JP6514729B2 - Position estimation device, position estimation method, and position estimation program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to the technology of a self-propelled device that estimates its own position.

  In the construction and maintenance work of facilities, workers at the remote monitoring center remotely give instructions, and field workers are making progress in response to maintenance, etc. according to the remote instructions. If the operator at the remote monitoring center can accurately grasp the state of the site remotely, the information can be accurately transmitted between the remote monitoring center and the site, and the work quality can be maintained high.

  In order to remotely grasp the local situation, it is conceivable to collect local information by means of a self-sustaining traveling device such as a robot (hereinafter referred to as a position estimation device). The position estimation device automatically travels, and by taking a picture of the site periodically, it becomes possible to grasp the latest equipment status.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2017-010353

  However, the position estimation device may lose sight of its own position, and measures for position estimation have been required. For example, an installation floor in which racks for storing communication devices are neatly arranged has poor geometrical features, and scan matching alone may misidentify the self position. Further, in the case of estimating the self position by odometry, when the local worker lifts and moves the position estimation device, the position estimation device can not accurately estimate the self position.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce misidentification of a self position by a position estimation device.

A position estimation apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a position estimation apparatus for estimating a self position in an equipment floor in which facilities of the same type are arranged in order, and the photographing means for photographing the surroundings and the pictures of the photographing means Code detection means for detecting a code from an image, a range measurement sensor for measuring the distance to a surrounding object in three dimensions, data obtained by the range detection sensor and a code detected by the code detection means And self position estimation means for matching the position map data to estimate the self position.

A position estimation method according to a second aspect of the present invention is a position estimation method executed by a position estimation apparatus for estimating a self position in an equipment floor in which facilities of the same type are arranged in order , and comprising the steps of photographing the surroundings; Detecting a code from the image taken in the photographing step, measuring a distance to a surrounding object in three dimensions, and detecting the data obtained in the step of measuring the distance and the code And D. matching the detected code with map data of a position capable of photographing to estimate a self position.

  A position estimation program according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a computer is operated as each means of the position estimation apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the misidentification of the self position by the position estimation device.

It is a functional block diagram showing composition of a position estimating device of this embodiment. It is the schematic of the external appearance of a position estimation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a floor map. It is a figure which shows the example which misidentifies a self position by the failure of matching. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of photography processing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the position estimation apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the appearance of the position estimation device 1. The position estimation device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a camera 11, a code detection unit 12, a range measurement sensor 13, a position estimation unit 14, a transmission unit 15, a drive control unit 16, and a storage unit 17. Each part of the position estimation device 1 may be configured by a computer, and the processing of each part may be executed by a program.

  The camera 11 shoots the surroundings of the position estimation device 1. The image captured by the camera 11 is assigned imaging information such as the imaging direction, and transmitted to the code detection unit 12 and the transmission unit 15.

  The code detection unit 12 detects a code captured in an image. The code is identification information installed in the equipment floor. As the code, for example, a QR code, an AR marker, a color code, or a character string can be used.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a floor map of a facility floor on which the position estimation device 1 is active. Inside the equipment floor, racks 20 for accommodating the devices are arranged. In addition, a cord 21 is attached to a wall, a pillar, a floor, a ceiling, a rack 20 or the like in the equipment floor. Location information in the facility floor is associated with each of the identification information indicated by the code. The identification information itself described as the code may indicate the position in the facility floor, or a table in which the identification information is associated with the position in the facility floor may be prepared.

  The ranging sensor 13 measures the distance to an object around the position estimation device 1. For example, a laser range finder which measures distances of a plurality of points in a three-dimensional area within a predetermined angle in the horizontal omnidirectional direction and the vertical direction can be used. Alternatively, a laser range finder that measures only in the horizontal direction in two dimensions may be used.

  The position estimation unit 14 matches the scan data (the distance to the surrounding object) obtained by the range measurement sensor 13 with the map data stored in the storage unit 17 to estimate the self position. At this time, the position estimation unit 14 performs matching on the basis of the position information of the code detected by the code detection unit 12.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of misidentifying the self position due to a matching failure. It is assumed that scan data indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4A is obtained. When the obtained scan data is matched with map data, as shown in FIG. 4B, a position different from the original position may be misidentified as the self position. Racks of the same type are arranged in order on the equipment floor, and their geometric features are poor, so matching is likely to fail. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the code installed in the facility floor is read, and matching is performed from the code reading point to estimate the self position, thereby reducing misidentification of the self position.

  The transmitting unit 15 transmits the image captured by the camera 11 and the self position (image capturing position of the image) estimated by the position estimating unit 14 to the server 3.

  The drive control unit 16 controls a motor or the like so that the position estimation device 1 moves along the route based on the estimated own position. When an obstacle is detected in the moving direction by the range measurement sensor 13, an alert is notified. The obstacle may be, for example, one not permanently installed on the equipment floor, such as a cardboard box or a stepladder forgotten after working on the equipment floor. In addition, when the range measurement sensor 13 measures the distance to the surrounding object only in the horizontal direction, an obstacle other than the height can not be detected. Therefore, it is preferable to use, as the ranging sensor 13, a three-dimensional ranging sensor that measures a three-dimensional area.

  The storage unit 17 stores map data of the facility floor. The map data is measured in advance using the range measuring sensor 13 of the position estimation device 1 by moving the position estimation device 1 by remote control. For example, 3D point group data obtained by the range measurement sensor 13 is accumulated as map data. Alternatively, a two-dimensional map may be accumulated as map data. Note that the map data of the storage unit 17 may be updated with scan data obtained while the position estimation device 1 is active.

  The position estimation device 1 periodically moves (for example, once a day) along the facility floor along a pre-designated route, captures an ambient image at a determined image capture point, and stores the image and position information as a server. Send to The movement route and the photographing point of the position estimation device 1 are designated in advance.

  The server 3 associates and stores position information and an image, and when an arbitrary point on the facility floor is designated, outputs an image captured at that point. Since images are periodically transmitted to the server 3, a worker on the center side can check the latest condition of the equipment floor. For example, the server 3 shows a map of the facility floor to the worker on the center side, and when the worker on the center side designates a position to be confirmed, the server 3 displays an image of the designated position.

  Next, imaging processing of the position estimation device of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the flow of imaging processing by the position estimation device of the present embodiment.

  When the position estimation device 1 reaches the shooting point, the camera 11 shoots the surroundings of the position estimation device 1 (step S11).

  The code detection unit 12 detects a code from the captured image (step S12). For example, when a seal in which a character string is written as a code is installed in the equipment floor, the code detection unit 12 recognizes character information from an image and acquires character data.

  The position estimation device 1 measures the distance to a surrounding object by the range measurement sensor 13 (step S13).

  The position estimation unit 14 estimates its own position based on the code detected by the code detection unit 12 and the scan data obtained by the range measurement sensor 13 (step S14). Since the place where the detected code can be photographed can be specified, based on the installation position of the detected code, the scan data and the map data capable of photographing the code among the map data stored in the storage unit 17 are matched The self position of the estimation device 1 is estimated.

  The transmitting unit 15 transmits the image and the position information to the server 3 (step S15).

  As described above, a code capable of specifying the position is installed in the facility floor, and the position estimation device 1 captures a surrounding image and measures the distance to the surrounding object to obtain scan data. By detecting the code from the image and matching the scan data with the map data to estimate the self position based on the position of the detected code, misidentification of the self position by the position estimation device 1 can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Position estimation apparatus 11 ... Camera 12 ... Code detection part 13 ... Range measurement sensor 14 ... Position estimation part 15 ... Transmission part 16 ... Drive control part 17 ... Storage part 20 ... Rack 21 ... Code 3 ... Server

Claims (3)

A position estimation device for estimating a self position within an equipment floor in which equipment of the same type is arranged in order,
Shooting means for shooting the surroundings,
Code detection means for detecting a code from the image photographed by the photographing means;
A range sensor that measures the distance to surrounding objects in three dimensions;
Self position estimation means for estimating self position by matching data obtained by the range measurement sensor with map data of a position where the code detected by the code detection means can be photographed;
A position estimation apparatus characterized by having: A position estimation method performed by a position estimation device for estimating a self position within an equipment floor in which equipment of the same type is arranged in order .
Step to shoot the surroundings,
Detecting a code from the image captured in the capturing step;
Measuring the distance to a surrounding object in three dimensions;
Estimating the self position by matching the data obtained in the step of measuring the distance with the map data of the position where the code detected in the step of detecting the code can be photographed;
A position estimation method characterized by having:   A position estimation program which operates a computer as each means of the position estimation device according to claim 1.

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