Distributed information collecting system

• US 20030028292A1
• Filed: 07/31/2002
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ueda, Tetsuro
• Granted Patent: US 7,254,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/01 Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled G08G1/07 - G08G1/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station

Abstract

A distributed information system includes a communicating section, a control section and a management section. The communication section is to be mounted in a first mobile unit such as a vehicle, to receive an agent program which is an autonomous program to collect information, from a second mobile unit. The control section to be mounted in the first mobile unit performs a control action in response to a request of the agent program sent from the second mobile unit. The management section to be mounted in the first mobile unit is configured to allow delivery of information on a result of the control action to the second mobile unit.

Claims

1. A distributed information system comprising:

a communication section to be mounted in a first mobile unit, to receive an agent program which is an autonomous program to collect information, from a second mobile unit;

a control section to be mounted in the first mobile unit, to perform a control action in response to a request of the agent program sent from the second mobile unit; and

a management section to be mounted in the first mobile unit, to allow delivery of information on a result of the control action to the second mobile unit.

2. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 1, further comprises:

a requesting section to be mounted in the first mobile unit, to request collection of information;

wherein the management section stores an agent program which is an autonomous program to collect information as requested by the requesting section, and sends out the agent program from the first mobile unit.

3. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the distributed information system is a system mounted in the first mobile unit, and the distributed information system further comprises:

a sensing section to sense a position and a moving speed of the first mobile unit;

wherein the control section prepares information on the position and moving speed of the first mobile unit in response to the request of the agent program for the second mobile unit, and the management section allows the delivery of the information on the position and moving speed of the first mobile unit, to the second mobile unit.

4. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the requesting section comprises an input device to produce a request for collecting information for the first mobile unit in response to an operation of a user of the first mobile unit.

5. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the requesting section comprises a device to calculate a course of the first mobile unit, and to produce a request for collecting information for the first mobile unit at the time of calculating the course of the first mobile unit.

6. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the requesting section comprises an agent creating section to create the agent program to be sent out from the first mobile unit, the agent program sent out from the first mobile unit including an identification code for uniquely identifying the agent program.

7. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 2, the requesting section comprises an agent creating section to create the agent program which is an autonomous program including a movement section for enabling the agent program to move autonomously between the first mobile unit and another mobile unit.

8. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 2, the requesting section comprises an agent creating section to create the agent program which assumes one of three different states in accordance with a home place where the agent program is created, a current place to which the agent program currently belongs, and a previous place to which the agent program belonged before transfer to the current place.

9. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 2, the requesting section comprises an agent creating section to create the agent program comprising a section to gain information for the first mobile unit by negotiating with other agent programs.

10. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distributed information system is a traffic information collecting and delivering system mounted on a vehicle.,

11. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a server-side communicating section to accept agent programs from a plurality of mobile units; and

a server-side mediating section to provide a virtual space to allow interaction among the agent programs which are autonomous programs.

12. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the server-side mediating section includes map data and provides the virtual space which is a two-dimensional space on which agent programs can be placed.

13. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the server-side mediating section comprises a searching section to enable an agent program placed on the virtual space to search for another agent program on the virtual space.

14. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the server-side mediating section comprises a transfer section to enable an agent program to move from the virtual space to another mobile unit.

15. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the server-side mediating section comprises a negotiating section to allow agent programs to interact with each other.

16. The distributed information system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the distributed information system comprises:

a server which comprises the server-side communicating section and the server-side mediating section; and

the first mobile unit which is a vehicle comprising the communication section mounted on the first mobile unit, the control section mounted on the first mobile unit and the management section mounted on the first mobile unit, and configured to send information on the result of the control action, directly to the second mobile unit without intervention of the server.

17. A distributed information collecting and delivering system comprising:

a server-side communicating section to accepting agent programs which are autonomous programs, from a plurality of mobile units; and

a server-side mediating section providing a virtual space on which the agent programs interact with each other.

18. A vehicle for serving as a mobile station for a distributed information collecting and delivering system, the vehicle comprising:

means for receiving a visiting agent program which is an autonomous program, across a communication network;

means for preparing information in response to a request of the visiting agent program; and

means for allowing the visiting, agent program to deliver the information to a destination specified by the visiting agent program across the communication network.

19. A distributed information collecting and delivering process comprising:

receiving a visiting agent program which is an autonomous program, from a remote mobile unit across a communication network;

allowing the visiting agent program to operate to obtain information for the remote mobile unit; and

allowing the visiting agent program to deliver the information to a destination specified by the visiting agent program across the communication network.

20. The distributed information collecting and delivering process as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:

creating an information collecting agent program which is an autonomous program to collect information for a user'"'"'s mobile unit; and

sending the information collecting agent program out of the user'"'"'s mobile unit over the communication network.