JP7679647B2 - Information processing system and method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system and method.

Previously, a system has been proposed that collects information from flood sensors and other devices via the Internet, collects damage information, and displays it on a map (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-183874 A

As the above-mentioned document shows, with conventional technology, it was sometimes difficult to determine which areas should be given priority for vigilance, especially in the case of large-scale flooding.

In this case, we focus on the above circumstances and aim to provide a system that can clearly indicate areas that require caution in the event of flooding.

In one aspect, the present invention provides an information processing system that includes a plurality of flood detection units that detect flood levels, a plurality of consumption detection units that measure the consumption of a utility at a point where the utility is consumed, and an information processing device capable of communicating with the plurality of consumption detection units and the plurality of flood detection units, and the information processing device performs a process of acquiring the flood levels from the plurality of flood detection units, a process of acquiring the consumption amounts from the plurality of consumption detection units, and an estimation process of estimating alert areas that require vigilance based on the flood levels and the consumption amounts.

The above configuration makes it possible to provide a system that can clearly indicate areas requiring caution in the event of flooding.

1 is an outline of an embodiment of an information processing system according to the present invention. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of a sensor. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a sensor. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a server. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a database for storing sensor information. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database for storing meter information. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database for storing alert level information. 4 is a flowchart showing a process according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the results of (a) water level mapping and (b) water level increment mapping. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a mapping result of the estimated number of visitors. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the mapping results of alert areas and overall alert levels.

〔overview〕
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 and 2 are schematic configuration diagrams of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 has a plurality of sensors 40, a plurality of meters M, a server 10, and a terminal 20. The server 10 is connected to the sensors 40 and the meters M via a network 5 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The network 5 may be either a private network or a public network including the Internet. In this embodiment, the network 5 at least partially includes a communication network for smart meters.

The terminals 20 are terminals installed in various places such as government ministries, local governments, fire stations, medical institutions, and police stations, as well as terminals owned by residents of local governments, and can receive and display information from the server 10 (Figs. 1 and 2). They can also request the server 10 to transmit desired data.

Sensor 40 is placed at multiple dispersed monitoring points. As shown in FIG. 3, sensor 40 is formed in an elongated shape and is attached to urban structures such as utility poles, street lights, and traffic lights. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, sensor 40 includes a rod-shaped sensor unit 41, a communication unit 42, a display unit 43, and a control unit 44. Sensor 40 also operates by obtaining power from a solar cell (not shown).

The sensor unit 41 is fixed to a city structure so that its bottom end is located at a predetermined height above the ground surface and extends vertically. The control unit 44 can measure how far into the sensor unit 41 it is submerged, i.e., the flood level, by measuring the electrical resistance of the long sensor unit 41. The control unit 44 can transmit the measured flood level data via the communication unit 42 over the network 5. The control unit 44 can also display the flood level via the display unit 43.

The display unit 43 is installed so as to be located above the control unit 44, i.e., above the sensor 40. The display unit 43 may be a device equipped with an electronic display board that displays numbers and letters, or a device that lights up lamps of different colors according to the flood level. For example, when displaying the flood level using color, the display unit 43 not only indicates the flood level, but also lights up red if the flood level is 0.5 meters or more, lights up yellow if the flood level is between 0.1 meters and less than 0.5 meters, and displays blue if the flood level is less than 0.1 meters. Furthermore, even if the sensor 40 is located within a warning area (described below), the display unit 43 will also display a message to evacuate immediately and light up red.

Meter M is a smart meter installed in a structure or location where electricity is consumed, such as a residence, office, or factory, and has the function of measuring electricity consumption. Meter M also has a communication function and can connect to network 5 to transmit data. Note that network 5 can also be configured in part to transmit data by communicating with relay devices (not shown) and meters M with each other.

The electric power or electricity in this embodiment is an example of a utility in the present invention. Here, utility is a concept that broadly includes energy, fuel, materials, information, etc., supplied to human habitation, such as electricity, gas, and water. Therefore, specific examples of the supply and provision of utilities include the provision of communications via communication networks such as cable television lines, telephone lines, and Internet lines, and the supply of heat via hot water, etc.

Figure 5 shows an example of hardware (hereinafter referred to as "information processing device 100") used to realize server 10 and terminal 20. As shown in the figure, information processing device 100 includes a processor 101, a main memory device 102, an auxiliary memory device 103, an input device 104, an output device 105, and a communication device 106. These are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via communication means such as a bus (not shown).

Note that the entire configuration of server 10 does not necessarily need to be realized by hardware, and all or part of the configuration may be realized by virtual resources such as a cloud server in a cloud system.

The processor 101 is configured using a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc. The processor 101 reads and executes programs stored in the main memory device 102, thereby realizing the functions of the server 10, the terminal 20, and the imaging device 30.

The main memory device 102 is a device that stores programs and data, and may be a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a non-volatile semiconductor memory (NVRAM (Non Volatile RAM)), etc.

The auxiliary storage device 103 may be various non-volatile memories (NVRAM: Non-volatile memory) such as SSDs (Solid State Drives) and SD memory cards, hard disk drives, optical storage devices (CDs (Compact Discs), DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), etc.), storage areas of cloud servers, etc.

The input device 104 is an interface that accepts the input of information, and is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a card reader, a voice input device (such as a microphone), a voice recognition device, etc. The information processing device 100 may be configured to accept the input of information between itself and other devices via the communication device 106.

The output device 105 is an interface that outputs various types of information, such as a screen display device (liquid crystal monitor, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), graphic card, etc.), a printer, etc.), an audio output device (speaker, etc.), a voice synthesizer, etc. The information processing device 100 may be configured to output information between itself and other devices via the communication device 106. The output device 105 corresponds to the display unit in this invention.

The communication device 106 is a wired or wireless communication interface that realizes communication with other devices via the network 5, and is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card), a wireless communication module, a USB (Universal Serial Interface) module, a serial communication module, etc.

[Functional configuration]
6 shows the main functional configuration of the server 10. As shown in the figure, the server 10 includes databases 114 and 115, an alert level database 116, and a management unit 120.

The databases 114 and 115 are stored in the main memory device 102 of the server 10. Note that in this embodiment, the databases 114 and 115 are stored in the main memory device 102, but they may also be stored in the auxiliary memory device 103.

In the database 114, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, information indicating the installation location of the sensor 40 (location information of the monitored point) and detection data of the flood level are stored in association with the identification information (ID) of the sensor 40. The detection data includes the detection time and the detection value of the flood level.

In the database 115, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, information indicating the installation location of the meter M and detection data of the amount of power consumption are stored in association with the identification information (ID) of the meter M. The detection data includes the detection time and the detection value.

In addition, the alert level database 116 stores information on the alert level for each region, as shown in FIG. 9, for example. In detail, the alert level database 116 stores the flood level, water level alert level, number of visitors, alert level for the number of visitors, and overall alert level. These data are organized by the time of measurement and stored in the alert level database 116. FIG. 9 shows information on the alert level for each region at a certain time, specifically the flood level, water level alert level, number of visitors, alert level for the number of visitors, and overall alert level. The contents of the data will be described in detail later.

〔process〕
The process executed by the server 10 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 10. In this process, first, the processor 101 of the server 10 starts a program stored in the main storage device 102 or the auxiliary storage device 103, and the management unit 120 executes the process of the information processing system 1 as follows.

In step S1, the management unit 120 executes a process for collecting detection data from the sensor 40. The management unit 120 sequentially transmits detection data transmission requests using the communication device 106 of the server 10, and receives identification information and detection data from the sensor 40.

Next, the management unit 120 updates the database 114 (S3). For example, when detection data is received from a sensor 40 to which identification information ID=1 is assigned, the detection result is added to the database 114 in association with the ID of the identification information, as shown in FIG. 7.

In step S5, the management unit 120 executes a process of collecting data from the meter M. The management unit 120 sequentially transmits data transmission requests using the communication device 106 of the server 10, and receives identification information and detection data from the meter M.

Next, the management unit 120 updates the database 115 (S7). For example, when detection data is received from a meter M given identification information ID=1, the detection result is added to the database 115 in association with the ID of the identification information, as shown in FIG. 8.

In step S9, the management unit 120 maps the flood level. Specifically, the management unit 120 maps the position of each sensor 40 on a map showing the area in which the sensors 40 are located, in association with the flood level detected by each sensor 40 ( FIG. 11(a) ). The flood level is extracted from the database 114.

When the mapping results are displayed on the terminal 20, as in FIG. 11, they may be displayed by interpolating the sensors 40 with a function (e.g., a quadratic function) and displaying water level contours that connect the same flood levels with lines, or by showing the sensor position and the numerical value of the flood level, or by displaying them in different colors. In addition, the increase in flood level per hour is also displayed as a mapping result using past mapping results (FIG. 11(b)). When displaying in different colors, the positions of the sensors 40 and the map areas are displayed in different colors according to the flood level or its increase, for example, red for a flood level or its increase of 0.5 meters or more, yellow for a flood level between 0.1 meters and less than 0.5 meters, and blue for a flood level less than 0.1 meters.

In step S11, the management unit 120 estimates the number of people staying near each meter M based on the detected power consumption. The management unit 120 estimates the current number of people staying at the power demand location that is the measurement target of the meter M by comparing the current power consumption with the past power consumption read from the database 115.

For example, if the current amount of electricity consumption is sufficiently low compared to the amount of electricity consumption recorded in the database 115 for the same season, day of the week, and time in the past, the management unit 120 estimates that the number of people at the location being measured by meter M is zero.

Furthermore, if the current power consumption is equal to or greater than the past power consumption on the same day and time, and is higher than the amount of power estimated to be standby power, the management unit 120 estimates that there is a visitor at the measurement location of meter M. Furthermore, if the measurement location is a residence and the number of people in the household can be determined, the management unit 120 can estimate the number of visitors from the number of people in the household. Furthermore, if the measurement location is an office building, for example, the management unit 120 can also estimate the number of visitors based on the number of employees of each company located in the building.

In step S13, the management unit 120 maps the estimated number of visitors. Specifically, the management unit 120 maps the estimated number of visitors (estimated number of visitors) on a map showing the area where the meter M is located (FIG. 12). When the mapping result is displayed on the terminal 20, etc., it may be displayed in a different color for each area depending on the size of the estimated number of visitors. In the example of FIG. 12, the area is divided into rectangular areas, and the estimated number of visitors for each meter M is added up within each area and displayed as the number of visitors in each area. Note that the shape of the area is not limited to a rectangle, and may be set to a shape that takes into account the topography, or in administrative units such as towns, villages, and blocks. In addition, a dwelling unit or building may be set as the smallest unit of the area, and the number of visitors for each dwelling unit or building may be displayed.

In step S15, the management unit 120 estimates areas that require special vigilance (alert areas). The management unit 120 sets areas where flooding has occurred and where people are present as alert areas among the areas where the sensors 40 and meters M are located. Furthermore, the management unit 120 sets a high alert level to areas within the alert areas where the flood level is high and there are a large number of estimated people, as areas that require special vigilance. In this way, the management unit 120 detects areas that require special vigilance based on the flood level and the estimated number of people. The estimated and set alert areas and alert levels are stored in the alert level database 116.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 9 and 13, an alert level is set according to the height of the flood level and the number of visitors, and an overall alert level is set by combining these alert levels. In the example of Figure 9, the flood level alert level is set to increase by one for every 0.2 meters of flood level, and the visitor alert level is set to increase by one for every 20 visitors. In the example of Figure 13, for each area, an indication is given of whether it is an alert area and the overall alert level.

In Figure 9, the overall alert level is calculated by multiplying the flood level alert level by the number of visitors alert level (Formula 1), but the overall alert level may also be calculated by addition (Formula 3), averaging, or other methods.

In this way, the management unit 120 designates areas where flooding has occurred and where people are present as alert areas. The management unit 120 also calculates the overall alert level so that areas that require particular vigilance are assigned a higher numerical value. As a result, as shown in Figures 9 and 13, areas with no residents are assigned an overall alert level of zero, but areas with a large number of residents and high flood levels are assigned a higher numerical value for the overall alert level.

The detection of alert areas may be performed taking into account further factors. For example, the management unit 120 can set an incremental alert level for areas where the increment in the flood level since the previous measurement or per unit time is high, in addition to the flood level, and calculate the overall alert level and set alert areas by further taking the incremental alert level into consideration by further multiplying, adding, or averaging the resident alert level and flood level alert level (for example, equations 2 and 4 in FIG. 9).

In step S17, the management unit 120 performs a notification process. The management unit 120 can use various methods to notify terminals 20 managed by local governments, fire departments, medical institutions, etc., particularly alert areas, such as displaying a map with each alert area color-coded or displaying a pop-up on the target terminal 20.

In addition, the management unit 120 transmits a request to the sensor 40 to display information. In response to the request, the sensor 40 displays on the display unit 43 that the area has been designated as a vigilant area, and urges people nearby to evacuate.

In addition, the management unit 120 displays various information (Figures 11 to 13), such as displaying alert areas, displaying the estimated number of people staying, and displaying the flood level, in response to a request from the terminal 20. In addition, it may read out flood level detection data for a certain period of time in the past from the database 114, and create a graph showing the change in flood level over time based on this read flood level detection data.

This makes it possible to inform appropriate groups, organizations, and individuals of areas where flooding has occurred and where evacuation advisories need to be issued quickly due to a particularly large number of people, as well as areas where many personnel should be allocated to patrol. In particular, disaster prevention personnel and information users at local governments and fire stations can instantly grasp the local flooding situation and whether there are people who are unable to evacuate or who have been delayed by looking at the settings of alert areas and the level of alert, and can take appropriate measures when allocating patrol personnel and deciding the order of areas where evacuation advisories and patrols will be made. In addition, because network 5 may use a public network such as the Internet, it is possible to notify not only those in the flooded area, but also disaster prevention personnel and information users outside the area.

＜Effects＞
In the above embodiment, an information processing system 1 is disclosed that includes a sensor 40 (corresponding to a flood detection unit of the present invention) that detects a flood level, a plurality of meters M (consumption detection units) that measure power consumption at points of consumption of power, which is a type of utility, and a server 10 that is an information processing device that can communicate with the meters M and the sensor 40. The server 10 executes a process (S1) for acquiring the flood level from the sensor 40, a process (S5) for acquiring the power consumption from the meter M, and an estimation process (S15) for estimating alert areas that require caution based on the flood level and the power consumption.

The above configuration makes it possible to clearly indicate areas that require caution in the event of flooding. By being particularly vigilant about areas with high power consumption, it becomes possible to estimate areas where people remain, and the server 10 can appropriately present areas that require caution.

In addition, in the estimation process (S15), the server 10 performs a process of estimating the number of people in the power consumption location based on the amount of power consumption, and a process of setting areas with a large number of people and areas with high flood levels as alert areas, with priority given to these areas.

The above configuration makes it possible to estimate the area where the visitor remains, and the server 10 can appropriately present areas that require caution.

In step S15, the server 10 calculates the number of visitors by comparing the consumption amount with past records.

With the above configuration, it is possible to estimate the number of visitors more accurately by comparing with past records.

In step S15, the server 10 sets areas where the increase in flood level is high as alert areas.

In the above configuration, by taking into account areas with high increments in flood levels, it is possible to set alert areas more accurately than if alert areas were set based only on the number of people staying and flood levels.

The sensors 40 are each installed on city structures including at least one of utility poles, street lights, and traffic lights.

By installing the sensor 40 in urban structures, it is possible to install a large number of sensors cheaply and easily.

Each sensor 40 is equipped with a display unit 43 that is installed on top of a city structure to display the flood level and an alarm.

The sensor 40 displays the water level and warning using the display unit 43, so that the water level and warning can be notified to people who do not have a terminal 20.

The information processing system 1 further includes a plurality of terminals 20 that can be connected to the server 10. The server 10 also executes a process (S17) of transmitting the results of the estimation process to the terminals 20.

By transmitting the results of the designation process to the terminal 20, the server 10 can appropriately disseminate information to local governments, fire departments, medical institutions, and residents in the flooded area.

<Modification>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

In addition, the configuration of the server 10, the control procedures and contents of the data collection control, data management control and data creation control, the position of the sensor 40 and the meter M, the shape of the mark or contour line indicating the water level, the display color, density, line display pattern, etc. can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Information Processing System 1
Server 10
Terminal 20
Meter M
Sensor 40

Claims (8)

A plurality of water inundation detection units for detecting water levels;
A plurality of consumption detectors for measuring the consumption of the utility at a point where the utility is consumed;
an information processing device capable of communicating with the plurality of consumption detection units and the plurality of water immersion detection units,
The information processing device includes:
A process of acquiring the water level from the plurality of water submersion detection units;
A process of acquiring the consumption amount from the plurality of consumption amount detection units;
An information processing system that executes an estimation process to estimate alert areas based on the flood level and the consumption amount. The information processing device, in the estimation process,
A stay estimation process of estimating the number of visitors at the consumption location based on the consumption amount;
A process of assigning a high alert level to an area among the alert areas where the number of people staying is large and the flood level is high;
The information processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising: The information processing device, in the stay estimation process,
The information processing system according to claim 2 , wherein the number of visitors is calculated by comparing the consumption amount with a past record of the consumption amount. The information processing device, in the estimation process,
The information processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising a process for setting the alert area taking into account an increment in the flood level. Each of the plurality of water immersion detection units is
The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , which is installed on a city structure selected from a utility pole, a street light, a sign, and a traffic light. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of flood detection units includes a display means for displaying the flood level and an alarm. Further comprising a plurality of terminal devices connectable to the information processing device,
The information processing device includes:
The information processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising a process of transmitting a result of the estimation process to the plurality of terminal devices. A method for causing an information processing device to execute the method,
A process of acquiring the water level from a plurality of water flooding detection units that detect the water level;
acquiring the consumption of the utility from a plurality of consumption detectors that measure the consumption of the utility at a point of consumption of the utility;
and an estimation process for estimating areas requiring caution based on the flood level and the consumption amount.

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