JPH1011137A - Mobile object allocating system and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently allocate a mobile object to a request source. SOLUTION: A position acquiring part 32 detects its own position and sends the detected position to a control center through a communication part 30. The center prepares information expressing the distribution state of mobile objects along a traveling route in an area based on the positional information of respective mobile objects and provides the prepared information to respective mobile objects. The communication part 30 receives the distribution information from the center and mutually communicates with respective requesting sources. A position specifying part 36 searches the shortest route up to each request source and calculates its route length. A bidder selecting part 38 calculates the total number of mobile objects on each route based on the distribution information and calculates and stores an evaluation value for each bidder corresponding to the total number and the shortest route length. At the time of receiving a request message from a certain request source through the communication part 30, the selecting part 38 determines whether a bid message is to be transmitted to the request source or not based on the evaluation value corresponding to the combination of the shortest route length up to the request source and the total number of mobile objects on each route.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile object allocating system and a mobile object allocating method, and is suitably used, for example, in a distribution terminal, a factory, a building, or the like to which an autonomous mobile robot or an automatic guided vehicle is applied. The present invention relates to a mobile object allocation system and a mobile object allocation method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, there are various systems that repeatedly assign a mobile body such as an autonomous mobile robot or an automatic guided vehicle to a request issued asynchronously from a request source at an arbitrary position in an area. For example, there is known a luggage transport system that assigns an automatic guided vehicle to a luggage carrier at a distribution terminal, a factory, a building, or the like.

Conventionally, in such a system, a mobile unit is assigned to a request source by the following method. For example, such a system includes one control center, multiple mobiles, and multiple requesters. Each component can exchange messages with each other, having appropriate communication means.

[0004] First, a requester who wants to receive assignment of a mobile unit issues an assignment request to a control center. The control center can acquire the current positions of all assignable mobile units in the area, and when receiving an allocation request from the request source, issues a movement instruction to the mobile unit closest to the request source. Upon receiving the movement instruction, the moving body moves while selecting an appropriate route to the designated request source. As described above, the assignment of the mobile unit to the request source is realized.

[0005]

However, in the prior art as described above, the control center manages the positions of all the mobile units and optimizes the position among all possible combinations of the mobile unit and the request source. When a large number of mobile units and request sources are relatively large, a large number of calculations are required, and real-time control may be difficult.

[0006] Therefore, a means for broadcasting a message to other components in the area is provided at the request source, and an allocation request message is broadcast to a moving body in the area to move individually at each request source. A system for selecting a body is conceivable.
In this case, since it is a broadcast, a plurality of mobiles can receive the message at the same time. At this time, position information indicating the current position of the request source is added to the assignment request message.

[0007] More specifically, upon receiving the assignment request message, the mobile unit issues a bid message to the request source that issued the assignment request message if it can respond to the request. If a plurality of allocation request messages are received, one of the request sources located closest to the request messages is selected and a bid message is issued. At this time, position information indicating the current position of the moving object is added to the bid message. The requester issues a successful bid message to the mobile that issued the bid message. When a plurality of bid messages are received, a successful bid message is issued to one moving body located at the closest distance, and a non-bid message is issued to the other moving bodies. If no bid message arrives within a predetermined time, the allocation message is broadcast again.

[0008] The moving body that has received the successful bid message moves while selecting an appropriate route to the request source. By exchanging the messages as described above, the assignment of the mobile unit to the request source independent of the control center is realized.

In such a system, the problem of the system using the control center can be solved by performing the calculation in a distributed manner in each component. In this case, it is an effective method when the moving objects and the request sources are appropriately dispersed in the area. However, since all mobiles determine the destination of the bidding message using the same criterion, the mobiles or requesters are concentrated depending on the location, and the distribution of the mobiles or requesters is largely biased by location. If so, the bid message may be concentrated on some requesters. As a result, non-successful messages and bid messages that do not lead to a successful bid increase, resulting in an increase in useless communication. In addition, in the entire system, some request sources wait for a long time even when there is enough available mobile units, and some request sources wait for a long time even when there are some available mobile units. In some cases, there is a case where a moving body whose assignment destination is not determined occurs even though there is a request source waiting for assignment.

For example, in a factory or the like, when there is a system for transporting products from a plurality of different types of manufacturing machines to one warehouse, each of the manufacturing machines, when a certain amount of products is completed, is transferred to an automatic guided vehicle in the factory. It broadcasts an assignment request message to it. At this time, the unmanned guided vehicles that meet the demand, that is, unmanned guided vehicles that unload goods and do not load products are concentrated around the warehouse. for that reason,
A bid message is duplicated for a manufacturing machine relatively close to a warehouse, and it is difficult to bid for a manufacturing machine relatively far from the warehouse, and the above-described problem occurs.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, enables real-time control even when the number of mobile units and request sources is relatively large, reduces unnecessary communication, and efficiently requests mobile units. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile object allocation system and a mobile object allocation method that can be originally allocated.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a moving object allocating system according to the present invention includes a plurality of moving objects which can freely move on a traveling path in a predetermined area. A mobile object allocation system that sequentially allocates to the request source when the allocation request is generated, the system includes information indicating a distribution state of the mobile objects along a traveling route in an area for each mobile object. Includes information providing means for providing to each mobile object, each request source broadcasts a request message to the mobile object when an allocation request occurs, and a bid message which is a response to the request message. Means for selecting one of the closest distances to the requester from the mobiles that issued the bidding message when received from the mobile; And a message issuing means for issuing a successful bid message, wherein each mobile unit includes at least a position detecting unit for detecting a current position of the mobile unit, a communication unit for communicating with a request source, and A bid determining means for calculating a predetermined evaluation value for each request source based on the moving object distribution information and determining whether to issue a bid message to the request source.

In this case, the distribution information providing means is included in a control center which manages the present system, and the control center includes position information obtaining means for obtaining position information detected by the moving body, It includes distribution information creating means for creating distribution information of the moving body based on the information, and transmitting means for transmitting the created distribution information to the moving body.

Further, the moving body includes a route search means for searching for the shortest route of an arbitrary traveling route in the area, and a route length calculating means for calculating the shortest route length to each request source, and determines a bid. The means is a total number calculating means for calculating the total number of moving objects existing on the traveling route starting from each request source from the moving object distribution information, the shortest path length to each request source and existing on each route An evaluation value calculation unit that calculates an evaluation value for a set of the total number of moving objects, and a storage unit that stores the result, wherein the bid determination unit determines the largest one of the evaluation values stored in the storage unit It is advantageous to make a selection and issue a bid message to the selected requestor.

Further, the moving object includes route searching means for respectively searching for the shortest route of an arbitrary traveling route in the area, and the bidding determining means determines the total number of moving objects present on each route by moving object distribution information. Total value calculating means for calculating the position of the moving object, the position of the request source and the evaluation value calculating means for calculating the evaluation value for three sets of the total number of moving objects present on each route, and the result A bid deciding means for selecting the largest evaluation value from the evaluation values stored in the storage means and issuing a bid message to the selected request source. Is also good.

Further, the moving object includes route searching means for respectively searching for the shortest route of an arbitrary traveling route in the area, and the bidding determining means determines the total number of moving objects present on each route by moving object distribution information. And four sets of the total number of requesters on the route from the mobile to the requester and the total number of mobiles present on each route and the position of the mobile and the requester, Evaluation value calculation means for calculating an evaluation value with respect to, and storage means for storing the result, the bid determination means selects the largest evaluation value from the evaluation values stored in the storage means, A bid message may be issued to the selected request source.

In these cases, the bid determination means increases the evaluation value stored in the storage means when receiving a successful bid message for the bid message from the requester, and decreases the evaluation value when no successful bid message is received. It is advantageous to rewrite each evaluation value.

On the other hand, in the moving object allocating method according to the present invention, a request for allocating a plurality of moving objects capable of freely moving on a traveling path in a predetermined area is generated to a plurality of request sources existing in the area. A method of sequentially locating the current position of each moving object in the moving object allocating method when the moving objects are sequentially allocated, and the distribution state of the moving objects along the traveling path in the area based on the position of each moving object. A step of creating information representing the moving object, a step of providing the created moving object distribution status to each of the moving objects, and a predetermined evaluation value for each requesting source at each of the moving objects receiving the moving object distribution information. Calculating based on the received mobile unit distribution information, transmitting a request message to the mobile unit when an allocation request is generated at the request source, and receiving the request message Deciding whether or not to issue a bid message based on the evaluation value stored in the moving object, and a request source that received the bidding message from the moving object. Selecting one of the distances closest to the requester and issuing a successful bid message to the selected mobile unit.

In this case, the method according to the present invention includes a step of searching for the shortest path of an arbitrary traveling route in the area, and a step of calculating the shortest path length to each request source. The step of calculating the value is a step of calculating the total number of moving objects existing on the traveling route starting from each request source from the moving object distribution information, and a step of calculating the shortest path length to each request source and each path Calculating the evaluation value for the set of the total number of existing mobile units, and storing the result, and issuing the bid message, selecting the largest one of the stored evaluation values Advantageously, a bid message is issued to the selected requestor.

Further, the method according to the present invention includes a step of searching for the shortest route of an arbitrary traveling route in the area, and the step of calculating the evaluation value by the moving object includes the steps of: The step of calculating the total number of the mobile body from the distribution information of the mobile body, the step of calculating the evaluation value for the three sets of the position of the mobile body and the position of the request source and the total number of the mobile bodies present on each route, Storing the result, and issuing the bid message, selecting the largest one of the stored evaluation values, and issuing the bid message to the selected requester. Good.

Further, the method according to the present invention includes the steps of respectively searching for the shortest route of any travel route in the area,
The step of calculating the evaluation value in the moving object includes the step of calculating the total number of moving objects present on each route from the moving object distribution information, and the position of the moving object and the position of the request source and the position of the request source on each route. Calculating an evaluation value for the four sets of the total number of existing mobile units and the total number of request sources on the route from the mobile unit to the request source; and storing the result. In the issuing step, the largest evaluation value may be selected from the stored evaluation values, and a bid message may be issued to the selected request source.

In these cases, the mobile unit increases the evaluation value stored when receiving the successful bid message for the bid message from the requesting source, and decreases the evaluation value when it does not receive the successful bid message. It is advantageous to include a step of rewriting the evaluation value.

[0023]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a mobile unit allocating system and a mobile unit allocating method according to the present invention; 1 to 3 show one embodiment of a mobile object allocation system to which a mobile object allocation method according to the present invention is applied. The mobile object allocation system according to the present embodiment is effectively applied to, for example, a luggage transportation system that allocates an automatic guided vehicle to a luggage carrier at a distribution terminal or a factory. And a plurality of mobile units such as unmanned transport vehicles that transport a certain amount of products produced from the manufacturing machine to a warehouse or the like, and a control center that manages assignment of the mobile units to these requesting sources.

In particular, in this embodiment, each mobile unit detects its own position, creates information indicating its distribution status at the control center, and based on the distribution information, each mobile unit determines its own position. The main feature is that it is determined whether or not to respond to the allocation request from the request source. That is,
The traveling path of the mobile unit can be represented as a network map including, for example, appropriate links and nodes as shown in FIG. 6, and the control center uses the position information obtained from the mobile unit and the request source to determine the mobile unit The position of the request source on the network map is specified and provided to the mobile unit, and in the mobile unit of the present embodiment, the total number of the mobile units on the traveling route between the request source and the mobile unit is calculated based on the distribution information, Further, the shortest path length to the request source is calculated, and an evaluation value for these groups is given to determine whether or not to respond to the allocation request.

More specifically, the control center according to the present embodiment
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, it includes a moving body position acquiring unit 10, a moving body distribution information creating unit 12, and an information providing unit 14. FIG. 1 shows only parts directly related to the present embodiment, and parts not directly related to the present embodiment are omitted. For example, the control center includes a communication device and a central processing unit that executes a program. In this embodiment, the control center includes a function of an information providing unit when a mobile unit is allocated to a request source, as shown in the figure. become.

The details of each unit will be described. The moving body position acquiring section 10 is a position detecting section for detecting information representing the current position of moving bodies in a region. For example, it includes a receiver of a wireless device that sequentially receives position information at a predetermined cycle. The position information detected by the moving object position obtaining unit is used as a moving object distribution information creating unit.
Supplied to 12. At this time, the acquired position information is expressed as coordinates in an appropriate coordinate system.

The mobile unit distribution information creation unit 12 uses the position information of the mobile unit supplied from the mobile unit position acquisition unit 10 to determine the number of assignable mobile units existing on each link of the network map for each link. And a processing circuit for creating the information as information representing the distribution state. The created distribution information is sequentially supplied to the information providing unit 14. Information provision department
14 is a circuit that notifies the distribution information of the assignable moving objects created by the moving object distribution information creation unit 12 to the moving objects in the area at predetermined intervals, for example, the notification to the moving object is It is advantageous to do so by broadcasting using a communication device.

Next, the request source according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a message creating unit 20, a message communicating unit 22, a message receiving unit 24, and a mobile unit selecting unit 26, as shown in FIG. The message creating unit 20 is a functional unit that creates an assignment request message when a mobile unit assignment request is generated, and creates a successful bid message and a non-successful message when a bid message is received from the mobile unit for the request message. . The request message includes identification information of the request source and position information indicating the position.
The successful bid message includes the identification information of the request source, the identification information of the mobile unit of the successful bid destination, and the like. The non-successful bid message is a message to a moving body other than the winning bidder when receiving a bidding message from a plurality of moving bodies, and the main content is a non-successful bid instruction. These messages are supplied to the message communication unit 22.

The message communication section 22 is a circuit for performing a broadcast of a request message and an individual communication of a successful bid message or a non-successful message. In the present embodiment, in the case of individual communication, a destination is identified by its identification information. By doing so, it can be realized only with the broadcast function. The message receiving unit 24 receives the bidding messages from the respective mobile units received by the message communication unit 22, and decodes, for example, the identification information and the position information of the mobile units added to the bidding message, and sends the message to the mobile unit selecting unit 26. Supply. The message reception unit broadcasts the request message for a predetermined time.
When the bid message is not supplied to the message receiving unit 24, the message receiving unit 24 requests the message communication unit 22 to broadcast the request message again via the message creating unit 20.

The mobile unit selection unit 26 is a processing unit that selects one of a plurality of mobile units from information supplied via the message reception unit 24 when a plurality of bid messages are received by the message communication unit 22. Yes, the position information of the moving object is compared, and one moving object that is closest to the request source is selected. When a moving object is selected, the message
This is a selection instruction circuit that supplies identification information and the like of the selected mobile unit to 20 and issues a successful bid message to other mobile units and issues a non-successful message to other mobile units.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the mobile unit in this embodiment includes a communication unit 30, a position acquisition unit 32, a movement control unit 34, a position identification unit 36, and a bid destination selection unit 38. Including. Although the moving body includes mechanical elements such as a self-standing moving mechanism, FIG. 3 shows only parts directly related to the present embodiment, and omits parts not directly related to the present embodiment.

The communication unit 30 is a communication circuit for exchanging messages with the respective request sources and the control center. In this embodiment, messages arriving within a fixed time are stored in a message queue for each message type. A message is output to the bid selection unit 25 in response to a request from the bid destination selection unit 38. In addition, a bid message is issued to the request source in accordance with an instruction from the bid destination selection unit 38. In the present embodiment, the communication with the control center includes transmission of position information and reception of distribution information of the moving object.

The position acquisition section 32 is a position detection circuit for detecting the current position of the moving body, and obtains, for example, identification information of a position from a traveling road or its periphery. The current position is obtained by coordinates in an appropriate coordinate system. Position detection can also be obtained in other ways than those described above. The obtained position information is supplied to the movement control unit 34 and the bid destination selection unit 38. The movement control unit 34 is a circuit that performs control to move the moving body to the destination, and moves the moving body while selecting an appropriate route based on the position information obtained from the position acquisition unit 32.

The position specifying unit 36 is a circuit for specifying the position of the mobile unit or the request source on the network map from the position information of the mobile unit or the request source. And a path length calculation circuit for calculating a link number of a link including the coordinates and a length from an end point of the link to the coordinates. The search for the route and the calculation of the length of the route may be calculated by a known method such as the Dijkstra method. In this case, the length is "0"
Then, a point on the node can also be expressed.

The bid destination selection unit 38 calculates a predetermined evaluation value for each request source based on the moving object distribution information from the control center, and determines whether to issue a bid message to the request source. A total number calculating circuit that calculates the total number of moving objects existing on an arbitrary traveling route starting from each requesting source from the moving object distribution information from the control center, and a shortest path to each requesting source. An evaluation value calculation circuit for calculating an evaluation value for a set of the path length and the total number of moving objects present on each path, and a storage circuit for storing the result. For example, the bid destination selection unit 38 of the present embodiment stores a table called a bid evaluation table in a storage circuit. FIG. 4 shows an image of the bid evaluation table according to the present embodiment. This table shows that when selecting one to bid from among multiple requesters, each request source that serves as a basis for bidder selection according to the positional relationship between the mobile and the requester and the situation of other mobiles This is for determining an evaluation value for.
One of a set of the shortest path length from the request source to the mobile unit and the total number of mobile units existing on the route starting from the request source that is equal to or shorter than the shortest path length from the request source to the mobile unit. Two evaluation values correspond. In FIG. 4, the shortest path length and the total number of moving objects have predetermined widths, respectively.
The figure shows how one evaluation value corresponds to a set of the shortest path length and the moving object. When the system is introduced, all mobile units have the same bid evaluation table, and the evaluation values are initialized to appropriate values, for example, all values are set to "0".

In the above configuration, the method of allocating a mobile unit according to the present embodiment will be described together with the operation of the mobile unit allocating system. First, each mobile unit sequentially detects its current position in the position acquisition unit 32. Then, the result is transmitted to the control center via the communication unit 30. When the control center receives the position information of each of the moving bodies, the distribution information creating unit 12 sequentially outputs information indicating the distribution state of the moving bodies along the traveling path in the area based on the position information of each of the moving bodies. create.

Next, the information indicating the distribution status of the mobile units created by the distribution information creating unit 12 is broadcast to each mobile unit via the information providing unit 14. Each mobile unit that has received the mobile unit distribution information via the communication unit 30 calculates a predetermined evaluation value for each request source based on the received mobile unit distribution information.

When an allocation request is issued by a certain request source while the above operation is repeated at a predetermined cycle by the mobile unit and the control center, the request source is sent to the message creating unit 20 to make a request. A message is created and broadcast to each mobile via the message communication unit 22.

The broadcasted request message is received by the communication unit 30 of each mobile unit, and it is determined whether the mobile unit that has received the request message issues a bid message based on the evaluation value. .

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, in step S10, the bid destination selection unit 38 issues a request to the communication unit 30 at predetermined intervals, and all the allocations arriving at the mobile unit during that period. Receive the request message. Next, in step S12, the position on the network map is specified for each request source that broadcasts the assignment request message. The position is specified by the position specifying unit 36 using the position information of the request source added to the assignment request message. The position is determined, for example, from the link number of the link where the request source is located and the end point of the link. Expressed by the original length. Also step
At S14, the position of the moving object on the network map is specified using the position information obtained by the position acquisition unit 32, similarly to step S12.

Next, in step S16, using the position of the request source and the position of the mobile unit obtained in steps S12 and S14, the shortest distance from the mobile unit to each request source on the network map is determined. The route is searched, and the length of the route, that is, the shortest route length is calculated. That is,
Here, one shortest path length is determined for each request source.

Next, in step S18, the bidding destination selecting unit 38 uses the distribution information of the mobile units from the control center obtained via the communication unit 30 for each request source from the request source to the mobile unit. The total number of moving objects existing on the route starting from the request source that is equal to or shorter than the shortest route length is calculated. in this case,
The distribution information of the moving objects is the number of moving objects obtained for each link. Thus, when the start point or the end point of the searched route is on the link, the number of moving objects on the link including the start point or the end point is also added to the calculated total number. However, as other methods, there are a method of not adding the number of moving objects on the link including the start point or the end point, and a method of adding at a certain rate according to the position of the start point or the end point. Either method does not significantly affect the difference between the effects of the present embodiment.

Next, in step S20, an evaluation value serving as a criterion for determining a bid destination is obtained for each request source. The evaluation value is the starting point based on the shortest path length from the mobile unit to the request source calculated in step S16 and the shortest path length from the request source to the mobile unit calculated in step S18. It is obtained by searching the bid evaluation table with a set of the total number of moving objects existing on the route.

Next, in step S22, the evaluation values for the respective request sources obtained in step S20 are compared, and the request source having the maximum evaluation value is selected. When there are a plurality of items having the maximum values, for example, one of them is randomly selected.

Next, in step S24, a bid message is issued to the only requester selected in step S22. The position information of the moving object is added to the bid message.

Thereafter, in step S26, the flow waits for the arrival of a successful bid message or a non-successful message from the request source. At this time, at the request source receiving the bid message, the message accepting unit 24 decodes the identification information and the position information of the mobile unit and supplies them to the mobile unit selection unit 26. At the request source that has received bid messages from a plurality of mobile units, the mobile unit selection unit 26 compares their location information, selects the mobile unit closest to the request source, and makes a bid for that mobile unit. A message is created by the message creating unit 20 and transmitted from the message communication unit 22. A non-successful bid message is transmitted to the moving object not selected.

Returning to FIG. 5, in the mobile unit having received the successful bid message, in step S30, the steps in the bid evaluation table are executed.
It exists on a route starting from the request source that is shorter than the shortest path length from the mobile unit to the request source calculated in S16 to the request source and the shortest path length from the request source to the mobile unit calculated in step S18. The evaluation value for the set of the total number of moving objects is 1
, And moves to the request source in step S32. After moving to the request source, the designated task is executed, and the process returns to step S10 to wait for the next assignment request message.
Here, the task is, for example, to transport a package to a destination in the case of a package transport system, and depends on the form of the applied system.

On the other hand, if the message received in step S26 is a non-successful bid message, the process proceeds to step S34.
The evaluation value of the bid evaluation table is reduced by 1, and the process returns to step S10 to wait for the next allocation request message.

Thereafter, the above operation is repeated, and the assignment of the mobile unit to each request source is sequentially and repeatedly performed. For example, FIG. 6 shows how a bid destination is determined by the above processing procedure. To make the description easy to understand, consider a very simple network map consisting of nodes {N1,... N8} and links {L1,. The length of each link is all one. At a certain time, it is assumed that the request sources R1 and R2 are located substantially at the centers of the links L3 and L6, respectively, and broadcast the request message. At this time, it is assumed that the moving object V1 is located substantially at the center of the link L1. Also, in the figure, moving objects other than the moving object V1 are not shown, but it is assumed that there are n1,..., N8 moving objects on the links L1,.

In step S16, the moving body V1 calculates the shortest path length to the request sources R1 and R2. In this case, for the request source R1, the shortest route is (V1-N2-N3-R1), and its length is "2". The shortest path is (V
1-N2-R2), and its length is "1".

Next, in step S18, the total number of moving objects on the route starting from the request source R1 and having a length of "2" or less and moving on the route starting from the request source R2 and having a length of "1" or less. Calculate the total number of bodies. However, when the start point or the end point is on the link, the number of moving objects on the link including the start point or the end point is also added. That is, for the request source R1, the route (R1-N3-N2-V1), (R1-N3-N
2-R2) (R1-N4-N6-R2), (middle point of R1-N4-N6-L7) and (R1-
N4-N5), that is, the sum NR11N1 +... N7 of the moving objects on L1,. Similarly, for the request source R2, the total sum NR of the mobile units on the links L1, L2, L5, L7
2 ≡N1 + N2 + N5 + N7 is the total number of moving objects. In step S20, a value corresponding to the set <2, NR1> is obtained from the bid evaluation table as an evaluation value for the request source R1, and the request source R2
To obtain a value corresponding to the set <1, NR2> as an evaluation value for. As a result, a bid message is issued to the requestor having the maximum evaluation value.

As described above, in this embodiment, the state on the route in the vicinity of the request source determined from the positional relationship between the request source and the mobile unit is used as a criterion used when each mobile unit selects a bid destination. Therefore, even if the mobile unit or the requesting source is concentrated in some places or the distribution of the mobile unit or the requesting source is largely biased, the bidding message will be partially used. No more focusing on the requester. As a result, an increase in useless communication can be prevented, and the occurrence of a mobile unit that has been waiting for a long time and has an undetermined destination can be extremely reduced. That is,
By using only local information from the global information obtained from the control center, and conducting learning focusing on the relative positional relationship between the moving object and the request source, the experience in a similar environment is the same. As a result, efficient learning can be performed, and the above-described effects can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, one evaluation value is calculated as a bid evaluation value for a set for the shortest path length and the total number of moving objects, and an evaluation table as shown in FIG. 4 is created.
Although a system for determining a bidder based on the evaluation value has been described as an example, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, as shown in FIG. An evaluation table may be created by calculating an evaluation value for each set.

In this case, the moving body position specifying unit shown in FIG.
36 includes a route search circuit that searches for the shortest route of an arbitrary travel route in the area, and the bid destination selection unit 38 calculates the total number of moving objects existing on the arbitrary travel routes starting from each request source. A total number calculation circuit that calculates from the moving object distribution information from the control center, and an evaluation value is calculated for a set of a link where the moving object is located, a link where the request source is located, and a total number of moving objects that are present on each route. It is preferable to include an evaluation value calculation circuit and a storage circuit for storing the result. For example, in the storage circuit, as shown in FIG. 7, when the network map includes n links L1,... Ln, the link Li (i = 1,. Link Lj (j = 1, ...
n) and the total number of mobile units k (k = 1, ... m) on the link along the shortest path from the mobile unit to the requestor, for each of the three sets <Li, Lj, k> A bid evaluation value table corresponding to one evaluation value is stored.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the moving body in this case. in this case,
The difference from the above-described embodiment is that, instead of obtaining the total number of moving objects for each shortest path length in steps S16 and S18 shown in FIG. 5, the moving objects are determined in steps S40 and S42 as shown in FIG. The point is that, for each location link, the total number of mobile units is obtained for each location link of the request source.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, on a network map including nodes {N1,... N5} and links {L1,. L3, L
5 Suppose that the request message was broadcast. At this time, it is assumed that the moving object V1 exists at a position on the link L1. Although FIG. 8 does not illustrate moving objects other than the moving object V1, it is assumed that n1,..., N5 moving objects exist on the links L1,. At this time, the mobile unit V1 has three sets <L1, L3, n1 + n as evaluation values for the request source R1 from the bid evaluation table.
2 + n3>, and values corresponding to the three sets <L1, L5, n1 + n5> as evaluation values for the request source R2. As a result, a bid message is issued to the requester having the maximum evaluation value.

As described above, in place of the evaluation value for the pair of the shortest path length and the total number of moving objects on the route in the above embodiment, the position of the link of the moving object, the position of the link of the request source, and each path Whether or not to determine a bid may be selected based on the evaluation values for the three sets of the number of moving objects above.

In the present invention, the link position of the mobile unit and the link position of the request source are added to the total number of request sources on each route, and the number of mobile units on each route and the request on the route are added. The evaluation value may be obtained for four sets of the original total number.

In this case, the moving object position specifying unit shown in FIG.
36 includes a route search circuit that searches for the shortest route of an arbitrary travel route in the area, and the bid destination selection unit 38 calculates the total number of moving objects existing on the arbitrary travel routes starting from each request source. A total number calculating circuit that calculates from the moving object distribution information from the control center, a link where the moving object is located, a link where the request source is located, a total number of moving objects existing on each route, and a request existing on each route. It is preferable to include an evaluation value calculation circuit that calculates an evaluation value for the original four sets, and a storage circuit that stores the results.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention, for each mobile unit, information indicating the distribution status of the mobile units along the travel path in the area is provided to each mobile unit, and an allocation request is issued. When a request message is generated when a request is issued, a predetermined evaluation value for each request source is calculated based on the moving object distribution information from the information providing means, and a bid message is issued to the request source. Decide whether or not to do so, so that the number of operations at the management center is reduced, and even when there are relatively many mobile units and request sources, mobile unit allocation can be controlled in real time, and unnecessary communication is reduced. As a result, there is an effect that the mobile unit can be efficiently allocated to the request source.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing one embodiment of a control center of a mobile object allocation system to which a mobile object allocation method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing one embodiment of a request source of a mobile assignment system to which a mobile assignment method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing one embodiment of a mobile unit of a mobile unit allocation system to which the mobile unit allocation method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing an example of a bid evaluation table according to the embodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation according to the embodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining how to determine a bid destination of a moving object according to the embodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an image diagram showing a bid evaluation table in another embodiment of the mobile object allocation system to which the mobile object allocation method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an operation according to the embodiment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining determination of a bid destination of a moving object according to the embodiment of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Mobile unit position acquisition unit 12 Mobile unit distribution information creation unit 14 Information provision unit 20 Message creation unit 22 Message communication unit 24 Message reception unit 26 Mobile unit selection unit 30 Communication unit 32 Location acquisition unit 36 Position identification unit 38 Bid selection unit

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A mobile object allocating system for sequentially allocating a plurality of mobile objects capable of freely moving on a traveling path in a predetermined area to a plurality of request sources existing in the area when the allocation requests are generated. The system includes information providing means for providing, to each mobile, information representing the distribution of the mobiles along a travel path in the area, for each mobile, A broadcasting means for broadcasting a request message to a mobile when a request is generated, and a request source from a mobile which has issued a bid message when a bid message which is a response to the request message is received from the mobile. A moving body selecting means for selecting one of the closest distances, and a successful bid message issuing means for issuing a successful bid message to the selected moving body; A position detecting means for detecting the current position of the moving object, a communication means for communicating with the request source, and a predetermined evaluation value for each request source based on the moving object distribution information from the information providing means. And a bid determination means for determining whether to issue a bid message to the requestor. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the distribution information providing unit is included in a control center that manages the system, and the control center obtains position information detected by the moving body. A mobile object allocation system, comprising: information obtaining means, distribution information generating means for generating distribution information of a mobile object based on the position information, and transmitting means for transmitting the distribution information to the mobile object. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the moving body calculates a shortest route to each request source, and a route search unit that searches for a shortest route of an arbitrary traveling route in the area. Path length calculation means, wherein the bid determination means calculates the total number of moving objects present on an arbitrary traveling route starting from each request source from the moving object distribution information; Evaluation value calculation means for calculating an evaluation value for a set of the shortest path length up to and the total number of moving objects present on each path, and storage means for storing the result, wherein the bid determination means A mobile object allocating system characterized by selecting the largest one of the evaluation values stored in the means and issuing a bid message to the selected requester. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the moving body includes a route search unit that searches for the shortest route of an arbitrary travel route in the area, and the bid determination unit includes Total number calculating means for calculating the total number of existing moving objects from the moving object distribution information, and evaluating each of three sets of the position of the moving object, the position of the request source, and the total number of moving objects existing on each route. Evaluation value calculation means for calculating the value, and storage means for storing the result, wherein the bid determination means selects the largest evaluation value from the evaluation values stored in the storage means, and selects the selected request source. A mobile object allocation system for issuing a bid message to a mobile terminal. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the moving body includes a route search unit that searches for the shortest route of an arbitrary travel route in the area, and the bid determination unit includes Total number calculating means for calculating the total number of existing moving objects from the moving object distribution information, and the position of the moving object and the position of the request source, and the total number of moving objects existing on each route and the number of moving objects from the moving object to the request source. Evaluation value calculation means for calculating an evaluation value for each of the four sets of the total number of request sources on the route; and storage means for storing the results, wherein the bid determination means stores the evaluation value stored in the storage means. A mobile allocating system characterized by selecting the largest one from among the above, and issuing a bid message to the selected requester. 6. The system according to claim 3, wherein said bid determination means increases an evaluation value stored in said storage means when receiving a successful bid message for a bid message from a requester, and A mobile object allocating system characterized by reducing an evaluation value when a message is not received and rewriting each evaluation value. 7. A moving body allocating method for sequentially allocating a plurality of moving bodies capable of freely moving on a traveling path in a predetermined area to a plurality of request sources existing in the area when the allocation requests are generated. The method comprises the steps of sequentially detecting the current position of each mobile unit, and generating information indicating the distribution state of the mobile units along the travel path in the area based on the position of each mobile unit. And providing information representing the distribution state of the moving object created in the step to each moving object; and at each moving object receiving the moving object distribution information,
A step of calculating a predetermined evaluation value for each request source based on the received mobile object distribution information; a step of broadcasting a request message to the mobile object when an allocation request occurs at the request source; Determining whether to issue a bid message based on the evaluation value at the mobile that has received the bid message, and at the request source that received the bid message from the mobile, from among the mobiles that issued the bid message Selecting one of the distances closest to the requester and issuing a successful bid message to the selected mobile. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein each of the steps of searching for the shortest path of an arbitrary traveling route in the area and calculating the shortest path length to each request source. Including, the step of calculating the evaluation value in the moving object, the step of calculating from the moving object distribution information the total number of moving objects present on the traveling path starting from each request source, the shortest to each request source Calculating an evaluation value for a set of the path length and the total number of moving objects present on each path, and storing the result, wherein the step of issuing the bidding message includes: A mobile object allocating method comprising selecting the largest one from among them and issuing a bid message to the selected requester. 9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method includes a step of searching for a shortest path of an arbitrary traveling path in the area, and a step of calculating an evaluation value in the moving body, Calculating the total number of moving objects existing on the route from the moving object distribution information, and the three sets of the position of the moving object and the position of the request source and the total number of moving objects existing on each route. Calculating the evaluation value, and storing the result thereof, wherein the step of issuing the bid message selects the largest one from the stored evaluation values and sends the selected request value to the selected request source. A method for allocating a mobile unit, comprising issuing a bid message. 10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method includes a step of searching for a shortest path of an arbitrary traveling path in the area, and a step of calculating an evaluation value in the moving body, Calculating the total number of moving objects on the route from the moving object distribution information, the position of the moving object and the position of the request source, and the total number of moving objects on each route and the request source from the moving object. Calculating the evaluation value for the four sets of the total number of request sources on the route up to, and storing the result, wherein the step of issuing the bidding message comprises: A method of allocating a mobile unit, comprising selecting a largest one and issuing a bid message to the selected requester. 11. The method according to claim 8, 9 or 10, further comprising: increasing, at the mobile unit, an evaluation value stored when a successful bid message for a bid message is received from a requesting source. A method of allocating a moving object, comprising the steps of reducing an evaluation value when a message is not received, and rewriting each evaluation value.