Patent Publication Number: US-2022230124-A1

Title: Information processing apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-05296, filed on Jan. 15, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium that determine a combination of a driver and a relief vehicle to be dispatched to a facility located in a disaster area in case of a disaster. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Systems have been proposed to dispatch power supply vehicles, such as hybrid vehicles or electric vehicles, capable of supplying electric power to the outside of the vehicles, so as to perform power supply to multiple facilities used as evacuation shelters in a disaster area, during a power shortage caused by the disaster (for example, Patent Literature 1). 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     
         
         PTL 1: JP 2017-112806 A 
       
    
     SUMMARY 
     According to known technology, a server determines to which facilities power supply is to be performed from power supply vehicles, based on information on facilities used as evacuation shelters and information on the power supply vehicles, and makes a notification to the owners of the power supply vehicles. To dispatch relief vehicles, such as power supply vehicles, for providing relief to a disaster area, however, drivers are needed to drive the vehicles to facilities located in the disaster area. The owners or managers of the relief vehicles are sometimes not able to drive the vehicles to the disaster area, even though they may be able to provide the vehicles. 
     It would be helpful to provide an information processing apparatus, a method, and a program that are capable of determining a combination of a relief vehicle and a driver for efficiently providing relief to a facility located in a disaster area. 
     An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a memory and a controller. The memory stores primary information regarding a plurality of relief vehicles that can be dispatched to a facility located in a disaster area in case of a disaster and secondary information regarding a plurality of drivers who can drive relief vehicles in case of a disaster. The controller is configured to acquire tertiary information regarding a facility located in a disaster area in need of relief and perform processing for determining a combination of a relief vehicle included in the plurality of relief vehicles and a driver included in the plurality of drivers that is to be dispatched to the facility located in the disaster area, based on the primary information, the secondary information, and the tertiary information. 
     A method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a method, executed by a controller of an information processing apparatus, for determining a combination of a relief vehicle and a driver. The method includes acquiring primary information regarding a plurality of relief vehicles that can be dispatched to a facility located in a disaster area in case of a disaster, and acquiring secondary information regarding a plurality of drivers who can drive relief vehicles in case of a disaster. The method includes acquiring tertiary information regarding a facility located in a disaster area in need of relief, and determining a combination of a relief vehicle included in the plurality of relief vehicles and a driver included in the plurality of drivers that is to be dispatched to the facility located in the disaster area, based on the primary information, the secondary information, and the tertiary information. 
     A non-transitory computer readable medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure stores a program. The program is configured to cause a computer to execute operations including acquiring primary information regarding a plurality of relief vehicles that can be dispatched to a facility located in a disaster area in case of a disaster, and acquiring secondary information regarding a plurality of drivers who can drive relief vehicles in case of a disaster. The program is further configured to cause the computer to execute operations including acquiring tertiary information regarding a facility located in a disaster area in need of relief, and determining a combination of a relief vehicle included in the plurality of relief vehicles and a driver included in the plurality of drivers that is to be dispatched to the facility located in the disaster area, based on the primary information, the secondary information, and the tertiary information. 
     According to the present disclosure, the information processing apparatus, the method, and the non-transitory computer readable medium that are capable of determining a combination of a relief vehicle and a driver for efficiently providing relief to a facility located in a disaster area can be provided. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the accompanying drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a disaster area relief system that provides relief to a facility located in a disaster area using an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an information system used in the disaster area relief system in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the information processing apparatus; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating operations of the information processing apparatus; and 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart for determining a combination of a relief vehicle and a driver. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below, with reference to the drawings. 
     (Overall Configuration of Disaster Area Relief System) 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , an overview of a disaster area relief system  1  that provides relief to a facility  41  located in a disaster area  40  in need of relief using an information processing apparatus  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The disaster area relief system  1  is a system in which information on a plurality of relief vehicles  20  and a plurality of drivers  30  is accumulated in advance in the information processing apparatus  10  and a combination of a relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  is dispatched to at least one facility  41  located in the disaster area  40  in case of a disaster. The facility  41  is, for example, an evacuation shelter for disaster victims to evacuate to. At least one relief vehicle  20  and at least one driver  30  may be dispatched to a single facility  41 . 
     The relief vehicle  20  is a vehicle that can provide an appropriate relief to the facility  41  located in the disaster area  40 . The relief vehicle  20  includes a power supply vehicle, such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, that is capable of supplying electric power. The relief vehicle  20  includes a vehicle capable of transporting relief supplies for disaster victims or transporting persons, such as volunteers, or includes a vehicle in which disaster victims can sleep overnight. The relief vehicle  20  may be a vehicle owned by a public sector entity, such as a municipality, or a vehicle owned by an individual or a company. The relief vehicle  20  may be a vehicle located within the disaster area  40 , or a vehicle located outside the disaster area. In the present embodiment, the relief vehicle  20  is described as being located outside the disaster area  40 . The relief vehicle  20  may be used for normal purposes, such as commuting and leisure, in normal times when no disaster has occurred. The relief vehicle  20  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 driver  30  is an individual who can drive the relief vehicle  20  in case of a disaster. Typically, the driver  30  is a volunteer who provides relief to the disaster area. 
     In normal times, information on the relief vehicle  20  can be registered in advance on the information processing apparatus  10  by a manager of the relief vehicle  20 . In the present disclosure, the manager of the relief vehicle  20  includes an owner of the relief vehicle  20 , in a case in which the relief vehicle  20  is owned by an individual. In the present disclosure, information on the plurality of dispatchable relief vehicles  20  is referred to as relief vehicle information. The relief vehicle information is primary information. 
     In normal times, information on the driver  30  can be registered in advance on the information processing apparatus  10  by an individual who can be the driver  30  in case of a disaster. Information on the plurality of drivers  30  is referred to as driver information. The driver information is secondary information. 
     In case of a disaster, the information processing apparatus  10  acquires information on the needs of the facility  41  located in the disaster area  40  in need of relief. The information on the needs is tertiary information. Based on the relief vehicle information, the driver information, and the information on the needs, the information processing apparatus  10  can perform processing for determining at least one combination of a relief vehicle  20  included in the plurality of relief vehicles  20  and a driver  30  included in the plurality of drivers  30 . 
     In  FIG. 1 , communications C 1  and C 2 , including transmission of information, are indicated by dashed arrows, and movements M 1  to M 4  of a person or a vehicle is indicated by solid arrows. 
     The information processing apparatus  10  transmits, to the manager of the relief vehicle  20 , which is to be dispatched to the facility  41 , and to the driver  30 , a schedule according to which the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  are to be dispatched to the facility  41  (communications C 1  and C 2 ). The driver  30  travels to the position of the relief vehicle  20  according to the received schedule (movement M 1 ) and boards the relief vehicle  20 . The driver  30  may receive a key for the relief vehicle  20  from the manager of the relief vehicle  20  and board the relief vehicle  20 . Alternatively, the driver  30  may receive an electronic key for the relief vehicle  20  that can be temporarily used from the information processing apparatus  10  on a later-described second information terminal  31  (refer to  FIG. 2 ), and use this electronic key to board the relief vehicle  20 . 
     The driver  30  boards the relief vehicle  20  and travels according to the received schedule. For example, the driver  30  may board the relief vehicle  20  and travel to a base  50  (movement M 2 ). At the base  50 , the driver  30  loads the relief vehicle  20  with relief supplies that are to be transported to the facility  41 . In this case, the base  50  can be a warehouse for storing the relief supplies. After loading the relief supplies, the driver  30  travels to the facility  41  (movement M 3 ). The relief vehicle  20  may allow volunteers, not supplies, to board at the base  50 . In a case in which the relief vehicle  20  is a power supply vehicle or a vehicle provided with equipment to be used in the facility  41 , the relief vehicle  20  may travel directly to the facility  41  without going through the base  50 . As described above, the relief vehicle  20  can deliver, to the facility  41  located in the disaster area  40 , needed electric power, supplies, volunteers, and/or equipment accompanying the vehicle, for example. 
     After arriving at the facility  41  and handing over the relief vehicle  20  to the facility  41 , the driver  30  may board another relief vehicle  20 A and return toward their original position, according to the schedule that has been generated by the information processing apparatus  10  (movement M 4 ). For example, in a case in which the relief vehicle  20  is a power supply vehicle, the driver  30  may return toward a position at which the driver  30  is normally located, by boarding another relief vehicle  20 A, which is another power supply vehicle that has performed power supply. The information processing apparatus  10  may coordinate schedules for a plurality of relief vehicles  20  to perform power supply with schedules for a plurality of drivers  30 , so that the drivers  30  can return toward their normally located positions in an efficient manner. 
     (Configuration of Information Processing System Used in Disaster Area Relief System) 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the information processing system  2  of the disaster area relief system  1  includes the information processing apparatus  10 , a plurality of first information terminals  21  in the possession of the respective managers of the relief vehicles  20 , and a plurality of second information terminals  31  in the possession of the respective drivers  30 . Each first information terminal  21  can be a personal computer, a smartphone, or a portable information terminal that is in the possession of the manager of a relief vehicle  20 , or an in-vehicle information terminal installed in the relief vehicle  20 . The manager of the relief vehicle  20  transmits and receives information to and from the information processing apparatus  10  using the first information terminal  21 . Each second information terminal  31  can be a personal computer, a smartphone, or a portable information terminal in the possession of a driver  30 . The driver  30  transmits and receives information to and from the information processing apparatus  10  using the second information terminal  31 . As the first information terminal  21  and the second information terminal  31 , any general purpose terminal may be used as appropriate. 
     The information processing apparatus  10 , the first information terminals  21 , and the second information terminals  31  each have a communication function and are capable of communicating with each other via a network  60 . The network  60  includes a public network such as the Internet, and a mobile phone network. For transmission and receipt of information between the information processing apparatus  10 , the first information terminals  21 , and the second information terminals  31 , known communication means, such as by e-mail or through a web browser, or dedicated communication means may be used. 
     (Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus) 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the information processing apparatus  10  includes a communication interface  11 , a memory  12 , and a controller  13 . The information processing apparatus  10  may further include an input interface  14 . 
     The communication interface  11  is configured to transmit and receive information to and from the outside of the information processing apparatus  10 . The communication interface  11  includes at least one communication interface for connection to the network  60 . The communication interface is compliant with mobile communication standards, wired Local Area Network (LAN) standards, or wireless LAN standards, for example, but is not limited to these, and may be compliant with any communication standards. In the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus  10  can communicate with the first information terminals  21  in the possession of the managers of the relief vehicles  20  and the second information terminals  31  in the possession of the drivers  30 , via the communication interface  11  and the network  60 . 
     The memory  12  includes one or more memories. The memories included in the memory  12  may each function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The memory  12  stores any information used for operations of the information processing apparatus  10 . For example, the memory  12  stores relief vehicle information and driver information. For example, the memory  12  may store a system program, an application program, map information, or the like. The memory  12  may include a database managed by a database management system. The information stored in the memory  12  may be updated with, for example, information acquired from the network  60  via the communication interface  11 . 
     The controller  13  includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination of these. The controller  13  controls the operations of the entire information processing apparatus  10 . 
     The input interface  14  includes an input device for inputting various types of information to the information processing apparatus  10 . The input interface  14  may include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a microphone for voice recognition, or the like. 
     (Processing Flow in Information Processing Apparatus) 
     With reference to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , processing executed by the controller  13  of the information processing apparatus  10  will be described. 
     First, in normal times when no disaster has occurred, the controller  13  can accept registration of relief vehicle information from the managers of the relief vehicles  20 . The managers of the relief vehicles  20  register various types of information regarding the relief vehicles  20  on the information processing apparatus  10 , by operating the first information terminals  21 . The controller  13  acquires the relief vehicle information via the communication interface  11  and stores it in the memory  12  (Step S 101 ). The relief vehicle information can also be inputted by an operator of the information processing apparatus  10  through the input interface  14 , based on information that has been received from the managers of the relief vehicles  20 . 
     The relief vehicle information includes information on the owners of the relief vehicles  20  and positions at which the relief vehicles  20  are normally located. The information on the positions at which the relief vehicles  20  are normally located is primary positional information. The information on the owners may include information identifying the owners (e.g., their names), and information on how to contact the owners (e.g., their email addresses). The information on the normally located positions may be, for example, information indicating the positions of garages for the relief vehicles  20 . The positions at which the relief vehicles  20  are normally located may be specified, for example, by latitudes and longitudes. 
     The relief vehicle information includes information on the functions and equipment that can be provided by the relief vehicles  20 . For example, the relief vehicle information may include information that the relief vehicles  20  are power supply vehicles capable of supplying electric power to the outside of the relief vehicles  20 , and information on the capacity of electric power that can be supplied. The relief vehicle information may include information on the volume loadable into each relief vehicle  20 . The relief vehicle information may include information on the count of persons who can board each relief vehicle  20 . Further, in a case in which the relief vehicles  20  are provided with equipment that allows one to sleep overnight in there, the relief vehicle information may include this information. In case of a disaster, the information on the functions and equipment that can be provided by the relief vehicles  20  is collated with information on the relief that is needed by a facility  41  included in information on needs. 
     The relief vehicle information stored in the memory  12  may include primary vehicle attribute information indicating the attributes of the relief vehicles  20 . The primary vehicle attribute information may include information on the type, size, and maneuverability of each relief vehicle  20 . The type of relief vehicle  20  includes compact car, sedan, minivan, Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), and other vehicle types. The information on size may include information on the overall length, overall width, and overall height of each relief vehicle  20 . The information on the maneuverability of each relief vehicle  20  includes, for example, information on the transmission system (whether it is a manual transmission or an automatic transmission), the position of the shift lever (whether it is a floor shift lever, an instrument panel shift lever, or a column shift lever), or the like. Further, the information on the maneuverability of each relief vehicle  20  includes information on the type of parking brake (whether it is a handbrake, a foot brake, or an electric parking brake), how to operate the turn signals (whether one-touch turn signals are adopted), or the like. 
     The relief vehicle information stored in the memory  12  may include failure probability information indicating probabilities of occurrence of failure in the vehicles. The failure probability information is used so that the controller  13  can preferentially select a vehicle with a lower probability of failure as the vehicle that is to be dispatched to the facility  41  located in the disaster area. The failure probability information may include information on a failure history, a repair history, and a total travel distance of each relief vehicle  20 . 
     In normal times when no disaster has occurred, the controller  13  can accept registration of driver information from the drivers  30 . The drivers  30  can register various types of information on the information processing apparatus  10 , by operating the second information terminals  31 . The controller  13  acquires the driver information via the communication interface  11  and stores it in the memory  12  (Step S 102 ). The driver information can also be inputted by the operator of the information processing apparatus  10  through the input interface  14 , based on information that has been received from the drivers  30 . 
     The driver information stored in the memory  12  includes information identifying the drivers  30  (e.g., the names of the drivers  30 ), information on how to contact the drivers  30  (e.g., their email addresses), and information on positions at which the drivers  30  are normally located. The information on the positions at which the drivers  30  are normally located is secondary positional information. The information on the positions at which the drivers  30  are normally located may be, for example, information indicating the positions of homes of the drivers  30 . The positions at which the drivers  30  are normally located may be specified, for example, by latitudes and longitudes. 
     The driver information stored in the memory  12  may include secondary vehicle attribute information indicating the attributes of vehicles normally driven by the drivers  30 . As is the case with the primary vehicle attribute information, the secondary vehicle attribute information may include information on the type, size, and maneuverability of each vehicle. 
     The primary vehicle attribute information and the secondary vehicle attribute information can be used for determination of a combination of a relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  in case of a disaster. 
     The driver information stored in the memory  12  may include history information indicating whether the drivers have driven any of the relief vehicles  20  in the past as a volunteer in case of a disaster. The history information may be information that the drivers  30  have registered by themselves. The history information may be automatically updated in the information processing apparatus  10  each time a driver  30  is dispatched to a disaster area  40 . 
     The order of the process in Step S 101  and the process in Step S 102  may be changed. That is, Step S 101  may be performed after Step S 102 . Steps S 101  and Step S 102  may be performed a plurality of times in succession. Step S 101  and Step S 102  may be performed in parallel. In normal times when no disaster has occurred and when there is no facility  41  in need of relief (Step S 103 : No), the controller  13  continuously accepts registration of relief vehicle information and driver information, and updates the relief vehicle information and the driver information stored in the memory  12  as appropriate. 
     Next, a case will be described in which a disaster has occurred and a facility  41  located in a disaster area  40  is in need of relief (Step S 103 : Yes). The controller  13  can determine that there is a facility  41  in need of relief, in response to an input made through the communication interface  11  or the input interface  14 . 
     The controller  13  acquires information on the needs of a facility  41  located in the disaster area  40  in need of relief, through the communication interface  11  or the input interface  14  (Step S 104 ). The information on the needs may be transmitted from the facility  41  or from a municipality in the disaster area  40 . The information on the needs includes positional information for the facility  41 , contact information, and information on the relief needed. The relief needed by the facility  41  may include supply of electric power, provision of products and persons as relief supplies and volunteers, provision of vehicles as places to sleep overnight, or the like. In a case in which the relief needed is supply of electric power, the information on the needs may include information on the electrical energy needed by the facility  41 . In a case in which the relief needed is provision of products, the information on the needs may include information on the types and quantity of products needed by the facility  41 . In a case in which the relief needed is provision of persons, the information on the needs may include information on the count of volunteers needed by the facility  41 . 
     Upon acquiring the information on the needs of the facility  41  in the disaster area  40 , the controller  13  determines a combination of a relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  based on the relief vehicle information, the driver information, and the information on the needs (Step S 105 ). An example of a method for determining the combination of the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  will be described with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
     The controller  13  searches the relief vehicle information stored in the memory  12  and extracts one or more relief vehicles  20  that match the information on the needs (Step S 201 ). The count of relief vehicles  20  to be extracted may be greater than the count of relief vehicles  20  determined to be needed based on the information on the needs. 
     For example, in a case in which the information on the needs includes information on the electrical energy needed by the facility  41 , the controller  13  searches the relief vehicle information and extract a plurality of candidates for the relief vehicles  20  that includes information on electric power that can be supplied. In this case, the extracted relief vehicles  20  are power supply vehicles. The controller  13  may calculate the count of relief vehicles  20  required to supply the electrical energy needed by the facility  41  and the timing of provision to the facility  41 , based on the information on the electric power that can be supplied by the relief vehicles  20 . 
     For example, in a case in which the information on the needs includes information on products needed by the facility  41 , the controller  13  searches the relief vehicle information and extracts a plurality of relief vehicles  20  that can transport the products needed. The controller  13  may refer to information on loadable volume that is included in the relief vehicle information and preferentially extract vehicles into which a large volume can be loaded. Based on the information on loadable volume that is included in the relief vehicle information, the controller  13  can calculate the count of vehicles required to transport the quantity of products needed. 
     For example, in a case in which the information on the needs includes information on the count of volunteers needed by the facility  41 , the controller  13  searches the relief vehicle information and extracts relief vehicles  20  that are suitable for transporting persons. The controller  13  may refer to information on the count of persons who can board that is included in the relief vehicle information, and preferentially extract vehicles that can be boarded by a large count of persons. Based on the information on the count of persons that is included in the relief vehicle information, the controller  13  can calculate the count of relief vehicles  20  required to transport the count of persons needed. 
     For example, in a case in which the information on the needs includes information on equipment needed by the facility  41 , the controller  13  searches the relief vehicle information and extracts relief vehicles  20  with the equipment. For example, in a case in which the information on the needs includes vehicles in which one can sleep overnight, vehicles provided with equipment that allows one to sleep overnight in there are extracted from the relief vehicle information. 
     Subsequent to Step S 201 , the controller  13  selects a relief vehicle  20  to be dispatched to the facility  41  located in the disaster area  40  from among the plurality of extracted relief vehicles  20 , by considering information on their normally located positions and failure probability information that are included in the relief vehicle information (Step S 202 ). The controller  13  can preferentially select a relief vehicle  20  that is located at a position closer to the facility  41  in the disaster area  40 . Consequently, relief can be more quickly provided to the facility  41 . The controller  13  can preferentially select a relief vehicle  20  that is determined to have a lower probability of failure. Consequently, relief can be more reliably provided to the facility  41 . In a case in which the failure probability information includes information on a failure history, the controller  13  may determine that a vehicle with no or a limited history of failure has a lower probability of failure. In a case in which the failure probability information includes information on a repair history, the controller  13  may determine that a vehicle with no or a limited history of repair has a lower probability of failure. In a case in which the failure probability information includes information on a total travel distance, the controller  13  may determine that a vehicle with a shorter total travel distance has a lower probability of failure. 
     Subsequent to Step S 202 , the controller  13  selects a driver  30  to be combined with the selected relief vehicle  20 , based on the relief vehicle information and the driver information (Step S 203 ). 
     In selecting a combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30 , information on the positions at which the relief vehicles  20  are normally located that is included in the relief vehicle information, and information on the positions at which the drivers  30  are normally located that is included in the driver information are considered. The controller  13  preferentially selects a driver  30  who is normally located at a position closer to the position at which the relief vehicle  20  is normally located. 
     In selecting a combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30 , the primary vehicle attribute information included in the relief vehicle information and the secondary vehicle attribute information included in the driver information are considered. When a driver  30  is combined with a relief vehicle  20  whose attribute is significantly different from that of a vehicle normally driven by the driver  30 , the driver  30  may find it difficult to drive the relief vehicle  20 . In an embodiment, therefore, the combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  is determined so that the attribute of the relief vehicle  20  and the attribute of the vehicle normally driven by the driver  30  are identical or similar. 
     For example, the controller  13  determines the combination, by prioritizing a combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  in which vehicle type information included in the primary vehicle attribute information and vehicle type information included in the secondary vehicle attribute information are more similar. The controller  13  determines the combination, by prioritizing a combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  in which vehicle size information included in the primary vehicle attribute information and vehicle size information included in the secondary vehicle attribute information are closer. This allows the driver  30  to drive the relief vehicle  20  with a feel for the width and height similar to that of the vehicle normally driven by the driver  30 . 
     Similarly, for example, the controller  13  may determine the combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30 , by prioritizing a combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  in which vehicle maneuverability information included in the primary vehicle attribute information and vehicle maneuverability information included in the secondary vehicle attribute information are more similar. This allows the driver  30  to drive the relief vehicle  20  with less stress, without being perplexed by the difference in maneuverability between the relief vehicle  20  and the vehicle normally driven by the driver  30 . 
     In selecting the combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30 , history information included in the relief vehicle information may be considered. The controller  13  can preferentially select a driver who has driven any of the plurality of relief vehicles  20  a greater number of times in the past, based on the history information. By doing so, a driver  30  who has the experience of driving a relief vehicle  20  a greater number of times in the past can be combined with the relief vehicle  20 , so that the disaster area relief system  1  can provide more reliable relief. 
     In Step S 203 , it is sometimes impossible to determine an appropriate driver  30  to be combined with the relief vehicle  20  that has been selected in Step S 202 . For example, in a case in which all the positions at which the drivers  30  are located are more than a predetermined distance away from the position at which the selected relief vehicle  20  is located, the controller  13  may determine that it is impossible to select an appropriate driver  30  for the relief vehicle  20 . Alternatively, the controller  13  can inquire the manager of the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  who have been selected in Step S 203  about whether dispatch can be made to the facility  41 , from the information processing apparatus  10  in Step S 204 . If the manager of the relief vehicle  20  and/or the driver  30  do/does not accept the dispatch, the combination of the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  is not established. In a case in which an appropriate combination of the relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  has not been established (Step S 204 : No), the controller  13  may return to Step S 202  and reselect another relief vehicle  20  that matches the information on the needs, in place of the relief vehicle  20  for which a combination has not been established. In this case, the controller  13  repeats the process from Step S 202  onward. 
     In a case in which the combination of the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  has been established (Step S 204 : Yes), the controller  13  determines the combination of the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  (Step S 205 ). 
     The method for determining a combination of a relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  is not limited to the method illustrated in Step S 201  through Step S 205  above. The method illustrated in Step S 201  through Step S 205  is merely an example. For example, instead of selecting a relief vehicle  20  and then a driver  30 , the controller  13  may first determine a plurality of combinations of relief vehicles  20  and drivers  30 , and then select a combination of a relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  that matches the information on the needs. 
     Subsequent to Step S 205 , the controller  13  determines a schedule according to which the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  are to travel to the facility  41 . The schedule includes a schedule for the driver  30  to travel to a position at which the relief vehicle  20  is located and board the relief vehicle  20 . The schedule may include a schedule for the relief vehicle  20  and the driver  30  to travel to the base  50  and load products or persons. The schedule may include a return schedule for the driver  30  who has arrived at the facility  41 . 
     The schedule may consider the timing of arrival of the relief vehicle  20  at the facility  41 . For example, in a case in which the information on the needs includes supply of electric power, the controller  13  dispatches the relief vehicle  20 , which is a power supply vehicle, at an appropriate timing so that the electric power of a required capacity can be continuously supplied to the facility  41 . For example, in a case in which there are a plurality of relief vehicles  20  that can supply five hours of electric power to the facility  41 , the controller  13  may determine a schedule so that a relief vehicle  20 , which is a power supply vehicle, will arrive at the facility  41  every five hours. The controller  13  may determine the schedule so that after driving the relief vehicle  20 , which is a power supply vehicle, and arriving at the facility  41 , the driver  30  can board another relief vehicle  20 A that has already performed power supply and return toward their normally located position. 
     Upon determining the schedule, the controller  13  can transmit information on the schedule to the first information terminal  21  in the possession of the manager of the relief vehicle  20  and to the second information terminal  31  in the possession of the driver  30 , via the communication interface  11  (Step S 107 ). The schedule transmitted by the controller  13  may be not the entire but only part of the schedule. For example, the controller  13  may notify the manager of the relief vehicle  20  only of a departure time and a return time for the relief vehicle  20 . For example, the controller  13  may notify the driver  30  of the next destination and target arrival time in a sequential order. By the driver  30  driving the relief vehicle  20  according to the schedule, electric power, products, persons, and equipment needed can be delivered at an appropriate timing to the facility  41 . 
     As described above, by using the information processing apparatus  10  according to the present embodiment, in case of a disaster, an appropriate combination of a relief vehicle  20  and a driver  30  can be selected in accordance with information on needs, so that relief can be efficiently provided to a facility  41  in a disaster area  40 . 
     Additionally, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and revisions may be implemented. For example, functions or the like included in each means, each step, or the like can be rearranged without logical inconsistency, and a plurality of means, steps, or the like can be combined into one or divided. 
     In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the information processing apparatus  10  accepts registration of relief vehicle information and driver information in normal times, and these types of information are stored in the memory. The relief vehicle information and the driver information may be, however, registered on another computer, and in case of a disaster, the controller  13  may acquire these types of information from the other computer and store them in the memory  12  as required. 
     The processes disclosed herein can also be provided as a program executed by a general purpose computer. Specifically, a program in which processes for realizing the functions of the information processing apparatus  10  according to the above embodiment are written may be stored in a memory of a general purpose computer, and the program may be read and executed by a processor. Accordingly, the present disclosure according to the present embodiment can also be implemented as a program executable by a processor, or a non-transitory computer readable medium storing the program.