JP6797243B2 - Information processing equipment, information processing methods, programs - Google Patents

Description

This technology relates to information processing devices, information processing methods, and programs, and particularly to technology related to communication between satellite stations and earth stations.

A communication system for communicating between a satellite station and an earth station installed on the ground is known.
In Reference 1 below, a satellite station orbiting around the earth's center of rotation is tracked by the ground antenna of the earth station installed on the ground of the earth, and the ground antenna and the satellite station are tracked. A device that propagates radio waves to and communicates with the satellite antenna of the above is disclosed.

JP-A-2010-258507

By the way, in general, the operating time of a ground antenna for an orbiting satellite in an earth station is about 40 minutes a day for one satellite station, and the ground antenna usually has a lot of non-operating time. doing. On the other hand, although the terrestrial antenna has a lot of non-operating time, the satellite station is in a state where sufficient communication time with a larger number of terrestrial antennas cannot be secured. Therefore, it is desired to provide a platform that allows satellite operators to obtain more opportunities to use the terrestrial antenna and communication time by utilizing the non-operating time of the terrestrial antenna.
Therefore, in this technology, the antenna owner rents and uses the non-operating time of the antenna for the orbiting satellite to another satellite operator, so that the satellite operator can obtain more opportunities to use the antenna and communication time. The purpose is to provide a platform for terrestrial antenna operators and satellite operators.

The information processing device according to the present technology includes a period calculation unit, a reservation management unit, and a presentation control unit, and the period calculation unit is a ground antenna business different from the orbit information of the satellite station owned by the satellite operator. The process of calculating the communicable period between the satellite station and the earth station is executed based on the position information of each earth station owned by the person, and the reservation management unit performs the communicable period calculated by the period calculation unit. Therefore, the process of setting the reservation target period excluding the usage restriction period of the earth station designated from the terminal on the ground antenna operator side is executed, and the presentation control unit is the reservation target set by the reservation management unit. The process of causing the terminal of the satellite operator to present the period is executed, and the reservation management unit further selects the satellite in response to a request from the terminal of the satellite operator within the reservation target period. The reservation process of the communication reservation period between the station and the earth station is executed .
As a result, it is possible to reserve the communication reservation period from the reservation target period narrowed down from the communication possible period.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present technology, the reservation management unit selects a reservation target period from the communicable period by a selection process according to the selected plan.
This makes it possible to make a reservation for the communication reservation period from the reservation target period that reflects the contents of the selected plan.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present technology, in a network including a plurality of earth stations having different technical specifications, the period calculation unit and the reservation management unit perform processing on the plurality of earth stations.
As a result, a plurality of earth stations having different technical specifications can be connected on the network, and the earth station capable of communicating with the satellite station is selected from the plurality of earth stations on the network.

It is conceivable that the information processing apparatus according to the present technology includes a presentation control unit that presents the reservation target period selected by the reservation management unit.
As a result, the reservation target period that can be reserved is presented to the user terminal of the satellite operator.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present technology, it is conceivable that the reservation management unit does not select the period designated by the earth station as the usage restriction among the communicable periods calculated by the period calculation unit as the reservation target period.
As a result, it is possible to prevent the satellite operator from reserving the period during which the terrestrial antenna operator uses the terrestrial antenna for his / her own purpose as a communication reservation period.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present technology, as the selection process when the first plan is selected, it is conceivable to select the reservation target period from the communicable period based on the conditions specified by the user.
That is, when the first plan is selected from the plurality of plans, the reservation target period according to the conditions such as area and time specified by the user is automatically selected. In the embodiment described below, the condition-designated reservation plan is described as an example of the first plan.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present technology, the condition specified by the user may be regional information for executing communication with the satellite station.
As a result, the reservation target period is selected from the communicable period in the communicable earth station based on the area information specified by the user.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present technology, it is considered that the condition specified by the user is the time information when the satellite station and the earth station execute communication.
As a result, the reservation target period is selected from the communicable period of the earth station capable of communicating at that time based on the time information that the user (satellite operator) desires to communicate with his / her satellite station and the earth station.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present technology, as a selection process when the second plan is selected, the reservation management unit is selected by the user among the reservation target periods presented by the presentation control unit. It is conceivable to select the reservation target period as the communication reservation period between the satellite station and the earth station.
As a result, when the second plan is selected from the plurality of plans, the user selects and reserves the communication reservation period from the reservation target period of the communicable earth station based on his / her own selection.
In the embodiment described below, the on-demand reservation plan is described as an example of the second plan.

As information processing method according to the present technology, the orbit information of the satellite station satellite operators owned, on the basis of the position information of each earth station different terrestrial antenna operators each owned, the earth station and the satellite station The step of calculating the communicable period, the step of setting the reservation target period excluding the usage restriction period of the earth station specified from the terminal on the terrestrial antenna operator side from the calculated communicable period, and the setting. a step of presenting the reservation period that the satellite carrier side of the terminal, the reservation of the target period, and said satellite station selected in response to a request from the satellite carrier side of the terminal of the earth station The information processing apparatus executes a step of executing the reservation process of the communication reservation period.
The program according to the present technology is a program that causes the information processing apparatus to execute each of the above procedures.

According to this technology, a satellite operator can easily secure a communication period for an earth station capable of communicating with its own satellite station.
The effects described here are not necessarily limited, and may be any of the effects described in the present disclosure.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the network system including a platform. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the earth station, the earth station control device, and the cloud server. It is explanatory drawing of the hardware configuration of embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the screen which presents the earth station owned by a terrestrial antenna operator. It is explanatory drawing of the screen which presents the earth station and the satellite station owned by a terrestrial antenna operator. It is a figure which shows the schedule screen of the earth station owned by the terrestrial antenna operator. It is a figure which shows the setting screen of the use restriction period in the schedule screen of the terrestrial antenna operator side. It is a figure which shows the presentation screen of the satellite station owned by a satellite operator. It is a figure which shows the schedule screen of the satellite station owned by a satellite operator. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the image data acquired by the earth station by communication with a satellite station. It is a figure which shows the sort screen in the schedule screen of a satellite station. It is a figure which shows the modification of the schedule screen of the satellite station owned by a satellite operator. It is a figure which shows the flow of conformity confirmation when a satellite operator registers a satellite station. It is explanatory drawing of the path scheduling processing in an on-demand reservation plan (second plan). It is explanatory drawing of the path scheduling processing in a condition designation reservation plan (the first plan). It is a flowchart of a path scheduling process according to a plan selected by a satellite operator. It is explanatory drawing about the communication between a satellite station and an earth station.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in the following order.
<1. Overall configuration>
<2. Presentation mode on the user terminal>
[2-1. Schedule adjustment on the terrestrial antenna operator side]
[2-2. Schedule adjustment on the satellite operator side]
<3. Matching satellite stations and ground stations>
<4. API used on cloud server>
<5. Overview of communication execution based on the reserved communication reservation period>
<6. Summary>
<7. Programs and storage media>

In addition, explanations of terms and phrases used in the embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
・ StellarStation (registered trademark)
It is a cloud-based platform provided by the applicant to share various earth stations scattered around the world.
・ StarPass (Trademark registration pending)
The hardware required to enable the Earth Station to be used on the Stella Station. In Starpass, for example, control of the ground antenna of the earth station and data transfer when the earth station and the cloud server send and receive data are performed.
-Earth station control device Hardware included in Starpass that mediates the connection of the earth station to the cloud and integrates multiple earth stations.
-Satellite station An artificial satellite (artificial satellite station) as a station that performs wireless communication. The antenna mounted on the satellite station is referred to as a satellite antenna. A satellite station is, for example, an artificial satellite that orbits the earth.
-Earth station A wireless facility on the ground side for communicating with satellite stations. It consists of wireless devices such as antennas. The antenna mounted on the earth station is referred to as a terrestrial antenna.
The ground station is also referred to as a ground station or GS (Ground Station).
-User A person who uses the platform provided by the applicant, for example, a satellite operator or a terrestrial antenna operator.
・ Satellite operator A operator that operates a satellite station. Satellite operators may also own terrestrial antennas to communicate with their satellite stations. That is, the satellite operator may be a terrestrial antenna operator.
・ Terrestrial antenna operator A company that operates a terrestrial station. For example, providers of services provided by earth stations such as teleports, universities, research institutes, and satellite operators that have terrestrial antennas for communication with their own satellites. In addition, the operators of the earth station include not only the owners of the earth station but also those who rent the earth station.
The terrestrial antenna operator is also referred to as a terrestrial antenna owner, a ground station owner, and a ground station owner.
-Path A communication opportunity from the start to the end of communication between a satellite station and an earth station.
-Communication period This is the time during which the orbiting satellite station can wirelessly communicate with the earth station that is the communication partner.
The communicable period is not limited to one path, and includes those consisting of multiple paths. For example, it is conceivable to secure a long communicable period by combining a plurality of paths, such as communicating with different earth stations in the first half and the second half of the communicable period.
-Reservation target period This is the period during which the satellite operator using the platform can make a reservation among the communication available periods. It may not be possible to rent the earth station to the satellite operator even during the communication period, such as when the terrestrial antenna operator uses the earth station for communication with its own satellite station. Therefore, the reservation target period is described separately from the communicable period. The reservation target period is a period in which the usage restriction period and the communication reservation period are excluded from the communication available period.
-Communication reservation period This is the period selected as the reservation target from the reservation target period. The communication reservation period is reserved as the time for communication between the satellite station operated by the satellite operator and the rented earth station. The communication reservation period is also referred to as a pass schedule.
-Path scheduling It means setting (reserving) the communication reservation period from the communication possible period. Specifically, the communicable period between the satellite station and the earth station is calculated based on the orbit information of the satellite station and the position information of the earth station, and the reservation target is reserved from the communicable period by the selection process according to the selected plan. It means to select a period and reserve the communication reservation period between the satellite station and the earth station from the selected reservation target period.
-Path conflict This is a case where the communicable periods of multiple satellite stations overlap in one earth station.
-Usage restriction period This is the time during which communication time is not rented for terrestrial antennas owned by terrestrial antenna operators. The usage restriction period is set for reasons such as the terrestrial antenna operator using the terrestrial antenna for its own communication and the maintenance of the terrestrial antenna.
The usage restriction period is set by, for example, a terrestrial antenna operator. The person who sets the usage restriction period is not limited to the terrestrial antenna operator, and may be set by the operator, for example, or may be set by the satellite operator.
The usage restriction period may be referred to as an Unavailability Window.
・ AOS (Acquisition of Signal (or Satellite))
It is the start time when communication becomes possible when the satellite station is located within the visible range of a specific earth station. Strictly speaking, the actual start of communication is, for example, when the elevation angle seen from the ground of the satellite is sufficiently increased after AOS.
・ LOS (Loss of Signal (or Satellite))
With respect to AOS, it is the time when communication ends when the satellite station is located outside the visible range of the earth station.
・ MCS (Mission Control Software)
Software for controlling satellite stations (data transmission / reception and monitoring control).
・ ITU (International Telecommunication Union)
It is a UN specialized agency that contributes to the formation of an international order related to the use of telecommunications (wired and wireless communications).
・ TLE (Two-Line Element set)
It is a format that represents the orbit information of a satellite station or the orbit information itself.

<1. Overall configuration>
The network system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a network system including a platform. Further, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the earth station, the micro server, and the cloud server.

In this network system, the cloud server 1 can communicate with the operation monitoring terminal 2, the user terminal 3, and the earth station control device 4 via the network (see FIG. 1). The network is realized by, for example, a public communication line such as the Internet.
Further, the earth station 5 that can communicate with the satellite station 6 is connected to the cloud server 1 via the earth station control device 4 .
The earth station 5 may be directly connected to the cloud server 1 without going through the earth station control device 4 .

According to the network system of this technology, the terrestrial antenna operator can schedule the time for renting the earth station 5 operated by itself to another satellite operator and the time reserved for its own use. The satellite operator can confirm the time of the terrestrial station 5 that can communicate, reserve the time, or cancel the time.

The user terminal 3 is a terminal device used by a user who uses the cloud server 1. For example, a PC (Personal Computer) having a communication function for connecting to the Internet, a computer device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, a terminal, or the like. is there. The user is, for example, a satellite operator, a terrestrial antenna operator, or a person who corresponds to both a satellite operator and a terrestrial antenna operator.
The terrestrial antenna operator uses the user terminal 3 to rent out its own earth station 5 to another satellite operator or reserve time for its own use in the network system provided by the cloud server 1. Perform scheduling, etc.
The satellite operator uses the user terminal 3 to confirm the time of the earth station 5 that can communicate in the network system provided by the cloud server 1, reserve the time, or cancel the time.
The user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side is provided with an API (Application Programming Interface), a CLI (Command Line Interface), and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for reserving a communication reservation period. The CLI refers to a function of inputting a command word called a command from the keyboard to operate it or the operation itself.
Note that any one of API, CLI, and GUI may be provided to the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side, or a plurality of them may be provided.

The operation monitoring terminal 2 is a terminal device used by an operator of a network system, such as a PC having a communication function for connecting to the Internet. The operator manages, operates, and the like of the network system by using the operation monitoring terminal 2.

The cloud server 1 connects a plurality of earth stations 5 having different technical specifications to the satellite station 6 owned by the user (satellite operator) who uses the network system by connecting the earth stations 5 via the earth station control device 4. Allocate the earth station 5 that reflects the intention of the operator).
The cloud server 1 is composed of one or a plurality of information processing devices, and has the functions of a period calculation unit 11, a reservation management unit 12, and a presentation control unit 13. Each function of the cloud server 1 is a function realized by processing executed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) in an information processing device according to a program. However, the processing of all or part of each configuration described below may be realized by hardware.
Further, when each function is realized by software, it is not necessary for each function to be realized by an independent program. The processing of a plurality of functions may be executed by one program, or one function may be realized by the cooperation of a plurality of program modules. Further, each function may be distributed to a plurality of information processing devices. Further, one of the functions may be realized by a plurality of information processing devices.

The period calculation unit 11 executes a process of calculating the communicable period between the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 based on the orbit information of the satellite station 6 and the position information of the earth station 5.

The reservation management unit 12 selects a reservation target period from the communication available period by a selection process according to the selected plan, and reserves the communication reservation period of the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 from the selected reservation target period. I do.
Further, when the reservation management unit 12 receives the cancellation information regarding the reserved communication reservation period of the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 by the operation of the satellite operator side or the terrestrial antenna operator side, the reservation management unit 12 cancels the communication reservation period. Execute the process to be performed.
Further, the cloud server 1 can store and acquire the information of the earth station 5 of the ground antenna operator and the satellite station 6 of the satellite operator on the cloud.

The presentation control unit 13 causes the user terminal 3 to present the reservation target period selected by the reservation management unit 12. The presentation control unit 13 also displays various screens in the network system.

The earth station control device 4 mediates the connection of the earth station 5 to the cloud server 1 and integrates a plurality of earth stations 5 (see FIG. 2).
The earth station 5 included in the network system includes the earth station 5 having a plurality of technical specifications. Technical specifications include center frequency, frequency band, polarization, modulation scheme, and coding scheme.
The center frequency includes, for example, UHF (Ultra High Frequency), S, X, and Ka bands. The polarization is, for example, RHCP (Right-Hand Circular Polarization), LHCP (Left-Handed Circularly Polarized wave), or both. The modulation methods are FSK (Frequency Shift Keying), AFSK (Audio Frequency Shift Keying), GFSK (Gaussian filtered Frequency Shift Keying), MSK (Minimum Phase Shift Keying), GMSK (Gaussian filtered Minimum Phase Shift Keying), PSK (Phase Shift Keying). ), BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying), QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying), 64QAM (64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), etc., and various other modulation methods can be supported. The coding method includes unipolar NRZ (Non Return to Zero) code, bipolar NRZ code, unipolar RZ (Return to Zero) code, bipolar RZ code, AMI (Alternate Mark Inversion), and various other coding methods. It is possible to support various coding methods. For example, a Reed-Solomon code, a turbo code, a convolutional code, etc. as an error correction code can be supported.

The earth station control device 4 has a driver corresponding to each hardware mounted on the earth station 5 side, and controls the earth station 5 based on the driver. The earth station control device 4 includes a plurality of drivers, and an appropriate driver is selected according to the earth station 5.
Further, the driver control in the earth station control device 4 may be performed by a hardware circuit or a software program.

Since the earth station control device 4 can prepare a driver corresponding to the hardware of the earth station 5 having a plurality of technical specifications at any time, it is possible to integrate the earth station 5 with various hardware configurations. For example, the earth station control device 4 has a local server 51 described later and a separate interface with software 52 included in the local server 51.

Further, the earth station control device 4 is connected to the earth station 5 and controls the earth station 5 and processes satellite data. The control of the earth station 5 performed by the earth station control device 4 is the control of the hardware of the earth station 5, the relay of satellite data between the satellite and the satellite operator, the acquisition of the log data of the earth station 5, the earth station 5 and the cloud. There is synchronization of the path schedule (information about the communication reservation period) between the servers 1. The earth station control device 4 controls the hardware of the earth station and relays satellite data based on the path schedule.
The earth station control device 4 executes modulation / demodulation processing, coding processing, and the like of telemetry data or command data of the satellite station 6 as satellite data processing.
Further, in order to reduce the latency (improve the latency), the earth station control device 4 controls so as to connect to the optimum data center near the location of the ground antenna 54 described later of the earth station 5.
The cloud server 1 and the earth station 5 may be directly connected to each other without going through the earth station control device 4, and the cloud server 1 may perform the above processing.

The earth station 5 is installed on the ground of the earth, and while tracking the satellite station 6 which is orbiting around the earth's center in an orbit with its own ground antenna, the ground antenna and the satellite antenna of the satellite station Communicate by propagating radio waves between and.
The earth station 5 has a local server 51, software 52, an antenna control unit 53, a ground antenna 54, and a baseband unit 55.

The local server 51 controls the antenna control unit 53, the baseband unit 55, a plurality of hardware 56A, 56B, and the like. Each piece of hardware is indirectly controlled by a program of software 52 on the local server 51. Each hardware may be directly controlled by the hardware circuit of the local server 51.

Further, the local server 51 synchronizes the pass schedule of the cloud server 1 with the pass schedule of the earth station 5. The earth station 5 tracks the satellite station 6 based on the synchronized path schedule and communicates with the satellite station 6.
The local server 51 acquires the path schedule information from the cloud server 1 via the earth station control device 4, but the local server 51 can also receive the path schedule information directly from the cloud server 1.

The antenna control unit (ACU: Antenna Control Unit) 53 controls the pointing of the ground antenna 54. The pointing of the terrestrial antenna 54 means an operation in which the terrestrial antenna 54 is pointed at the satellite station 6 to be communicated in order for the earth station 5 to communicate with the satellite station 6.
The pointing control may be performed based on the trajectory information received by the antenna control unit 53, or may be performed by receiving the pointing instruction generated by the cloud server 1 based on the trajectory information.

The baseband unit (BBU) 55 controls modulation, demodulation, and coding in transmitting information. The baseband unit 55 converts an analog signal transmitted and received as a radio wave from the antenna into an electronic signal. The baseband unit 55 also converts an electronic signal into an analog signal.
The baseband unit 55 receives the satellite data received from the satellite station 6 by the ground antenna 54, and directly transmits the satellite data to the earth station control device 4. Further, the earth station control device 4 transmits command information from the cloud server 1 to the ground antenna 54 via the baseband unit 55, and is transmitted from the ground antenna 54 to the satellite station 6.
The earth station control device 4 may directly receive the satellite data received from the satellite station 6 by the ground antenna 54 from the ground antenna 54 without going through the baseband unit 55. Further, the earth station control device 4 may directly transmit the command information from the cloud server 1 to the ground antenna 54 without going through the baseband unit 55.

The earth station 5 also has a plurality of hardware 56A, 56B, ... According to the specifications of each earth station 5, and various functions corresponding to each hardware are realized.
The hardware such as the antenna control unit 53, the baseband unit 55, the hardware 56A, 56B, etc. is controlled by the local server 51, but various drivers provided in the earth station control device 4 are used. By connecting to each hardware, it can be directly controlled by the earth station control device 4.
Since the plurality of earth stations 5 in the network system have different hardware and software configurations in the earth station 5, each hardware is indirectly transmitted via the local server 51 according to the configuration of each earth station 5. It is possible to select whether to control or directly control by the earth station control device 4.

FIG. 3 shows the hardware configuration of the information processing device 70 constituting the cloud server 1, the operation monitoring terminal 2, the user terminal 3, the earth station control device 4, and the local server 51. Each device showing the cloud server 1, the operation monitoring terminal 2, the user terminal 3, the earth station control device 4, and the local server 51 can be realized as a computer device as shown in FIG. 3 capable of information processing and information communication.

In FIG. 3, the CPU 71 of the computer device executes various processes according to a program stored in the ROM (Read Only Memory) 72 or a program loaded from the storage unit 78 into the RAM (Random Access Memory) 73. The RAM 73 also appropriately stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 71 to execute various processes.
The CPU 71, ROM 72, and RAM 73 are connected to each other via a bus 74. An input / output interface 75 is also connected to the bus 74.
The input / output interface 75 includes an input unit 76 including a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel, a display including an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), an organic EL (Electroluminescence) panel, and an output including a speaker. A unit 77, a storage unit 78 composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory device, and the like, and a communication unit 79 that performs communication processing and inter-device communication via a network are connected.
A media drive 80 is also connected to the input / output interface 75 as needed, and a removable media 81 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory is appropriately attached to write information to the removable media 81. Reading is performed.

In such a computer device, data and programs can be uploaded and downloaded by communication by the communication unit 79, and data and programs can be transferred via the removable media 81.
When the CPU 71 performs processing operations based on various programs, necessary information processing and communication as a cloud server 1, an operation monitoring terminal 2, a user terminal 3, an earth station control device 4, and a local server 51 are executed.
The information processing device that constitutes the cloud server 1, operation monitoring terminal 2, user terminal 3, earth station control device 4, and local server 51 is not limited to a single computer device as shown in FIG. , A plurality of computer devices may be systematized and configured. The plurality of computer devices may be systematized by a LAN (Local Area Network) or the like, or may be arranged in a state where they can communicate with each other by a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or the like using the Internet or the like. .. The plurality of information processing devices may include an information processing device as a server group (cloud) that can be used by a cloud computing service.

<2. Presentation mode on the user terminal>
The presentation mode in the user terminal 3 when the user uses the network system by using the user terminal 3 will be described below.

[2-1. Schedule adjustment on the terrestrial antenna operator side]
First, refer to FIGS. 4 to 7 for an example of a screen presented to the user terminal 3 when a user as a terrestrial antenna operator adjusts the schedule of the earth station 5 owned by the network system. I will explain.
4 and 5 show screens showing the earth station 5 and the satellite station 6 owned by the ground antenna operator. FIG. 6 shows the schedule screen of the earth station 5 owned by the ground antenna operator. FIG. 7 shows a screen for setting a usage restriction period on the schedule screen of the ground antenna operator.

When a user as a terrestrial antenna operator logs in to the network system provided by the cloud server 1, the list display screen 30 is presented on the user terminal 3 (see FIG. 4). Information about the earth station 5 and the satellite station 6 owned by the user is presented on the list display screen 30.
The list display screen 30 has a station information display area 40, an earth station selection area 50, and a satellite station selection area 60.

Information on the earth station 5 owned by the user (terrestrial antenna operator) is displayed in the display areas 41 and 41 of the station information display area 40. The display area 41 is displayed according to the number of earth stations 5 owned by the user (terrestrial antenna operator).
In FIG. 4, as an example, the information of the earth stations GS-1 and GS-2 is displayed in the display areas 41 and 41 as the earth station 5 owned by the user (terrestrial antenna owner).
In the display area 41, the name of each earth station 5 such as "GS-1" and "GS-2", the ID (Identification) (Antenna ID) of the ground antenna, and the area (City) where each earth station 5 is arranged. Information such as / Town, Country) is displayed.

The user (terrestrial antenna operator) may own not only the earth station 5 but also the satellite station 6. In this case, the information of the satellite station 6 owned by the user (terrestrial antenna operator) is displayed in the display areas 42 and 42 (see FIG. 5).
In FIG. 5, as an example, the information of the satellite station SAT-1 and the satellite station SAT-2 is displayed in the display areas 42 and 42 as the satellite station 6 owned by the user (terrestrial antenna owner). The display area 42 is displayed according to the number of satellite stations 6 owned by the user (terrestrial antenna operator).
In the display area 42, information such as the name of each satellite station 6 such as "SAT-1" and "SAT-2", the ID (Satellite ID) of each satellite station 6, and the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) ID is displayed. Is displayed.

In the display area 41 and the display area 42, other information regarding the success or failure of communication, alerts such as malfunctions of communication equipment, communication from the network management side, etc. are sent to the earth station 5 and the satellite station 6 owned by the user. The current status is listed so that you can see it at a glance.

In the earth station selection area 50, selection areas 51 and 51 that enable selection of each earth station 5 owned by the user (terrestrial antenna operator) are displayed, respectively. When the user (terrestrial antenna operator) selects the selection area 51 through the operation of the user terminal 3, as shown in FIG. 6, the schedule screen 90A of the earth station 5 selected as the display area of the station information display area 40 Is displayed.
For example, in FIG. 4, "GS-1" and "GS-2" are displayed in the selection areas 51 and 51 as the earth stations 5 owned, and the selection area 51 of "GS-1" is selected, so that FIG. 6 The schedule screen 90A of the earth station GS-1 as shown in is displayed.

On the schedule screen 90A, the information of the earth station 5 owned by the user is displayed in the display area 91, and the current schedule list of the earth station 5 is displayed in the display area 92 (see FIG. 6). In FIG. 6, the information of the earth station GS-1 selected in the selection area 51 is displayed in the display area 91, and the schedule list of the earth station GS-1 is displayed in the display area 92.
In the schedule list, the horizontal axis is the schedule and the vertical axis is the time, and the communication reservation periods RD1 and RD2, which are set as the period for renting the ground antenna to other users (satellite operators), and other users (satellite). The usage restriction periods NR1 to NR6, which are set as the period during which the rental of the ground antenna to the operator) is not permitted, are displayed.
In addition, the time line Ct indicating the current time is displayed, and the period (the period that has already passed) such as the communication reservation period and the usage restriction period displayed before the time line Ct is displayed as the elapsed period PT. ..
For example, the communication reservation period RD, the usage restriction period NR, and the elapsed period PT are shown in different colors so that the user (terrestrial antenna operator) can visually grasp the schedule of his / her own earth station 5. Can be done. The communication reservation period, the usage restriction period, and the like, which are the elapsed period PT, can also be color-coded from each other.

When the user (terrestrial antenna operator) operates the user terminal 3 and the custom button 93 in the display area 92 is selected, the setting screen 94 is displayed (see FIG. 7). On the setting screen 94, the user (terrestrial antenna operator) can set or change the usage restriction period NR by operating the user terminal 3.
Further, on the setting screen 94, when the user (terrestrial antenna operator) operates the user terminal 3, the communication reservation period RD (the terrestrial antenna operator is the satellite) currently reserved by another user (satellite operator). The period for renting the terrestrial antenna to the operator) can be canceled by the terrestrial antenna operator.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the user (terrestrial antenna operator) owns the satellite station 6, the item of the owned satellite station 6 is displayed in the satellite station selection area 60. In FIG. 4, since the user (terrestrial antenna operator) does not own the satellite station 6, the item of the satellite station 6 is not displayed in the satellite station selection area 60.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, when the user (terrestrial antenna operator) owns the satellite station 6, the selection areas 61 and 61 are provided in the satellite station selection area 60, and each of the owned satellite stations 6 is displayed. Will be done. In FIG. 5, "SAT-1" and "SAT-2" are displayed in the selected areas 61 and 61 as the owned satellite stations 6.
By selecting the selection area 61 through the operation of the user terminal 3 by the user (terrestrial antenna operator), as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12 described later, the schedule for the satellite station 6 selected on the list display screen 30 The screen 90 (90B, 90C) is displayed. Details of the communication reservation period setting on the schedule screen will be described later.

[2-2. Schedule adjustment on the satellite operator side]
Next, FIGS. 8 to 8 show an example of a screen presented to the user terminal 3 when a user as a satellite operator adjusts a schedule for communication of a satellite station 6 owned by the user using a network system. This will be described with reference to 11.
The same components as those of the screen presented on the user terminal 3 on the terrestrial antenna operator side are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.
FIG. 8 shows a presentation screen of the earth station 5 and the satellite station 6 owned by the satellite operator. FIG. 9 shows the schedule screen of the satellite station 6 owned by the satellite operator. FIG. 10 shows a display screen of image data acquired by the earth station 5 through communication with the satellite station 6. FIG. 11 shows a sort screen on the schedule screen of the satellite station 6.

When the user as a satellite operator logs in to the network system provided by the cloud server 1, the list display screen 30 is presented on the user terminal 3 (see FIG. 8).
The list display screen 30 has a station information display area 40, an earth station selection area 50, and a satellite station selection area 60.

Information on the satellite station 6 owned by the user (satellite operator) is displayed in the display areas 42, 42, and 42 of the station information display area 40. The display area 42 is displayed according to the number of satellite stations 6 owned by the user (satellite operator).
In FIG. 8, as an example, the information of the satellite stations SAT-3, SAT-4, and SAT-5 is displayed in the display areas 42, 42, and 42 as the satellite station 6 owned by the user (satellite operator).
Information such as the name of each satellite station 6 such as "SAT-3", "SAT-4", and "SAT-5", the ID (Satellite ID) of each satellite station 6, and the NORAD ID is displayed in the display area 42. Will be done.

The user (satellite operator) may own not only the satellite station 6 but also the earth station 5. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the user (satellite operator) is in the display area 41. Information on Earth Station 5 owned by is displayed.

Returning to FIG. 8, in the satellite station selection area 60, selection areas 61, 61, and 61 that enable selection of each satellite station 6 owned by the user (satellite operator) are displayed, respectively.
When the user (satellite operator) selects the selection area 61 through the operation of the user terminal 3, as shown in FIG. 9, the schedule screen 90B of the selected satellite station 6 is displayed in the display area of the station information display area 40. Is displayed.
For example, in FIG. 8, "SAT-3", "SAT-4", and "SAT-5" are displayed in the selection areas 61, 61, and 61 as the owned satellite stations 6, respectively, and the selection area 61 of "SAT-3" is displayed. When is selected, the schedule screen 90B of the satellite station SAT-3 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.

On the schedule screen 90B, for each earth station 5 of another user (terrestrial antenna operator), the time of AOS and LOS, the communication time (Duration) derived from AOS and LOS, the maximum elevation angle (Max Elevation), and the installation area (Location). ), Status, etc. are displayed. It is also possible to display the earth station owner for each earth station 5, but it is not displayed on the schedule screen 90B.
The status includes, for example, communication completed (Completed), communication not performed during the communication reservation period (Cancelled), communication with its own satellite station 6 reserved (Reserved), and its own satellite. When there is a state (Available) in which communication with the station 6 can be reserved and the status of the earth station 5 is "Available", the user can reserve the communication with the earth station 5 as the communication reservation period. Can be done. That is, the period in which the status is "Available" is the reservation target period.

The user (satellite operator) can browse the reservation target period and the status of each earth station 5 for each satellite station 6 owned by the user (satellite operator). The user (satellite operator) can set (reserve) the communication reservation period for the reservation target period of the earth station 5 that suits his / her wishes.

When setting the communication reservation period, the terrestrial antenna operator specifies conditions such as time and area, and based on the specified conditions, the communication reservation period is automatically reserved from the reservation target period (condition specification reservation plan). , A plan (on-demand reservation plan) for reserving the communication reservation period can be selected by selecting according to one's wish while browsing the schedule screen 90B. Details of the conditional reservation plan and the on-demand reservation plan will be described later.

On the schedule screen 90B, the data display button VW is displayed for the item in which the communication is completed (status is "Completed"). When the user (satellite operator) selects the data display button VW via the operation of the user terminal 3, for example, it is generated based on the IQ data (Raw data) received from the satellite station 6 by the earth station 5 by communication. The image is displayed.
For example, when the data display button VW is selected in FIG. 9, the communication data display screen 101 as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the list display screen 30. The user (satellite operator) can download the image displayed on the communication data display screen 101.

Further, on the schedule screen 90B shown in FIG. 9, the user (satellite operator) can sort the reservation target period of each earth station 5 and its status according to the status of each earth station 5.
When the sort button 102 on the schedule screen 90B is selected by the operation of the user terminal 3 by the user (satellite operator), the sort screen 103 as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed.
The sort screen 103 is provided with input fields for minimum elevation (Minimum elevation) and status (Status), and is displayed on the schedule screen 90B by inputting conditions such as minimum elevation and status by the user (satellite operator). You can sort and narrow down the existing paths.
The input field is not limited to the minimum elevation (Minimum elevation) and status (Status), and each earth station 5 is sorted or narrowed down according to various conditions such as communication time (Duration) and installation area (Location). be able to.

Here, FIG. 12 shows another example of a screen presented on the user terminal 3 when a user as a satellite operator adjusts a schedule for communication of a satellite station 6 owned by the user using a network system. Will be described with reference to. FIG. 12 shows a modified example of the schedule screen of the satellite station 6 owned by the satellite operator.

On the schedule screen 90C displayed on the list display screen 30 of FIG. 12, information on its own satellite station 6 selected by the user (satellite operator) is displayed in the display area 91, and the satellite station 6 selected in the display area 92. The current schedule list of is displayed. Here, a schedule list for the satellite station SAT-3 selected by the user (satellite operator) is displayed.

In the schedule list, the horizontal axis is the schedule and the vertical axis is the time, and the communication reservation periods RD3 and RD4, which are the periods during which the user (satellite operator) has completed the reservation for using the earth station 5, are displayed. To. Further, in the schedule list, the reservation target periods RP1 and RP2, which are the periods during which the user (satellite operator) can make a reservation as the communication reservation period, are displayed.
Further, the time line Ct indicating the current time is displayed, and the period displayed before the time line Ct (the period already elapsed) is displayed as the elapsed period PT.

For example, the communication reservation period RD, the reservation target period RP, and the elapsed period PT are shown in different colors, so that the user (satellite operator) can visually grasp the schedule of his / her own satellite station 6. it can. The communication reservation period, the reservation target period, and the like, which are the elapsed period PT, can also be color-coded from each other.

On the other hand, the usage restriction periods NR1 to NR6, which are the periods during which the use of the earth station 5 is restricted by the ground antenna operator, and the period RD1 already reserved as the communication reservation period by other users are not displayed in the schedule list. ..
For example, when the user (terrestrial antenna owner) shown in FIG. 6 has set the usage restriction period NR1 to NR6 for the earth station GS-1, the schedule list of the user (satellite operator) shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. , The period corresponding to the usage restriction period NR1 to NR6 is not displayed.
Further, the communication reservation period RD1 already reserved by another satellite operator is not displayed in the schedule list of the user (satellite operator) who owns the satellite station SAT-3.
In this way, by not displaying in advance the period during which the user (satellite operator) of the selected satellite station 6 cannot make a reservation, the user (satellite operator) can easily recognize the reservation target period RP that can be reserved. Will be able to.

<3. Matching satellite stations and ground stations>
Hereinafter, matching between the satellite station 6 and the ground station 5 in the present technology will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 16. By performing matching, the optimum earth station 5 can be assigned to the target user (satellite operator) from the unified network system. Matching includes conformity verification between satellite station 6 and earth station 5 and path scheduling.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flow of conformity confirmation when a satellite operator registers a satellite station 6. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the path scheduling process in the on-demand reservation plan (second plan). FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the path scheduling process in the condition designation reservation plan (first plan). FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the path scheduling process according to the plan selected by the satellite operator.

First, with reference to FIG. 13, a flow of conformity confirmation when a user as a satellite operator registers a satellite station 6 will be described. The compatibility confirmation consists of confirmation of communication conditions, confirmation of international frequency adjustment, confirmation of earth station license, etc. By confirmation of compatibility, the satellite station 6 owned by the user (satellite operator) is the earth station in the network system. Check if it is compatible to establish communication with 5.

First, in step S1, the user (satellite operator) presents the network system usage request to the operator side. At this time, the user (satellite operator) presents the satellite spec information to the operator side. In addition, the user (satellite operator) selects a path scheduling plan. The plan here may be a package plan prepared in advance such as "condition-specified reservation plan" or "on-demand reservation plan" described below, or may be an individually customized customer-specific plan.

Users (satellite operators) generally have minimum operational requirements and fluctuating operational requirements. The minimum operational requirements include operational area requirements, operational time requirements, or both. The minimum operational requirements remain unchanged throughout the satellite's operational period. There is a "condition specification reservation plan" to support the setting (reservation) of the communication reservation period based on the minimum operation request.

The user (satellite operator) can specify the conditions of "area" and "time" in the "condition designation reservation plan".
In "Area", area information can be specified as a condition. Regional information includes information on various regions such as regions such as Asia, Europe and South America, country names such as Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, city names such as Tokyo, California and London, and latitude and longitude. By specifying the area information as a condition in the "area", the satellite operator can narrow down the earth stations 5 based on the area information.

In "time", time information can be specified as a condition. The time information includes information on the time when the satellite station 6 communicates with the ground station 5, for example, between 9:00 and 10:00, and although the time is not specified, it is desired to perform one hour of communication per day. It includes information on various times, such as information on the length of communication time to be performed and information on the frequency of communication in which communication is desired to be performed multiple times per hour.

The user (satellite operator) can specify the conditions of "area" and "time" in the "condition designation reservation plan", or can specify only the conditions of either "area" or "time". it can.
For example, a user (satellite operator) can specify the conditions of "area" and "time" to limit the area or country where the earth station 5 to be used is located, or to communicate with the satellite station 6. You can specify the time. This is useful when you want to communicate with the Earth Station 5 in the Asian region for one hour every day between 9:00 and 12:00.
It is also possible to specify only the usage time (“time”) for communicating with the satellite station 6 without specifying the location (“area”) of the earth station 5 to be used. This is useful when you want to communicate for one hour every day, although any earth station 5 may be used.

It is also possible to specify only the location (“area”) of the earth station 5 to be used without specifying the usage time (“time”) for communicating with the satellite station 6.
In addition, the conditions of the "condition designation reservation plan" are not limited to the conditions of "area" and "time", but the charges, specifications of the ground station 5, the name of the ground antenna operator that owns the ground station 5, etc. It is conceivable to specify various conditions for.

In the "on-demand reservation plan", the user (satellite operator) can confirm the reservation target period that can be reserved, and the reservation target period can be set (reserved) as the communication reservation period by the user (satellite operator)'s selection. It is a plan.

The fluctuating operation demands of users (satellite operators) include operation demands generated by the state of the satellite station 6 and operation demands generated according to the usage status of the satellite station 6. An "on-demand reservation plan" is provided in order to respond to the setting (reservation) of the communication reservation period based on such fluctuating operational demands.

In the "on-demand reservation plan", the user (satellite operator) can select and set (reserve) the desired reservation target period as the communication reservation period from the displayed list of reservation target periods. This makes it possible to set the communication reservation period that more reflects the intention of the user (satellite operator).

Next, in step S2, common technical requirements are confirmed for the satellite station 6 of the user (satellite operator). That is, whether the registered satellite station 6 meets the most basic technical requirements for matching with the earth station 5, such as the minimum G / T (Gain-to-Noise Temperature Ratio) and frequency matching. Check.

The confirmation of communication conditions is a confirmation of technical requirements, for example, whether the minimum G / T can be output, the frequencies match, the required bandwidth can be supported, the modulation methods match, and the polarizations match. Check each parameter such as.
Note that G / T is read as G-overty and is a main parameter indicating the performance of the antenna, and refers to the ratio of antenna gain, antenna noise, and converter noise. The larger the G / T value, the higher the performance of the antenna.

Then, in step S3, it is confirmed whether or not not only the downlink but also the uplink is performed. When performing the uplink, the technical requirements to be satisfied when performing the uplink are confirmed in step S4 before proceeding to step S5.
The downlink is the transmission from the satellite station 6 to the earth station 5, and the uplink is the transmission from the earth station 5 to the satellite station 6.

After that, in step S5, it is confirmed whether the international frequency adjustment is completed. Here, it is confirmed whether or not the earth station 5, which is the communication target of the satellite station 6, has completed the international frequency adjustment with the region. This is because communication is possible only with the earth station 5 for which the consensus building process (international frequency adjustment) for radio wave interference with other carriers around the country or region to which the satellite station 6 communicates has been completed. is there. Therefore, the earth station 5 whose consensus building process has not been completed cannot be matched with the satellite station 6.

International frequency regulation is the planning of the wireless communication network prior to its use so that the frequency used by the wireless communication network and its conditions of use do not cause or receive harmful interference with the wireless communication networks of other countries. In technical adjustments made by the competent authority (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Japan) regarding frequencies (including orbital positions) based on the provisions of the Radio Regulations (RR) stipulated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). is there. The purpose is to make advance technical adjustments between the competent authorities to prevent harmful radio wave interference between communication networks. In particular, when an artificial satellite performs uplink or downlink, it is necessary for the satellite operator to complete international frequency adjustment.

Next, in step S6, it is confirmed whether the earth station license renewal is unnecessary or completed. In order to communicate with the satellite station 6, the earth station 5 needs a license to use frequencies (it may not be necessary if only the downlink is used), but if it communicates with a new satellite station 6, the license is required. Since the update is required, it is necessary to confirm whether the update is completed.
After the communication conditions are confirmed in step S2, the international frequency adjustment is confirmed in step S5, the earth station license is confirmed in step S6, etc., that is, the conformity confirmation is completed, instead of step S1, the user (satellite business). Person) may select a path scheduling plan. Further, the above-mentioned plans such as "condition designation reservation plan" and "on-demand reservation plan" may be selected by the user (satellite operator) when performing path scheduling.

When the procedures from steps S1 to S6 are completed, the preparation for path scheduling using the network system of the present technology is completed in step S7.
At this time, the cloud server 1 in the network system performs a process of setting a compatibility group for each specification of the earth station 5 based on the acquired information of the earth station 5. The compatibility group refers to a group of a plurality of earth stations 5 having (a part of) the specifications of RF (Radio Frequency) communication in common. As a result, similar earth stations 5 (part or all of the specifications are common) are grouped using the technical specifications for confirming conformity with the satellite station 6.
The technical specifications of RF communication are, for example, center frequency, frequency band, polarization, modulation method, coding method, and the like.

The cloud server 1 performs a process of storing the information of the compatibility group of the earth station 5 on the cloud together with the specification information of the earth station 5 and the satellite station 6.
By dividing the earth station 5 into compatibility groups in advance and storing the information, when matching the earth station 5 with the satellite station 6, the cloud server 1 considers the specifications of the satellite station 6. The optimal compatibility group is assigned.

Next, the processing of the cloud server 1, the user terminal 3, the earth station 5 (user terminal 3 on the ground antenna operator side), and the satellite station 6 executed according to the reservation method selected in the network system of the present technology is shown in FIG. And FIG. 15 will be described.
Hereinafter, the same processing as that described once will be designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted in order to avoid duplication of description.

FIG. 14 shows a processing flow when the user (satellite operator) selects the “on-demand reservation plan” when making a reservation for the communication reservation period.
When a request for presenting the reservation target period is transmitted from the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side to the cloud server 1 in step S11, the cloud server 1 makes a reservation from the communicable period after calculating the communicable period in step S12. Select the target period and control the presentation of the reservation target period. As a result, the reservation target period is displayed on the schedule screen of the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side.

Then, in step S13, when the user (satellite operator) operates the user terminal 3 to select the reservation target period, the user terminal 3 transmits the information of the selected reservation target period to the cloud server 1.
When the cloud server 1 receives the information of the reservation target period selected from the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side in step S14, the cloud server 1 executes a reservation process of setting (reserving) the selected reservation target period as the communication reservation period. To do.
When the reservation process is completed in step S14, the cloud server 1 transfers the information of the communication reservation period set (reserved) in step S15 to the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side and the user on the ground antenna operator (earth station 5) side. Send to terminal 3. As a result, both the satellite operator and the terrestrial antenna operator can know that the communication reservation period has been set.

Further, as shown in step S16, the terrestrial antenna operator can make a cancellation request for the communication reservation period set (reserved) by the satellite operator via the user terminal 3 in the earth station 5.
When the cloud server 1 receives the cancellation request from the user terminal 3 (earth station 5) on the ground antenna operator side, the cloud server 1 performs a cancellation process for the communication reservation period set (reserved) by the satellite operator in step S17. When the cancellation process is completed, in step S18, information about the canceled communication reservation period is transmitted to the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side. As a result, the satellite operator can know that the communication reservation period has been cancelled.
By receiving the cancellation request from the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side, the cloud server 1 can also perform the cancellation process for the communication reservation period set (reserved) by the satellite operator.

FIG. 15 shows a processing flow when the user (satellite operator) selects the “condition designation reservation plan” when making a reservation for the communication reservation period.
When a request for presenting the reservation target period is transmitted from the user terminal 3 on the satellite business side in step S11 to the cloud server 1, the cloud server 1 is designated in advance by the satellite business after calculating the communicable period in step S19. The reservation target period is selected from the communicable period based on the specified conditions (regional information in "area", time information in "time", etc.). Then, the cloud server 1 controls the presentation of the selected reservation target period. At this time, the reservation target period for which the reservation is scheduled is displayed on the schedule screen of the user terminal 3.
At this time, the satellite operator inputs the designation of the condition into the MCS of the user terminal 3.
Also, if quantitative conditions such as "I want 5 hours of communication time a day" or "I want 1 hour of communication time every day from 9:00 to 12:00 in the Asian region" are specified, matching It is assumed that the cloud server 1 automatically creates a list of the required reservation target periods from the communicable period of the earth station 5 and presents it to the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side. Therefore, it is not necessary for the satellite operator to make a reservation for the communication reservation period one by one.
The cloud server 1 may set (reserve) the selected reservation target period as the communication reservation period, and perform presentation control on the communication reservation period.

Further, in step S20, the selection information operated by the satellite operator is transmitted from the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side to the cloud server 1. The selection information referred to here includes information (confirmed information) that approves the reservation target period that is the communication reservation period displayed on the user terminal 3, or the communication reservation period that is different from the displayed reservation target period. Information (resetting information) to be set (reserved) as is included.

The cloud server 1 receives the selection information from the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side, and if it is determined in step S21 that the reset information has been received, the process proceeds to step S22. In step S22, the cloud server 1 reselects the reservation target period to be the communication reservation period, returns to step S19, and controls the presentation of the selected reservation target period.

After that, in step S20, when the confirmation information is transmitted from the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side to the cloud server 1 by the operation of the satellite operator, the cloud server 1 proceeds from step S21 to step S14 and selects. A reservation process is performed to set (reserve) the reserved communication reservation period as the communication reservation period, and in step S15, the information of the set (reserved) communication reservation period is transmitted to the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side and the user on the ground antenna operator side. Send to terminal 3 (earth station 5).
When the reset information is received from the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side in step S20, the cloud server 1 proceeds with steps S21, S22, and S19, and subsequently executes the same processing as described above.

Further, as in the case of "condition designation reservation", the cancellation process for the communication reservation period is performed in the flow of steps S16, S17, and S18 in response to the request from the user terminal 3 (earth station 5) on the ground antenna operator side. Can be done.

Hereinafter, the processing of the cloud server 1 in the path scheduling of the network system according to the present technology will be described with reference to FIG. The processing of the cloud server 1 in the following description, in which period calculation unit 11 shown at least in FIG. 1, the reservation management unit 12, the function of the presentation control section 13 is executed in cooperation.

First, in step S101, the cloud server 1 performs a process of comparing the latitude / longitude information of the earth station 5 with the orbit information of the satellite station 6 and calculating the communicable period.
Then, in step S102, the cloud server 1 performs a process of excluding a period of the communicable period that overlaps with the usage restriction period (Unavailability Window) preset by the terrestrial antenna operator.

In step S103, the cloud server 1 performs a process of excluding the communication reservation period in which the reservation from another satellite operator has already been confirmed, out of the communication possible period. As a result, path conflicts can be avoided and the operating rate of the antenna can be increased more efficiently.
Then, in step S104, the cloud server 1 determines the communicable period remaining after the processing from step S101 to step S103 as the reservation target period.

After determining the reservation target period, the cloud server 1 determines the selected plan in step S105. The cloud server 1 acquires the information of the plan selected in advance when the satellite operator presents the satellite spec information to the operator side in step S1 of FIG. 13 from the cloud. Here, it is determined whether the satellite operator has selected either the “condition-designated reservation plan” or the “on-demand reservation plan” as the plan.
It is not necessary that the selection information of plans such as "condition-designated reservation plan" and "on-demand reservation plan" is recorded in the cloud in advance. In this case, after the satellite operator logs in to the network system, the cloud server 1 receives the plan selection information by the satellite operator from the user terminal 3, so that the "condition specified reservation plan" and "on-demand" are received. It is possible to determine whether any of the "reservation plans" has been selected.

When the "on-demand reservation plan" is selected as the reservation method, the cloud server 1 proceeds from step S105 to step S106, and causes the user terminal 3 to present the reservation target period. As a result, the satellite operator can select the communication reservation period from the reservation target periods that can be reserved.
After that, the cloud server 1 performs a monitoring loop in the flow of steps S107, S109, and S106.

In step S107, when receiving the selection information of the reservation target period by the operation of the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side, the cloud server 1 proceeds with the process in step S108 and presents the information of the selected reservation target period to the user terminal 3. Let me. After that, the cloud server 1 returns to the monitoring loop.

Then, in step S109, when the decision information is received by the operation of the user terminal 3 of the satellite operator, the cloud server 1 sets (reserves) the selected reservation target period as the communication reservation period in step S110. Do.
Here, there may be a case where the communication reservation periods of a plurality of satellite operators overlap for one earth station 5 (pass conflict). Therefore, in the reservation process, for example, the cloud server 1 preferentially allocates the communication reservation period to the satellite operator whose area condition is specified in the "condition specification reservation plan", and then the satellite whose time condition is specified. Allocate the communication reservation period to the operator side. The area condition specification has a limited number of reservation target periods, and the time condition specification allows more flexible allocation of the communication reservation period to the reservation target period, so this order is more efficient. Finally, the reservation target period remaining in the "on-demand reservation plan" is presented. For example, one of the two satellite operators that conflicts specifies a specific time for a specific Earth Station 5, while the request of another satellite operator does not specify a specific Earth Station 5 and says "5 a day. When requesting a "pass for hours", the latter satellite operator will be allocated a communication reservation period that meets both requirements by allocating a reservation target period by another earth station 5 at another time. realizable.

After step S110, the cloud server 1 transmits the reserved communication reservation period information to the user terminal 3 and the earth station 5 in step S111, and completes the process of FIG.
Here, the earth station 5 determines the communication reservation period in response to the request of the cloud server 1 and the communication reservation period by the terrestrial antenna operator itself. In addition to that, the cloud server 1 determines the communication reservation period in response to the request of the satellite operator.
The terrestrial antenna operator or satellite operator is provided with an API, CLI, and GUI for reserving or scheduling a communication reservation period. This allows the terrestrial antenna operator or satellite operator to schedule paths from the GUI of the StellarStation.
The request for fixing the communication reservation period by the terrestrial antenna operator itself has priority over the request for fixing the communication reservation period in response to the request on the cloud server 1 side.

Next, returning to step S105, when the "condition designation reservation plan" is selected as the reservation method, the cloud server 1 sets the reservation target period satisfying the conditions specified by the satellite operator from the target reservation period in step S112. Select. The cloud server 1 selects, for example, a reservation target period that matches the regional information and time information input by the satellite operator via the user terminal 3.
Then, in step S113, the cloud server 1 causes the user terminal 3 on the satellite operator side to present the result. As a result, the satellite operator can save the trouble of selecting the reservation target period as a specific communication reservation period one by one.
After that, the cloud server 1 performs a monitoring loop in the flow of steps S114 and S115.

When the decision information is received by the operation of the user terminal 3 of the satellite operator in step S114, the cloud server 1 performs the reservation process of setting (reserving) the selected reservation target period as the communication reservation period in step S110. In step S111, the information of the reserved communication reservation period is transmitted to the user terminal 3 and the earth station 5. As a result, the process of FIG. 16 is completed.

Further, in step S115, when the satellite operator wishes to reserve a reservation target period other than the displayed reservation target period as the communication reservation period, the cloud server 1 receives information regarding the correction, and the cloud server 1 goes to step S116. Proceed with processing.
The cloud server 1 reselects the reservation target period in step S116, and causes the user terminal 3 to present the reset target period in step S113. After that, the cloud server 1 proceeds to the monitoring loop of steps S114 and S115, and thereafter, performs the same processing as described above.

<4. API used on cloud server>
Here, the API used in the cloud server 1 will be described. The API includes an API for satellite operators to call and an API for earth station owners. The names and functions of each are shown below.

"API for satellite operators"
・ CancelPlan Cancels the reservation during the communication reservation period.
-ListPasses Returns a list of communicable periods of a specific satellite station 6.
-ListSatellitePlans Returns a list of communication reservation periods for a specific satellite station 6 with details.
-Enables command transmission and telemetry reception to OpenStream satellite station 6.
-SchedulePass Reserve the communication reservation period at the time of a specific satellite station 6.

"API for terrestrial antenna operators"
-AddGSUnavailabilityWindow Set a specific time or usage limit period.
-ListGroundStationPlans Returns a list of reserved time periods for a particular ground antenna.
-ListGSUnavailabilityWindow Returns the usage restriction period of a specific ground antenna.
-DeleteGSUnavailabilityWindow Deletes the usage restriction period of a specific ground antenna.

<5. Overview of communication execution based on the reserved communication reservation period>
An outline of communication execution based on the reserved communication reservation period will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of communication between the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5.
First, when the communication reservation period between the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 is set (reserved), the cloud server 1 provides information such as the communication start time and the communication completion time between the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 to the user terminal 3. , Satellite station 6, earth station 5, etc.

Regarding step S201, when the communication time in the earth station GS-A of the satellite station 6 approaches, the API of the user terminal 3 opensstream so as to start the communication with the earth station GS-A to the cloud server 1. ) Make a request. Further, in step S202, when the communication time in the earth station GS-A of the satellite station 6 approaches, the open stream so that the earth station GS-A starts communication with the earth station GS-A to the cloud server 1. (Openstream) Make a request.

Then, when the start time (AOS-A) at which communication becomes possible when the satellite station 6 is located above the specific earth station GS-A is reached, in step S203, the earth station GS-A and the satellite station 6 Bidirectional data exchange (Full Duplex Communication) is performed between them.
When the communication between the earth station GS-A and the satellite station 6 ends (LOS-A), the API of the user terminal 3 ends the communication with the earth station GS-A to the cloud server 1 in step S204. As described above, a close request is issued, and in step S205, the earth station GS-A also issues a close request to the cloud server 1.
As a result, the communication is completed, and the data exchange between the earth station GS-A and the satellite station 6 is completed.

Next, with respect to step S206, when the communication time in the earth station GS-B different from the earth station GS-A of the satellite station 6 approaches, the API of the user terminal 3 informs the cloud server 1 with the earth station GS-B. Make an openstream request to start communication with. Also, open in step S20 7, the time of the communication in the earth station GS-B satellite station 6 approaches, so that the earth station GS-B starts communication with the earth station GS-B to the cloud server 1 Make a stream (openstream) request.

Then, when the satellite station 6 the time of the start of allowing communication be located over a particular earth station GS-B (AOS-B) , in step S20 8, earth station GS-B and satellite station 6 Bidirectional data exchange (Full Duplex Communication) is performed between the two.
Becomes the earth station GS-B and the end of communication time between the satellite station 6 (LOS-B), ends the communication with the earth station GS-B API of the user terminal 3 is the cloud server 1 in step S20 9 A close request is issued so as to be performed, and in step S2 10 , the earth station GS-B also issues a close request to the cloud server 1.
As a result, the communication is completed, and the data exchange between the earth station GS-B and the satellite station 6 is completed.
As described above, the satellite operator can perform communication between the earth station 5 and the satellite station 6 without being aware of the scheduling of communication between the earth station 5 and the satellite station 6.

<6. Summary>
The cloud server 1 described in the above embodiment includes a period calculation unit 11 that calculates the communicable period between the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 based on the orbit information of the satellite station 6 and the position information of the earth station 5. It includes a reservation management unit 12 that performs reservation processing for the communication reservation period of the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 within the reservation target period selected from the communicable period (see FIG. 16).
As a result, it is possible to reserve the communication reservation period from the reservation target period narrowed down from the communication possible period.
Even if it is a communicable period, such as when the satellite station can communicate wirelessly with the earth station, the terrestrial antenna operator uses the earth station for communication with its own satellite station, etc. By selecting the reservation target period excluding the time when it cannot be rented to the satellite operator, it is possible to efficiently perform the reservation processing of the communication reservation period. Therefore, since the satellite operator can reserve the communication reservation period based on the reservation target period narrowed down from the communication available period, it is possible to reduce the burden of selecting the communication available period of the satellite operator.

In the cloud server 1 of the embodiment, the reservation management unit 12 selects a reservation target period from the communicable period by a selection process according to the selected plan (see FIG. 16).
This makes it possible to make a reservation for the communication reservation period from the reservation target period that reflects the contents of the selected plan.
When selecting the earth station 5 that communicates with the satellite station 6, there is a user (satellite operator) that any earth station 5 may be selected as long as the conditions are satisfied, and each earth station 5 There are also satellite operators who want to select the Earth Station 5 that communicates at their own discretion after confirming the information in. By providing a plurality of plans that reflect such various needs and allowing the satellite operator to select, it is possible to make a flexible reservation for the communication reservation period that reflects the request of the satellite operator.

In the cloud server 1 of the embodiment, in a network including a plurality of earth stations 5 having different technical specifications, the period calculation unit 11 and the reservation management unit 12 perform processing on the plurality of earth stations 5 (FIG. 1). reference).
As a result, a plurality of earth stations 5 having different technical specifications can be connected on the network, and the earth station 5 capable of communicating with the satellite station 6 is selected from the plurality of earth stations 5 on the network.
Therefore, the cloud server 1 can control a plurality of earth stations 5 having different technical specifications on the network, and the range of the earth stations 5 that can be selected by the user (satellite operator) can be expanded. As a result, the user (satellite operator) can make a reservation for the communication reservation period with the earth station 5 that more reflects his / her request.

The cloud server 1 of the embodiment includes a presentation control unit 13 that presents a reservation target period selected by the reservation management unit 12. As a result, the reservation target period that can be reserved is presented to the user terminal 3 of the user (satellite operator) (see FIGS. 16, S106, and S113).
Therefore, the satellite operator can consider whether or not to perform communication in the communication reservation period reserved according to the plan selected by the satellite operator, after referring to the reservation target period displayed on the user terminal 3. .. Then, if there is a reservation target period that the satellite operator wants to reserve as the communication reservation period rather than the reservation target period selected as the communication reservation period according to the plan, the satellite operator again sets another reservation target period as the communication reservation period. You can change your reservation.
Further, after the communication reservation period is reserved according to the plan selected by the satellite operator, the communication reservation period can be further added from the browsed reservation target period.

The reservation management unit 12 of the cloud server 1 of the embodiment does not select the communicable period (use restriction period) specified by the earth station 5 as the reservation target period (see FIGS. 16 and S102).
As a result, by setting the period during which the terrestrial antenna operator communicates with its own satellite station 6 at the earth station 5 as the usage restriction period, it is possible to prevent the satellite operator from reserving it as the communication reservation period. can do. In addition, the terrestrial antenna operator may set a period for maintaining the earth station 5 or a period for renting the terrestrial antenna to another satellite operator other than the network system of the present technology as a usage restriction period.
In this way, by excluding the usage restriction period when selecting the reservation target period from the communication available period in advance, the terrestrial antenna operator can flexibly lend the reservation target period to the satellite operator, and the satellite business. The person can easily recognize the period that can be reserved as the communication reservation period.

The cloud server 1 of the embodiment has a communication available period to a reservation target period based on the conditions specified by the user (satellite operator) as a selection process when the first plan (condition designation reservation plan) is selected. (See FIG. 16, S112 to S116).
That is, when the first plan is selected from the plurality of plans, the reservation target period according to the conditions such as the area and time specified by the user (satellite operator) is automatically selected (FIGS. 16, S112). reference).
Therefore, the user (satellite operator) can reserve the reservation target period that reflects the request of the satellite operator as the communication reservation period without confirming the information of all the earth stations 5. As a result, the convenience when the satellite operator reserves the communication reservation period can be improved.

In the cloud server 1 of the embodiment, the condition specified by the user (satellite operator) is the position information of the earth station 5 that executes communication with the satellite station 6 (see FIGS. 16 and S112).
As a result, the reservation target period is selected from the communicable period of the communicable earth station 5 based on the position information of the earth station 5 designated by the user (satellite operator). Therefore, the satellite operator can reserve the communication reservation period from the earth station 5 that reflects the desired area.

In the cloud server 1 of the embodiment, the condition specified by the user (satellite operator) is the time information when the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 execute communication (see FIGS. 16 and S112).
As a result, the reservation target period is selected from the communicable period of the earth station 5 capable of communicating at that time based on the time information that the user (satellite operator) desires to communicate with his / her satellite station 6 and the earth station 5. Will be done. Therefore, the satellite operator can reserve a communication reservation period that reflects the desired communication time.

In the cloud server 1 of the embodiment, as a selection process when the second plan (on-demand reservation plan) is selected, the reservation management unit 12 sets the user in the reservation target period presented by the presentation control unit 13. The reservation target period selected by (satellite operator) is selected as the communication reservation period of the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 (see FIGS. 16, S106 to S109).
As a result, when the second plan (on-demand reservation plan) is selected from the plurality of plans, the user (satellite operator) makes a communication reservation based on his / her selection from the reservation target period of the communicable earth station 5. Select a period and make a reservation.
Therefore, the satellite operator can select and make a reservation for the communication reservation period after taking into consideration the information of the earth station 5 to communicate with and the situation of the reservation target period.

When the reservation management unit 12 of the cloud server 1 of the embodiment receives cancellation information from the earth station 5 regarding the reserved communication reservation period of the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5, it executes a process of canceling the communication reservation period. (See FIGS. 14, S16 to S18).
As a result, regarding the communication reservation period reserved by the satellite operator, the terrestrial antenna operator can cancel the communication reservation period. Therefore, it is possible to notify the satellite operator in advance that communication with the terrestrial antenna has become impossible during the communication reservation period.

The information processing method executed by the cloud server 1 described in the above embodiment calculates the communicable period between the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 based on the orbit information of the satellite station 6 and the position information of the earth station 5. A reservation target period is selected from the communication available period by the period calculation step and the selection process according to the selected plan, and the communication reservation period of the satellite station 6 and the earth station 5 is reserved from the selected reservation target period. It has a management step.
When the cloud server 1 executes the above process, it is possible to make a reservation for the communication reservation period from the reservation target period that reflects the contents of the selected plan.

<7. Programs and storage media>
Although the cloud server 1 as an embodiment of the information processing device of the present technology has been described above, the program of the embodiment is a program that causes the information processing device (CPU or the like) to execute each process in the cloud server 1. ..

The program of the embodiment has a period calculation function for calculating the communicable period between the satellite station and the earth station based on the orbit information of the satellite station and the position information of the earth station, and a reservation target period selected from the communicable period. It is a program that causes the information processing device to execute a reservation management function that performs reservation processing for the communication reservation period between the satellite station and the earth station.
That is, this program is a program that causes the cloud server 1 to execute the processes described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

With this program, an information processing device as a cloud server 1 can be realized. Such a program can be recorded in advance in an HDD as a recording medium built in a device such as a computer device, a ROM in a microcomputer having a CPU, or the like. Further, it can be temporarily or permanently stored (recorded) in a removable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a memory card, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a magnetic disk. Such a removable recording medium can be provided as so-called package software.
Such a program can be installed on a personal computer or the like from a removable recording medium. In addition, it can be downloaded from a download site via a network such as LAN or the Internet.

Finally, the description of each of the above embodiments is an example of the present technology, and the present technology is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Therefore, it goes without saying that various changes can be made according to the design and the like as long as the technical idea of the present technology is not deviated from the above-described embodiments. Further, the effects described in the present specification are merely examples and are not limited, and other effects may be obtained.

1 Cloud server, 3 User terminal, 4 Earth station control device, 5 Earth station, 6 Satellite station, 11 Period calculation unit, 12 Reservation management unit, 13 Presentation control unit

Claims (9)

It has a period calculation unit, a reservation management unit, and a presentation control unit.
The period calculation unit, and the orbit information of the satellite station satellite operators owned, on the basis of the position information of each earth station different terrestrial antenna operators owned each communication period of the earth station and the satellite station Execute the process to calculate
The reservation management unit executes a process of setting a reservation target period excluding the usage restriction period of the earth station designated from the terminal on the terrestrial antenna operator side from the communicable period calculated by the period calculation unit. ,
The presentation control unit executes a process of causing the terminal on the satellite operator side to present the reservation target period set by the reservation management unit.
Further, the reservation management unit, among the reservation period, the information processing executing the reservation processing of the communication reservation period of the earth station and the satellite stations selected in response to a request from the satellite carrier side of the terminal apparatus. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the reservation management unit selects a reservation target period from a communicable period by a selection process according to the selected plan. In a network comprising a plurality of said earth stations of different technical specifications, information processing according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the period calculation unit the plurality of earth stations as a target and the reservation management unit performs processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein as the selection process when the first plan is selected, the reservation target period is selected from the communicable period based on the conditions specified by the user. Conditions specified by the user, the earth station and the satellite station is a regional information to perform communication
The information processing device according to claim 4 . Conditions specified by the user, the earth station and the satellite station is a time information for executing communication
The information processing device according to claim 4 . As the selection process when the second plan is selected, the reservation management unit, of the reservation period, the reservation period selected by the user as a communication reservation period of the earth station and the satellite station The information processing device according to claim 2 to be selected. Calculating the orbit information of the satellite station satellite operators owned, on the basis of the position information of each earth station different terrestrial antenna operators owning respectively, the communication period of the earth station and the satellite station,
A step of setting a reservation target period excluding the usage restriction period of the earth station designated from the terminal on the terrestrial antenna operator side from the calculated communicable period, and
A step of causing the terminal of the satellite operator to present the set reservation target period, and
And executing the reservation of the target period, the reservation processing of communication reservation period of the earth station and the satellite stations selected in response to a request from the satellite carrier side of the terminal,
Information processing method that the information processing device executes. And orbital information of a satellite station satellite operators owned, a function of different terrestrial antenna carriers respectively on the basis of the position information of each earth station owned, it calculates a communication enabled period of the earth station and the satellite station,
A function to set a reservation target period excluding the usage restriction period of the earth station specified from the terminal on the terrestrial antenna operator side from the calculated communicable period.
A function to display the set reservation target period to the terminal on the satellite operator side, and
Among the reservation period, the function of executing the reservation processing of the communication reservation period of the earth station and the satellite stations selected in response to a request from the satellite carrier side of the terminal,
Is a program that causes the information processing device to execute.

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