Traffic assistance system, server, and vehicle-mounted device

A vehicle-mounted device used in a traffic assistance system including

• a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices each of which is mounted in one of a plurality of vehicles, each of the plurality of vehicles being equipped with a plurality of types of sensors each of which is capable of collecting data about a surrounding environment, and
• a traffic assistance server that collects data from the sensors to create a traffic status overview map representing a traffic status in a predetermined range and transmits data for driving assistance to the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices on the basis of the traffic status overview map, via wireless communication with each of the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices,
• the vehicle-mounted device comprising:
• a data collecting device that collects sensor data which is data from the sensors equipped in the vehicle having mounted therein the vehicle-mounted device;
• a wireless communication device that wirelessly communicates with an outside of the vehicle;
• a sensor data transmitting device that transmits the sensor data to the traffic assistance server via the wireless communication device;
• an outside-vehicle status data receiving device that receives data about an outside-vehicle status from an outside of the vehicle via the wireless communication device;
• and
• an inside-vehicle/outside-vehicle cooperation device that, in response to receipt of the data about the outside-vehicle status, cooperates with a device outside the vehicle and changes an operation inside the vehicle including an operation of the sensor data transmitting device,
• wherein the inside-vehicle/outside-vehicle cooperation device includes a transmission control device that, in response to receipt of an instruction of permitting or prohibiting transmission of sensor data from the traffic assistance server, controls the sensor data transmitting device in accordance with the instruction.

A traffic assistance server used in a traffic assistance system including

• a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices each of which is mounted in one of a plurality of vehicles, each of the plurality of vehicles being equipped with a plurality of types of sensors each of which is capable of collecting data about a surrounding environment, and
• a traffic assistance server that collects sensor data which is data from the sensors to create a traffic status overview map representing a traffic status in a predetermined range and transmits data for driving assistance to the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices on the basis of the traffic status overview map, via wireless communication with each of the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices,
• the traffic assistance server comprising:
• a wireless communication device capable of wirelessly communicating with each of the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices;
• a traffic status overview map creating device that receives the sensor data from the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices via the wireless communication device, creates the traffic status overview map on the basis of the received data and road map data, and maintains the traffic status overview map;
• a vehicle selecting device that selects an area satisfying a specific condition from the traffic status overview map and selects a vehicle having mounted therein a vehicle-mounted device capable of transmitting most effective sensor data for maintaining the traffic status overview map in view of a line status, among vehicle-mounted devices present within the area;
• and
• a transmission permission/prohibition signal transmitting device that transmits, via the wireless communication device, an instruction of permitting transmission of sensor data to the vehicle-mounted device mounted in the vehicle selected by the vehicle selecting device, and an instruction of prohibiting transmission of sensor data to a vehicle-mounted device mounted in a vehicle not selected by the vehicle selecting device.