIG. 1 . The processing shown in  FIG. 5  is regularly repeated. The server device  12  acquires vehicle information of multiple vehicles  14  (S 10 ), derives the traveling tendency at an intersection of each vehicle  14  (S 12 ), and derives the riskiness of each intersection (S 14 ). 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart that shows processing for intersection monitoring performed by the server device  12  shown in  FIG. 1 . An intersection monitoring unit  44  identifies a first vehicle  14   a  and a second vehicle  14   b  traveling toward a predetermined intersection  100  (S 20 ) and, when the first vehicle  14   a  and the second vehicle  14   b  cannot be identified (N at S 22 ), the process returns to the step  20 . When the first vehicle  14   a  and the second vehicle  14   b  can be identified (Y at S 22 ), the intersection monitoring unit  44  acquires the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  (S 24 ) and also acquires the riskiness of the intersection  100  (S 26 ). When there is caution information (Y at S 28 ), the intersection monitoring unit  44  notifies the second vehicle  14   b  of the caution information (S 30 ), and the process returns to the step  20 . When there is no caution information (N at S 28 ), the process returns to the step  20 . The processing shown in  FIG. 6  is also performed by each of the multiple intersection monitoring units  44  monitoring other intersections. 
     According to the present embodiment, in the server device  12 , the first storage unit  40  stores the traveling tendency at an intersection of each of multiple vehicles  14 , and the second storage unit  42  stores the riskiness of each of multiple intersections. When the first vehicle  14   a  is traveling on the first road R 1  toward the intersection  100  and the second vehicle  14   b  is traveling on the second road R 2  toward the intersection  100 , the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  is acquired from the first storage unit  40 , and the riskiness of the intersection  100  is acquired from the second storage unit  42 . Based on the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  and the riskiness of the intersection  100 , whether or not there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection is judged, and, when there is, the second vehicle  14   b  is notified of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. Therefore, at an arbitrary intersection, accurate caution information at the time of passing through the intersection can be conveyed in consideration of the features of the first vehicle  14   a  and the intersection. 
     Also, since the server device  12  collects vehicle information of multiple vehicles  14  and derives the traveling tendency at an intersection of each vehicle  14  and the riskiness of each intersection based on the vehicle information, the driver can be notified of accurate caution information at the time of passing through the intersection based on the vehicle information of the multiple vehicles  14 . 
     Also, since the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection is judged, the driver can find how much attention to pay. Further, since the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection is judged to be higher when the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  indicates a tendency to contravene the traffic regulations, and the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection is also judged to be higher when the riskiness of the intersection  100  is higher, the riskiness at the time of entering the intersection can be appropriately judged. 
     Second Embodiment 
     The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that part of the processing in the server device  12  is performed by the vehicle-mounted device  10 . In the following, description will be given mainly for the differences from the first embodiment. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of the vehicle-mounted device  10  according to the second embodiment. The vehicle-mounted device  10  functions as an information processor. The vehicle-mounted device  10  comprises the vehicle information acquirer  20 , the communication unit  22 , an identifier  70 , the first acquirer  52 , the second acquirer  54 , the judgment unit  56 , and the notification unit  58 . 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram that shows a configuration of the server device  12  according to the second embodiment. The server device  12  comprises the communication unit  30 , the third acquirer  32 , the vehicle information storage unit  34 , the first deriver  36 , the second deriver  38 , the first storage unit  40 , the second storage unit  42 , and a control unit  72 . 
     The second embodiment will also be described with reference to the situation of the intersection  100  shown in  FIG. 4  as an example. In the vehicle-mounted device  10  of the second vehicle  14   b , the identifier  70  identifies the second road R 2  on which the subject vehicle is traveling, and the intersection  100  toward which the subject vehicle is traveling, based on the position information of the subject vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquirer  20  and map data retained in a navigation system or the like, not illustrated, of the subject vehicle. The identifier  70  then outputs the information of the intersection  100  thus identified to the communication unit  22 . The communication unit  22  transmits the information of the intersection  100  to the server device  12 . The information of the intersection  100  includes latitude and longitude. 
     The communication unit  30  of the server device  12  receives the information of the intersection  100  transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device  10 . The communication unit  30  then outputs the information of the intersection  100  to the control unit  72 . Based on the information of the intersection  100  received by the communication unit  30 , the control unit  72  acquires the current position information and the current bearing information of each vehicle present near the intersection  100  and outputs the current position information and current bearing information to the communication unit  30 . The control unit  72  also acquires from the first storage unit  40  the traveling tendency of each vehicle present near the intersection  100  and outputs the traveling tendency to the communication unit  30 . The control unit  72  also acquires from the second storage unit  42  the riskiness of the intersection  100  and outputs the riskiness to the communication unit  30 . Accordingly, the communication unit  30  transmits, to the vehicle-mounted device  10  of the second vehicle  14   b , the current position information, current bearing information, and traveling tendency of each vehicle present near the intersection  100 , and the riskiness of the intersection  100 , output by the control unit  72 . 
     In the vehicle-mounted device  10  on the second vehicle  14   b , the communication unit  22  receives the information as described above transmitted from the server device  12 . Accordingly, the identifier  70  identifies the first vehicle  14   a  traveling on the first road R 1  toward the intersection  100 , based on the current position and the traveling direction of each vehicle present near the intersection  100  received by the communication unit  22 . 
     When the first vehicle  14   a  is traveling on the first road R 1  toward the intersection  100  and the second vehicle  14   b  is traveling on the second road R 2  toward the intersection  100 , the first acquirer  52  acquires the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  received by the communication unit  22 . This process corresponds to the process by which the first acquirer  52  acquires the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  from the first storage unit  40  of the server device  12 . 
     When the first vehicle  14   a  is traveling on the first road R 1  toward the intersection  100  and the second vehicle  14   b  is traveling on the second road R 2  toward the intersection  100 , the second acquirer  54  acquires the riskiness of the intersection  100  received by the communication unit  22 . This process corresponds to the process by which the second acquirer  54  acquires the riskiness of the intersection  100  from the second storage unit  42  of the server device  12 . 
     The operation of the judgment unit  56  is the same as described in the first embodiment. When the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the notification unit  58  notifies the second vehicle  14   b , or more specifically the driver of the second vehicle  14   b , of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, before the second vehicle  14   b  enters the intersection  100 . The notification unit  58  may be configured as a display unit that displays the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection in the form of text and images, as a speaker or the like that outputs the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection in the form of sound, or as a combination thereof. 
     According to the present embodiment, the effects of the first embodiment can be obtained and, in addition, the flexibility in the configuration of the vehicle system  1  can be improved. 
     Described above is an explanation based on exemplary embodiments. The embodiments are intended to be illustrative only, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications to a combination of constituting elements or processes could be developed and that such modifications also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     For example, the judgment unit  56  may also judge whether or not there is a possibility of collision between the first vehicle  14   a  and the second vehicle  14   b , based on the position and speed of the first vehicle  14   a  and the position and speed of the second vehicle  14   b . For the judgment of the possibility of collision, well-known technologies can be employed. When the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is a possibility of collision and has also judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the notification unit  58  notifies the second vehicle  14   b  of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, before the second vehicle  14   b  enters the intersection  100 . When the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is no possibility of collision, even though the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the notification unit  58  does not notify the second vehicle  14   b  of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. In this modification, since the notification of caution information is not performed when there is no possibility of collision between the first vehicle  14   a  and the second vehicle  14   b , the caution information can be conveyed more appropriately in consideration of the traveling conditions of the first vehicle  14   a  and the second vehicle  14   b.    
     The judgment unit  56  may also judge whether or not there is a possibility that the first vehicle  14   a  will stop at a stop instruction, based on the position, speed, brake operation information, and the likes of the first vehicle  14   a . For example, when the first vehicle  14   a  is traveling before a stop instruction at a predetermined speed or less, with which a vehicle can stop at the stop instruction, and the first vehicle  14   a  also performs brake operation, the judgment unit  56  may judge that there is a possibility that the first vehicle  14   a  will stop. On the other hand, when the first vehicle  14   a  is traveling before the stop instruction at a speed higher than the predetermined speed, with which a vehicle cannot stop at the stop instruction, or when the first vehicle  14   a  does not perform brake operation before the stop instruction, the judgment unit  56  may judge that there is no possibility that the first vehicle  14   a  will stop. Accordingly, when the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is no possibility that the first vehicle  14   a  will stop, and the judgment unit  56  has also judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the notification unit  58  notifies the second vehicle  14   b  of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, before the second vehicle  14   b  enters the intersection  100 . On the other hand, when the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is a possibility that the first vehicle  14   a  will stop, even though the judgment unit  56  has judged that there is caution information at the time of passing through the intersection, the notification unit  58  does not notify the second vehicle  14   b  of the caution information at the time of passing through the intersection. In this modification, the notification of caution information is not performed when there is a possibility that the first vehicle  14   a  will stop, even though the traveling tendency of the first vehicle  14   a  indicates a tendency to contravene the traffic regulations or even though the riskiness of the intersection  100  is high, so that the caution information can be conveyed more appropriately in consideration of the traveling conditions of the first vehicle  14   a.