JP7695876B2 - Route guidance system, route selection device, and route guidance method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a route guidance system that provides route guidance using an unmanned aerial vehicle, a route selection device that selects the route to be guided, and a route guidance method that provides route guidance using an unmanned aerial vehicle.

It is known that at disaster sites and the like, unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones are used to create routes for evacuating people to safe locations. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that includes a drone body, a pilot-side transceiver owned by the pilot who operates the drone body or an assistant who is mainly responsible for evacuation guidance, a drone-side transceiver that receives audio transmitted from the pilot-side transceiver, and a speaker that disseminates the audio output from the drone-side transceiver. In this system, the pilot or assistant can use the pilot-side transceiver to give evacuation guidance instructions, and these evacuation guidance instructions can be disseminated from the drone, thereby guiding people to evacuate.

Patent No. 6675603

In the above system, the drone itself that guides evacuation captures the situation at the disaster site with a sub-camera, and the pilot or assistant reviews the captured footage of the disaster site to guide evacuation. However, in conventional systems, the evacuation route to be guided was not changed appropriately based on the situation at the disaster site. In other words, evacuation routes appropriate to the situation at the disaster site were not guided.

In view of the above, the objective of the present disclosure is to provide appropriate route guidance when using an unmanned aerial vehicle.

In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a route guidance system that guides a route guidance target to a predetermined route includes a situation information acquisition device that acquires situation information related to the situation of a first route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided, a route selection device that analyzes the situation information received from the situation information acquisition device to determine whether or not a situation that would hinder the use of the first route exists, and if a situation that would hinder the use of the first route exists, selects a second route different from the first route as a new route along which the route guidance target is to be guided, and a first unmanned aerial vehicle that guides the route guidance target from the first route to the second route.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a route selection device that selects a route along which a route guidance target is guided includes a determination unit that determines whether or not a situation that would hinder the use of the first route exists by analyzing situation information related to the situation of a first route along which the route guidance target is currently guided, a selection unit that selects a second route different from the first route as a new route along which the route guidance target is guided when the determination unit determines that a situation that would hinder the use of the first route exists, and a command unit that commands a first unmanned aerial vehicle to guide the route guidance target from the first route to the second route.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a route guidance method for guiding a route guidance target to a predetermined route includes the steps of acquiring situation information regarding the situation of a first route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided, determining whether or not a situation that impedes the use of the first route exists by analyzing the acquired situation information, selecting a second route different from the first route as a new route along which the route guidance target is to be guided if a situation that impedes the use of the first route exists, and causing a first unmanned aerial vehicle to guide the route guidance target from the first route to the second route.

The route guidance system, route selection device, and route guidance method disclosed herein obtain situation information on the conditions of the first route over a wider area than just the vicinity of the first unmanned aerial vehicle that guides the route, and based on this situation information, can grasp the wide-area conditions of the first route currently in use, thereby realizing more appropriate route guidance.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a route guidance system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates an example configuration of a route selection device and a control terminal according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3 shows a front view of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 shows an example configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the route guidance system according to the first embodiment.

Below, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters or duplicate explanation of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. Note that the attached drawings and the following explanation are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

In the following description, a "route guidance target" is a target whose route is guided by the route guidance system 1 described below. The route guidance target is, for example, a human being. In addition to humans, other targets that can be guided to a specific route by an external command or signal, such as a car, a robot, or an animal, can also be the route guidance target.

Furthermore, "situations that hinder the use of a route" refers to situations that prevent the use of a route that is currently in use, and includes not only situations (events) that make a route unusable, but also situations (events) that make it difficult to use a route. For example, "situations that hinder the use of a route" include situations where the route being used is destroyed by a fissure in the ground, etc., where the route being used is blocked by a cliff collapse, etc., where the route being used is congested and difficult to pass through, where part of the route being used is blocked and difficult to pass through, and where the route is under construction and therefore cannot be used. What situations are considered to be "situations that hinder the use of a route" can be determined appropriately depending on factors such as the location to which the route guidance system, described below, provides route guidance.

Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

1. First embodiment
The route guidance system 1 described below is used in a predetermined location to guide a route guidance target to an appropriate route using an unmanned aerial vehicle. Specifically, for example, in a disaster site, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be flown to the vicinity of the route guidance target (e.g., a person to be evacuated), and then the unmanned aerial vehicle can be flown along a route to be guided, thereby guiding the route to the route guidance target. In addition, for example, in a large-scale event having multiple booths, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be flown to a predetermined position in the event venue, and the unmanned aerial vehicle can be instructed to guide the route guidance target to an empty booth while suppressing the flow of the route guidance target (e.g., spectators) to a crowded booth. Furthermore, for example, in a tourist guide at a tourist spot, the system can be used to guide the route guidance target (e.g., a tourist) to a more appropriate tourist route.

1-1. Configuration 1-1-1. Configuration of the route guidance system Fig. 1 shows an overall configuration of a route guidance system 1 according to this embodiment. The route guidance system 1 includes a situation information acquisition device 10, a route selection device 30 capable of communicating with the situation information acquisition device 10 via a network N, a control terminal 50 capable of communicating with the route selection device 30 via the network N, and an unmanned aerial vehicle 70 (an example of a first unmanned aerial vehicle) capable of wireless communication with the control terminal 50 and whose flight is controlled by the control terminal 50.

The situation information acquisition device 10 acquires situation information related to the situation of the route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided by the route guidance system 1. The situation information acquisition device 10 is, for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle (an example of a second unmanned aerial vehicle) having a camera that flies along the route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided and acquires images (still images and/or video) capturing the situation of the route as situation information. Because the situation information acquisition device 10 is an unmanned aerial vehicle, it is possible to grasp the situation over a wide range of the route along which the target is currently being guided. In addition, if an existing camera device that can be used as the situation information acquisition device 10 breaks down and is unable to acquire situation information, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be flown to a location where the camera device is installed and acquires situation information of the location by the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The unmanned aerial vehicle having the functions of the situation information acquisition device 10 is a different aerial vehicle from the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 that performs route guidance. However, the unmanned aerial vehicle having the functions of the situation information acquisition device 10 may also have a function of performing route guidance, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 that performs route guidance may have a function of acquiring situation information.

The situation information acquisition device 10 may also be, for example, an existing camera that is placed on the route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided or in the vicinity of the route. This eliminates the need to install a separate unmanned aerial vehicle or camera to acquire an image of the route situation as situation information.

Furthermore, the situation information acquisition device 10 may include both an unmanned aerial vehicle that flies along the route along which the situation information is to be acquired, and an existing camera that is installed on or near the route along which the situation information is to be acquired. This allows more situation information to be acquired, so that the situation of the route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided can be grasped more accurately.

The situation information acquired by the situation information acquisition device 10 is not limited to images of the route situation. For example, the situation information acquisition device 10 may receive information about the opening/closing status of a store located at the destination from the store, and use this information as situation information.

Furthermore, the situation information acquisition device 10 may use information regarding obstacles that exist on the currently guided route as situation information. For example, information regarding the congestion status of stores on the currently guided route can be acquired as situation information. In addition, for example, information predicting the occurrence of disasters, such as a tsunami arrival forecast, can be acquired as situation information. This makes it possible, for example, to predict the possibility of congestion or disasters that will be an obstacle to the currently guided route, and guide the route guidance target to a new route different from the currently guided route.

The route selection device 30 transmits a route guidance command to the control terminal 50 to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 to perform route guidance. The route guidance command includes, for example, a flight route to the route guidance target and a flight route along the route along which the route guidance target is guided. The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 receives this route guidance command, moves to the location where the route guidance target is located, and then flies along the route along which the route guidance target is guided. When flying along the route to be guided, the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 either leads the route guidance target or flies in a state of following the route guidance target. This makes it possible to realize route guidance in which the route guidance target follows the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 flying along the route to be guided, or the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 guides the route from behind the route guidance target.

The route guidance command may also include audio content that is to be amplified by the unmanned aerial vehicle 70. The audio content to be amplified by the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 provides route guidance to the route guidance target by voice, and may be, for example, content such as "Please follow me," "Please change your destination," or "The currently guided route cannot be used, so please use this route." This allows the route guidance target to more clearly recognize the route to which they are being guided.

The above audio content may be audio content in a language other than Japanese. The audio content may also include audio content in Japanese and audio content in a language other than Japanese. In this case, the audio content in the other language may be amplified together with the audio content in Japanese.

Furthermore, the route guidance command may include route data for the route along which the route guidance target is to be guided. This allows the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 to, for example, transmit the route data included in the route guidance command to a terminal or the like carried by the route guidance target. In addition, by displaying the received route data on a terminal or the like carried by the route guidance target, the route guidance target can visually confirm the route along which they are currently being guided.

While the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 is performing route guidance, the route selection device 30 receives status information of the route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided from the status information acquisition device 10, and determines the status of the route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided by analyzing the received status information. Based on the result of this determination, the route selection device 30 selects a route along which the route guidance target will be guided. When changing the route along which the route guidance target will be guided, the route selection device 30 transmits a new route guidance command to the control terminal 50.

The control terminal 50 receives a route guidance command from the route selection device 30 and causes the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 to perform operations in accordance with the route guidance command. Specifically, for example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 is automatically or manually flown above the route guidance target, and then the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 is flown along the route to be guided. The network N includes a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, a WAN (Wide Area Network), and/or the Internet, etc.

1-1-2. Configuration of the Route Selection Device The route selection device 30 shown in FIG. 2 is a computer device that functions as a server or the like, and includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication unit 39. The control unit 31 is an electronic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 31 operates as an arithmetic processing device and a control device, and controls the route selection device 30 according to various programs to execute functions described below. The storage unit 32 is a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory), or the like. The ROM, HDD, SSD, FeRAM, or the like store programs, calculation parameters, calculation results, and the like used by the control unit 31. The RAM temporarily stores programs used in the execution of the functions of the control unit 31, parameters that change appropriately during the execution, and the like. The communication unit 39 is, for example, a network interface card for connecting to a wired LAN or the Internet. The communication unit 39 may be a wireless communication interface for connecting to a base station or a communication interface compatible with a wireless LAN.

When multiple routes to be guided, such as evacuation routes, are determined in advance, the memory unit 32 of the route selection device 30 may store the multiple predetermined routes as candidate routes that are candidates for the route to be guided to the route guidance target. When multiple candidate routes are stored in the memory unit 32, the route to be used to guide the route guidance target is selected from the candidate routes stored in the memory unit 32. This allows the route to be used to guide the route guidance target to be quickly determined. The memory unit 32 may also store audio content to be amplified by the unmanned aerial vehicle 70.

The control unit 31 executes the functions of the judgment unit 311, the selection unit 312, and the command unit 313 by executing a program read from the memory unit 32.

The determination unit 311 receives situation information on the situation of the route along which the route guidance target is currently being guided from the situation information acquisition device 10 via the communication unit 39. The determination unit 311 analyzes the situation information received from the situation information acquisition device 10 to determine whether or not a situation that would be an obstacle to the use of the currently guided route exists. Specifically, when the situation information is an image capturing the route situation, the determination unit 311 executes image recognition processing on the received situation information and extracts the route situation included in the situation information. When the extracted route situation includes a situation that would be an obstacle to the use of the route (for example, destruction of the route, closure of the route due to a cliff collapse, the presence of a large number of people on the route or the destination, etc.), the determination unit 311 determines that a situation that would be an obstacle to the use of the currently guided route exists.

In addition, if the status information is not an image of the route status, the determination unit 311 determines the status of the route currently being guided based on the content of the received status information.

The selection unit 312 selects a route along which the route guidance target is to be guided. The selection unit 312 selects a route along which the target is to be guided from among a plurality of candidate routes stored in the storage unit 32. In cases where there is no suitable route in the storage unit 32, the selection unit 312 may instruct an external route search device (not shown) to search for a route along which the target is to be guided, and may acquire the route found as a result of the search as the route along which the target is to be guided. Alternatively, the selection unit 312 may generate a route along which the target is to be guided according to a predetermined algorithm.

In addition, the selection unit 312 changes the route to be guided if the determination unit 311 determines that a situation exists on the currently guided route that would prevent its use.

The command unit 313 generates a route guidance command to command the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 to guide the route guidance target to the route selected by the selection unit 312, and transmits the command to the control terminal 50 via the communication unit 39. Specifically, the command unit 313 generates a route guidance command including a flight route to the route guidance target and a flight route along the route selected by the selection unit 312. In addition, when it is desired to amplify audio content for route guidance from the unmanned aerial vehicle 70, the command unit 313 may read the audio content to be amplified from the storage unit 32 and include it in the route guidance command. The audio content to be included in the route guidance command is not limited to that stored in the storage unit 32, and may be that obtained from an external database or server via the communication unit 39 and the network N. Alternatively, the audio content may be input via an input device (not shown) connected to the route selection device 30. This input device is, for example, a microphone, a keyboard, a touch panel, etc.

If the audio content includes audio content in a language other than Japanese, the command unit 313 may generate audio content in which the audio content in the other language is translated into Japanese or another language, and include this in the route guidance command. In addition, both the audio content in the other language and the audio content translated into Japanese or another language may be included in the route guidance command.

1-1-3. Configuration of the control terminal The control terminal 50 shown in FIG. 2 is a computer device for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 by wireless communication, and includes a control unit 51, a memory unit 52, an input unit 56, a display unit 57, and a wireless communication unit 59. The control unit 51 is an electronic circuit such as a CPU, and operates as an arithmetic processing device and a control device. The control unit 51 controls the control terminal 50 according to various programs to execute the functions described below. The memory unit 52 is a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a RAM, or a flash memory. The ROM and the flash memory store the programs, calculation parameters, and calculation results used by the control unit 51. The RAM temporarily stores the programs used in executing the functions of the control unit 51, and parameters that change appropriately during the execution. The input unit 56 includes a joystick, a button, or a touch panel, and controls the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 by input operations by the pilot. The input unit 56 also accepts inputs for controlling the directions of the speaker, microphone, and camera mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 70. The display unit 57 is configured with a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device. The display unit 57 displays information related to the route guidance command received from the route selection device 30 and the route during flight. The display unit 57 also displays videos and images captured by the camera of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70.

The wireless communication unit 59 may be, for example, a wireless communication interface for connecting to a base station. The wireless communication unit 59 may also be a communication interface compatible with a wireless LAN.

The control unit 51 executes the functions of the flight instruction unit 511 and the loudspeaker instruction unit 512 by executing a program read from the memory unit 52. The flight instruction unit 511 extracts a flight route for the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 from the route guidance command received from the route selection device 30, and transmits flight instructions according to the extracted flight route to the unmanned aerial vehicle 70. When the route guidance command received from the route selection device 30 includes audio content, the loudspeaker instruction unit 512 extracts the audio content from the route guidance command, and transmits the extracted audio content to the unmanned aerial vehicle 70.

1-1-4. Configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle FIG. 3 shows the front appearance of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70, and FIG. 4 shows an example of the overall configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70. The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 is an unmanned aircraft that can be remotely controlled or automatically piloted, and performs flight operations such as ascending, moving forward, rotating, and descending in response to flight instructions from the operation terminal 50. The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 includes a main body 70a, a plurality of arms 70b extending horizontally radially from the main body 70a, a plurality of legs 70c extending downward, and rotors 75 attached to the upper ends of each leg 70c. The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 flies using lift generated by rotating the rotors 75 due to the rotation of the motor 76. The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 also generates a reaction by changing the rotation direction of some of the rotors 75, preventing the main body 70a itself from rotating. A speaker 82 is attached to the main body 70a of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 facing downward. The speaker 82 amplifies sound while the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 is flying. The angle of the speaker 82 can be changed in the upward and downward directions as indicated by the arrows by the speaker direction control mechanism 81. This allows the direction in which the speaker 82 amplifies sound to be changed downward or forward and backward.

As shown in FIG. 4, the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 is equipped with a control device 71, a storage device 72, a group of sensors 73, a GPS receiver 74, a battery 78, and a wireless communication device 79 as components for flight. The control device 71 is an electronic circuit such as a CPU, and functions as an arithmetic processing device and a control device. The control device 71 controls the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 according to various programs to execute functions described below. The storage device 72 is a memory such as a ROM, RAM, or flash memory. The ROM and flash memory store programs, calculation parameters, calculation results, etc. used by the control device 71. The RAM temporarily stores programs used in executing the functions of the control device 71, and parameters that change as appropriate during that execution.

The sensor group 73 includes an acceleration sensor and an angular velocity sensor that detect acceleration and angular velocity for attitude control of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70, an air pressure sensor for detecting the altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70, a geomagnetic sensor for detecting the orientation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70, etc. The GPS receiver 74 includes an antenna and a signal processing unit, and receives signals from GPS satellites to detect the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70. The battery 78 stores the power required for the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 and supplies it to each component. The wireless communication device 79 includes a wireless communication interface for wireless communication with the control terminal 50.

The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 further includes a microphone direction control mechanism 83, a microphone 84, a camera direction control mechanism 85, and a camera 86. The microphone 84 can change its sound collection direction by changing its angle in the vertical direction, similar to the speaker 82, using the microphone direction control mechanism 83. The camera 86 can change its shooting direction by changing its angle in the vertical direction, similar to the speaker 82, using the camera direction control mechanism 85.

The control device 71 executes the functions of the flight control unit 711, the voice control unit 712, and the image control unit 713 by executing a program read from the storage device 72. The flight control unit 711 controls the number of rotations and the rotation speed of the motor 76 according to flight instructions from the control terminal 50 to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle 70. The flight control unit 711 acquires the inclination and rotation direction of the main body 70a shown in FIG. 3 based on the output data of the above-mentioned sensor group 73 and the GPS receiver 74, and acquires position information including latitude and longitude during flight, altitude, and the azimuth angle of the main body 70a. The storage device 72 stores a program in which an algorithm is implemented to control the attitude and basic flight operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 during flight. The program flies the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 while correcting the attitude and position of the main body 70a according to the flight instruction signal transmitted from the control terminal 50. The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 may be manually operated by the pilot using the control terminal 50, or may be flown autonomously along a flight route transmitted from the control terminal 50.

The audio control unit 712 amplifies audio content transmitted from the control terminal 50 and received via the wireless communication device 79 through the speaker 82. The audio control unit 712 controls the speaker direction control mechanism 81 to orient the speaker 82 in the desired direction. The audio control unit 712 also transmits audio collected by the microphone 84 to the control terminal 50 via the wireless communication device 79. The image control unit 713 temporarily stores video and images captured by the camera 86 in the storage device 72 and transmits them to the control terminal 50 via the wireless communication device 79.

1-2. Operation The operation of the route guidance system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 5.
The selection unit 312 of the route selection device 30 determines an initial route (called a first route) for guiding a route guidance target to a predetermined destination (S101).

Then, the route guidance target is guided to the first route determined in step S101 (S102). Specifically, the command unit 313 of the route selection device 30 generates a route guidance command including a flight route to the route guidance target and a flight route for flying along the first route determined in step S101, and transmits it to the control terminal 50. As a result, the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 can guide the route guidance target to the first route by first flying to a location where the route guidance target is located and then flying along the first route.

While guiding to the first route, the judgment unit 311 of the route selection device 30 checks the status of the first route (S103). Specifically, the judgment unit 311 receives the status information acquired by the status information acquisition device 10. More specifically, if the status information acquisition device 10 is an unmanned aerial vehicle, when an event occurs on the first route or in its vicinity, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be flown to the site where the event occurred or in its vicinity, and an image of the site status captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle can be acquired as status information. On the other hand, if the status information acquisition device 10 is an existing camera device, a camera device present at or in the vicinity of the site where the event occurred can be searched for, and an image captured by the camera device found in the search can be acquired as status information.

After acquiring the situation information, the determination unit 311 analyzes the acquired situation information to determine whether or not a situation exists that would hinder the use of the first route (S104). In other words, the determination unit 311 determines whether the occurrence of the above-mentioned event has made it impossible to use the first route or made it difficult to use the first route.

If it is determined that there is no situation that would prevent the use of the first route ("No" in S104), guidance to the first route and confirmation of the situation of the first route continue.

On the other hand, if it is determined that a situation exists that would prevent the use of the first route ("Yes" in S104), the selection unit 312 of the route selection device 30 changes the route along which the route guidance target is guided from the first route to a second route different from the first route (S105). After that, the route guidance target is guided to the second route selected in step S105 (S106).

The first route determined in step S101 is the optimal route to the specified destination. Here, "optimal route" means the shortest and safest route to the specified destination. On the other hand, the second route selected in step S105 is often a detour route, and therefore may not necessarily be the optimal route to the specified destination. Therefore, during guidance to the second route, the judgment unit 311 receives situation information of the first route acquired by the situation information acquisition device 10, and analyzes the received situation information to judge whether the situation that is an obstacle to using the first route has been resolved (S107).

If it is determined that the situation that is an obstacle to the use of the first route has not been resolved ("No" in step S107), the selection unit 312 continues the guidance to the second route (S108). On the other hand, if it is determined that the situation that is an obstacle to the use of the first route has been resolved ("Yes" in step S107), the selection unit 312 selects the first route again as the route to guide the route guidance target (S109). In this case, the selection unit 312 may generate a route that combines the first route and the second route as the route to be guided. Specifically, for example, it can generate a route that combines a route from the current position to a specified position on the second route, a route from the specified position back to the first route, and a route from the position where the first route has been returned to the destination of the first route (i.e., the remaining first route).

The above steps S101 to S109 are repeatedly executed while the route guidance system 1 guides the route guidance target to the specified route.

1-3. Features The route guidance method, route guidance system 1, and route selection device 30 using the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 according to the above embodiment acquire situation information regarding the status of the route, and based on the situation information, determine whether or not a situation that impedes the use of the route being guided has occurred, and based on this determination result, decide whether or not to change the route to guide the route guidance target. In addition, when changing the route to be guided, the route selection device 30 commands the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 to guide the route guidance target to the changed route. In this way, the route guidance method, route guidance system 1, and route selection device 30 using the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 according to the above embodiment can select an appropriate route according to the status of the route, and guide the route guidance target to the selected route.

2. Other embodiments As described above, the embodiments have been described as examples of the technology disclosed in this application. However, the technology in this disclosure is not limited to these, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are appropriately performed. In addition, it is also possible to combine the components described in the above embodiments to create new embodiments. For example, the following embodiments are possible.

(1) The unmanned aerial vehicle 70 flown to perform route guidance is not limited to one, and may be multiple unmanned aerial vehicles 70. In addition, among the multiple unmanned aerial vehicles 70, an unmanned aerial vehicle 70 that is not performing route guidance may be used to obtain situation information.

(2) The number of situation information acquisition devices 10 that acquire situation information is not limited to one, and multiple situation information acquisition devices may be provided.

(3) The route guidance system 1 according to the above embodiment includes a control terminal 50, but is not limited to this. The route guidance system 1 may be configured to transmit route guidance commands directly from the route selection device 30 to the unmanned aerial vehicle 70. Specifically, the route selection device 30 may be disposed as part of the control system of the unmanned aerial vehicle 70, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 70 may automatically fly along a determined flight route by remote communication via the communication unit 39.

(4) In the above embodiment, the mobile situation information acquisition device 10 is an unmanned flying object, but is not limited to this. For example, the situation information acquisition device 10 may be a mobile object such as a drive recorder mounted on a vehicle or a rescue robot.

(5) When the above-mentioned route guidance system 1 is used for route guidance of animals (e.g., livestock), route guidance for the animals can be performed, for example, by amplifying a special sound (e.g., high-frequency sound) that the animal can hear from the unmanned aerial vehicle 70.

(6) In the above embodiments, each device or system can have a cloud computing configuration in which a single function is shared and processed collaboratively by multiple devices via a network.

In the above embodiments, the term "device" or "system" includes cases where it means a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (parts), etc.), regardless of whether all the components are in the same housing. In addition, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and a single device in which multiple modules are housed in a single housing, may both be called a system.

Each step described in the above flowchart can be executed by one device, or can be shared among multiple devices. Furthermore, if one step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in that one step can be executed by one device, or can be shared among multiple devices.

In the above embodiments, the control unit or control device of each device or equipment may include a processor configured with a dedicated electronic circuit designed to realize a predetermined function according to the function required for each device or equipment. In addition, the control unit or control device can be realized with various processors or electronic circuits such as a CPU, an MPU, a GPU, a DSP, an FPGA, an ASIC, etc. The control unit or control device may be configured with one or more processors.

The memory unit or storage device of each device or equipment may be composed of any computer-readable recording medium, such as an optical disk, magnetic disk, magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, HDD, SD card, SSD, etc., depending on the functions required for each device or equipment.

The above computer program is not limited to one recorded on a recording medium, but may be one acquired via a telecommunications line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network such as the Internet, etc.

The communication unit or communication device of each device or equipment may be any communication interface, such as a wireless LAN, a wired LAN, 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), or a millimeter wave wireless communication interface, depending on the functions required for each device or equipment.

Each process in the above embodiments may be realized by hardware or software (including cases where it is realized together with an OS (operating system), middleware, or a specified library). Furthermore, each process may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

The order of operations of the system, device, or equipment in the above embodiments is not necessarily limited to that described in the above embodiments, and the order of operations may be changed or multiple operations may be performed simultaneously without departing from the spirit of the invention.

This disclosure is widely applicable to route guidance systems, route selection devices, and route guidance methods that guide a route guidance target along a specified route.

1: Route guidance system 10: Situation information acquisition device 30: Route selection device 31: Control unit 311: Judgment unit 312: Selection unit 313: Command unit 32: Memory unit 39: Communication unit 50: Pilot terminal 51: Control unit 511: Flight instruction unit 512: Amplification instruction unit 52: Memory unit 56: Input unit 57: Display unit 59: Wireless communication unit 70: Unmanned aerial vehicle 70a: Main body 70b: Arm 70c: Legs 71: Control device 711: Flight control unit 712: Audio control unit 713: Image control unit 72: Memory device 73: Sensor group 74: GPS receiver 75: Rotor 76: Motor 78: Battery 79: Wireless communication device 81: Speaker direction control mechanism 82: Speaker 83: Microphone direction control mechanism 84: Microphone 85: Camera direction control mechanism 86 : Camera N : Network

Claims (7)

A first unmanned aerial vehicle that guides a route guidance target along a predetermined route;
A situation information acquisition device that acquires situation information regarding a situation of a first route along which the route guidance target is currently guided by the first unmanned aerial vehicle ;
a route selection device that analyzes the situation information received from the situation information acquisition device to determine whether or not a situation that would hinder the use of the first route exists, and if a situation that would hinder the use of the first route exists, selects a second route different from the first route as a new route for guiding the route guidance target by the first unmanned aerial vehicle ;
Equipped with
the route selection device, while guiding the route guidance target to the second route by the first unmanned aerial vehicle , determines whether or not a situation that would hinder the use of the first route exists, and when it determines that the situation that would hinder the use of the first route no longer exists, reselects the first route as a route for guiding the route guidance target by the first unmanned aerial vehicle .
Route guidance system. The route guidance system of claim 1, wherein the route selection device has a memory unit that stores a plurality of candidate routes which are candidates for the route to which the first unmanned aerial vehicle should guide the route guidance target, and a selection unit that selects the second route from the plurality of candidate routes stored in the memory unit. The route guidance system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the situation information acquisition device is a mobile body that moves along the first route and acquires the situation information. The route guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the situation information acquisition device is a camera installed on the first route. The route selection device transmits the flight route of the first unmanned aerial vehicle to a control terminal of the first unmanned aerial vehicle;
The route guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control terminal displays the flight route received from the route selection device. A route selection device for selecting a route along which a route guidance target is guided by a first unmanned aerial vehicle ,
A determination unit that determines whether or not a situation that hinders use of the first route exists by analyzing situation information related to a situation of the first route along which the route guidance target is currently guided by the first unmanned aerial vehicle ;
a selection unit that selects a second route different from the first route as a new route along which the first unmanned aerial vehicle guides the route guidance target when the determination unit determines that a situation that hinders the use of the first route exists;
A command unit that commands the first unmanned aerial vehicle to guide the route guidance target from the first route to the second route;
Equipped with
The determination unit determines whether or not a situation that hinders use of the first route exists while the first unmanned aerial vehicle is guiding the route guidance target to the second route ,
The selection unit reselects the first route as a route for guiding the route guidance target by the first unmanned aerial vehicle when a situation that hinders the use of the first route no longer exists while the first unmanned aerial vehicle is guiding the route guidance target to the second route.
Route selection device. A route guidance method for guiding a route guidance target to a predetermined route by a first unmanned aerial vehicle , comprising:
A situation information acquisition device acquires situation information regarding a situation of a first route along which the route guidance target is currently guided by the first unmanned aerial vehicle ;
A step of determining whether or not a situation that hinders use of the first route exists by analyzing the acquired situation information by the route selection device;
A step in which the route selection device selects a second route different from the first route as a new route for guiding the route guidance target by the first unmanned aerial vehicle when a situation that hinders the use of the first route exists;
A step in which the route selection device causes the first unmanned aerial vehicle to guide the route guidance target from the first route to the second route;
A step in which the route selection device determines whether or not a situation that hinders use of the first route exists while guiding the route guidance target to the second route by the first unmanned aerial vehicle ;
a step of the route selection device reselecting the first route as a route for guiding the route guidance target by the first unmanned aerial vehicle when a situation that hinders the use of the first route no longer exists while the first unmanned aerial vehicle is guiding the route guidance target to the second route;
A route guidance method comprising:

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