JP7659913B2 - Target Search System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technology for determining whether a pedestrian's walking condition is abnormal, a technology for guiding a pedestrian while walking using the pedestrian's communication terminal, a technology for searching for a person in distress, a technology for searching for a target, and a technology for a companion accompanying the pedestrian to rescue the pedestrian who becomes distressed while walking by using a communication terminal of the companion.

Technology has already been proposed that uses pedestrians' communication devices and transmitters installed along their walking route to guide them while they walk.

As an example of this type of technology, Patent Document 1 describes a mountain climbing information relay system. In this system, multiple short-range wireless communication devices (transmitters + receivers) are arranged in a row along a mountain climbing route. A mountain climbing server receives route information from a user terminal, and based on that, each short-range wireless communication device transmits necessary update information to the user terminal. The mountain climbing server transmits the update information over a long distance to each short-range wireless communication device via the user terminal. Each short-range wireless communication device receives the update information from the user terminal, and based on that, updates the information to be transmitted to the user terminal.

Patent document 2 also discloses a technology in which multiple wireless tags (transmitters) are placed on students' routes to school, each student is given a portable reader (portable terminal with reading function) that can receive signals from each wireless tag at short distances, and the portable reader tracks the actual movement route of each student.

Patent Document 3 also discloses a patient abnormality notification system. This system comprises a portable transmitter worn by each patient, multiple receivers installed at multiple locations within the ward, and a centralized monitoring device installed at the nurse's station on each floor. The transmitter is equipped with an acceleration sensor, which determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the patient's physical condition, and if an abnormality is determined to exist, transmits this to the centralized monitoring device via the receiver. The receiver has a receiving unit that receives a signal from the transmitter, and a transmitting unit that transmits the received signal to the centralized monitoring device.

JP 2018-22454 A JP 2008-209965 A JP 2008-047097 A

In recent years, mountain climbing has been gaining attention as a leisure and sport, and the number of people climbing has been on the rise. Among climbers, there are both experienced and inexperienced climbers. Furthermore, when climbing an unfamiliar mountain, not only inexperienced climbers, but even experienced climbers may experience a psychological phenomenon called normalcy bias in situations where some kind of damage is expected, which may lead to unexpected situations such as getting lost (for example, when a pedestrian deviates from the normal route).

However, with the conventional technology described above, climbers, who may be in a psychologically panicked state, are forced to make the decisions themselves of whether they are lost, whether there is a risk of getting lost, what actions to take to avoid getting lost, and whether they are actually lost.

As a result, this conventional technology cannot help a climber calmly determine whether or not he or she has become lost before getting into an accident, nor can it help a climber calmly determine whether or not there is a risk of getting into an accident, nor can it help a climber appropriately choose actions to avoid getting into an accident if there is a risk of getting into an accident.

The problem of route deviation, where pedestrians deviate from the normal route, can also occur in activities other than mountain climbing. For example, it can occur in environments where pedestrians can easily lose their sense of direction, such as natural environments such as forests or grasslands, when walking along unfamiliar tour paths in a factory, or when children, elderly people, or other pedestrians who are inexperienced and walk along school routes or walking paths.

Therefore, there is a demand for pedestrian abnormality judgment technology that detects abnormalities in a pedestrian's walking state while walking and conveys the results to the pedestrian to warn them.

There is also a demand for a drone-based search technology that uses drones to search for pedestrians who become distressed while walking, and that switches between communication methods available to the drone depending on the communication status of the pedestrian's communication device, thereby ensuring communication with the pedestrian and searching for the pedestrian.

There is also a demand for companion-dispatch rescue technology that allows a pedestrian who becomes distressed while walking to be rescued by the pedestrian's companion, and that makes it possible to dispatch the companion to the scene while ensuring the companion's safety.

There is also a demand for a technology that installs multiple transmitters discretely along a walking route to guide pedestrians while they are walking, and a junction-based guidance technology that provides pedestrians with useful guidance information while reducing the number of transmitters that need to be installed.

＜Pedestrian abnormality detection technology＞

In order to solve the problem of providing a pedestrian abnormality determination technique, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedestrian guidance system that guides a pedestrian while walking, comprising:
A plurality of guide transmitters are installed discretely and in series along a walking route, each of which transmits an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID;
A user terminal which is a communication terminal of a pedestrian and is capable of receiving an identification signal from each guide transmitter by a short-distance wireless communication method;
a management server capable of communicating with the user terminal;
The user terminal or the management server,
The user terminal includes a walking state determination unit that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the walking state of a pedestrian based on a receiving state of an identification signal from each guide transmitter,
The user terminal,
a warning unit that issues a warning to the pedestrian when the walking state determination unit determines that the pedestrian's walking state is abnormal;
a confirmation button display unit that continues to display a confirmation button, which is operated by a pedestrian when the pedestrian confirms the warning, on a screen until the confirmation button is operated by the pedestrian,
The user terminal or the management server,
an emergency situation determination unit that determines that the pedestrian may be in an emergency situation when the confirmation button is not operated by the pedestrian even when the continuous display time of the confirmation button exceeds a predetermined time limit;
a memory in which other pedestrians accompanying the pedestrian are registered;
and an emergency information transmission unit that, when the emergency situation determination unit determines that a pedestrian may be in an emergency situation, transmits the emergency situation information to communication terminals of other pedestrians registered in the memory.

This pedestrian guidance system is characterized by its gradual determination of whether or not there is an abnormality in the walking state, rescue support linked to the severity level of the abnormality in the walking state ("severity level-linked rescue support"), and mutual communication with accompanying persons. Each feature is described in detail below.

1. Graded abnormality determination

(1) First-stage abnormality judgment: judgment of mildly serious abnormalities Based on the signal from the guide transmitter, the system judges whether there is an abnormality in the pedestrian's walking condition, and if it determines that there is an abnormality (a mild abnormality), it issues a warning to the pedestrian via the communication terminal.

(2) Second-stage abnormality judgment: judgment of a severe, serious level abnormality If the pedestrian does not notice the warning, a judgment is made that the pedestrian may be in an emergency situation (judgment of a severe abnormality).

Specifically, if the confirmation button is not operated by the pedestrian even after the continuous display time of the confirmation button on the screen of the pedestrian's communication device exceeds a predetermined time limit, it is determined that the pedestrian may be in an emergency situation.

2. Severity level-linked rescue support

(1) When an abnormality is judged to be minor When an abnormality is judged to be minor, the above-mentioned warning is issued to encourage the pedestrian to correct his/her behavior.

(2) When a serious abnormality is determined When a serious abnormality is determined, the pedestrian may be in such a serious situation that he or she is physically unable to move. Therefore, a message is sent to the communication devices of other accompanying persons, rather than to the pedestrian himself or herself, that the pedestrian may be in an emergency, and rescue efforts are encouraged by the other accompanying persons.

3. Mutual contact among accompanying persons

When a serious abnormality is detected, the user terminal or management server notifies the pedestrian's companion's communication terminal, rather than the pedestrian's communication terminal, sharing with the companion the possibility that the pedestrian is in an emergency and encouraging the companion to take rescue action.

<Drone-based search technology>

In order to solve the problem of wanting to provide a drone-dispatch search technology, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedestrian guidance system that guides a pedestrian while walking, comprising:
A plurality of guide transmitters are installed discretely and in series along a walking route, each of which transmits an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID;
a pedestrian transmitter attached to a pedestrian and transmitting an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID;
A user terminal which is a communication terminal of a pedestrian and is capable of receiving an identification signal from each guide transmitter by a short-distance wireless communication method;
An unmanned drone is equipped with an airborne relay base station for the user terminal and a receiver capable of receiving an identification signal from the pedestrian transmitter;
a management server capable of communicating with the user terminal;
The user terminal or the management server,
The user terminal includes a walking state determination unit that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the walking state of a pedestrian based on a receiving state of an identification signal from each guide transmitter,
The user terminal,
a warning unit that issues a warning to the pedestrian when the walking state determination unit determines that the pedestrian's walking state is abnormal;
a confirmation button display unit that continues to display a confirmation button, which is operated by a pedestrian when the pedestrian confirms the warning, on a screen until the confirmation button is operated by the pedestrian,
the user terminal or the management server includes an emergency situation determination unit that determines that a pedestrian may be in an emergency situation when the confirmation button is not operated by a pedestrian even when a continuous display time of the confirmation button exceeds a predetermined time limit,
A pedestrian guidance system is provided in which, when the emergency situation determination unit determines that a pedestrian may be in an emergency situation, the management server selectively executes a communication terminal-based search mode in which the positioning function and communication function of the user terminal are used to search for pedestrians, provided that a connection is established between the user terminal and the management server, and a transmitter-based search mode in which the location authentication function and communication function of the pedestrian transmitter are used to search for pedestrians, provided that a connection is established between the pedestrian transmitter and the receiver mounted on the drone.

This pedestrian guidance system is characterized by its drone search function, which uses a drone, a pedestrian transmitter, and the pedestrian's communication device. The features are described in detail below.

With this drone search technology, when a severe abnormality is detected as described above, the management server acts as a command center to remotely direct a search using drones, pedestrian transmitters, and the pedestrian's communication device in order to search for pedestrians.

Specifically, when the management server determines that a serious abnormality has occurred,
A communication terminal-based search mode in which a pedestrian is searched for using the positioning function and communication function of the user terminal, on the condition that a connection between the user terminal and the management server is established; and
- Provided that a connection is established between the pedestrian transmitter and the receiver mounted on the drone, selectively execute a transmitter-based search mode, which uses the location authentication function and communication function of the pedestrian transmitter to search for pedestrians.

<Companion dispatch type rescue technology>

In order to solve the problem of providing a companion dispatch type rescue technique, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a victim rescue system for rescuing a pedestrian who may be lost while walking, comprising:
A user terminal which is a communication terminal of the pedestrian;
A plurality of companion terminals which are communication terminals used by a plurality of companions of the pedestrian, respectively;
a management server capable of communicating with the user terminal and the plurality of companion terminals;
an environment server in communication with the management server for transmitting to the management server environment information representative of environments within a geographic area specified by the management server;
The user terminal,
a victim determination unit that determines whether or not the pedestrian is likely to be a victim based on a measurement result by a sensor mounted on the user terminal and/or a reception result from an external device of the user terminal;
The management server includes:
an individual risk calculation unit that, when it is determined that the pedestrian may be a victim, receives accompanying person information related to each accompanying person from each accompanying person terminal, and calculates, for each accompanying person, an individual risk when each accompanying person is dispatched to the location of the victim to rescue the victim based on the received accompanying person information;
an environmental risk calculation unit that, when it is determined that the pedestrian may be a person in distress, receives the environmental information from the environmental server, and calculates an environmental risk when any accompanying person is dispatched to the location of the person in distress based on the received environmental information;
a rescuer selection unit that selects, from among the plurality of accompanying persons, a person whose calculated individual risk does not exceed a first reference value as a rescuer;
A rescue permission unit that permits any of the accompanying persons to be dispatched to the location of the victim when the calculated environmental risk does not exceed a second reference value;
A victim rescue system is provided which includes a rescue request unit which, when permission is given to dispatch any of the accompanying persons to the location of the victim, transmits information regarding the location of the victim and a message requesting rescue of the victim to the accompanying person terminal of the selected rescuer.

＜Branch-point-based guidance technology＞

In order to solve the problem of providing a branch point-installed guidance technology, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedestrian guidance system that guides a pedestrian along a walking route having a plurality of branch points while the pedestrian is walking, comprising:
a plurality of transmitters respectively installed at the plurality of branch points, each of which transmits an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID;
A user terminal which is a communication terminal of a pedestrian and is capable of receiving signals from each transmitter by a short-range wireless method;
a management server capable of communicating with the user terminal;
The user terminal,
a junction location specifying unit which, when receiving an identification signal from any of the transmitters, converts the identification signal into a transmitter ID, and converts the transmitter ID into a junction ID in accordance with a predetermined relationship between the transmitter ID and a junction ID that is stored in a memory, thereby specifying the geographical location of the current junction;
a map data receiving unit for receiving map data from the management server;
and a partial map data display unit that displays, from the received map data, partial map data covering the geographical position of the identified branch point on a screen of the user terminal together with a mark indicating a correct route for reaching a destination designated by the pedestrian.

An example of the partial map data display unit is that, when the user terminal starts receiving an identification signal from one of the transmitters, it starts displaying partial map data corresponding to the installation position of that one of the transmitters.

Another example of the partial map data display unit is that when the user terminal finishes receiving an identification signal from one of the transmitters, it stops displaying the partial map data corresponding to the installation position of that one of the transmitters.

In yet another example, the partial map data display unit starts displaying partial map data corresponding to the installation location of one of the transmitters when the user terminal starts receiving an identification signal from one of the transmitters, and ends displaying the partial map data corresponding to the installation location of one of the transmitters when the user terminal stops receiving an identification signal from one of the transmitters.

The present invention provides the following aspects. Each aspect is divided into clauses, each clause is numbered, and the numbers of other clauses are cited as necessary. This is to facilitate understanding of some of the technical features that the present invention may employ and their combinations, and should not be construed as limiting the technical features and combinations that the present invention may employ to the following aspects. In other words, it should be construed that there is no prohibition on appropriately extracting and employing technical features that are not described in the following aspects but are described in this specification as technical features of the present invention.

Furthermore, describing each paragraph in a form that refers to the number of other paragraphs does not necessarily mean that it is prohibited to separate and make independent the technical features described in each paragraph from the technical features described in other paragraphs, and it should be interpreted that it is possible to make independent the technical features described in each paragraph as appropriate depending on their nature.

(1) A pedestrian guidance system that guides a pedestrian while walking, comprising:
A plurality of transmitters are installed discretely and in series along a walking route, each transmitter transmitting an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID;
A communication terminal for each pedestrian that can receive an identification signal from each transmitter by a short-range wireless communication method;
Each pedestrian's communication device
a reference transmitter determination unit that, when receiving an identification signal from any one of the transmitters, determines the one of the transmitters as a reference transmitter from which the passage of a pedestrian has been confirmed;
a target transmitter determination unit which, after determining the reference transmitter, determines, as a target transmitter, one of the plurality of transmitters which is located next to the reference transmitter in the walking route by referring to mapping data which indicates the order in which the plurality of transmitters are arranged along a walking route which has been assigned in advance to the walking route;
a walking condition determination unit that determines that there is an abnormality in the walking condition of the pedestrian when no identification signal is received from the target transmitter even after a predetermined time limit has elapsed since the time when the identification signal was received from the reference transmitter;
a warning unit that conveys the result of the determination to a pedestrian to warn him/her,
A pedestrian guidance system in which the reference transmitter determination unit and the target transmitter determination unit are each executed iteratively.

(2) A pedestrian guidance system that guides a pedestrian while walking, comprising:
A plurality of transmitters are installed discretely and in series along a walking route, each transmitter transmitting an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID;
The system includes a communication terminal of each pedestrian that is capable of receiving an identification signal from each transmitter by a short-range wireless communication method, and a management server that is capable of communicating with the communication terminal of each pedestrian,
The management server is
a reference transmitter determination unit that, when a communication terminal of each pedestrian receives an identification signal from any one of the transmitters, determines the one of the transmitters as a reference transmitter from which the passage of the pedestrian has been confirmed;
a target transmitter determination unit which, after determining the reference transmitter, determines, as a target transmitter, one of the plurality of transmitters which is located next to the reference transmitter in the walking route by referring to mapping data which indicates the order in which the plurality of transmitters are arranged along a walking route which has been assigned in advance to the walking route;
a walking state determination unit that determines that there is an abnormality in the walking state of each pedestrian if the communication terminal of each pedestrian does not receive an identification signal from the target transmitter even after a predetermined time limit has elapsed since the communication terminal of each pedestrian received an identification signal from the reference transmitter;
a transmission unit that transmits the determination result to a communication terminal of the pedestrian;
A pedestrian guidance system in which the reference transmitter determination unit and the target transmitter determination unit are each executed iteratively.

(3) A pedestrian guidance system as described in (1) or (2), in which the predetermined time limit has a variable length depending on at least one of the distance between the reference transmitter and the target transmitter, the altitude difference, the gradient, and the road surface type (paved road, gravel road, muddy road, cliff road, wide road, narrow road, etc.) of the walking route.

(4) A pedestrian guidance system according to any one of (1) to (3), in which the result of the determination that the walking condition is abnormal is conveyed to the pedestrian visually, audibly, and/or tactilely.

(5) A pedestrian guidance system according to any one of (1) to (4), in which the abnormality in the walking state includes at least one of the possibility that the pedestrian has become lost and the possibility that the pedestrian has deviated from the walking route.

(6) The communication terminal further comprises:
A pedestrian guidance system as described in any one of (1) to (5), including a display unit that, when an identification signal is received from any one of the transmitters, displays a map, the current location, and the installation location of any one of the transmitters in an overlaid state on the screen of the communication terminal.

(7) A pedestrian guidance system according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the walking route includes at least one of mountain paths, forest roads, sightseeing paths within a facility, school routes, walking paths, and cycling courses, each of which has a set walking route.

(8) A program for causing a computer to function as a communication terminal according to any one of items (1) to (7).

Throughout this specification, the term "program" may be interpreted to mean, for example, but not limited to, a combination of instructions that are executed by a computer to perform a function, and may also include not only that combination of instructions, but also the files and data that are processed in accordance with each instruction.

This program can be, but is not limited to, a program that achieves the intended purpose by being executed by a computer on its own, or a program that achieves the intended purpose by being executed by a computer together with other programs. In the latter case, the program in this section can be, but is not limited to, a program that is mainly comprised of data.

(9) A program for causing a computer to function as a management server according to any one of items (1) to (7).

(10) A recording medium on which the program described in (8) or (9) is recorded in a computer-readable manner.

Throughout this specification, the term "recording medium" may be interpreted to mean various types of recording medium, including, but not limited to, magnetic recording media such as floppy disks, optical recording media such as CDs and CD-ROMs, magneto-optical recording media such as MOs, and non-removable storage such as ROMs.

(11) A pedestrian guidance method for guiding a pedestrian while walking, comprising:
The method comprises:
A plurality of transmitters are installed discretely and in series along a walking route, each transmitter transmitting an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID;
The method is executed using a communication terminal of each pedestrian that is capable of receiving an identification signal from each transmitter by a short-range wireless communication method,
The pedestrian guidance method includes:
a reference transmitter determination step of determining, when each pedestrian's communication terminal receives an identification signal from any one of the transmitters, the one of the transmitters as a reference transmitter;
a target transmitter determination step of determining, after the reference transmitter has been determined, a transmitter that is located next to the reference transmitter in the walking route among the plurality of transmitters as a target transmitter by referring to mapping data that indicates the order in which the plurality of transmitters are arranged along a walking route that has been assigned in advance to the walking route;
a lost state determination step of determining that the pedestrian may be lost if the communication terminal of each pedestrian does not receive an identification signal from the target transmitter even after a predetermined time limit has elapsed since the communication terminal of each pedestrian received an identification signal from the reference transmitter;
and a warning step of notifying a pedestrian of the result of the determination to warn the pedestrian,
A pedestrian guidance method in which the reference transmitter determination step and the target transmitter determination step are each executed iteratively.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram conceptually showing the hardware configuration of a mountain trail guide system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a layout when multiple guide transmitters in the hiking trail guidance system shown in FIG. 1 are installed on a hiking trail in a mountainous area, the schematic perspective view showing multiple guide transmitters installed in a row along the hiking trail.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing two adjacent guide transmitters among the plurality of guide transmitters shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the guide transmitter and the climber transmitter shown in FIG. 2, both of which have a common configuration.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the portable terminal of the mountain climber shown in FIG.

FIG. 6(a) is a graph showing an example of a normal walking state scenario in which a mobile terminal receives a signal from an adjacent transmitter B before the time limit has elapsed from the time the mobile terminal received a signal from transmitter A in the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6(b) is a graph showing an example of an abnormal walking state scenario in which the same mobile terminal does not receive a signal from an adjacent transmitter B even after the time limit has elapsed from the time the mobile terminal received a signal from transmitter A in the mountain trail guidance system.

FIG. 7 is a table conceptually showing mapping data that correlates the predetermined relationship between the transmitter ID of each guide transmitter and the position of each guide transmitter on a map, the order in which multiple guide transmitters are lined up along the walking route of a mountain trail, and a time limit.

FIG. 8(a) is a graph showing an example of a gradual change in altitude between two adjacent points on the hiking trail shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 8(b) is a graph showing an example of a sudden change in altitude between the two points, FIG. 8(c) is a graph showing, as an example, that the length of the reference time S increases according to the distance d between the two points in a scenario in which the time limit is represented by the product of the reference time S and a correction coefficient k, and FIG. 8(d) is a graph showing, as an example, that the correction coefficient k increases according to the difference in altitude Δh between the two points.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram illustrating the management server shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart conceptually showing a number of programs for explaining the software configuration of the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

FIG. 11(a) is a plan view illustrating an example of a first page displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 1 for assisting the user in inputting data to distinguish whether to climb or descend a mountain, FIG. 11(b) is a plan view illustrating an example of a second page displayed on the screen for warning the user when he/she may have become lost, and FIG. 11(c) is a plan view illustrating an example of a third page displayed on the screen for explaining to the user the processing being executed by the management server after the warning has been given to the user.

FIG. 12 is a system diagram conceptually showing a main part of a hardware configuration of a victim rescue system according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart conceptually showing a plurality of programs for explaining the software configuration of the victim rescue system shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view conceptually showing an installation layout of a plurality of transmitters in a mountain trail guidance system according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example image displayed on the screen of a communication terminal of a climber in the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram conceptually showing the contents of the map database in the memory of the management server in the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart conceptually showing a number of programs for explaining the software configuration of the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

Figure 18(a) is a perspective view showing an example of a climber walking through a certain branching point while the mountain trail guidance system shown in Figure 14 is in operation, Figure 18(b) is a time chart showing the change over time in the state in which the mobile device receives a transmitter in the walking example of Figure 18(a), and Figure 18(c) is a time chart showing the change over time in the display state on the screen of the climber's mobile device in the walking example of Figure 18(a).

Below, several more specific and exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of a mountain trail guidance system (hereinafter simply referred to as the "system") 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The system 10 is designed to implement a pedestrian guidance method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

<System overview>

As shown in Figure 2, this system 10 has a mountain climber (an example of a "walker") as a user, and determines whether the climbing user's walking condition is abnormal (whether the climbing user may have become lost, deviated from the climbing trail 14, etc.) on a mountain trail 14 (an example of a "walking route", an example of a mountain path, an example of a mountain route, etc.) in a mountainous area 12, communicates the result to the climbing user as a warning, and ultimately assists in guiding the climbing user along the correct walking route (in the correct direction, along the correct course), thereby providing a climbing trail guidance function that prevents the climbing user from getting lost.

<Mountain trail guidance function>

In this system 10, in order to realize the mountain trail guidance function, multiple guide transmitters 30 are installed so as to be lined up discretely and in series along the mountain trail 14. The guide transmitters 30 are arranged in series at equal intervals (e.g., intervals of 10 m, 50 m, 100 m, 500 m, or 1 km). Alternatively, the multiple guide transmitters 30 may be arranged in series at variable intervals that decrease as the trail approaches the end of the mountain trail 14.

Each guide transmitter 30 may be attached to an artificial object installed on the mountain trail 14, such as a post or sign, or to a natural object growing on the mountain trail 14, such as a natural tree or shrub.

As the climber walks, the signals from the multiple guide transmitters 30 are received sequentially by the climber's mobile terminal 90 (an example of a "user terminal") using a short-range wireless communication method. The mobile terminal 90 can wirelessly communicate with a management server 50 that is operated and managed by a management center 40 installed in a location remote from the mountainous region 12.

To realize the mountain trail guidance function, the mobile terminal 90, either alone or in cooperation with the management server 50, warns the climber (such as by informing the climber that he or she may be lost, to alert the climber) and provides route guidance so that the climber's walking route (where to walk) and walking sequence (which direction to walk) do not deviate from the correct ones while ascending or descending the mountain.

Here, examples of "warnings" include informing the climber that he may have gotten lost in the mountainous area 12, calling the climber's attention, encouraging him to take corrective action, or notifying him that if he continues walking, he will enter an area outside of communication range where radio waves from the mobile terminal 90 cannot reach other mobile terminals 90. Examples of areas outside of communication range include areas where there is no nearby terrestrial base station 300 (see FIG. 2) that can receive radio waves, or areas where tall trees or neighboring mountains exist around the climber and therefore the radio waves from the climber's mobile terminal 90 are blocked.

In addition, "route guidance (route guidance, course guidance, route guidance, etc.)" may, for example, provide a climber with position and orientation information to correct his or her actual walking route and course to a correct walking route and course, or may inform the user visually, audibly, or tactilely of a message to the effect that "you are lost and it would be advisable to retrace your steps."

In this example, when the mobile device 90 of the lost climber detects that he or she is lost using the guide transmitter 30, it may output the message in text, image, or audio to alert the climber and encourage the climber to decide to turn back, or may confirm that the climber has confirmed the message by operating a "confirmation button." In this case, the mobile device 90 of the current climber may continue to display the same button until the "confirmation button" is tapped by the user.

Nevertheless, if the "Confirmation button" is not tapped by the user even after the continuous display time of the "Confirmation button" exceeds the specified time limit, the current climber's mobile device 90 will determine that the user/climber may be in an emergency (e.g., lost), and will transmit this information to the management server 50, and will also simultaneously transmit this information to the mobile devices 90 of the other climbers (companying climbers) who belong to the same party.

Furthermore, each climber's mobile terminal 90 acquires location information using its positioning function (e.g., a positioning function using GPS, a positioning function using a terrestrial base station 300) at discrete times during the climb, at all times, or from the time the warning is issued to the climber, and sequentially transmits this location information to the management server 50 to facilitate search operations in the event of a disaster.

Upon receiving this location information, the management server 50 sequentially associates this location information with the user ID/device ID of each climber's mobile terminal 90 and stores it in chronological order in memory 162 (see FIG. 9). When the climber gets lost, the climber's mobile terminal 90 accesses the management server 50, which then extracts the movement history of the climber from memory 162 and transmits it to the mobile terminals 90 of the other accompanying climbers. Thus, the management server 50 and the other accompanying climbers can track the location of the climber from at least the time the warning was issued to the climber.

The behavioral history of the victim, i.e., the tracking results, is used, for example, by other accompanying persons or rescue team members in the search for the victim. In addition, the behavioral history of the victim is used by the management server 50 when determining the flight target point of the drone 200, which will be described later.

In this system 10, in order to realize the mountain trail guidance function, when the climber's mobile device 90 receives an identification signal from one of the guide transmitters 30, it determines that one of the guide transmitters 30 as the reference transmitter (start transmitter, departure point transmitter, etc.) through which the climber's passage has been confirmed.

After determining the reference transmitter, the mobile terminal 90 refers to the mapping data (see FIG. 7) downloaded from the management server 50, described below, to determine which of the multiple guide transmitters 30 is located next to the reference transmitter on the walking route (see FIG. 2) as the target transmitter (forward transmitter, adjacent transmitter, destination transmitter, etc.).

The portable terminal 90 further determines that the climber's walking condition is normal (the climber is not lost) if it receives an identification signal from the target transmitter before a predetermined time limit f has elapsed from the time when it received the identification signal from the reference transmitter, but determines that there is something wrong with the climber's walking condition (the climber may be lost) if it does not receive an identification signal from the target transmitter even after the predetermined time limit f has elapsed.

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of two adjacent guide transmitters 30 from the multiple guide transmitters 30 in Figure 2. The two guide transmitters 30 are installed at two adjacent points A and B, respectively. In the example shown in Figure 3, point A is located at the entrance (start point, starting point) of the mountain trail 14, and point Z is located at the summit (turnaround point, end point, finishing point) of the mountain trail 14.

During mountain climbing (when climbing the mountain trail 14) (in terms of the walking route, upward direction, and ascending direction during mountain climbing), point B is ahead of point A in the direction of travel, so if the guide transmitter 30 at point A is the reference transmitter, the guide transmitter 30 at point B is the target transmitter.

In contrast, during descent (when descending the mountain trail 14) (in terms of the walking route, downward direction, and descent direction during descent), point A is ahead of point B in the direction of travel, so if the guide transmitter 30 at point B is the reference transmitter, the guide transmitter 30 at point A becomes the target transmitter.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a distance d between the guide transmitter 30 at point A and the guide transmitter 30 at point B; more precisely, it is not the shortest distance, but the length when the mountain trail 14 is measured along it. There is also an altitude difference Δh between the guide transmitter 30 at point A and the guide transmitter 30 at point B.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the reception ranges of the guide transmitters 30 at point A and the guide transmitters 30 at point B are set so that they do not overlap with each other, so that one mobile terminal 90 will not effectively receive identification signals from two guide transmitters 30 at the same time at any given moment.

Figure 6 (a) shows an example graph of a normal walking state scenario in which, in this system 10, the mobile terminal 90 receives a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at the neighboring point B before a predetermined time limit f has elapsed from the time when the same mobile terminal 90 receives a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at the neighboring point A.

In contrast, FIG. 6(b) shows an exemplary graph of an abnormal walking state scenario in which the mobile terminal 90 does not receive a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at the neighboring point B even after a predetermined time limit f has elapsed since the mobile terminal 90 received a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at point A in this system 10.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), in this system 10, if the portable terminal 90 does not receive a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at the adjacent point B even after a certain time limit f has elapsed, the portable terminal 90 determines that the climber's walking condition (direction of travel, etc.) is abnormal (e.g., the climber is lost) and issues a warning to the climber.

If the climber does not notice the warning, the climber's mobile device 90 or the management server 50 will simultaneously send a message to the mobile devices 90 of the other accompanying climbers informing them that the climber may be in danger of being lost. Furthermore, to realize the aforementioned victim search function, the management server 50 will execute a victim search mode.

Figure 7 conceptually shows, in a table, mapping data that correlates the predetermined relationship between the transmitter ID of each guide transmitter 30 and the installation position of each guide transmitter 30 on the map, the order in which multiple guide transmitters 30 are lined up along the correct walking route of the mountain trail 14, and the length of the aforementioned time limit f.

The mapping data is originally stored in the memory 162 of the management server 50, and when accessed by any mobile terminal 90, the management server 50 transmits the mapping data to that mobile terminal 90, which then downloads the mapping data from the management server 50 and stores it in its own memory 132 (see Figure 5).

<About setting the time limit f>

In this system 10, the time limit f is set for each pair of two adjacent points, as shown in FIG. 7. The time limit f is set in advance assuming a climber with normal physical ability, taking into account the actual distance d and altitude difference Δh between the two adjacent points, so that it is not shorter than the minimum time required for the average climber to traverse between the two points.

Figure 8 (a) shows a graph of an example in which the altitude changes gradually between two adjacent points A and B on mountain trail 14. Figure 8 (b) shows a graph of an example in which the altitude changes suddenly between points A and B.

In this system 10, the time limit f is calculated as the product of a reference time S and a correction coefficient k. FIG. 8(c) shows an example graph showing that the length of the reference time S increases according to the distance d between two points A and B. FIG. 8(d) shows an example graph showing that the correction coefficient k increases according to the altitude difference Δh between two points A and B.

＜Mutual contact function for accompanying persons＞

In addition to the trail guidance function described above, this system 10 has a companion mutual communication function that enables multiple climbers belonging to the same party (team, group, etc.) to communicate with each other using their respective mobile devices 90 to support mutual assistance. This companion mutual communication function also functions to confirm the safety of anyone who is lost in distress.

In this system 10, when multiple people are climbing as a single party, the mutual communication function for companions (mutual aid function) allows for the sharing of information about an emergency situation between one climber and the other climbers, who can then communicate with each other via mobile terminals 90 to share information and prevent accidents from occurring, enable immediate rescue efforts, and enable an immediate search to be carried out even if someone does get lost.

Specifically, for example, if multiple people are climbing a mountain as a party, and it is discovered that one of the climbers is in an emergency (for example, the climber's mobile terminal 90 or the management server 50 infers the existence of the emergency), the climber's mobile terminal 90 or the management server 50 will automatically wirelessly transmit information about the emergency to each of the mobile terminals 90 of the other climbers in the party at the same time.

In one example, the mobile devices 90 of multiple climbers belonging to the same party automatically attempt to establish connections with each other (e.g., without the user's knowledge) regardless of whether they are lost or not, or as necessary, and if there are other mobile devices 90 with which a connection has not been established despite this, the management server 50 is notified of this. The management server 50 determines that the climber who is the user of the other mobile devices 90 with which a connection has not been established may be in an emergency, and simultaneously transmits this information to the mobile devices 90 of the other climbers with which a connection has been established.

In another example, the management server 50 periodically attempts to establish a connection with each mobile terminal 90, and if a connection cannot be established with any of the mobile terminals 90, it determines that the climber who should own that mobile terminal 90 may be in an emergency, and simultaneously transmits this information to each of the mobile terminals 90 of the other climbers.

Here, "emergency situations" include, for example, a case where the walking route is not corrected even after the warning is issued, or a connection with a certain mobile terminal 90 cannot be established. In the latter case, for example, a certain climber may be out of communication range, or the battery of a certain climber's mobile terminal 90 may be low. In either case, if a climber gets lost, it may become impossible to search for the climber using the mobile terminal 90, and the search may become difficult.

＜Distress search function＞

In addition to the above-mentioned mountain trail guidance function and companion mutual communication function, this system 10 also has a victim search function that searches for a climber who is lost in mountainous area 12. This victim search function also functions to confirm the safety of the climber.

In this system 10, in order to realize the function of searching for lost climbers, a climber transmitter 32 is attached to the climber before climbing. The climber transmitter 32 moves together with the climber who is wearing it, and the position of the climber transmitter 32 coincides with the position of the climber.

The system 10 further includes an unmanned small aircraft, or drone 200, for searching for victims from the air. The drone 200 can be remotely operated using its own controller 202 and in accordance with instructions from the management server 50, or it can be autonomously navigated using the controller 202.

When the management server 50 determines that a climber may be in distress, it transmits representative spatial coordinate values of the mountain 12 that the climber is climbing (e.g., the latitude, longitude, and altitude of a specific representative point such as the summit or the entrance to the mountain trail 14) to the communication device 204 of the drone 200 as information representing the flight target point, and instructs the drone 200 to deploy (be deployed) via the controller 202.

The drone 200 is equipped with a controller 202 and a communication device 204 connected to it. The communication device 204 is capable of wireless communication with the management server 50. The communication device 204 may function as a normal mobile phone (cell phone) that uses a terrestrial base station 300, or may function as a satellite phone that uses an artificial satellite.

In addition to the communication device 204, the drone 200 is equipped with an airborne mobile (movable) airborne base station (hereinafter referred to as a "relay base station") 206 that replaces the fixed terrestrial base station 300 for the mobile terminal 90. The relay base station 206 receives location information from the mobile terminal 90 within its communication range, and transmits the location information to the terrestrial base station 300 within the communication range of the relay base station 206.

The drone 200 further has a receiver 210 capable of receiving a signal from the climber transmitter 32 of the stranded person. The controller 202 constantly measures the strength of the radio waves received by the receiver 210 from the climber transmitter 32. The controller 202 navigates the drone 200 in a direction that increases the current value of the radio wave strength measurement compared to the previous value.

To search for a lost climber, this system 10 has a mobile terminal usage mode in which the search is conducted for the lost climber himself using the lost climber's mobile terminal 90, and a transmitter usage mode in which the search is conducted for the lost climber himself using the lost climber's climber transmitter 32.

First, to give an overview, the mobile terminal use mode is executed to search for a victim using the positioning function and communication function of the mobile terminal 90, provided that a connection is established between the mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50. In this search scenario, the mobile terminal 90, which is one piece of equipment belonging to the victim, is used directly to search for the victim.

In contrast, the transmitter use mode is executed to search for the missing person using the location authentication function and transmission function of the climber transmitter 32 when a connection is not established between the victim's mobile device 90 and the management server 50, for example, when the battery of the mobile device 90 is low or the mobile device 90 is outside the communication range.

Specifically, in this transmitter use mode, the drone 200 is dispatched, the receiver 210 mounted on the drone 200 sequentially measures the strength of the radio waves received from the climber transmitter 32 of the stranded person, and the flight route of the drone 200 is determined so that the measured value increases over time. As a result, a search scenario is realized in which the stranded person is searched for, or a search scenario is realized in which, on the condition that the stranded person's mobile terminal 90 is operating normally (for example, the battery is not low, the mobile terminal 90 is not broken), the mobile terminal 90 is connected to the management server 50 via the relay base station 206 mounted on the drone 200 and further via the nearest terrestrial base station 300.

In the former search scenario, the climber's transmitter 32, which is one piece of equipment belonging to the stranded person, is used directly to search for the stranded person using the drone 200. In contrast, in the latter search scenario, the transmitter usage mode is executed to enable the aforementioned mobile terminal usage mode to be executed.

Specifically, in the latter search scenario, the drone 200 is dispatched and eventually approaches the victim. When the victim's mobile terminal 90 enters the communication range of the relay base station 206, the relay function of the relay base station 206 establishes a connection between the victim's mobile terminal 90 and the ground base station 300, and ultimately between the victim's mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50. In this case, the mobile terminal usage mode is executed, and the victim is able to communicate with the management server 50. In this case, for example, the victim can talk to a telephone operator at the management center 40 and send data (messaging) via his or her mobile terminal 90.

The drone 200 further includes a camera 220 that captures still or moving images of the ground from the sky. The camera 220 generates imaging data representing an image of the ground, and the imaging data is transmitted to the management server 50 via the communication device 204. An operator at the management center 40 can remotely monitor the state of the ground surface of the mountainous region 12 via the camera 220. This allows the operator at the management center 40 to visually and remotely search for a person in distress. The operating state (on/off, etc.), shooting conditions (zoom ratio, exposure, etc.), and attitude (angle, etc.) of the camera 220 are remotely controlled by the management server 50 via the controller 202.

The drone 200 further has a speaker 230 that outputs sound from the sky. The speaker 230 is remotely controlled by the management server 50 via the controller 202. For example, the controller 202 drives the speaker 230 based on audio data received from the management server 50, thereby generating and outputting sound. As a result, the operator of the management center 40 can output sound from the sky toward the mountainous region 12 via the speaker 230.

Thanks to this audio output, before the victim is found, the operator at the management center 40 can inform the victim by audio that a search is currently underway, the presence of the drone 200, and its current location. After the victim is found, the operator can confirm the victim's safety, instruct the victim on the actions they should take to be rescued, and provide information on the current status of rescue efforts.

The drone 200 further has a shooter 240 that drops or drops necessary items, equipped with a parachute as necessary, from the sky toward a target location on the ground. The shooter 240 is remotely controlled by the management server 50 via the controller 202. Items that are dropped include, for example, relief supplies (e.g., a spare charged battery pack that can be used for the mobile terminal 90 of the victim, water, food, etc.) and lighting equipment to locally illuminate the area near the victim to facilitate rescue operations.

When dropping an item from the shooter 240, in order to attract the victim's attention, the details of the rescue operation can be explained aloud using the speaker 230, or a light can be dropped at the same time. Thanks to the light, the victim can accurately determine the landing point of the dropped item, making it possible to reliably capture the item.

<About the guide transmitter and climber transmitter>

Figure 4 shows a functional block diagram of the guide transmitter 30 and climber transmitter 32 shown in Figure 2, both of which have a common configuration. Because the guide transmitter 30 and climber transmitter 32 have a common configuration, the following description of the common configuration will be representatively limited to the guide transmitter 30.

As shown in FIG. 4, each guide transmitter 30 emits a unique signal, which represents a unique transmitter ID. Since it is known where on the mountain trail 14 each guide transmitter 30 is installed, the installation position, i.e., spatial coordinate values (x, y, z), is assigned to the transmitter ID in advance.

First, conceptually, the guide transmitter 30 is a non-contact or contact (proximity) communication device that locally emits an identification signal that can identify a unique transmitter ID.

Next, to explain how it works, the guide transmitter 30 actively transmits a unique identification signal locally without the need for an external trigger signal, and continuously as long as there is no shortage of power supply.

The guide transmitter 30 is generally known as a beacon device, a radio beacon, or the like, that transmits a beacon signal as an identification signal. In one example, the guide transmitter 30 generates an identification signal representing the corresponding transmitter ID by modulating an original signal, and transmits the generated identification signal locally as an IR signal, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) signal, an NFC (near field communication) signal, or the like.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, the hardware configuration will be described. The guide transmitter 30 is mainly composed of a computer 104 having a processor 100 and a memory 102 that stores multiple applications executed by the processor 100.

The guide transmitter 30 further has a replaceable disposable battery 106 as a power source. Instead of the battery 106, it is possible to use a rechargeable battery, or a commercial power source or a solar cell as an external power source.

When a solar cell is used as the external power source, surplus electrical energy generated by the solar cell during the day can be stored in a battery, and at night, battery energy can be extracted from the battery to operate the guide transmitter 30.

The guide transmitter 30 further includes a transmitter 108 that generates and transmits an identification signal. The transmitter 108 is powered by a battery 106 and controlled by a controller 110. The controller 110 is controlled by the computer 100.

To explain the software configuration of the guide transmitter 30, the processor 100 outputs a signal to the controller 110 to modulate the original signal (e.g., carrier signal) so that the transmitter ID is reflected. The controller 110 controls the transmitter 108, which then generates the identification signal to be transmitted. The generated identification signal is then transmitted from the transmitter 108.

<About mobile devices>

The mountain climber's (user's) mobile terminal 90 is a device that is carried by the user and has wireless communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, smartphone, laptop computer, tablet computer, PDA, etc. The mobile terminal 90 is also an example of a user's communication terminal.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 90 will be described. The mobile terminal 90 is mainly composed of a computer 134 having a processor 130 and a memory 132 that stores multiple programs (also called "applications") executed by the processor 130.

The mobile terminal 90 further includes a display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display) 136 that displays information, a receiving unit 138 that receives signals from the guide transmitter 30 and the management server 50, and a transmitting unit 140 that generates signals and transmits them to the management server 50. Here, the receiving unit 138 is also a part that detects the identification signal from the guide transmitter 30.

The mobile terminal 90 further has an input unit 150 for inputting data and commands from the user. The input unit 150 has, for example, an operation unit that can be operated by the user to input desired information (e.g., commands, data, etc.) to the mobile terminal 90. The operation unit can be, but is not limited to, a touch screen that displays icons that can be operated by the user (e.g., virtual buttons), a physical operation unit that can be operated by the user (e.g., a keyboard, keypad, buttons, etc.), a microphone that detects voice, etc.

The mobile terminal 90 further includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 152. As is well known, the GPS receiver 152 receives multiple GPS signals from multiple GPS satellites and uses triangulation to measure the position (latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the GPS receiver 152 on the Earth based on those GPS signals.

The mobile terminal 90 further includes an acceleration sensor 154 that detects its own acceleration. Because the acceleration sensor 154 is mounted on the mobile terminal 90, it vibrates integrally with the mobile terminal 90, and as a result, it detects the acceleration acting on the acceleration sensor 154 itself as equivalent to the acceleration acting on the mobile terminal 90 and the user carrying it.

Here, to explain one function of the user's mobile terminal 90 in relation to the guide transmitter 30, when the mobile terminal 90 receives an identification signal from the guide transmitter 30, the mobile terminal 90 starts (logs in) a certain program pre-installed in the computer of the mobile terminal 90, i.e., a dedicated application for guide transmitter processing (hereinafter referred to as the "transmitter application"), and demodulates the received identification signal, thereby deciphering the transmitter ID.

Furthermore, when the mobile terminal 90 starts the transmitter application while receiving an identification signal from the guide transmitter 30, it also measures the distance between the position of the guide transmitter 30 when it transmitted the identification signal and the position of the mobile terminal 90 when it received the identification signal, based on the received identification signal (e.g., the strength of the identification signal).

In other words, based on the identification signal received from the guide transmitter 30, the mobile terminal 90 acquires both the transmitter ID unique to that guide transmitter 30 and the distance to the guide transmitter 30 at that time.

<Transmitter reception range>

The guide transmitter 30 is seemingly assigned two types of reception areas: a receivable area and an effective reception area (hereinafter also referred to as the "reception range" or "reception zone").

All of these areas are generally defined by a sphere centered on the location where the guide transmitter 30 is installed. Some examples of reception areas are shown in Figure 3.

The receivable area of the guide transmitter 30 has a maximum reception radius (e.g., about 50 m), whereas the effective reception area has an effective reception radius (e.g., any value within the range of 0 m to about 50 m). While the maximum reception radius is a fixed value, the effective reception radius is a variable value that can be set at any time by the mobile terminal 90, as described below.

The receivable area refers to an area in which the identification signal from the guide transmitter 30 can reach when the power supply to the guide transmitter 30 is normal, that is, an area in which the mobile terminal 90 can receive the identification signal as long as it is within that area.

In contrast, the effective reception area has an effective reception radius that is smaller than the maximum reception radius of the receivable area. The maximum reception radius cannot be set arbitrarily, whereas the effective reception radius can be set arbitrarily using software on the mobile terminal 90.

In other words, it is possible to say that the maximum reception radius refers to the reception limit determined by the hardware, whereas the effective reception radius refers to the reception limit determined by the software.

As described above, the mobile terminal 90 measures the distance to the guide transmitter 30 based on the strength of the identification signal it receives. The measured distance may or may not exceed the effective reception radius. When the measured distance does not exceed the effective reception radius, the mobile terminal 90 is within the effective reception area, whereas when the measured distance exceeds the effective reception radius, the mobile terminal 90 is within a receivable area but not within the effective reception area.

In this embodiment, the reception range of the guide transmitter 30 is set to be, for example, a spherical region with a radius of approximately 0 m to 5 m. In other words, the effective reception radius used in the mobile terminal 90 is set to a fixed value within approximately 0 m to 5 m. The effective reception radius may be set, for example, so that the reception area of each guide transmitter 30 covers the entire width of the portion of the mountain trail 14 where each guide transmitter 30 is installed.

<About the management server>

Next, to explain the hardware configuration of the management server 50, FIG. 9 shows a functional block diagram of the management server 50. The management server 50 is mainly composed of a computer 164 having a processor 160 and a memory 162 that stores multiple applications executed by the processor 160.

The management server 50 further includes a display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display) 166 that displays information, a receiving unit 168 that receives signals from the mobile terminal 90, a transmitting unit 170 that generates signals and transmits them to the mobile terminal 90, and a clock 172. The management server 50 does not receive information directly from the transmitter 30, but rather receives information via the mobile terminal 90.

<Software configuration of the mountain trail guidance system>

Figure 10 conceptually shows a flowchart of several programs to explain the software configuration of this system 10. These programs include a mountain trail guidance application (steps S101-S122) that runs on each climber's mobile device 90, and a program that runs on the management server 50 (steps S151-S158).

When the mountain trail guidance application is started on each climber's mobile device 90 prior to climbing the mountain trail 14, first, in step S101, the user operates the mobile device 90 to input a login request to the management server 50 and personal information of the user who is the current climber. Examples of personal information of the current climber include the climber's user ID, the user's name and address, and the telephone numbers or email addresses of the mobile devices 90 of the other accompanying persons. The login request and personal information are sent to the management server 50, and are then received by the management server 50 in step S151.

Next, in step S102, the user inputs hiking trail identification information (e.g., the name or ID of the hiking trail 14, and the name or ID of the mountain region 12 in which the hiking trail 14 is located) into the mobile device 90 to identify the hiking trail 14, and the hiking trail identification information is sent to the management server 50, which then receives it in step S151.

Next, in step S152, the management server 50 registers the received personal information and hiking trail identification information in memory 162. After that, in step S153, the management server 50 reads from memory 162 the mapping data (see FIG. 7) stored in memory 162 that corresponds to the hiking trail 14 represented by the hiking trail identification information currently received from the mobile device 90, and transmits it to the mobile device 90.

In response to this, in step S103, the mobile terminal 90 downloads mapping data corresponding to the mountain trail 14 from the management server 50. The downloaded mapping data is stored in the memory 132 in association with the mountain trail 14 and the date.

Next, in step S104, the mobile terminal 90 displays a page such as that shown in FIG. 11(a) on the screen, and the user inputs data on the screen to distinguish whether the action to be taken on this mountain trail 14 is to ascend or descend.

In one typical example, first (for example, at the start point A of the mountain trail 14), as shown in FIG. 11(a), the user operates the button representing "mountain climbing," and in response, the aforementioned mountain trail guidance mode is activated on the mobile device 90, provided that the user is climbing and not descending.

After that, when the user safely arrives at the end point Z of the mountain trail 14 and is about to start descending, prior to this, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the user operates the button representing "reset" and then the button representing "descent." In response to this, the aforementioned mountain trail guidance mode is activated on the mobile terminal 90 from the first step, this time on the condition that the user is descending and not ascending.

Then, in step S105, the mobile terminal 90 attempts to receive an identification signal from one of the guide transmitters 30. Then, in step S106, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not the identification signal has been validly received from one of the guide transmitters 30. If the identification signal has not been validly received (valid reception has failed), the determination is NO, and the process returns to step S105. In contrast, if the identification signal has been validly received (valid reception has succeeded), the determination in step S106 is YES.

If the mobile terminal 90 has effectively received (successfully received) an identification signal from any of the guide transmitters 30 (the one among the multiple guide transmitters 30 that is closest to the user's current location), then in step S107, the mobile terminal 90 displays on the screen a map showing the mountain trail 14 that covers the current location, the installation location of any of the received guide transmitters 30, and the current location measured using the built-in GPS described above, in an overlaid state.

If the mobile device 90 is also equipped with a direction sensor, the user holds the mobile device 90 horizontally and adjusts the orientation of the mobile device 90 so that the direction of the map displayed on the screen and the direction of the mobile device 90 match each other, making it possible to visually guide the climber in the direction he or she should go using the screen.

Then, in step S108, the mobile terminal 90 determines that the currently received guide transmitter 30 is the aforementioned reference transmitter.

Then, in step S109, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not the user is descending the mountain this time. If the user is ascending the mountain and not descending the mountain, the determination is NO, and in step S110, the mobile terminal 90 determines, as the aforementioned target transmitter, another guide transmitter 30 that is located immediately next to the guide transmitter 30 that was received this time when viewed in the ascending direction of the mountain trail 14, among the multiple guide transmitters 30.

Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 2, if the reference transmitter is the guide transmitter 30 located at point E (the fifth transmitter from the starting point A), the guide transmitter 30 located at point F (the sixth transmitter from the starting point A) is determined to be the target transmitter.

In contrast, if the user is not currently climbing but is currently descending the mountain, the determination in step S109 will be YES, and in step S111, of the multiple guide transmitters 30, another guide transmitter 30 that is located immediately next to the guide transmitter 30 that was currently received when viewed in the downward direction of the mountain trail 14 is determined to be the target transmitter described above.

Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 2, if the reference transmitter is the guide transmitter 30 located at point E (the fifth transmitter from the starting point A), the guide transmitter 30 located at point D (the fourth transmitter from the starting point A) is determined to be the target transmitter.

In either case, the mobile terminal 90 then attempts to receive an identification signal from the current target transmitter in step S112. The mobile terminal 90 then determines in step S113 whether or not the identification signal has been validly received from the current target transmitter. If the identification signal has not been validly received (valid reception has failed), the determination becomes NO, and the process proceeds to step S115.

In step S115, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether the time elapsed from the initial execution start time of step S112 has exceeded the time limit f. If not, the determination is YES, and the process returns to step S112.

In contrast, if the mobile terminal 90 has validly received the identification signal from the current target transmitter (successfully received the identification signal), the determination in step S113 will be YES.

Next, in step S114, the mobile terminal 90 displays on the screen a map of the vicinity of the current location, the installation location of the received target transmitter, and the measured current location in an overlaid state, in the same manner as in step S107 described above. Thereafter, the process returns to step S108, and the current target transmitter is now determined to be the next reference transmitter.

In contrast, if the time elapsed from the execution start time of step S112 exceeds the time limit f but the mobile terminal 90 does not validly receive an identification signal from the target transmitter, the determination of step S115 is NO.

Then, in step S116, the mobile terminal 90 determines that the walking condition of the current climber is abnormal. This abnormality determination means, for example, that the current climber is unable to reach the current target transmitter in the section between the current reference transmitter and the current target transmitter, and may be lost.

Then, in step S117, the mobile device 90 issues a visual warning to the current climber, as shown in FIG. 11(b). In one example, the mobile device 90 displays on the screen a message saying "You may be lost. We recommend that you retrace your steps" and a confirmation button that is operated to confirm that the current climber has read the message, in association with each other.

Then, in step S118, the mobile terminal 90 measures its current location using the built-in GPS described above. Next, in step S119, the mobile terminal 90 transmits location information representing the positioning result to the management server 50 in association with the user ID and the current time.

In response, in step S154, the management server 50 receives the current location information from the mobile device 90 in association with the user ID and the current time, and then in step S155, stores the location information in memory 162 in association with the user ID and the current time. As a result, the behavioral history of the current climber is stored in chronological order in memory 162 in association with the time, and this information is useful when tracking the climber.

Then, in step S120, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not the user has operated the confirmation button, as illustrated in FIG. 11(b). If the confirmation button has not been operated, the determination becomes NO, and in step S121, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not the elapsed time from the start time of the first execution of step S120 has exceeded a predetermined time limit g. If it has not exceeded the time limit, the determination becomes YES, and the process returns to step S117. When the elapsed time eventually exceeds the time limit g, the determination becomes NO in step S121.

Then, in step S122, the mobile device 90 determines that the current climber is a missing person, and sends a request to the management server 50 for the aforementioned missing person search mode to search for the missing person. Next, in step S123, the mobile device 90 displays on the screen a message stating "Contacting accompanying person" and a message stating "Requesting rescue", as shown in FIG. 11(c).

In response, in step S156, the management server 50 receives a request for the missing person search mode from the current mobile device 90, and then in step S157, simultaneously transmits a message to each of the mobile devices 90 of the other climbers accompanying the current climber who are registered in the memory 162 of the management server 50, informing them that the current climber may be in distress.

Specifically, for this companion mass transmission service, personal information, such as name, address, age, sex, physical condition data (e.g. health data) and athletic ability (e.g. years of sports experience) as well as contact information, such as the telephone number, email address and IP address of each companion's mobile terminal 90, are registered in the memory 162 of the management server 50 in association with each of the companions (e.g. members of a party climbing the same mountain trail 14) of the current climber, to construct a companion database.

Then, in step S158, the management server 50 dispatches the drone 200, specifying the current mountain trail 14 as the destination point. As described above, the drone 200 searches for the position of the climber, relying on the radio waves received from the climber transmitter 32 worn by the current climber. This realizes the aforementioned function of searching for a lost climber.

As is clear from the above explanation, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary for the climber, who may be in a psychologically panicked state, to judge whether he or she has gotten lost, whether there is a risk of getting lost, whether to select actions to take to avoid getting lost, or whether he or she has actually gotten lost. As a result, according to this embodiment, it is possible for the climber to accurately know whether he or she has gotten lost before getting lost, to accurately know whether there is a risk of getting lost, and to accurately know actions to take to avoid getting lost if there is a risk of getting lost.

In this embodiment, the portion of the computer 134 of the mobile terminal 90 that executes steps S105, S106, and S108 in FIG. 10 can be considered to constitute an example of the reference transmitter determination unit, the portion of the computer 134 of the mobile terminal 90 that executes steps S109-S111 in the same figure can be considered to constitute an example of the target transmitter determination unit, the portion of the computer 134 of the mobile terminal 90 that executes steps S115 and S116 in the same figure can be considered to constitute an example of the walking state determination unit, and the portion of the computer 134 of the mobile terminal 90 that executes step S117 in the same figure can be considered to constitute an example of the warning unit.

In addition, in this embodiment, the first feature functioning as the reference transmitter determination unit, the second feature functioning as the target transmitter determination unit, and the third feature functioning as the walking state determination unit are implemented in the same computer 134 of the mobile terminal 90. Alternatively, the present invention may be implemented in such a manner that all three feature parts are implemented in the computer 164 of the management server 50, or in such a manner that some of the three feature parts are implemented in the computer 164 of the management server 50.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, assuming that the climber does not slip off the mountain trail 14 (the climber does not deviate laterally from the mountain trail 14), if the mobile terminal 90 does not receive a signal from the target transmitter within the time limit f, it is determined that the climber may be lost.

In contrast, the present invention may be implemented in such a way that, if the portable terminal 90 cannot receive a signal from the target transmitter within the time limit f, the acceleration of the portable terminal 90, i.e., the climber's acceleration, is measured using the acceleration sensor 154 of the portable terminal 90, and if the absolute value of the measured value exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that the climber has deviated from the mountain trail 14 near the reference transmitter and may have slipped off. Here, the "possibility that the climber has slipped off the mountain trail 14" is an example of the aforementioned "abnormal walking condition."

[Second embodiment]

Next, a victim rescue system 10 according to an exemplary second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the first embodiment described above will be referred to using the same names or symbols to avoid duplicated explanations, and only the different elements will be described in detail. The victim rescue system 10 is designed to implement a victim rescue method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, when the management server 50 receives a request for the missing person search mode from the current climber's mobile device 90 (an example of a "user terminal") in step S156, it simultaneously transmits a message in step S157 to each of the mobile devices 90 (an example of a "companion terminal") of the other climbers accompanying the current climber and registered in the management server 50's memory 162, informing them that the current climber may be in distress. The mobile devices 90 of each companion have the same configuration as the climber's mobile device 90.

In contrast to this, in this embodiment, the management server 50 does not unconditionally and simultaneously send the message, i.e., a message requesting a search and rescue for the climber, i.e., the missing person, to all of the multiple companions registered in memory 162, but narrows down the companions (multiple candidate rescuers) to those who would not pose a physical risk to the companions that would exceed a standard value if they were dispatched to the location of the missing person, and then sends the message only to each companion, i.e., each rescuer (final rescuer), selected in this way.

Various methods can be used to narrow down multiple potential rescuers to a smaller number of final rescuers.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the management server 50 receives from each of the mobile devices 90 of multiple accompanying persons, multiple types of personal risks (risk of accidents that may occur to the accompanying person if the accompanying person is dispatched to the location of the missing person) for each accompanying person.

These personal risks include geographic information (an example of "companion information") that indicates the current location of each companion, which is a three-dimensional position (latitude x, longitude y, altitude z) measured by the GPS of each companion's mobile terminal 90, in order to measure the distance that must be walked to reach the victim's location (presumed location) (the longer the distance, the higher the companion's risk of accident (e.g., injury risk, death risk, etc.) during rescue).

Another individual risk is the temperature measured by the temperature sensor on each companion's mobile device 90 (the lower the temperature, the higher the companion's risk of accident during rescue) to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account the local weather conditions at each companion's location (another example of "companion information").

Another individual risk is the illuminance measured by the illuminance sensor of each companion's mobile terminal 90 (the darker the outside brightness, the higher the companion's risk of an accident during rescue) in order to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account different local weather conditions at each companion's location (yet another example of "companion information").

Yet another individual risk is the altitude (z) measured by the GPS on each companion's mobile terminal 90 in order to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account the local geographical conditions at each companion's location (yet another example of "companion information") (the higher the altitude, the lower the air pressure and the lower the oxygen concentration, and therefore the higher the risk of an accident for the companion during rescue).

Yet another individual risk is health data (yet another example of "companion information") stored on each companion's mobile device 90 that is input by the user in order to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account the physical condition of each companion (e.g., a scale of health levels such as good, normal, or poor health; for example, the lower the health level, the higher the companion's risk of an accident during rescue).

Yet another individual risk is the athletic ability data (yet another example of "companion information") stored on each companion's mobile device 90 that is input by the user in order to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account their physical condition (for example, the number of years of sports experience the person has up to the day; for example, the closer the number of years of experience is to 0, the higher the companion's risk of accident during rescue).

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the management server 50 further receives multiple types of environmental risks for each companion (risk of an accident that may occur to the companion if that companion is dispatched to the location of the missing person) from the weather server 400 (an example of an "environmental server") based on the weather characteristics of the location of the missing person (an example of "environmental information").

Environmental risks include weather risks at the location of the victim (estimated as the location measured by the GPS of the victim's mobile terminal 90) (the worse the weather (rain, snow, etc.), the higher the risk of an accident for accompanying persons during rescue).

Another environmental risk is the temperature risk in the location of the missing person (the greater the deviation of the temperature from the optimum range, the higher the risk of an accident for accompanying persons during rescue).

Another environmental risk is the risk of wind speed in the location of the victim (the higher the wind speed, the higher the risk of an accident for accompanying persons during rescue).

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the management server 50 further receives multiple types of environmental risks for each accompanying person from a terrain server 500 (another example of an "environmental server") based on the terrain characteristics of the victim's location (another example of "environmental information").

Environmental risks include the topographical risks in the location of the victim (for example, the steeper the slope, the higher the risk of an accident for accompanying persons during rescue).

Another environmental risk is the surface risk in the location of the victim (for example, the more likely natural disasters such as landslides, avalanches, and debris flows are to occur in mountainous areas, the higher the risk of accidents for accompanying persons during rescue).

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the management server 50 calculates a total individual risk F for each accompanying person from the accompanying person's position (more precisely, the distance D (Distance) between the accompanying person and the victim), the temperature T (Temperature) at the accompanying person's location, the illuminance L (Lightness) at the accompanying person's location, the altitude H (Height) at the accompanying person's location, the accompanying person's physical condition C (Condition), and the accompanying person's motor skill M (Motor Skill), as shown in the following formula:

F=D・k ₁ +T・k ₂ +L・k ₃ +H・k ₄ +C・k ₅ +M・k _6
k1 , _k2 , _k3 , _k4 , _k5 , _k6 : weighting coefficients (default values) multiplied by each risk variable

The higher the calculated total individual risk F, the higher the risk of an accident to accompanying persons during rescue.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the management server 50 calculates a total environmental risk G for each victim from the weather risk _M1 , temperature risk _M2 , wind speed risk _M3 , topographical risk _S1 , and ground surface risk _S2 at the victim's location, using the following formula:

G=M ₁・k ₇ +M ₂・k ₈ +M ₃・k ₉ +S ₁・k ₁₀ +S ₂・k ₁₁
k ₇ , k ₈ , k ₉ , k ₁₀ , k ₁₁ : Weighting coefficients (default values) multiplied by each risk variable

The higher the calculated value of the total environmental risk G, the higher the risk of an accident to accompanying persons during rescue.

Figure 13 shows, in a conceptual sequence, the communications carried out between the portable terminals 90 of multiple accompanying persons, the management server 50, the weather server 400, and the terrain server 500 to realize the above-mentioned simultaneous accompanying person transmission service, and the programs executed by the processors of each component.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the management server 50 receives a request for the victim search mode from the current mobile device 90 in step S156, as shown in FIG. 13, in step S1351, the management server 50 simultaneously transmits a request to request personal risk from each companion (each potential rescuer) to all of the multiple mobile devices 90 of the multiple companions.

When each accompanying person's mobile device 90 receives the request in step S1301, in step S1302, the current location of each accompanying person is measured by the GPS as the location of each accompanying person.

Next, in step S1303, the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person detects the temperature (air temperature) T at the location of each accompanying person using the temperature sensor of the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person. Furthermore, the illuminance sensor of the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person detects the illuminance L at the location of each accompanying person. Furthermore, the GPS of the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person detects the altitude H of the location of each accompanying person.

Then, in step S1304, each companion's mobile device 90 transmits the above-mentioned multiple detection values T, L, H, together with the level of physical condition C of each companion's mobile device 90 input by the user (e.g., the higher the level, the more fatigued the companion) and the level of athletic ability M of each companion's mobile device 90 input by the user (e.g., the lower the companion's athletic ability, the higher the level), to the management server 50 as personal risks.

In response to this, in step S1352, the management server 50 receives these personal risks from each accompanying person's mobile device 90, and then in step S1353, associates these received personal risks with each accompanying person and stores them in memory 162.

Next, in step S1354, the management server 50 estimates the current location last received by the management server 50 from the mobile device 90 of the stranded mountain climber as the location of the stranded climber, reads it from the memory 162, sets the location as a rescue point, and registers it in the memory 162.

Then, in step S1355, the management server 50 sends a request to the weather server 400 and the terrain server 500, respectively, along with the set rescue point, to request multiple environmental risks.

In step S1371, the weather server 400 and the terrain server 500 each receive the request, and then in step S1372, they search for environmental risks for a certain area covering the rescue point in the weather database of the weather server 400 and the database of the terrain server 500, respectively.

Then, in step S1373, the weather server 400 and the terrain server 500 each transmit the multiple environmental risks that were found to the management server 50.

In response, in step S1357, the management server 50 calculates the total environmental risk G for the multiple environmental risks received as described above.

The management server 50 then determines in step S1358 whether the calculated value of the total environmental risk G is equal to or less than a preset upper limit (an example of a "second reference value"), i.e., whether the rescuer has a low risk of accident. If the calculated value is equal to or less than the upper limit, the determination is YES, and in step S159 rescue by any of the accompanying persons is permitted. However, if the calculated value is higher than the upper limit, the determination is NO in step S1358, and the process returns to, for example, step S1351, where the process waits for the environmental risk at the same rescue point to improve, or determines whether rescue should be performed at a different rescue point.

After executing step S1359, in step S1360, the management server 50 calculates the total individual risk F for each candidate rescuer (each accompanying person) from the received multiple individual risks. Then, in step S1361, the management server 50 selects as final rescuers those of the multiple candidate rescuers whose calculated total individual risk F is equal to or less than a preset reference point (an example of a "first reference value").

Then, in step S1362, the management server 50 transmits to the mobile terminal 90 of each selected rescuer a message requesting a search for and rescue of the victim, along with the victim's name, estimated location, physical characteristics, and clothing characteristics.

In response, in step S1306, each rescuer's mobile terminal 90 displays the received message on the screen (or outputs it as audio), and further displays a confirmation button on the screen. Then, in step S1307, on the condition that the confirmation button is operated by the user of that mobile terminal 90, i.e., the rescuer, the relevant rescuer operates the confirmation button, thereby transmitting to the management server 50 the intention to accept the rescue request.

In response to this, in step S1363, the management server 50 receives information from one of the rescuers' mobile terminals 90 that the confirmation button has been operated, identifies the rescuer who accepted the rescue request, and registers this in memory 162.

However, if the management server 50 does not receive information from any of the rescuers' mobile terminals 90 that the confirmation button has been operated even after the time limit has elapsed, in step S1364, it updates the reference point by decreasing it by a predetermined amount from the current value, and then returns to step S1361. As a result, the next time step S1361 is executed, the range of multiple rescuers who can be approached with a rescue request is expanded, thereby increasing the probability of finding a rescuer who will accept the rescue request.

As is clear from the above explanation, in this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, it is possible to consider that the part of the climber's mobile terminal 90 that executes steps S105-S117 and S120-S122 in FIG. 10 constitutes an example of a "victim determination unit." One example of this "victim determination unit" is one that performs victim determination using multiple guide transmitters 30 as external devices of the mobile terminal 90, while another example of this "victim determination unit" is one that performs victim determination as described above using the aforementioned acceleration sensor 154 (an example of a motion sensor that measures the behavior of the climber).

Furthermore, in this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, it can be considered that the part of the management server 50 that executes steps S1352 and S1360 in FIG. 13 constitutes an example of an "individual risk calculation unit", the part of the management server 50 that executes steps S1354-S1357 in the same figure constitutes an example of an "environmental risk calculation unit", the part of the management server 50 that executes step S1359 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "rescue permission unit", the part of the management server 50 that executes steps S1361 and S1364 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "rescuer selection unit", and the part of the management server 50 that executes step S1362 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "rescue request unit".

[Third embodiment]

Next, a mountain trail guidance system 10 according to an exemplary third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the first embodiment will be referred to using the same names or reference numerals to avoid redundant explanations, and only the different elements will be described in detail. The system 10 is designed to implement a pedestrian guidance method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, multiple guide transmitters 30 are installed along the mountain trail 14, regardless of location, from the starting point (start point) to the destination point (end point). If the time required for a climber to walk from one guide transmitter 30 to the next guide transmitter 30 exceeds the time limit, it is determined that the climber may be lost.

In contrast, climbers are generally more likely to get lost on a mountain trail when there are branching points, not when the trail 14 is a straight one. Rather than installing transmitters 30 as guide transmitters all over the trail 14, installing transmitters 30 as branching point transmitters only at branching points (or only at branching points where, statistically or empirically, there is a high probability that climbers will get lost), reduces the total number of transmitters 30 installed, and is more advantageous in terms of cost and manpower.

In light of this fact, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, branch point transmitters 30 are installed only at the portions of the mountain trail 14 where there are multiple branch points.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the climber's mobile terminal 90 starts receiving from one of the branch point transmitters 30, an operation is started in response to this, as shown in FIG. 15, in which a map image showing only the area of the mountain trail 14 near the current branch point is displayed on the screen, along with a mark showing the climber's current position, a mark showing the correct route, and the name of the branch point (as well as other climbing information useful to the climber).

After that, when the mobile terminal 90 stops receiving a signal from the same junction transmitter 30, the map image that was displayed up until that point disappears from the screen.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, a map database is constructed in the memory 162 of the management server 50, which represents map data for the entirety of each of the multiple mountain trails 14, by destination, i.e., by mountain range, for each of the multiple mountain trails 14. However, in this embodiment, for ease of explanation, the map database is constructed so that it is valid only when a climber climbs the mountain trails 14 toward the summit.

Therefore, when any destination is identified, one piece of map data is identified.

Each map data is configured as a collection of multiple partial map data, and in each map data, each partial map data is associated with an intersection ID that represents one intersection included in that partial map data.

As shown in FIG. 15, each piece of partial map data is configured to include a corresponding branch point and at least three routes among the mountain trails 14 that intersect at that branch point, as well as a mark that represents, in relation to that position, the correct path determined in relation to the destination specified by the climber.

The memory 162 of the management server 50 also stores a predetermined relationship (not shown) between the transmitter ID represented by the identification signal emitted by each branch point transmitter 30 and the branch point ID representing the branch point at which each branch point transmitter 30 is installed.

Therefore, when the mobile terminal 90 receives a signal from any one of the junction transmitters 30, one transmitter ID is identified, and then one junction ID is identified, and ultimately one partial map data is identified.

Figure 17 shows, in a conceptual sequence, the communications carried out between the multiple branch point transmitters 30, the climber's mobile device 90, and the management server 50 to realize the branch point guidance service described above, as well as the programs executed by the processors of each component. The mobile device 90 has a climber guidance application installed in memory 132 as the relevant program.

Figure 18(a) shows an example of a perspective view of a climber walking through a certain branch point while the system 10 is in operation. Figure 18(b) shows a time chart of the change over time in the state where the mobile device 90 receives any of the branch point transmitters 30 in the walking example of Figure 18(a). Figure 18(c) shows a time chart of the change over time in the display state on the screen of the climber's mobile device 90 in the walking example of Figure 18(a).

As shown in FIG. 17, when the mountain climber guidance application is launched on the mobile device 90, the climber inputs a destination into his/her mobile device 90 in step S1701. Next, in step S1702, the mobile device 90 transmits a request for map data corresponding to the input destination together with the destination to the management server 50.

In response, in step S1731, the management server 50 receives the request, and then in step S1732, the management server 50 searches the map database for the corresponding map data using the destination received from the mobile device 90 as a key. Then, in step S1733, the management server 50 transmits the current map data that has been searched (a collection of multiple partial map data) to the climber's mobile device 90.

In response, in step S1703, the climber's mobile device 90 receives the current map data from the management server 50 and stores the map data in the memory 132 of the mobile device 90 in association with the current destination.

Next, in step S1704, the climber's mobile device 90 attempts to receive a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30. After that, in step S1705, the climber's mobile device 90 determines whether or not the mobile device 90 has validly received a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30, that is, whether or not the mobile device 90 is within the reception range (valid reception area) of any of the branch point transmitters 30. If the signal has not been received validly, the determination is NO and the process returns to step S1704, but if valid reception begins, the determination changes to YES.

When the determination in step S1705 becomes YES at the timing indicated by time t1 in the example of FIG. 18(b), the climber's mobile device 90 acquires the current transmitter ID from the received signal in step S1706, and then converts the acquired transmitter ID into a branch point ID in accordance with the relationship in step S1707.

Then, in step S1708, the climber's mobile device 90 selects the partial map data corresponding to the current branch point ID from among the multiple partial map data stored in the memory 132 of the mobile device 90, and reads the current partial map data from the memory 132. Next, in step S1709, the climber's mobile device 90 starts displaying the read partial map data on the screen at the timing shown as time t3 in the example of FIG. 18(c), as illustrated in FIG. 15.

Next, in step S1710, the climber's mobile device 90 attempts to receive a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30. After that, in step S1711, the climber's mobile device 90 determines whether or not the mobile device 90 has validly received a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30, i.e., whether or not the mobile device 90 is within the reception range (effective reception area) of any of the branch point transmitters 30.

If the climber's mobile device 90 is effectively receiving a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30, the determination in step S1711 becomes YES, and then in step S1712, it is determined whether the transmitter ID obtained from the received signal matches the transmitter ID obtained during the previous execution of the above-mentioned step S1706, i.e., whether the mobile device 90 is continuing to effectively receive a signal from the same branch point transmitter 30.

If the determination in step S1712 is YES, the process returns to step S1709, and the display of the current partial map data continues; if the determination in step S1712 is NO, the process proceeds to step S1706, and the display of partial map data for another branch point is started in the same manner as described above.

In contrast, in the example of FIG. 18(b), at the timing shown as time t2, if the climber's mobile device 90 transitions from an effective reception state in which it is effectively receiving a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30 to an ineffective reception state in which it is not effectively receiving a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30, the determination in step S1711 will be NO.

Then, at the timing shown as time t4 in the example of FIG. 18(c), the climber's mobile device 90 ends displaying the current partial map data in step S1713. Then, the process proceeds to step S1704.

As is clear from the above explanation, in this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, it can be considered that the portion of the climber's mobile device 90 that executes steps S1704-S1707 in FIG. 17 constitutes an example of a "branch point position identification unit", the portion of the climber's mobile device 90 that executes steps S1701-S1703 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "map data receiving unit", and the portion of the climber's mobile device 90 that executes steps S1708-S1713 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "partial map data display unit".

It should be noted that although the above-described embodiments apply the present invention to the purpose of guiding hikers along mountain trails 14, the present invention can also be applied to other purposes.

For example, the present invention may be applied to applications such as guiding pedestrians along other types of mountain trails, guiding pedestrians along forest roads, guiding the tour route or monitoring the behavior of visitors within facilities (e.g., factories, art galleries, museums, public facilities, etc.) (e.g., checking for entry into restricted or dangerous areas), guiding customers through a store displaying multiple products, monitoring the behavior of students on their way to school (e.g., checking for deviations from the regular school route), guiding pedestrians along walking trails, and guiding bicycles along cycling courses.

Furthermore, in some of the embodiments described above, all or part of the processing executed on the mobile terminal 90 may be executed on the management server 50 instead, and conversely, all or part of the processing executed on the management server 50 may be executed on the mobile terminal 90 instead. This is because which device executes the processing to be executed is usually determined by the circumstances at the time, such as the amount and type of data being handled, the processing speed and storage capacity of each device, etc.

Although several exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, these are merely examples, and the present invention can be embodied in other forms that incorporate various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the forms described in the "Summary of the Invention" section above.

Claims (8)

A system for searching for a target using a communication terminal and a transmitter attached to the target,
a management server capable of communicating with the communication terminal via a base station;
a receiver capable of receiving a signal from the transmitter by a short-distance wireless communication method;
A target search system in which the management server executes a communication terminal-based search mode in which the positioning function of the communication terminal is used to search for the target when a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is established, and executes a transmitter-based search mode in which the signal of the transmitter is used to search for the target when a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is not established, on the condition that a connection between the transmitter and the receiver is established. A system for searching for a target using a communication terminal and a transmitter attached to the target,
a management server capable of communicating with the communication terminal via a base station;
a receiver that is mounted on an airplane that searches for the target from the sky and is capable of receiving a signal from the transmitter by a short-range wireless communication method;
The management server executes a communication terminal-based search mode in which the management server searches for the target using the positioning function of the communication terminal when a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is established with or without going through the airplane, and executes a transmitter-based search mode in which the management server searches for the target using the signal from the transmitter when a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is not established by navigating the airplane, on the condition that a connection between the transmitter and the receiver is established. The aircraft is a drone,
The target search system of claim 2, wherein the management server includes a remote control unit that remotely controls the drone, on the condition that a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is established via the drone in the communication terminal-based search mode. The aircraft is a drone,
The target search system of claim 2, wherein the management server includes an autonomous navigation unit that, in the transmitter-based search mode, causes the drone to autonomously navigate based on the signal received by the receiver from the transmitter, provided that a connection between the transmitter and the receiver is established. A system for searching for a target using a communication terminal and a transmitter attached to the target,
a management server capable of communicating with the communication terminal via a base station;
an airplane for searching the target from above;
A receiver installed on the aircraft capable of receiving signals from the transmitter via a short-range wireless communication system;
Including,
The aircraft is
A controller for controlling the flight of the aircraft;
a communication device capable of wireless communication with the management server;
Including,
A target search system in which the airplane is remotely operated to search for the target using the positioning function of the communication terminal in accordance with instructions received by the controller from the management server via the communication device when a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is established with or without going through the airplane, while when a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is not established, the airplane performs autonomous navigation to search for the target using the signal from the transmitter, provided that a connection between the transmitter and the receiver is established. The target search system of claim 5, wherein the controller includes an autonomous navigation unit that causes the aircraft to autonomously navigate based on the signal from the transmitter received by the receiver when a connection between the communication terminal and the management server is not established, provided that a connection between the transmitter and the receiver is established . 5. A program for causing a computer to function as the management server according to claim 1 . A recording medium on which the program according to claim 7 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.

Images