JP2023178066A - Server and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a server and a vehicle that allow image data to be transmitted from a vehicle equipped with a camera to the server in response to a request regarding the transmission time of the image data. SOLUTION: Communication between a vehicle, a server, and the vehicle and the server is relayed. In a system that includes a relay device 3 and collects information on traffic participants, a vehicle 1 includes a communication unit 11 that communicates with a server 2, and a camera that photographs at least one of the outside and inside of the vehicle and generates image data. 12, an acquisition unit 141 that acquires constraint information including an allowable transmission time that is the upper limit of the transmission time of image data from the server, a determination unit 143 that determines the compression rate of image data based on the constraint information, and a determination unit 143 that determines the compression rate of image data based on the constraint information. The image processing apparatus includes a compression unit 144 that compresses image data at a compression rate and generates compressed image data, and a transmission control unit 145 that controls a communication unit to transmit the compressed image data to the server. [Selection diagram] Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a server and a vehicle.

Conventionally, an image data transmitting device and a receiving device are provided, and the transmitting device compresses the image data according to the needs of the receiving device, and compresses the image data according to the needs of the receiving device. Various techniques have been proposed for transmitting to devices. For example, in Patent Document 1 below, prior to image transmission, a receiving device transmits usage purpose information to a transmitting device, and the transmitting device compresses the image to be transmitted according to the usage purpose information. describes an image transmission system that transmits images to a receiving device.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 06-189105

In recent years, systems have emerged in which at least one vehicle equipped with a camera serves as an image transmitter, a server serves as a receiver, and image data generated by the camera is analyzed by the server. Among the analyzes performed by this server, there are those that speed up the transmission of image data (for example, analysis to find out the circumstances and causes of traffic accidents), and those that do not (such as analyzes to collect statistics on the attributes of traffic participants). analysis, etc.). However, the above-mentioned conventional technology only selects a compression ratio corresponding to the number of pixels by referring to a table, and cannot meet the requirements regarding the transmission time of image data. Furthermore, when attempting to determine the compression rate of image data according to the transmission time, the process may become relatively complicated. If one server attempts to perform such processing for multiple vehicles, a considerable burden will be placed on the server.

In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention is a vehicle that includes a communication unit that communicates with a server, and a camera that photographs at least one of the outside and the inside of the vehicle and generates image data. an acquisition unit that acquires constraint information including an allowable transmission time that is an upper limit of the transmission time of the image data from the server; and a determination unit that determines the compression rate of the image data based on the constraint information; The image processing apparatus includes a compression unit that compresses the image data at the compression rate to generate compressed image data, and a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit the compressed image data to the server.

In order to solve the above problems, a server according to another aspect of the present invention includes a communication unit that communicates with a vehicle equipped with a camera that generates image data, and an allowable transmission time that is an upper limit of the transmission time of the image data. a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit constraint information including constraint information to the vehicle; and a transmission control unit that receives image data generated by the camera or compressed image data generated based on the constraint information from the vehicle. and a reception control section that controls the communication section.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system configured by a server and a vehicle according to a first (second) embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a vehicle according to a first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process which the same vehicle performs. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a vehicle according to a second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a server according to the first embodiment.

<First embodiment>
First, details of the system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The system 100 according to this embodiment is a system for collecting information on traffic participants.
The system 100 includes a vehicle 1 and a server 2, as shown in FIG. The system 100 according to this embodiment further includes a relay device 3. Relay device 3 relays communication between vehicle 1 and server 2 . The relay device 3 includes a base station for performing cellular communication, an access point for performing Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication, and the like. Moreover, the system 100 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of vehicles 1.

[Vehicle configuration]
As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 includes a vehicle communication section 11, a camera 12, a vehicle storage section 13, and a vehicle control section 14.

[Vehicle side communication department]
The vehicle-side communication unit 11 communicates with the server 2 described above. The vehicle-side communication unit 11 according to this embodiment is composed of a communication module. The vehicle-side communication unit 11 according to this embodiment is composed of a wireless communication module. That is, the vehicle-side communication unit 11 wirelessly communicates with the server 2 via the relay device 3.

〔camera〕
The camera 12 photographs at least one of the outside and inside of the vehicle 1 and generates image data. The shooting method of the camera 12 according to this embodiment may be video shooting or still image shooting. That is, the image data includes at least one of moving image data and still image data. In the case of video shooting, the camera 12 continues shooting while the vehicle 1 is traveling. On the other hand, in the case of still image photography, the camera 12 repeats photography while the vehicle 1 is traveling. The camera 12 according to the present embodiment outputs the generated image data to the generation unit 142 (details will be described later) of the vehicle-side control unit 14 and stores it in the vehicle-side storage unit 13.

[Vehicle side memory unit]
The vehicle-side storage unit 13 according to this embodiment is configured to be able to store various data and information. The vehicle-side storage unit 13 according to this embodiment includes a semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, and the like.

[Vehicle side control section]
The vehicle-side control unit 14 according to the present embodiment includes an acquisition unit 141, a generation unit 142, a determination unit 143, a compression unit 144, and a vehicle-side transmission control unit 145 (transmission control unit).

(Acquisition Department)
The acquisition unit 141 acquires constraint information from the server 2. The constraint information includes allowable transmission time. The allowable transmission time is the upper limit of the transmission time of image data when transmitting image data from the vehicle 1 to the server 2. The constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 141 according to the present embodiment further includes allowable detection accuracy. The allowable detection accuracy is the lower limit of the post-compression detection accuracy, which is the detection accuracy when the server 2 detects an object using compressed image data. Note that a specific method for calculating each detection accuracy will be described later. When the acquisition unit 141 acquires such constraint information, the vehicle 1 becomes able to transmit compressed image data that has been compressed in consideration of detection accuracy to the server 2 while taking transmission time into consideration. .

Further, the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 141 according to the present embodiment further includes the throughput of the relay device 3. When the acquisition unit 141 acquires such constraint information, the vehicle 1 can change the usage status of other communication devices that communicate compressed image data that has been compressed in consideration of detection accuracy via the relay device 3. Even if the communication speed decreases, the data can be transmitted to the server 2 without exceeding the allowable transmission time.

(Generation part)
The generation unit 142 detects a bounding box (hereinafter referred to as BB) of an object from the image data generated by the camera 12, and generates BB information indicating the size of the BB. The generation unit 142 according to this embodiment detects the BB of an object related to traffic on the road. The "traffic-related objects" detected by the generation unit 142 according to the present embodiment include traffic participants (cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, etc.), traffic equipment (traffic lights, traffic signs, etc.), and the like. As described above, the camera 12 according to the present embodiment continues to capture moving images or repeats capturing still images while the vehicle 1 is traveling. For this reason, the generation unit 142 according to this embodiment periodically generates BB information. The generation unit 142 according to the present embodiment stores the generated BB information in the vehicle-side storage unit 13.

(Decision Department)
The determining unit 143 determines the compression rate of image data based on the constraint information acquired by the acquiring unit 141. The "compression ratio" is the ratio of the amount of compressed image data to the amount of image data, and is expressed by Equation 1 below.

Equation 1: Compression rate = (data amount of compressed image data/data amount of image data)

The determining unit 143 according to the present embodiment determines the compression ratio according to the flow shown in FIG. Specifically, the determining unit 143 first calculates the transmission time required to transmit the image data to the server 2 based on the constraint information (step S1). The determining unit 143 according to the present embodiment calculates the transmission time by substituting various values into Equation 2 below, for example. By performing the operation of step S1, the determining unit 143 includes a calculating unit 143a. Note that the current compression ratio when step S1 is performed for the first time is 1.

Equation 2: Transmission time = {amount of image data x current compression rate/throughput of relay device 3}

After calculating the transmission time, the determination unit 143 determines whether the calculated transmission time is shorter than the allowable transmission time included in the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 141 (step S2). By performing the operation of step S2, the determining unit 143 includes a determining unit 143b.

If the determination unit 143b determines that the transmission time is longer than the allowable transmission time (image data cannot be transmitted within the allowable transmission time unless it is compressed) (step S2: NO), the determination unit 143 sets the compression ratio to less than 1. (compression in the compression unit 144) is determined (step S3). The determining unit 143 according to the present embodiment determines the compression ratio to be less than 1 by performing step S3 at least once.

In step S3, the determining unit 143 first determines whether the current compression ratio has reached a predetermined lower limit stage (step S31). The lower limit stage is the lower limit value of the compression ratio that is not allowed to decrease any further. By performing the operation of step S31, the determining unit 143 includes a third determining unit 143c.

If the third determining unit 143c determines that the current compression rate has not reached the lower limit stage (there is room to lower the compression rate) (step S31: NO), the determining unit 143 lowers the compression rate by one level (step S31: NO). S32). The determining unit 143 according to this embodiment is configured to change the compression rate by lowering it in stages. Specifically, the determining unit 143 according to the present embodiment sets the compression rate so that the number of pixels of the compressed image data decreases by 1/n of the number of pixels of the image data each time compression is performed one stage. lower. For example, if the number of pixels of the image data is 1280p, n = 4, the number of pixels of the compressed image data after one stage compression is reduced by 320p (1/4 of 1280p) (1280p - 320p = 960p), lower the compression ratio. The compression ratio of compressed image data in which the number of pixels is reduced to 3/4 of that before compression (after being lowered by one level) is approximately 0.84. Similarly, the compression ratio of compressed image data whose number of pixels is 2/4 of that before compression (after reduction by 2 steps) is about 0.57, and the compression ratio of compressed image data whose number of pixels is 1/4 of that before compression (after reduction of 3 steps) is about 0.57. The compression ratio of the (later) compressed image data is approximately 0.33. Therefore, if the current compression ratio is 1, the compression ratio after being lowered by one level will be 0.84.

After lowering the compression rate by one level, the determining unit 143 calculates the post-compression detection accuracy when an object is detected using compressed image data compressed at the current (lowered) compression rate (step S33). . Specifically, the determining unit 143 first assigns the BB information of the compressed image data generated by the generating unit 142 to the one in the corresponding compression rate reduction stage among the following numbers 3 to 5, and calculates the BB information for each BB. Calculate the detection probability of the object. Then, by substituting each obtained detection probability into Equation 6 below, the post-compression detection accuracy is calculated. Note that the specific numerical values in numbers 3 to 5 below are examples obtained from a specific data set, and may vary depending on the accuracy and installation position of the camera 12. By performing the operation of step S34, the determining unit 143 includes a second calculating unit 143d.

Number 3: Detection probability (after one step reduction) = 0.0488ln (BB information) + 1.0418
Equation 4: Detection probability (after two-step reduction) = 0.06ln (BB information) + 1.0711
Number 5: Detection probability (after lowering by 3 levels) = 0.0759ln (BB information) + 1.0704
Equation 6: Detection accuracy after compression (expected value) = (1/number of BBs in the image) x Σ detection probability of object in each BB

Further, the second calculation unit 143d according to the present embodiment calculates the transmission time required to transmit the compressed image data compressed at the current (reduced) compression rate to the server 2. The calculation is performed by changing the compression ratio value substituted into Equation 1 above.

After calculating the post-compression detection accuracy, the determining unit 143 determines whether the post-compression detection accuracy calculated by the second calculation unit 143d is higher than the allowable detection accuracy included in the constraint information received from the server 2. (Step S34). By performing the operation of step S35, the determining unit 143 includes a second determining unit 143e.

If the second determination unit 143e determines that the post-compression detection accuracy is higher than the allowable detection accuracy (analysis is possible even if the compression ratio is further reduced) (step S34: YES), the determination unit 143 performs the processing in step S31. Run again. If the third determining unit 143c determines in step S31 that the compression rate has not reached the lower limit stage (step S31: NO), the determining unit 143 determines that the compression rate is the current compression rate in step S32. The value will be changed to a lower value (lowered by one level).

On the other hand, in step S34, if the second determination unit 143e determines that the post-compression detection accuracy is less than or equal to the allowable detection accuracy (if the compression rate is lowered further, analysis becomes difficult) (step S34: NO), the determination unit Step 143 executes the processing from step S2 onwards again.

In step S2, if the determination unit 143b determines that the transmission time calculated in step S1 or step S33 is shorter than the allowable transmission time (image data or compressed image data can be transmitted within the allowable transmission time) (step S2: YES), or if the third determining unit 143c determines in step S31 that the current compression rate has reached the lower limit stage (step S31: YES), the determining unit 143 sets the current compression rate to the final The compression ratio is determined as a compression ratio (step S4). In the first step S2, if the determining unit 143b determines that the transmission time is shorter than the allowable transmission time (step S2: YES), the compression rate is not lowered (the current compression rate is 1). Therefore, in this case, the determining unit 143 determines the compression ratio to be 1 (no compression is performed in the compressing unit 144) (step S3). As a result, the vehicle 1 transmits image data that can be transmitted within a time that does not exceed the allowable transmission time without compressing it. Therefore, the server 2 does not need to reduce object detection accuracy.

As described above, the post-compression detection accuracy calculated in step S33 is calculated based on the BB information. Therefore, the determining unit 143 according to the present embodiment determines the compression ratio based on the constraint information and the BB information generated by the generating unit 142. This allows the vehicle 1 to transmit compressed image data to the server 2 in consideration of the detected BB size.

By performing the operations described above by the determining unit 143, the vehicle 1 can transmit compressed image data that has been compressed in consideration of detection accuracy to the server 2 without exceeding the allowable transmission time. Become. Furthermore, this can prevent a situation in which the image data is excessively compressed and becomes unusable on the server 2 side.

(compression section)
The compression unit 144 compresses the image data at the compression rate determined by the determination unit 143 to generate compressed image data. The compression method is not particularly limited, and various conventionally known methods can be used. The compression unit 144 according to the present embodiment does not compress image data when the determination unit 143 determines the compression ratio to be 1. Note that when the image data is video data, the compression unit 144 is configured to reduce the data amount by, for example, deleting some frames (the beginning or the end) instead of reducing the data amount of each frame. It's okay. In this way, compressed image data can be generated without reducing image quality.

(Transmission control section)
The vehicle-side transmission control unit 145 controls the vehicle-side communication unit 11 to transmit the compressed image data generated by the compression unit 144 to the server 2, as shown in FIG. The vehicle-side transmission control unit 145 according to the present embodiment controls the vehicle-side communication unit 11 to transmit the image data as is to the server 2 when the compression unit 144 does not compress the image data.

[Vehicle effects]
The system 100 according to this embodiment is for collecting information on traffic participants. For this reason, the server 2, which will be described later, does not rush to transmit image data, but performs analysis that requires relatively high quality images. Therefore, the allowable transmission time included in the constraint information received by the vehicle 1 according to this embodiment is relatively long (than in the second embodiment described below), and the allowable reduction rate is relatively high. However, according to the vehicle 1 described above, image data can be transmitted to the server 2 in response to a request regarding the image data transmission time. That is, the vehicle 1 can transmit compressed image data to the server 2 in a transmission time that does not exceed the permissible transmission time and has the highest possible compression ratio (large data amount, high detection accuracy after compression).

[Server configuration]
As shown in FIG. 4, the server 2 includes a server-side communication section 21 (communication section), a server-side storage section 22, an output section 23, and a server-side control section 24.

[Server side communication department]
The server-side communication unit 21 communicates with the vehicle 1 described above. The server-side communication unit 21 according to this embodiment is composed of a wireless communication module. That is, the server-side communication unit 21 wirelessly communicates with each vehicle 1 via the relay device 3.

[Server side storage unit]
The server-side storage unit 22 is configured to be able to store various data and information. The server-side storage unit 22 according to this embodiment includes a semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, and the like.

[Output section]
The output unit 23 includes at least one of a communication module that transmits data and signals to other devices (such as a display device), a terminal that is connected to other devices, a drive that writes information to a recording medium, and a display device that displays images. It consists of:

[Server side control unit]
The server-side control unit 24 according to the present embodiment includes a measurement unit 241, a server-side transmission control unit 242 (transmission control unit), a reception control unit 243, an analysis unit 244, and an output control unit 245.

(Measurement part)
The measurement unit 241 measures the throughput of the relay device 3 that relays communication with the server 2.

(Server side transmission control section)
The server-side transmission control unit 242 controls the server-side communication unit 21 to transmit the restriction information to the vehicle 1. As mentioned above, the constraint information includes the allowable transmission time. The allowable transmission time is determined in advance according to the content to be analyzed by the analysis unit 244 (details will be described later). The server-side transmission control unit 242 according to the present embodiment controls the server-side communication unit 21 to transmit request information requesting image data to the vehicle 1 when it becomes necessary to analyze an image. . The "need to analyze an image" that triggers the server-side transmission control unit 242 according to this embodiment to start control for transmitting constraint information includes, for example, the operator of the system 100 (server 2). This includes the fact that the user) has performed a predetermined image request operation on the server 2. The server-side transmission control unit 242 according to the present embodiment controls the server-side communication unit 21 to transmit the restriction information to the vehicle 1 together with the request information or as a part of the request information. Note that the request information may be the constraint information itself.

The constraint information transmitted by the server-side communication unit 21 under the control of the server-side transmission control unit 242 according to the present embodiment further includes permissible detection accuracy. Thereby, the server 2 can receive image data from the vehicle 1 in which detection accuracy and transmission time are taken into consideration.

Furthermore, the constraint information transmitted by the server-side communication unit 21 under the control of the server-side transmission control unit 242 according to the present embodiment further includes the throughput measured by the measurement unit 241. As a result, the server 2 can transmit image data that takes detection accuracy into consideration from the vehicle 1 through the relay device 3 even if the communication speed decreases due to changes in the usage status of other communication devices. Even if there is, it can be received without exceeding the allowable transmission time.

(Reception control section)
The reception control unit 243 controls the server-side communication unit 21 to receive image data or compressed image data from the vehicle 1. Compressed image data is generated based on constraint information. If the vehicle 1 does not generate compressed image data, the reception control unit 243 according to the present embodiment controls the server-side communication unit 21 to receive the compressed image data from the vehicle 1. The reception control unit 243 according to the present embodiment causes the server-side storage unit 22 to store the image data or compressed image data received by the server-side communication unit 21 .

(Analysis Department)
The analysis unit 244 analyzes the image data or compressed image data received by the server-side communication unit 21. This makes it possible to extract information depending on the purpose from the image data or compressed image data. The analysis unit 244 according to the present embodiment analyzes the image data or compressed image data and extracts various information such as the model of the vehicle shown in the image and the attributes (age, gender, etc.) of the pedestrian. As a result, it is possible to obtain statistical information such as what kind of vehicles were traveling when and where, and what kind of pedestrians were walking. The analysis unit 244 according to the present embodiment stores the analysis result in the server-side storage unit 22.

Note that the analysis unit 244 may be configured to automatically determine at least the allowable transmission time depending on the content to be analyzed. In this way, it is possible to save time and effort for a person to set constraints regarding transmission time. This is particularly effective when the server 2 supports multiple types of analysis.

(output control section)
The output control unit 245 controls the output unit 23 to output the analysis result by the analysis unit 244. Thereby, when the output unit 23 is a communication module or a terminal, the output unit 23 transmits the data of the analysis result to another device. Further, when the output unit 23 is a drive, the output unit 23 writes the data of the analysis result to the recording medium. Further, when the output unit 23 is a display device, the output unit 23 displays the analysis results.

[Server and others]
Note that the server 2 may include an operation unit (keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.) that can be operated by the user. In that case, the server-side control unit 24 may be configured to set at least part of the constraint information according to an operation performed on the operation unit by the user.

[Server effects]
The server 2 according to this embodiment does not rush to transmit image data, but performs analysis that requires relatively high quality images. However, according to the server 2 described above, image data can be received from the vehicle 1 in response to a request regarding the transmission time of the image data. That is, the server 2 can receive compressed image data from the vehicle 1 that can be transmitted within a transmission time that does not exceed the allowable transmission time and that has a compression ratio as high as possible (large amount of data, high detection accuracy after compression). .

<Second embodiment>
Next, details of the system 100A according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

A system 100A according to this embodiment is a system for analyzing the situation of a traffic accident that has occurred.
As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes, in addition to the relay device 3, a vehicle 1A and a server 2A. The system 100A according to this embodiment includes a plurality of vehicles 1A, like the system 100 according to the first embodiment.

[Differences between vehicles]
As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle 1A according to this embodiment includes a vehicle-side control section 14A in addition to a vehicle-side communication section 11, a camera 12, and a vehicle-side storage section 13.

[Vehicle side control unit]
The vehicle-side control unit 14A according to the present embodiment includes a notification unit 146 in addition to an acquisition unit 141, a generation unit 142, a determination unit 143A, a compression unit 144, and a vehicle-side transmission control unit 145.

(Notification Department)
When the vehicle 1A detects the occurrence of a traffic accident, the notification unit 146 controls the vehicle-side communication unit 11 to transmit accident occurrence information indicating that to the server 2A. In this embodiment, methods for the vehicle 1A to detect the occurrence of a traffic accident include, for example, detecting an impact greater than a predetermined value, detecting a sound greater than a predetermined value, and performing a predetermined operation by an occupant on an operation unit (not shown). This includes things such as.

[Vehicle effects]
The system 100A according to this embodiment is for analyzing the situation of a traffic accident that has occurred. For this reason, the server 2A, which will be described later, performs an analysis to speed up the transmission of the image data, although it allows a certain degree of deterioration in the image quality of the image data. Therefore, the allowable transmission time included in the constraint information received by the vehicle 1A according to this embodiment is relatively short (than in the first embodiment), and the allowable reduction rate is relatively low. However, according to the vehicle 1A described above, similarly to the vehicle 1 according to the first embodiment, image data can be transmitted to the server 2 in response to a request regarding the image data transmission time. That is, the vehicle 1A can transmit compressed image data that has been compressed as much as possible (the amount of data is small) to the server 2A within a range where the detection accuracy after compression does not exceed the allowable detection accuracy. Further, according to the vehicle 1A, in order to notify the server 2A of the occurrence of a traffic accident, image data or compressed image data can be immediately transmitted to the server 2A immediately after the traffic accident occurs.

[Server differences]
As shown in FIG. 6, the server 2 includes a server-side communication section 21, a server-side storage section 22, and an output section 23, as well as a server-side control section 24A.

[Server side control unit]
The server-side control section 24A includes a measurement section 241, a reception control section 243, and an output control section 245, as well as a server-side transmission control section 242A and an analysis section 244A.

(Server side transmission control unit)
The server-side transmission control unit 242A controls the server-side communication unit 21 to transmit the constraint information to the vehicle 1, similarly to the server-side transmission control unit 242 according to the first embodiment. When the server-side transmission control unit 242A according to the present embodiment starts control for transmitting constraint information, “the need to analyze an image has arisen”, the server-side communication unit 21 is sent from the vehicle 1A to This includes receiving occurrence information, etc. Further, the constraint information transmitted to the vehicle 1A under the control of the server-side transmission control unit 242A according to the present embodiment includes that the permissible transmission time is shorter than the permissible transmission time according to the first embodiment, and that the permissible detection accuracy is the first. It is lower than the allowable transmission time according to the embodiment.

(Analysis Department)
The analysis unit 244A according to the present embodiment analyzes the image data or compressed image data, and determines the state of damaged traffic participants (pedestrians, vehicles), buildings, etc. that appear in the image, the state of the vehicle that caused the damage, etc. Various information is extracted, such as the movements of traffic participants who suffered damage up to the accident, and the movements of vehicles, etc. that caused damage up to the accident. This makes it possible to know what kind of traffic accident occurred, and also to find out what kind of cause caused the traffic accident. As a result, if the user of the server 2 is, for example, an operator of an insurance company, the information can be collected in response to those involved in a traffic accident.

[Server effects]
The server 2A according to the present embodiment allows a certain degree of deterioration in the image quality of image data, but performs analysis to expedite the transmission of image data. However, according to the server 2A described above, similarly to the server 2 according to the first embodiment, image data can be received from the vehicle 1A in response to a request regarding the transmission time of the image data. That is, the server 2A can receive compressed image data that has been compressed as much as possible (the amount of data is small) from the vehicle 1A within a range where the detection accuracy after compression does not exceed the permissible detection accuracy. Furthermore, according to the server 2A, in order to transmit the restriction information to the vehicle 1A upon being notified of the occurrence of a traffic accident from the vehicle 1, the image data or compressed image data is immediately sent to the server immediately after the traffic accident occurs. Can be sent to 2A.

<Others>
The functions of the vehicles 1, 1A and the servers 2, 2A (hereinafter referred to as "devices, etc.") are programs for making a computer function as the devices, etc., and each control block of the devices, etc. (especially the vehicle side It can be realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the control units 14, 14A, each unit included in the server-side control units 24, 24A). In this case, the above-mentioned apparatus etc. are equipped with a computer having at least one control device (for example, a processor) and at least one storage device (for example, a memory) as hardware for executing the above-mentioned program. By executing the above program using this control device and storage device, each function described in each of the above embodiments is realized. The above program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media instead of temporary. This recording medium may or may not be included in the above device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device or the like via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

Further, part or all of the functions of each of the control blocks described above can also be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit functioning as each of the control blocks described above is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition to this, it is also possible to realize the functions of each of the control blocks described above using, for example, a quantum computer.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

100, 100A System 1, 1A Vehicle 11 Vehicle side communication section (communication section)
12 Camera 13 Vehicle-side storage unit 14, 14A Vehicle-side control unit 141 Acquisition unit 142 Generation unit 143, 143A Determination unit 143a Calculation unit 143b Judgment unit 143c Third judgment unit 143d Second calculation unit 143e Second judgment unit 144 Compression unit 145 Vehicle side transmission control section (transmission control section)
146 Notification section 2, 2A Server 21 Server-side communication section 22 Server-side storage section 23 Output section 24, 24A Server-side control section 241 Measurement section 242, 242A Server-side transmission control section 243 Reception control section 244, 244A Analysis section 245 Output control Part 3 Relay equipment

Claims (13)

A vehicle comprising a communication unit that communicates with a server,
a camera that photographs at least one of the outside and inside of the vehicle and generates image data;
an acquisition unit that acquires constraint information including an allowable transmission time that is an upper limit of the transmission time of the image data from the server;
a determining unit that determines the compression rate of the image data based on the constraint information;
a compression unit that compresses the image data at the compression rate to generate compressed image data;
a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit the compressed image data to the server;
A vehicle equipped with The acquisition unit acquires the constraint information including the allowable transmission time and allowable detection accuracy that is a lower limit of post-compression detection accuracy when detecting an object using the compressed image data.
The vehicle according to claim 1. The acquisition unit acquires the constraint information including the allowable transmission time, the allowable detection accuracy, and the throughput of a relay device that relays communication with the server.
The vehicle according to claim 2. A generation unit that detects a bounding box of the object from the image data and generates BB information indicating the size of the bounding box,
The determining unit determines the compression rate based on the constraint information and the BB information,
The vehicle according to claim 2 or 3. The determining unit is
a calculation unit that calculates the transmission time required to transmit the image data to the server based on the constraint information;
a determination unit that determines whether the transmission time is shorter than the allowable transmission time;
Equipped with
The determining unit determines the compression ratio to be 1 when the determining unit determines that the transmission time is shorter than the allowable transmission time.
The vehicle according to claim 4. The determining unit determines the compression ratio to be less than 1 when the determining unit determines that the transmission time is longer than the allowable transmission time.
The vehicle according to claim 5. The determining unit is
a second calculation unit that calculates a post-compression detection accuracy of a detection accuracy when an object is detected using the compressed image data compressed at a current compression rate;
a second determination unit that determines whether the post-compression detection accuracy is higher than the allowable detection accuracy;
Equipped with
If the second determining unit determines that the post-compression detection accuracy is higher than the allowable detection accuracy, changing the compression rate to a value lower than the current compression rate;
The vehicle according to claim 6. The determining unit is
The compression ratio is configured to be changed by lowering the compression ratio in stages,
comprising a third determination unit that determines whether the current compression ratio has reached a predetermined lower limit stage;
If the third determining unit determines that the current compression rate has reached the lower limit stage, determining the current compression rate as the final compression rate;
The vehicle according to claim 7. a communication unit that communicates with a vehicle equipped with a camera that generates image data;
a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit constraint information including an allowable transmission time that is an upper limit of the transmission time of the image data to the vehicle;
a reception control unit that controls the communication unit to receive image data generated by the camera or compressed image data generated based on the constraint information from the vehicle;
A server equipped with The transmission control unit transmits the constraint information including the allowable transmission time and an allowable detection accuracy that is an upper limit of a detection accuracy after compression when detecting an object using the compressed image data to the vehicle. The server according to claim 9, wherein the server controls the communication unit to. comprising a measurement unit that measures the throughput of a relay device that relays communication with the server,
The server according to claim 10, wherein the transmission control unit controls the communication unit to transmit the constraint information including the allowable transmission time, the allowable detection accuracy, and the throughput to the vehicle. comprising an analysis unit that analyzes the image data or the compressed image data;
The server according to any one of claims 9 to 11. The analysis unit determines at least the allowable transmission time according to the content to be analyzed.
The server according to claim 12.

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