JP2019164598A - Information searching device - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable searching of information required by an occupant from vehicle external sound.SOLUTION: An information searching device 1 acquires vehicle external sound as sound of the circumference of a vehicle by a microphone 2, extracts a prescribed keyword on the basis of the vehicle external sound acquired by a control unit 6, and performs an information searching to a server device 20 by using the keyword extracted. The control unit 6 causes an output unit 7 to output a searching result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information retrieval apparatus that retrieves information with a predetermined keyword.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a target area is obtained based on a person area in an area other than a road, a sound collection direction is determined so that sound can be collected from the target area, and sound outside the vehicle is collected. It is described that sound is output into the vehicle.

  In recent years, technical development related to automatic driving, in which driving operation is automatically performed on behalf of the driver, has been advanced. In order to prevent passengers from getting bored during such automatic driving, Patent Document 2 expands the content of TV information, video information recorded on an optical disc, and web information acquired via the Internet to the entire windshield. It is described that it is displayed.

JP 2011-201406 A JP2015-217798A

  The sound outside the vehicle collected by the invention described in Patent Document 1 can be output into the vehicle. For example, when an event such as a festival is performed in a person area, the sound of the event such as a festival is output in the car. However, even if the vehicle passenger is interested in the event, detailed information about the event cannot be obtained on the spot.

  In addition, when a passenger tries to check an event on a search site or the like when traveling by automatic driving, if a suitable keyword cannot be extracted from the sound heard, a search result desired by the passenger is obtained. It may not be possible.

  An example of a problem to be solved by the present invention is to search for information required by a passenger from outside sound.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a sound acquisition unit that acquires a vehicle exterior sound that is a sound around the vehicle, and an extraction unit that extracts a predetermined keyword based on the acquired vehicle exterior sound. And a search unit that performs an information search using the extracted keyword, and an output unit that outputs a search result by the search unit.

  The invention according to claim 6 is an information search method that is executed by an information search device that performs information search using a predetermined keyword, and a sound acquisition step of acquiring a vehicle exterior sound that is a sound around the vehicle; An extraction step of extracting the keyword based on the acquired outside sound, a search step of performing an information search using the extracted keyword, and an output step of outputting a search result by the search unit It is characterized by.

  The invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that the information search method according to claim 6 is executed by a computer.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system having an information search device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the information search method in the information search device shown by FIG. It is the figure which showed the example of DB constructed | assembled in the memory | storage part shown by FIG. It is the figure which displayed the information on the parking lot. It is the figure which displayed the road where driving | running | working by automatic driving is permitted.

  Hereinafter, an information search apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the information search device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the sound acquisition unit acquires a vehicle exterior sound that is a sound around the vehicle, and the search unit extracts a predetermined keyword based on the vehicle exterior sound acquired by the extraction unit. Information retrieval is performed using the extracted keywords. And an output part outputs the search result by a search part. By doing in this way, since the keyword based on the sound outside the vehicle is extracted in the extraction unit, it is possible to search for information required by the passenger from the sound outside the vehicle.

  Moreover, the present position acquisition part which acquires the present position of a vehicle may be provided, and a search part may perform an information search using a present position and a keyword. By doing so, the accuracy of the search result can be improved by including the current position.

  The output unit may output the search result on the sight line of the passenger. By doing in this way, the line-of-sight movement required for the passenger to obtain information is reduced, and the burden on the passenger for visual recognition of the search result can be reduced.

  In addition, the output unit may further extract and output information related to the facility where the vehicle stops from the search result. By doing in this way, for example, it becomes possible to provide passengers with information related to parking lots in the vicinity of the event venue as well as the event venue.

  Further, the output unit may output information related to a range in which the vehicle can move by automatic driving based on the search result. By doing in this way, even when the vehicle is traveling in the automatic driving vehicle or the automatic driving mode, the passenger can grasp whether the vehicle can travel to the vicinity of the event venue or the parking lot as it is.

  The information search method according to an embodiment of the present invention acquires a vehicle exterior sound that is a sound around the vehicle in the sound acquisition step, extracts a predetermined keyword based on the vehicle exterior sound acquired in the extraction step, and performs a search. Information search is performed using the keywords extracted in the process. And the search result by a search part is output at an output process. By doing in this way, since the keyword based on a vehicle exterior sound is extracted in an extraction process, it becomes possible to search the information which a passenger needs from a vehicle exterior sound.

  Further, the information search method described above may be executed by a computer. By doing so, since the keyword based on the sound outside the vehicle is extracted in the extraction step using the computer, it becomes possible to search for information required by the passenger from the sound outside the vehicle.

  A system having an information search apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes an information search device 1 mounted on a vehicle as a moving body, for example, and a search engine for searching information (web page, image file, etc.) existing on the Internet, for example. Server device 20.

  The information search device 1 includes a microphone 2, a GPS receiver 3, a storage unit 4, a line-of-sight recognition unit 5, a control unit 6, an output unit 7, and a communication unit 8.

  The microphone 2 as a sound acquisition unit is installed at, for example, a front end portion or a rear end portion of a vehicle, a roof, or the like, and collects outside sound around the vehicle. The sound outside the vehicle collected by the microphone 2 is converted into an electrical signal and output to the control unit 6.

  The GPS receiver 3 as a current position acquisition unit is a well-known device that detects the current position of the vehicle C based on radio waves from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. The current position (latitude, longitude) detected by the GPS receiver is output to the control unit 6 as current position information.

  The storage unit 4 is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, or the like. In the storage unit 4, a database (DB) that is referred to when the control unit 6 extracts a keyword from the outside sound is constructed. The DB may store data by associating the electric signal waveform of the vehicle sound with the keyword by machine learning or the like, or may manually store the data by associating the electric signal waveform with the keyword.

  The line-of-sight recognition unit 5 is provided in the vehicle interior. The line-of-sight recognition unit 5 includes, for example, a camera and an image processing unit. The camera captures a predetermined area including the face of the passenger and applies an image processing technique from the face of the passenger captured by the camera to recognize the line-of-sight direction of the passenger.

  The control part 6 as an extraction part and a search part is comprised by the microcomputer which has CPU (Central Processing Unit) etc., for example. The control unit 6 extracts a predetermined keyword from the DB constructed in the storage unit 4 based on the waveform of the electric signal of the vehicle exterior sound collected by the microphone 2. Then, the control unit 6 transmits the extracted keyword and the current position detected by the GPS receiver 3 as search information to the server device 20 via the communication unit 8 to perform information search. Details of the operation of the control unit 6 will be described later.

  The output unit 7 outputs search results performed on the server device 20. Specifically, the search result is displayed on a display screen or the like installed in a head-up display (HUD) or a center console. Moreover, you may display on the windshield of a vehicle. Or you may output a search result as an audio | voice from the speaker provided in the vehicle.

  In addition, when displaying on HUD, it is preferable to display a search result on the passenger | crew's eyes | visual_axis recognized by the eyes | visual_axis recognition part 5. FIG. Since the sight line direction of the occupant is recognized by the sight line recognition unit 5, when displayed on the HUD of the line of sight direction (a predetermined range centered on the intersection of the line of sight and the HUD), the sight line movement necessary for the passenger to obtain information And the burden on the passenger can be reduced for viewing the search results.

  The communication unit 8 communicates with the server device 20 via the Internet or the like. The communication unit 8 transmits the search information described above to the server device 20 and receives a search result from the server device 20.

  As described above, the server device 20 has a search engine configured to search for information (web pages, image files, etc.) existing on the Internet, for example, and the information search device 1 can access and search for information. It is possible. The search engine built in the server device 20 is not limited to a dedicated engine, and may be a general-purpose engine provided by Google Inc., for example.

  Next, the operation (information search method) of the information search apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is executed by the control unit 6. The information search program can be configured by configuring the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 as a program executed by the CPU of the control unit 6.

  First, in step S <b> 1, the control unit 6 acquires a vehicle exterior sound (electric signal) collected by the microphone 2.

  Next, in step S <b> 2, the control unit 6 extracts a predetermined keyword from the DB constructed in the storage unit 4 based on the vehicle exterior sound acquired in step S <b> 1. Specifically, using the acquired waveform of the electric signal of the vehicle exterior sound as an input to the DB, a keyword associated with the waveform is read. FIG. 3 shows an example of the DB. The waveform item in FIG. 3 is actually the waveform of the vehicle exterior sound acquired in step S1, but in FIG. 3, it is displayed as waveform (1) and waveform (2) instead of the actual waveform.

  In FIG. 3, when the waveform (1) is a sound indicating, for example, a festival lion, “festival” is associated as a keyword. When the waveform (2) is a sound indicating cheering of the audience, “sports” is associated as a keyword.

  In FIG. 3, for example, the number of festival lions and cheers is not limited to one type, and a plurality of types may be registered. For example, a cheering of a sports audience and a cheering of a concert audience may be registered, or a cheering of a baseball audience and a cheering of a soccer audience may be registered.

  Returning to the description of FIG. In step S3 following step S2, the control unit 6 acquires the current position detected by the GPS receiver 3. In addition, since the GPS receiver 3 outputs the current position in latitude and longitude, for example, if map information is stored in the storage unit 4, it is preferable to convert it into an address, a facility name, or the like. .

  Next, in step S4, the control unit 6 searches the server device 20 based on the keyword extracted in step S2 and the current position acquired in step S3. For example, if the keyword “festival” is extracted in step S2 and the current position is “Kamakura station”, an AND search for “festival” and “kamakura station” is performed. Therefore, information on festivals around Kamakura Station can be obtained in the search results. Alternatively, if the keyword “sports” is extracted in step S2 and the current position is “Saitama stadium”, an AND search of “sports” and “Saitama stadium” is performed. Therefore, it is possible to obtain information related to sports performed at Saitama Stadium in the search result.

  Next, in step S <b> 5, the control unit 6 acquires the result searched in step S <b> 4 and outputs it from the output unit 7. For example, if it is information about festivals around the Kamakura Station mentioned above, you can get information such as festival name, place, date and time (period), and if the vehicle passengers are interested, you can stop by the festival. it can. Or, if it is information about sports performed at Saitama Stadium, you can get information about the game such as soccer (team name, current score, etc.), and broadcast video of the game on TV broadcast or online distribution etc. Can watch.

  As is clear from the above description, step S1 functions as a sound acquisition process, step S2 functions as an extraction process, step S4 functions as a search process, and step S5 functions as an output process.

  In the flowchart described above, in step S4, the search is performed using the keyword extracted from the sound outside the vehicle and the current position, but in addition to these, the current date and time may be added (month only, date only, time Only). By adding the date and time, the search results can be narrowed down and the search accuracy can be improved.

  In step S5, the search result obtained in step S4 is output as it is. For example, in the case of “festival”, the passenger of the vehicle may want to drop in at the festival. Therefore, the information regarding facilities where vehicles can stop, such as information on parking lots around the festival venue, may be output. In this case, it may be narrowed down by the control unit 6 or a search may be performed again by adding a phrase such as “parking lot” to the server device 20. In this way, for example, it is possible to provide passengers with information related to parking lots and the like around the event venue as well as event venues such as festival venues.

  FIG. 4 is a display example of parking lot information. In FIG. 4, symbol M is the host vehicle, symbol RT is the travel route of the host vehicle M, symbol I is the festival hall, and symbol P is the extracted parking lot. By displaying as shown in FIG. 4, the passenger of the host vehicle M can select a desired parking lot and set the parking lot as a destination (stopping place).

  In addition, when the vehicle is traveling in the automatic driving vehicle or the automatic driving mode, the passenger may want to stop by the automatic driving instead of the manual driving (operation by the driver). Therefore, information on a route or a range that can be moved by automatic driving such as a road that is permitted to be driven by automatic driving around the festival venue may be output together with the search result. By doing in this way, even when the vehicle is traveling in the automatic driving vehicle or the automatic driving mode, the passenger can grasp whether the vehicle can travel to the vicinity of the event venue or the parking lot as it is.

  FIG. 5 is a display example of roads that are allowed to run by automatic driving. FIG. 5 shows the roads that are allowed to run by automatic driving with respect to FIG. 4 by hatching. By displaying as shown in FIG. 5, the passenger of own vehicle M can determine whether or not he / she can stop by the automatic driving at the festival. In FIG. 5, roads that are permitted to run by automatic driving are indicated by diagonal lines, but may be indicated by routes or ranges that are permitted to run by automatic driving.

  In the above-described embodiment, the information search is performed from the keyword extracted from the sound outside the vehicle and the current position. However, the information search may be performed using only the keyword extracted from the sound outside the vehicle.

  According to the present embodiment, the information retrieval apparatus 1 acquires a vehicle exterior sound that is a sound around the vehicle by the microphone 2, extracts a predetermined keyword based on the vehicle exterior sound acquired by the control unit 6, and is extracted. Information search is performed on the server device 20 using keywords. Then, the control unit 6 causes the output unit 7 to output the search result. By doing in this way, since the keyword based on a vehicle exterior sound is extracted in the control part 6, it becomes possible to search the information which a passenger needs from a vehicle exterior sound.

  Moreover, the GPS receiver 3 which acquires the present position of a vehicle is provided, and the control part 6 is performing the information search using the present position and a keyword. By doing so, the accuracy of the search result can be improved by including the current position.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example. That is, those skilled in the art can implement various modifications in accordance with conventionally known knowledge without departing from the scope of the present invention. As long as the information retrieval apparatus of the present invention is provided even by such modification, it is, of course, included in the category of the present invention.

1 Information Retrieval Device 2 Microphone (Sound Acquisition Unit)
3 GPS receiver (current position acquisition unit)
6 Control unit (extraction unit, search unit)
7 Output section

Claims (7)

A sound acquisition unit that acquires external sounds that are sounds around the vehicle;
An extraction unit for extracting a predetermined keyword based on the acquired outside sound;
A search unit for performing an information search using the extracted keyword;
An output unit for outputting a search result by the search unit;
An information retrieval apparatus comprising: A current position acquisition unit for acquiring a current position of the vehicle;
The search unit performs an information search using the current position and the keyword.
The information retrieval apparatus according to claim 1.   The information search device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs the search result on the line of sight of a passenger.   The information search device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output unit further extracts and outputs information related to a facility where the vehicle stops from the search result.   4. The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs information related to a route or a range in which the vehicle can move by automatic driving based on the search result. 5. An information search method executed by an information search apparatus that performs information search using a predetermined keyword,
A sound acquisition step of acquiring a sound outside the vehicle that is a sound around the vehicle;
An extraction step of extracting the keyword based on the acquired outside vehicle sound;
A search step for performing an information search using the extracted keyword;
An output step of outputting a search result by the search unit;
An information search method characterized by including:   An information search program for causing an information search method according to claim 6 to be executed by a computer.

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