CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-024924, filed on Feb. 15, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system and a vehicle control method.

Description of the Related Art

A mobile office in which office equipment is provided within a vehicle is disclosed (for example, Patent document 1). In the mobile office, a passenger can do clerical work even while the vehicle is traveling.

CITATION LIST

Patent Document

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H09-183334

However, for example, there is a case where users who do clerical work within mobile offices have needs for meeting and consulting each other.

The present disclosure has been made in view of various actual circumstances as described above, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control system and a vehicle control method which enable meeting with another user who is on a vehicle.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control system including a plurality of vehicles, a storage that stores information relating to a user who is on a vehicle for each of the plurality of vehicles, at least one processor configured to receive a matching request for requesting meeting with a user who is on one of the plurality of vehicles; specify a first vehicle which a first user matching the matching request is on, on the basis of the information stored in the storage; and perform control on the first vehicle so as to let the first vehicle and a requesting source of the matching request meet each other. Each of the plurality of vehicles is, for example, a manned-driven or unmanned-driven car.

By this, a user who is the requesting source of the matching request can meet the first user. Further, for the first user who is on the first vehicle, a time period during which the first user is on the first vehicle is highly likely to be a vacant time period or an idle time period, and, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to effectively utilize the vacant time period.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of vehicles may be a vehicle which can autonomously travel on the basis of a move command, and the at least one processor may be configured to determine a meeting point for meeting with the requesting source and may transmit the move command for moving to the meeting point to the first vehicle as the control on the first vehicle. In the case where the vehicle is a vehicle which can autonomously travel, for example, the vehicle control system can control the vehicle more easily than a manned-driven vehicle, so that the vehicle control system can more easily let the user who is the requesting source of the matching request and the first user meet each other. Further, in the case where the vehicle is a vehicle which can autonomously travel, for the first user who is on the first vehicle, a time period during which the first user is on the first vehicle is more likely to be a vacant time period or an idle time period, so that it is possible to effectively utilize the vacant time period.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of vehicles may be a vehicle which can autonomously travel, and the requesting source of the matching request may be a vehicle other than the first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles, and may be a second vehicle which a second user is on.

In this case, the at least one processor may be configured to transmit the move command for moving to the meeting point also to the second vehicle. By both the first vehicle and the second vehicle being headed to the meeting point, it is possible to let the first user and the second user meet each other sooner. Further, because the second vehicle which is the requesting source is also a vehicle which can autonomously travel, for the second user, a time period during which the second user is on the second vehicle is highly likely to be a vacant time period, so that it is possible to effectively utilize the vacant time period for both the first user and the second user.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the requesting source of the matching request may be a user terminal of the second user. By this, even if the requesting source of the matching request is a user terminal, it is possible to let the user (second user) who is the requesting source and the first user meet each other.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the requesting source of the matching request may be a user terminal of the second user who is on the second vehicle other than the first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles. In this case, the at least one processor may be configured to transmit the move command for moving to the meeting point also to the second vehicle. By this, in the case where the second user is on the second vehicle, because both the first vehicle and the second vehicle are headed to the meeting point, the first user and the second user can meet each other sooner.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the requesting source of the matching request may be a user terminal of the second user who is on none of the plurality of vehicles. In this case, for example, the at least one processor may be configured to transmit a move command for moving to a location of the user terminal, a getting-on command for the second user at the location of the user terminal, and a move command for moving to the meeting point from the location of the user terminal, to the second vehicle other than the first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles. By this, because the second vehicle is headed to the second user, lets the second user on and is headed to the meeting point, even in the case where the second user is not on the second vehicle, the first user and the second user can meet each other sooner.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, in the case where the first vehicle and the second vehicle are vehicles which can autonomously travel, and, in the case where the first vehicle and the second vehicle meet each other at the meeting point, and one of the first user and the second user changes the vehicle to the second vehicle or the first vehicle, the control unit may transmit a move command for moving to a predetermined location to a vehicle which the user is not on out of the first vehicle and the second vehicle. By this, because a vehicle which the user is not on returns to the predetermined location, the vehicle can be easily managed.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, in a case where at least one processor may be configured to notify the first vehicle of a confirmation request as to the matching request and when a response is received from the first vehicle, the at least one processor may be configured to perform control on the first vehicle. By this, it is possible to determine whether or not to let the user who is the matching request source and the first user who is on the first vehicle meet each other while taking into account a state of the first user who is on the first vehicle.

Note that the vehicle control system of the present disclosure may be configured with one or a plurality of processing apparatuses such as computers. In the case where the vehicle control system is configured with a plurality of processing apparatuses, respective components of the vehicle control system are provided at the plurality of processing apparatuses in a dispersed manner, and the respective processing apparatuses implement processing as the vehicle control system in cooperation with each other.

The present disclosure can be viewed from an aspect of a vehicle control method. In the vehicle control method, a control apparatus that controls a plurality of vehicles stores information relating to a user who is on a vehicle in a storage for each of the plurality of vehicles, receives a matching request for match with a user who is on one of the plurality of vehicles, specifies a first vehicle which a first user matching the matching request is on, on the basis of the information stored in the storage unit, and performs control on the first vehicle so as to let the first vehicle and a requesting source of the matching request meet each other. Note that technical idea disclosed regarding the above-described vehicle control system can be also applied to the vehicle control method within a range which does not cause technical variance.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to let a user and another user who is on a vehicle meet each other.

