JP7529499B2 - Support system for people requiring assistance - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system for supporting people who require assistance, which enables station staff to support people who require assistance within stations.

Conventionally, surveillance systems have been put into practical use that perform image processing on images captured by cameras and have the function of detecting a specific object in the image. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which, when a station premises server determines that a person requiring assistance is present through image recognition processing of the image from a platform surveillance camera at its own station, it transmits the image of the person requiring assistance to a station premises server at the previous station via an inter-station network, and the station premises server at the previous station transmits the image of the person requiring assistance to a train stopped at that station.

JP 2020-050116 A

In stations, station staff are expected to provide support to people who require assistance, such as passengers in wheelchairs or passengers with white canes (visually impaired). However, if there is no station staff nearby or the person cannot be found, the person cannot receive prompt assistance from a station staff member, which is inconvenient for the person.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and aims to enable station staff to quickly provide support to people who require assistance.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a support system for persons requiring assistance is configured as follows.
In other words, the support system for persons requiring assistance according to the present invention comprises an on-board camera and on-board processing device mounted on a train, and a surveillance monitor deployed at a station, and the on-board processing device analyses the image from the on-board camera to detect a person requiring assistance, and when a person requiring assistance is detected, stores in memory detection information requiring assistance which includes at least the train's identification information, and when a person requiring assistance disembarks from the train, transmits the detection information requiring assistance to the surveillance monitor at that station, and the surveillance monitor displays the detection information requiring assistance received from the on-board processing device.

Here, when the onboard processing device stores the information on the detection of a person requiring assistance in memory, each time the train stops at a station, it may transmit video from the onboard camera to a monitoring monitor at the station where the train stops, and the monitoring monitor may display the video from the onboard camera received from the onboard processing device.

In addition, the information on detection of a person requiring assistance may further include information on the position of the person requiring assistance on the train.

The system may further include a ground camera and a ground processing device installed at the station, and the ground processing device may analyze the image from the ground camera to detect a person requiring assistance, and if a person requiring assistance is detected, determine whether the person requiring assistance is moving to a platform or not, and if it is determined that the person requiring assistance is moving to a platform, transmit position information of the person requiring assistance to a surveillance monitor, and the surveillance monitor may display the position information of the person requiring assistance received from the ground processing device.

The station may further include a plurality of guidance information output devices installed on the station side, and when the ground processing device determines through analysis of the video from the ground camera that the destination of the person requiring assistance is not the platform, it may instruct the guidance information output device closest to the location of the person requiring assistance to output guidance information, and the guidance information output device that receives the instruction may output the guidance information.

The support system for people requiring assistance according to the present invention enables station staff to quickly provide support to people requiring assistance who are within the station.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of on-board equipment in a support system for persons requiring assistance according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of ground-side equipment in a support system for persons requiring assistance according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart illustrating the operation of the onboard equipment of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart illustrating the operation of the ground side facility of FIG. 2 .

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of on-board equipment in a support system for persons requiring assistance according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of ground-side equipment in the same support system for persons requiring assistance.

As shown in FIG. 1, the onboard equipment installed on the train includes an onboard camera 11, a wireless interface (IF) unit 12, an information processing device 13, and a HUB 16. The onboard camera 11 may be a door camera installed on the outer surface of the train body facing the door direction, or an in-car camera that captures the inside of the car. Generally, multiple onboard cameras 11 are installed on one car. The wireless IF unit 12 is an interface for wireless communication with other systems (e.g., ground-side equipment installed at each station). The information processing device 13 is an example of an onboard processing device according to the present invention, and performs various processes such as detection of a person requiring assistance by analyzing the image of the onboard camera 11. The HUB 16 is a line concentrator for connecting each device of the onboard equipment to build an in-train network. The HUB 16 is installed in each car that constitutes the train, and is connected to other devices of the own car as well as to the HUB 16 of adjacent cars.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ground-side equipment installed at each station includes a ground camera 21, a wireless IF unit 22, an information processing device 23, a monitoring monitor 24, an electronic signboard 25, and a HUB 26. The ground camera 21 is installed at multiple locations within the station, including the platform. The wireless IF unit 22 is an interface for wireless communication with other systems (e.g., on-board equipment mounted on a train). The information processing device 23 is an example of a ground processing device according to the present invention, and performs various processes such as detection processing of a person requiring assistance by analyzing the image of the ground camera 21. The monitoring monitor 24 displays images of the vehicle-mounted camera 11 and the ground camera 21. The monitoring monitor 24 may be installed in a monitoring center within the station, or may be a terminal (e.g., a tablet terminal) that can be carried by a station employee. The electronic signboard 25 is an example of a guidance information output device according to the present invention, and is a terminal that displays guidance information for a person requiring assistance. The electronic signboard 25 is installed at multiple locations within the station. HUB26 is a concentrator that connects each device in the ground-side facilities to create an in-station network.

First, the operation when a person requiring assistance is detected by the on-board equipment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows an example of a flow chart showing the operation of the on-board equipment.
The information processing device 13 of the onboard equipment analyzes the image of the onboard camera 11 and performs a process of detecting a person requiring assistance (step S11). In this example, the process of detecting a person requiring assistance is performed when the train is running, but it may also be performed when the train is stopped at a station. In this example, it is checked whether a specific object (e.g., a white cane or a wheelchair) that is expected to be used by a person requiring assistance is detected from the image, and if the specific object is detected, the user is detected as a person requiring assistance, but the process of detecting a person requiring assistance may be performed by other methods.

When the information processing device 13 detects a person requiring assistance by analyzing the image of the onboard camera 11, that is, when it is determined that a person requiring assistance is on board the train, the information processing device 13 stores information on the detection of the person requiring assistance in a memory (not shown) (step S12). The information on the detection of the person requiring assistance includes at least train identification information (e.g., train number), but may further include information on the position of the person requiring assistance on the train. The information on the position of the person requiring assistance may include identification information (e.g., car number) of the car in which the person requiring assistance was detected among multiple cars that make up the train. In addition, when multiple doors are provided in each car, the information on the position of the person requiring assistance may further include identification information (e.g., door number) of the door closest to the person requiring assistance .

Then, the information processing device 13 judges whether or not the train has arrived at the station (step S13). Whether or not the train has arrived at the station can be judged, for example, based on information transmitted from a higher-level system or ground-side equipment. If it is determined that the train has not arrived at the station, the process returns to step S11, and the process of detecting persons requiring assistance is repeated.

When it is determined that the train has arrived at the station, the information processing device 13 transmits the image from the onboard camera 11 to the monitoring monitor 24 of the station, provided that the information on the detection of a person requiring assistance is stored in the memory (step S14). As a result, the image from the onboard camera 11 of the train is displayed on the monitoring monitor 24 of the station where the train carrying the person requiring assistance stops. Note that, if there are multiple onboard cameras 11, only the image from the onboard camera 11 that captured the detected image of the person requiring assistance may be transmitted. This allows station staff to recognize that a person requiring assistance is on board the stopped train. Furthermore, if it is determined from the camera image that the person requiring assistance is about to disembark, it becomes possible for station staff to go and support the person.

The information processing device 13 further determines whether the person requiring assistance has disembarked at a station where the train stopped (step S15). Whether the person requiring assistance has disembarked can be determined, for example, by further analyzing the video from the in-car camera 11 and checking whether the person requiring assistance is no longer detected from the video from the in-car camera and/or whether the person requiring assistance has been detected from the video from the door camera.

If it is determined that the person requiring assistance has disembarked, information on the detection of a person requiring assistance is sent to the monitoring monitor 24 of that station (step S16). As a result, the information on the detection of a person requiring assistance is displayed on the monitoring monitor 24 of the station where the train in which the person requiring assistance is aboard stops. This allows station staff to recognize that the person requiring assistance has disembarked from the stopped train and to quickly go to provide support. Furthermore, if the information on the detection of a person requiring assistance also includes vehicle identification information and door identification information, the location where the person requiring assistance has disembarked can also be identified, enabling station staff to quickly reach the person requiring assistance.

Next, the operation when a person requiring assistance is detected by the ground-side equipment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows an example of a flowchart showing the operation of the ground-side equipment.
After the person requiring assistance disembarks, the information processing device 23 of the ground equipment analyzes the video from the ground camera 21 to detect the person requiring assistance (step S21). In this example, the information processing device 23 detects the person requiring assistance using the same method as the information processing device 13 of the on-board equipment, but the information processing device 23 may detect the person requiring assistance using another method. In addition, if the information processing device 23 is configured to receive information on the detection of the person requiring assistance from the information processing device 13 of the on-board equipment when the person requiring assistance disembarks, the train on which the person requiring assistance disembarked and the disembarking position can be identified, which makes it possible to efficiently narrow down the ground cameras 21 to be the subject of the video analysis.

When the information processing device 23 detects a person requiring assistance by analyzing the image of the ground camera 21, i.e., when it is determined that a person requiring assistance is within the station premises, it determines whether the person requiring assistance is moving to a platform or not (step S22). In other words, it determines whether the person requiring assistance is changing trains or moving to another destination (e.g., a station exit). The destination of the person requiring assistance can be determined from the direction of movement of the person requiring assistance in the camera image capturing the person requiring assistance, the way in which the ground camera 21 capturing the person requiring assistance is switched, etc.

When it is determined that the destination of the person requiring assistance is the platform, the information processing device 23 identifies the current location of the person requiring assistance based on the installation position of the ground camera 21 currently filming the person requiring assistance and the position of the person requiring assistance in the image, and transmits the position information of the person requiring assistance to the surveillance monitor 24 (steps S23, S24). As a result, the position information of the person requiring assistance who is moving to the platform is displayed on the surveillance monitor 24. This allows station staff to quickly support the person requiring assistance who is heading to the platform. The above process ends when a station staff member is simultaneously detected in the image of the same ground camera 21, that is, when the station staff member reaches the person requiring assistance who is heading to the platform (step S25).

If it is determined that the destination of the person requiring assistance is not the platform, the information processing device 23 identifies the current location of the person requiring assistance based on the installation position of the ground camera 21 currently photographing the person requiring assistance and the position of the person requiring assistance in the image, and instructs the electronic signboard 25 installed closest to the person requiring assistance to display guidance information (steps S26, S27). As a result, guidance information for the person requiring assistance is displayed on the electronic signboard 25 installed closest to the person requiring assistance. Examples of guidance information include a map showing a route to a station exit and nearby elevator locations. Note that for the above processing, the information processing device 23 is assumed to have the position information of the ground camera 21 and the position information of the electronic signboard 25 registered in advance. Note that instead of/or together with the electronic signboard 25, an audio output device that outputs audio guidance information may be installed to output the guidance information.

As described above, the support system for persons requiring assistance in this example includes an onboard camera 11 and an information processing device 13 mounted on a train, and a monitoring monitor 24 installed at a station. The information processing device 13 analyzes the video from the onboard camera 11 to detect a person requiring assistance. When a person requiring assistance is detected, the information processing device 13 stores in memory information indicating the person requiring assistance that includes at least the train's identification information. When a person requiring assistance disembarks from the train, the information indicating the person requiring assistance is transmitted to the monitoring monitor 24 at that station. The monitoring monitor 24 is configured to display the information indicating the person requiring assistance received from the information processing device 13.

Therefore, by looking at the display on the surveillance monitor 24, station staff can recognize that a person requiring assistance has disembarked from a stopped train, and can quickly go to support the person requiring assistance. In addition, if the information on the detection of a person requiring assistance also includes information on the position of the person requiring assistance on the train (car identification information and door identification information), the position where the person requiring assistance has disembarked can also be identified, and the station staff can quickly reach the person requiring assistance.

In addition, in this example of the support system for persons requiring assistance, when the information processing device 13 stores information on the detection of a person requiring assistance in memory, each time the train stops at a station, it transmits video from the onboard camera 11 to the monitoring monitor 24 at the station where the train stops, and the monitoring monitor 24 displays the video from the onboard camera 11 received from the information processing device 13. Therefore, station staff can recognize that a person requiring assistance is on board a stopped train. Also, if it is determined from the camera video that a person requiring assistance is about to disembark, it is possible for station staff to go and provide support.

The support system for persons requiring assistance in this example further includes a ground camera 21 and an information processing device 23 installed at the station, and the information processing device 23 analyzes the image from the ground camera 21 to detect persons requiring assistance, and when a person requiring assistance is detected, determines whether the person requiring assistance is heading to the platform or not, and when it is determined that the person requiring assistance is heading to the platform, transmits position information of the person requiring assistance to the surveillance monitor 24, and the surveillance monitor 24 displays the position information of the person requiring assistance received from the information processing device 23. This allows station staff to quickly support persons requiring assistance heading to the platform.

The support system for persons requiring assistance in this example also includes multiple electronic signboards 25 installed at the station, and when the information processing device 23 determines through analysis of the image from the ground camera 21 that the destination of the person requiring assistance is not the platform, it instructs the electronic signboard 25 closest to the location of the person requiring assistance to display guidance information (for example, a map showing a route to an exit or the location of nearby elevators), and the electronic signboard 25 that receives the instruction displays the guidance information. This saves the person requiring assistance the trouble of searching for guidance information, and allows them to move quickly to their desired location.

The present invention has been described above based on one embodiment, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the configuration described here and can be widely applied to systems with other configurations.
Furthermore, the present invention can also be provided as, for example, a method including technical procedures related to the above-mentioned processing, a program for causing a processor to execute the above-mentioned processing, or a storage medium for storing such a program in a computer-readable manner.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown and described, but includes all embodiments that achieve equivalent effects to those intended by the present invention. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention can be defined by any desired combination of specific features among all the respective features disclosed.

The present invention can be used in a support system for people requiring assistance, where station staff can provide assistance to people requiring assistance within stations.

11: Vehicle-mounted camera, 12: Wireless IF unit, 13: Information processing device, 16: HUB, 21: Ground camera, 22: Wireless IF unit, 23: Information processing device, 24: Surveillance monitor, 25: Digital signboard, 26: HUB

Claims (4)

A support system for persons requiring assistance comprising an on-board camera and an on-board processing device mounted on a train, a ground camera and a ground processing device installed on a station side, and a monitoring monitor arranged on the station side,
The vehicle-mounted processing device analyzes the image of the vehicle-mounted camera to perform a process of detecting a person requiring assistance, and when a person requiring assistance is detected, stores in a memory information indicating the detection of the person requiring assistance, the information including at least the identification information of the train, and when the person requiring assistance gets off the train, transmits the information indicating the detection of the person requiring assistance to the monitoring monitor of the station.
The monitor displays the assistance-requiring person detection information received from the in-vehicle processing device,
The ground processing device analyzes the image of the ground camera to perform a detection process for a person requiring assistance, and when a person requiring assistance is detected, determines whether the destination of the person requiring assistance is a platform or not, and when it is determined that the destination of the person requiring assistance is a platform, transmits position information of the person requiring assistance to the monitoring monitor,
A support system for persons requiring assistance , characterized in that the surveillance monitor displays the position information of the person requiring assistance received from the ground processing device . The support system for persons requiring care according to claim 1,
When the in-vehicle processing device stores the assistance-requiring person detection information in the memory, each time the train stops at a station, the in-vehicle processing device transmits an image of the in-vehicle camera to the monitoring monitor of the station,
The monitoring monitor displays the image captured by the vehicle-mounted camera and received from the vehicle-mounted processing device. The support system for a person requiring assistance according to claim 1 or 2,
A support system for persons requiring assistance, characterized in that the information on detection of a person requiring assistance further includes information on the position of the person requiring assistance on the train. The support system for a person requiring assistance according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The station further includes a plurality of guide information output devices installed on the station side,
when it is determined that the destination of the person requiring assistance detected by analyzing the image of the ground camera is not a platform, the ground processing device instructs a guidance information output device that is closest to the position of the person requiring assistance to output guidance information;
A support system for persons requiring assistance, characterized in that the guidance information output device, upon receiving the instruction, outputs the guidance information.

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