JP7741510B2 - Biotransport System - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to technology for biological transport systems.

A vehicle for transporting laboratory animals has been known in the past (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-176969

In biological transport systems used to transport various living organisms, including laboratory animals, there are cases where operators or other users do not notice an escape of a living organism during transport. In particular, when transporting laboratory animals, due to the nature of the treatment given to the animals, meticulous attention must be paid to preventing escape in order to eliminate the impact that escaped laboratory animals have on the natural environment. Therefore, technology that can detect escape of living organisms is desirable in biological transport systems.

This disclosure can be realized in the following forms:

(1) According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a biological transport system is provided. The biological transport system for transporting a biological organism includes a biological transport device that houses and transports the biological organism, an apparatus-side position detection unit disposed on the biological transport device and detecting position information of the biological transport device, an organism-side position detection unit disposed on the biological organism and detecting position information of the biological organism, and a control device. The control device has a determination unit that uses the position information of the biological transport device and the position information of the biological organism to calculate the distance between the organism-side position detection unit and the apparatus-side position detection unit, and determines that the biological organism has escaped if the calculated distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. According to this aspect, the control device can calculate the distance between the organism-side position detection unit and the apparatus-side position detection unit using the position information of the biological organism detected by the organism-side position detection unit and the position information of the biological transport device detected by the apparatus-side position detection unit. Then, by comparing a value indicating the calculated distance with a predetermined value, it can determine whether the biological organism has escaped. In other words, the organism transport system can detect whether an organism has escaped by using the distance between the organism-side position detection unit and the device-side position detection unit. This reduces the possibility that a user, such as an operator, will not notice an escape of an organism in an organism transport system that transports various organisms, including laboratory animals.
(2) In the above aspect, the control device may further include a condition setting unit that transmits a predetermined command to the determination unit when an external instruction is received, and the determination unit may stop determining whether the living thing has escaped when the command is received. According to this aspect, when an external instruction is received, the condition setting unit transmits a command to the determination unit, thereby canceling the determination of whether the living thing has escaped. This makes it possible to cancel the determination of whether the living thing has escaped depending on the situation.
(3) In the above aspect, the control device may further include a condition setting unit that transmits a predetermined command to the determination unit when an external instruction is received, and the determination unit may set the specified value to a value greater than when the command is not received when the command is received. According to this aspect, when an external instruction is received, the condition setting unit transmits a command to the determination unit, thereby setting the specified value to a value greater than when the command is not received. This makes it possible to set the specified value as a determination condition according to the situation.
(4) In the above aspect, an input operation unit may be further provided for setting a determination condition including the specified value. According to this aspect, a desired specified value can be set when determining whether a living thing has escaped.
(5) In the above embodiment, the judgment condition may further include a movement path of the organism transport system, and the judgment unit may further determine whether the position indicated by the position information of the device-side position detection unit is off the movement path, and if the position is off the path, determine that the organism has escaped regardless of whether the calculated distance is equal to or greater than the specified value. According to this embodiment, even if the distance between the organism-side position detection unit and the device-side position detection unit is less than the specified value, it can be determined that the organism has escaped if the off-path state exists. This makes it possible to detect the escape of an organism even if the off-path state exists.
(6) The above embodiment may further include a warning output unit that outputs a warning when the determination unit determines that the living creature has escaped. According to this embodiment, a warning can be output when it is determined that the living creature has escaped. This further reduces the possibility that a user, such as a pilot, will not notice that the living creature has escaped. Furthermore, by allowing the user to detect the escape of the living creature more quickly, search for and capture of the escaped creature can be started promptly.
(7) In the above embodiment, the determination unit may determine that the living thing has escaped when the calculated distance continues to be equal to or greater than the specified value for a predetermined period of time. This configuration reduces the possibility of erroneously determining that the living thing has escaped when an error occurs in the position information detected by at least one of the living thing position detection unit and the device position detection unit, or when detection of the position information is temporarily interrupted.
(8) In the above embodiment, the organism-side position detection unit and the device-side position detection unit may each be a GNSS receiver, and the distance may be the difference between the position indicated by the organism's position information and the position indicated by the organism transport device's position information. According to this embodiment, the organism-side position detection unit and the device-side position detection unit each receive radio waves transmitted from a GNSS satellite, thereby detecting the position information of the organism and the organism transport device. This makes it possible to easily calculate the distance between the organism-side position detection unit and the device-side position detection unit.
The present disclosure can be realized in various forms other than the organism transportation system described above, such as a control method for an organism transportation system, a computer program for implementing the control method, or a non-transitory recording medium on which the computer program is recorded.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a biological transportation system in a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device and a position detection unit according to the first embodiment. 1 is a flowchart showing a control method for the organism transportation system of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a living organism transportation system in a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device and a position detection unit according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a control method for a living organism transportation system according to a second embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a biological transportation system and an animal experiment system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device, a position detection unit, and a communication device. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a control method for a living organism transportation system and a flow of an animal experiment in the third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a control method for a living organism transportation system and a flow of an animal experiment in the fourth embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a control method for a living organism transportation system according to the fifth embodiment.

A. First embodiment:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a living organism transportation system 1 in a first embodiment. The living organism transportation system 1 transports one or more living organisms A and detects escape of the living organisms A. Here, the living organisms A include laboratory animals used in animal experiments. In this embodiment, the living organism transportation system 1 is used to transport a pig, a laboratory animal, as the living organism A. For example, when a business providing services using the living organism transportation system 1 (hereinafter, the business) receives a request from an organization conducting animal experiments (hereinafter, the client), the business uses the living organism transportation system 1 to transport the living organism A to the client's location. The animal experiment is then conducted at the client's location. The living organism transportation system 1 includes a living organism transportation device 10, a living organism position detection unit 191, a transport device position detection unit 195 as the device position detection unit, experimental equipment 15, and a control device 17. The living organism position detection unit 191, the transport device position detection unit 195, and the control device 17 can communicate data via, for example, wireless communication.

The organism transport device 10 stores and transports organism A. The organism transport device 10 includes a storage chamber 13, a container 19, and a first moving body 11. The storage chamber 13 stores organism A to be transported. The storage chamber 13 is, for example, a cage. The storage chamber 13 is, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped with a length, width, and height of approximately 1 meter. In the example shown in Figure 1, one organism A is stored in one storage chamber 13. Note that the number of storage chambers 13 provided in the organism transport device 10, the shape of the storage chambers 13, and the number of organisms stored in one storage chamber 13 are not limited to these.

The container 19 houses the storage chamber 13, the transport device side position detection unit 195, the experimental equipment 15, and the control device 17. The container 19 is a so-called trailer that can be moved by being towed by the first moving body 11. The first moving body 11 supports the container 19 so that it can be moved. In this embodiment, the first moving body 11 is a tractor that tows the container 19. In other words, in this embodiment, the organism transport device 10 is a towing vehicle that includes the first moving body 11 as a tractor and the container 19 as a trailer.

Organism-side position detection unit 191 is placed on organism A. Organism-side position detection unit 191 detects organism A's position information. In this embodiment, organism-side position detection unit 191 is a GNSS receiver. That is, organism-side position detection unit 191 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites to detect organism A's position information. Note that GNSS is an acronym for Global Navigation Satellite System, meaning a global positioning satellite system. Organism-side position detection unit 191 is provided to calculate the distance from transportation device-side position detection unit 195. Organism-side position detection unit 191 transmits organism A's position information to control device 17. In the example shown in FIG. 1, organism-side position detection unit 191 is placed on organism A by putting a collar to which organism-side position detection unit 191 is attached on organism A. In this way, the organism-side position detection unit 191 may be a mountable type that is attached to a part of the body of organism A, or an implantable type that is embedded in a part of the body of organism A. Furthermore, two or more organisms A may be transported by organism transportation system 1. When two or more organisms A are transported by organism transportation system 1, it does not matter whether the organisms are of the same or different species.

The transportation device side position detection unit 195 detects the position information of the organism transportation device 10. In this embodiment, the transportation device side position detection unit 195 is a GNSS receiver. That is, the transportation device side position detection unit 195 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites and detects the position information of the organism transportation device 10. The transportation device side position detection unit 195 is provided to calculate the distance to the organism side position detection unit 191 placed on organism A. The transportation device side position detection unit 195 is placed on the organism transportation device 10, and is provided, for example, near the center inside the container 19. The transportation device side position detection unit 195 transmits the position information of the organism transportation device 10 to the control device 17.

The experimental equipment 15 is equipment used to conduct animal experiments. The experimental equipment 15 includes, for example, an operating table on which experimental animals are placed, and instruments and devices used to perform desired procedures on experimental animals. The experimental equipment 15 is placed inside the container 19.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the control device 17 and position detection units 191 and 195. The control device 17 controls the operation of the organism transportation system 1 and has the function of determining whether organism A has escaped. The control device 17 includes a communication unit 161, a display 163, an input operation unit 165, a memory unit 167, a CPU 170, and a warning output unit 179. The control device 17 is, for example, a personal computer including the components 161, 163, 165, 167, and 170. The control device 17 may also be a tablet-type terminal device or a smartphone. At least some of the functions of the control device 17 may be implemented by hardware circuits. The control device 17 is disposed in the organism transportation device 10, and is provided, for example, inside the container 19.

The control device 17, organism position detection unit 191, and transport device position detection unit 195 are communicatively connected via the communication unit 161. Position information detected by the organism position detection unit 191 and transport device position detection unit 195 is transmitted to the CPU 170 via the communication unit 161. The display 163 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. In response to commands from the CPU 170, the display 163 displays, for example, information related to the escape of organism A and a setting screen for setting judgment conditions for determining whether organism A has escaped. The input operation unit 165 accepts instructions from outside. External instructions are, for example, instructions from users of the organism transportation system 1, such as businesses or operators operating the organism transportation system 1. Specifically, the input operation unit 165 is used to input judgment conditions for determining whether organism A has escaped. The input operation unit 165 includes, for example, a keyboard, mouse, and touch panel.

The memory unit 167 stores various programs that control the operation of the organism transportation system 1 and judgment conditions input via the input operation unit 165. The memory unit 167 includes RAM, ROM, rewritable non-volatile memory, etc.

The CPU 170 functions as an acquisition unit 171, a calculation unit 173, and a judgment unit 177 by deploying various programs stored in the memory unit 167.

The acquisition unit 171 acquires location information for organism A using radio waves from GNSS satellites received by the organism-side position detection unit 191. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 171 acquires location information for the organism transportation device 10 using radio waves from GNSS satellites received by the transportation device-side position detection unit 195.

The calculation unit 173 uses the position information of the organism transportation device 10 and the position information of organism A to calculate the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. In this embodiment, the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 is the difference between the position indicated by the position information of the organism transportation device 10 and the position indicated by the position information of organism A.

The determination unit 177 determines whether organism A has escaped from the organism transportation system 1. Specifically, the determination unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped when the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 is equal to or greater than a predetermined specified value. In other words, the determination unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped when the difference between the position indicated by the position information of organism A and the position indicated by the position information of the organism transportation device 10 is equal to or greater than a specified value. Note that the specified value is determined, for example, according to the size of the containment chamber 13 and the size of the container 19 described below.

The determination unit 177 may further determine that organism A has escaped when the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 remains equal to or greater than a specified value for a period of time that continues beyond a predetermined time. In other words, the determination unit 177 may determine that organism A has escaped when the difference between the position indicated by the position information of organism A and the position indicated by the position information of the organism transport device 10 remains equal to or greater than a specified value for a period of time that continues beyond a predetermined time. Furthermore, when the determination unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped, it sends a command to the warning output unit 179 to output a warning.

The warning output unit 179 outputs a warning when it receives an instruction from the determination unit 177 regarding warning output. The warning output unit 179 is a device that notifies that it has been determined that organism A has escaped. The warning output unit 179 is, for example, a display 163 that displays a warning screen, a buzzer that sounds an alarm, or a warning lamp that lights up to output a warning.

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing a control method for the organism transportation system 1 of the first embodiment. First, in step S11, the acquisition unit 171 acquires the location information of organism A and the location information of the organism transportation device 10. Next, in step S21, the calculation unit 173 calculates the difference between the position (latitude and longitude) indicated by the location information of organism A and the position (latitude and longitude) indicated by the location information of the organism transportation device 10, thereby calculating the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. Then, in step S31, the determination unit 177 uses the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 to determine whether organism A has escaped from the organism transportation system 1. In this embodiment, the determination unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped when the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 remains 5 meters or greater for more than 10 seconds. In other words, the specified value for determining whether organism A has escaped is 5 meters, and the predetermined time is 10 seconds. Therefore, if the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 is less than 5 meters, or if the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 is 5 meters or more but this state does not continue for more than 10 seconds, it is determined that organism A has not escaped (Step S31: No). If it is determined that organism A has not escaped, the process returns to Step S11, and steps S11 to S31 are executed again.

In contrast, if the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 remains at or above 5 meters for a period of more than 10 seconds, it is determined that organism A has escaped (Step S31: Yes). If it is determined that organism A has escaped, a warning is output in Step S41. The warning is automatically sent to, for example, the operator of the organism transportation system 1, the operator, and the security company under contract with the operator. At this time, the location indicated by the location information of organism A may be set to be notified to the user so that the location (current location) of escaped organism A can be identified from the location information of organism A. As a result, for example, if it is determined that organism A has escaped and a warning is output, the security company can confirm the current location of organism A based on the location indicated by the location information of organism A from the organism-side position detection unit 191, and search for and capture the escaped organism A.

According to the first embodiment, the organism transport system 1 for transporting organism A comprises an organism transport device 10 that accommodates and transports organism A, an organism-side position detection unit 191, a transport device-side position detection unit 195, and a control device 17. The organism-side position detection unit 191 is disposed on organism A and detects position information of organism A. The transport device-side position detection unit 195 is disposed on organism transport device 10 and detects position information of the organism transport device 10. The control device 17 has an acquisition unit 171, a calculation unit 173, and a judgment unit 177. The acquisition unit 171 acquires the position of organism A from the position information of organism A detected by the organism-side position detection unit 191. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 171 acquires the position of the organism transport device 10 from the position information of the organism transport device 10 detected by the transport device-side position detection unit 195. The calculation unit 173 calculates the distance between the organism position detection unit 191 and the transport device position detection unit 195 using the position information of the organism transport device 10 and the position information of organism A. The determination unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped when the distance between the organism position detection unit 191 and the transport device position detection unit 195 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. This allows the distance between the organism position detection unit 191 and the transport device position detection unit 195 to be calculated. The determination unit 177 then compares the value indicating the distance between the organism position detection unit 191 and the transport device position detection unit 195 with a predetermined value serving as a determination condition for determining whether organism A has escaped, thereby determining whether organism A has escaped. This allows the organism transport system 1 transporting organism A to detect the escape of organism A. This reduces the possibility that a user, such as an operator, will not notice that organism A has escaped during transport.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the control device 17 is equipped with a warning output unit 179. When the determination unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped, the warning output unit 179 outputs a warning to the user to notify them that organism A has escaped. This further reduces the possibility that the operator will not notice that organism A has escaped during transport. Furthermore, if the system is set to automatically output a warning to a security company, the security company can quickly begin searching for and capturing the escaped organism A, relying on the location indicated by the location information of organism A from the organism-side position detection unit 191.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the determination unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped when the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 remains equal to or greater than a specified value for a period of time that exceeds a predetermined time. This reduces the possibility of erroneously determining that organism A has escaped when a temporary error occurs in the position information of at least one of organism A and the organism transport device 10, or when acquisition of position information is temporarily interrupted.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 are each GNSS receivers that receive radio waves transmitted from GNSS satellites and detect position information. The distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 is the difference between the position indicated by the position information of organism A and the position indicated by the position information of the organism transportation device 10. In this way, the organism-side position detection unit 191 can detect the position information of organism A by receiving radio waves transmitted from GNSS satellites. Furthermore, the transport device-side position detection unit 195 can detect the position information of the organism transportation device 10 by receiving radio waves transmitted from GNSS satellites. This makes it easy to calculate the distance between the organism-side position detection unit 191 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, organism A is a laboratory animal used in animal experiments. The organism transportation system 1 further includes experimental equipment 15 used to conduct animal experiments. In this way, organism A can be transported to a desired location using the organism transportation system 1, and the animal experiment can be conducted within the organism transportation device 10. In this case, the animal experiment can be conducted without moving organism A outside the organism transportation device 10, further reducing the possibility of organism A escaping to the outside.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment described above, the container 19, which houses the transport device side position detection unit 195 and the control device 17, is configured separately from the first moving body 11. The organism transport device 10 can be moved by being towed by the first moving body 11. In this way, when there are two or more organism transport devices 10, it is easy to change the organism transport device 10 to be towed by the first moving body 11.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the organism transportation system 1 is equipped with a determination unit 177 that determines whether organism A has escaped. This allows the organism transportation system 1 to detect the escape of organism A if it does. This makes it possible to reduce the impact of escaped organism A on the natural world.

B. Second embodiment:
4 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a biological transport system 2 in the second embodiment. Similar to the biological transport system 1 in the first embodiment, the biological transport system 2 is a system that transports one or more organisms A and detects escape of the organisms A. In this embodiment, similar to the first embodiment (FIG. 1), the biological transport device 20 is a towing vehicle including a first moving body 11 as a tractor and a container 29 as a trailer. In this embodiment, part of the configuration of the biological transport system 2 is different from that of the first embodiment. The same steps as those in the first embodiment and the same configuration as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the organism transport device 20 includes two storage chambers 13, 14, a transport device-side position detection unit 195, a control device 27, and a container 29. The two storage chambers 13, 14, the transport device-side position detection unit 195, and the control device 27 are housed inside the container 29.

In the example shown in Figure 4, two containment chambers 13 and 14 house one living organism A1 and one living organism A2, respectively. Organism-side position detection units 291 and 292 are attached to the living organisms A1 and A2 housed in the two containment chambers 13 and 14, respectively. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to distinguish between the two containment chambers 13 and 14, they will be referred to as the first containment chamber 13 and the second containment chamber 14. The configuration of the first containment chamber 13 and the configuration of the second containment chamber 14 are identical. The living organism A1 housed in the first containment chamber 13 will also be referred to as the first living organism A1, and the living organism A2 housed in the second containment chamber 14 will also be referred to as the second living organism A2. Both the first living organism A1 and the second living organism A2 are experimental pigs. The living organism-side position detection unit 291 attached to the first living organism A1 will also be referred to as the first living organism position detection unit 291, and the living organism-side position detection unit 292 attached to the second living organism A2 will also be referred to as the second living organism position detection unit 292. That is, in this embodiment, the organism transportation system 2 includes a second containment chamber 14 instead of the experimental equipment 15. The organism transportation system 2 transports a first organism A1 and a second organism A2. Note that in FIG. 4, the organism position detection units 291, 292 are of the attached type described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The organism position detection units 291, 292 may also be of the embedded type described above.

The organism-side first position detection unit 291 detects the position information of the first organism A1. In this embodiment, the organism-side first position detection unit 291 is a GNSS receiver. That is, the organism-side first position detection unit 291 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites and detects the position information of the first organism A1. The organism-side first position detection unit 291 is provided to calculate the distance from the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. The organism-side first position detection unit 291 transmits the position information of the first organism A1 to the control device 27.

The organism-side second position detection unit 292 detects the position information of the second organism A2. In this embodiment, the organism-side second position detection unit 292 is a GNSS receiver. That is, the organism-side second position detection unit 292 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites and detects the position information of the second organism A2. The organism-side second position detection unit 292 is provided to calculate the distance from the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. The organism-side second position detection unit 292 transmits the position information of the second organism A2 to the control device 27.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of the control device 27 and position detection units 291, 292, and 195. The control device 27 controls the operation of the organism transportation system 2 and has the function of determining whether organisms A1 and A2 have escaped. The control device 27 includes a communication unit 161, a display 163, an input operation unit 165, a memory unit 167, a CPU 270, and an alarm output unit 279. The control device 27 is, for example, a computer including each of the components 161, 163, 165, 167, and 270. The control device 27, the organism-side first position detection unit 291, the organism-side second position detection unit 292, and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 are communicatively connected via the communication unit 161. The position information detected by the organism-side first position detection unit 291, organism-side second position detection unit 292, and transportation device-side position detection unit 195 is transmitted to the CPU 270 via the communication unit 161.

The CPU 270 functions as an acquisition unit 271, a calculation unit 273, and a judgment unit 277 by deploying various programs stored in the memory unit 167.

The acquisition unit 271 acquires position information of the first organism A1 using radio waves from GNSS satellites received by the organism-side first position detection unit 291. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 271 acquires position information of the second organism A2 using radio waves from GNSS satellites received by the organism-side position detection unit 292. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 271 acquires position information of the organism transportation device 20 using radio waves from GNSS satellites received by the transportation device-side position detection unit 195.

The calculation unit 273 calculates the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 using the position information of the organism transportation device 20 and the position information of the first organism A1. In this embodiment, the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 is the difference between the position indicated by the position information of the organism transportation device 20 and the position indicated by the position information of the first organism A1. Furthermore, the calculation unit 273 calculates the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 using the position information of the organism transportation device 20 and the position information of the second organism A2. In this embodiment, the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 is the difference between the position indicated by the position information of the organism transportation device 20 and the position indicated by the position information of the second organism A2.

The determination unit 277 determines whether the first organism A1 and the second organism A2 have escaped from the organism transportation system 2. Specifically, the determination unit 277 determines that the first organism A1 has escaped when the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 is equal to or greater than a first specified value, which is a predetermined specified value. Furthermore, the determination unit 277 determines that the second organism A2 has escaped when the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 is equal to or greater than a second specified value, which is a predetermined specified value. Note that the first specified value and the second specified value may be the same value or different values. The first specified value is determined, for example, according to the size of the first storage chamber 13 or the size of the container 29. Furthermore, the second specified value is determined, for example, according to the size of the second storage chamber 14 or the size of the container 29.

The determination unit 277 may further determine that the first organism A1 has escaped when the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 remains equal to or greater than a first specified value for a period of time that continues beyond a predetermined time. The determination unit 277 may further determine that the second organism A2 has escaped when the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 remains equal to or greater than a second specified value for a period of time that continues beyond a predetermined time. Then, when the determination unit 277 determines that at least one of the first organism A1 and the second organism A2 has escaped, it sends a command to the warning output unit 279 to output a warning.

The warning output unit 279 outputs a warning when it receives an instruction from the judgment unit 177 regarding warning output.

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing a control method for the organism transportation system 2 of the second embodiment. First, in step S12, the acquisition unit 271 acquires the position information of the first organism A1, the position information of the second organism A2, and the position information of the organism transportation device 20. Next, in step S22, the calculation unit 273 calculates the difference between the position indicated by the position information of the first organism A1 and the position indicated by the position information of the organism transportation device 20, thereby calculating the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. Furthermore, the calculation unit 273 calculates the difference between the position indicated by the position information of the second organism A2 and the position indicated by the position information of the organism transportation device 20, thereby calculating the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. Then, in step S32, the determination unit 277 determines whether the first organism A1 has escaped from the organism transportation system 2 using the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. In this embodiment, the determination unit 277 determines that the first organism A1 has escaped if the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 remains at or above 5 meters for a period of more than 10 seconds. Furthermore, the determination unit 277 determines whether the second organism A2 has escaped from the organism transportation system 2 using the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195. In this embodiment, the determination unit 277 determines that the second organism A2 has escaped if the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 remains at or above 5 meters for a period of more than 10 seconds. If it is determined that neither the first organism A1 nor the second organism A2 has escaped, the process returns to step S12, and steps S12 to S32 are executed again (step S32: No). On the other hand, if it is determined that at least one of the first organism A1 and the second organism A2 has escaped, a warning is output in step S42.

According to the second embodiment, the organism transport system 2 for transporting a first organism A1 and a second organism A2 comprises an organism transport device 20, an organism-side first position detection unit 291, an organism-side second position detection unit 292, a transport device-side position detection unit 195, and a control device 27. The organism-side first position detection unit 291 is disposed on the first organism A1 and detects position information of the first organism A1. The organism-side second position detection unit 292 is disposed on the second organism A2 and detects position information of the second organism A2. The transport device-side position detection unit 195 is disposed on the organism transport device 20 and detects position information of the organism transport device 20. The control device 27 comprises a CPU 270 and a warning output unit 279. The CPU 270 has an acquisition unit 271, a calculation unit 273, and a judgment unit 277. The acquisition unit 271 acquires position information of the first organism A1 detected by the organism-side first position detection unit 291, position information of the second organism A2 detected by the organism-side second position detection unit 292, and position information of the organism transportation device 20 detected by the transport device-side position detection unit 195. The calculation unit 273 calculates the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 using the position information of the first organism A1 and the position information of the organism transportation device 20. Furthermore, the calculation unit 273 calculates the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 using the position information of the second organism A2 and the position information of the organism transportation device 20. The determination unit 277 determines that the first organism A1 has escaped when the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195 is equal to or greater than a first specified value. Furthermore, the determination unit 277 determines that the second organism A2 has escaped when the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 is equal to or greater than a second specified value. In this manner, the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 can be calculated. Furthermore, the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 can be calculated. The determination unit 277 then compares the value indicating the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 with the first specified value, which serves as a determination condition, to determine whether the first organism A1 has escaped. Furthermore, the determination unit 277 compares the value indicating the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 with the second specified value, which serves as a determination condition, to determine whether the second organism A2 has escaped. This makes it possible to detect the escape of the first organism A1 and the second organism A2 using the organism transport system 2 that transports the first organism A1 and the second organism A2. This further reduces the possibility that a user, such as an operator, will not notice the escape of the organisms A1 and A2 during transport.

Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, the organism transport system 2 includes a second containment chamber 14 instead of the experimental equipment 15 in the organism transport device 20. This allows a larger number of organisms A to be transported using the organism transport system 2.

C. Third embodiment:
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of the organism transportation system 3 and the animal experiment system 8. The organism transportation system 3 is a system that transports one or more organisms A1 and A2 and detects the escape of organism A. In this embodiment, the organism transportation system 3 differs from the second embodiment ( FIG. 5 ) in part of the configuration of the control device 37. Steps that are the same as those in the second embodiment and configurations that are the same as those in the second embodiment are given the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted. Note that, except for the control device 37, the configuration of the organism transportation system 3 in this embodiment is the same as that of the organism transportation system 2 in the second embodiment ( FIG. 4 ).

The animal experiment system 8 is a system for conducting animal experiments by removing and housing organisms A1 and A2 transported by the organism transportation system 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, upon receiving a request from an organization conducting animal experiments (hereinafter referred to as a client), the operator transports organisms A1 and A2 from a first location (e.g., a laboratory animal breeding facility) to the client using the organism transportation system 3. The operator then transports experimental equipment 15 to the client from a second location different from the first location using the animal experiment system 8. At the client's location, organisms A1 and A2 housed in the housing chambers 13 and 14 of the organism transportation system 3 are then moved and transferred to the animal experiment system 8, thereby conducting the animal experiment. The animal experiment system 8 includes an experimental equipment position detection unit 895, experimental equipment 85, and a communication device 87.

The experimental apparatus 85 is an apparatus for housing organisms A1 and A2 transported by the organism transportation system 3 and conducting animal experiments. The experimental apparatus 85 includes two containment chambers 83 and 84, experimental equipment 15, a container 89, and a second mobile body 81. The container 89 houses the experimental equipment 15, an experimental equipment position detection unit 895, and a communication device 87. The two containment chambers 83 and 84 house organism A, the subject of the animal experiment. Each of the two containment chambers 83 and 84 is, for example, a cage. The container 89 is a so-called trailer that is towed by the second mobile body 81 for movement. The second mobile body 81 supports the container 89 for movement. In this embodiment, the second mobile body 81 is a tractor that tows the container 89. In other words, in this embodiment, the experimental apparatus 85 is a towing vehicle that includes the second mobile body 81 as a tractor and the container 89 as a trailer.

The experimental equipment position detection unit 895 detects the position information of the experimental equipment 85. In this embodiment, the experimental equipment position detection unit 895 is a GNSS receiver. That is, the experimental equipment position detection unit 895 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites and detects the position information of the experimental equipment 85. The experimental equipment position detection unit 895 is provided to calculate the distance from the organism position detection units 291, 292 arranged on the organisms A1, A2 when the organisms A1, A2 transported by the organism transportation system 3 are housed in the container 89 of the experimental equipment 85 and an animal experiment is conducted. The experimental equipment position detection unit 895 is arranged in the experimental equipment 85. The experimental equipment position detection unit 895 transmits the position information of the experimental equipment 85 to the control device 27.

Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of the control device 37, position detection units 195, 291, 292, 895, and communication device 87. The communication device 87 communicatively connects the control device 37 to the experimental device position detection unit 895. Position information of the experimental device 85 detected by the experimental device position detection unit 895 is transmitted to the control device 37 via the communication device 87.

The control device 37 controls the operation of the organism transportation system 3 and has the function of determining whether organisms A1 and A2 have escaped. The control device 37 includes a communication unit 161, a display 163, an input operation unit 165, a memory unit 167, a CPU 370, and an alarm output unit 279. The control device 37 is, for example, a computer including each of the components 161, 163, 165, 167, and 370. The control device 37, the organism-side first position detection unit 291, the organism-side second position detection unit 292, and the transportation device-side position detection unit 195 are communicatively connected via the communication unit 161. The communication device 87 is also communicatively connected to the communication unit 161. Position information detected by the organism-side first position detection unit 291, the organism-side second position detection unit 292, and the device-side position detection unit 195 is transmitted to the CPU 370 via the communication unit 161. Additionally, the position information detected by the experimental equipment position detection unit 895 is sent to the CPU 370 via the communication device 87 and communication unit 161 in that order.

The CPU 370 further functions as a condition setting unit 275 in addition to the acquisition unit 271, calculation unit 273, and determination unit 277 described above. The condition setting unit 275 transmits a predetermined command to the determination unit 277 when an external instruction is received. The command is transmitted to the determination unit 277 when an instruction is received from a user, for example, via the input operation unit 165. Hereinafter, the command in this embodiment will be referred to as an abort command. The condition setting unit 275 transmits an abort command to the determination unit 277 when an instruction to abort the determination of whether or not living things A1 and A2 have escaped is received. Upon receiving the abort command, the determination unit 277 aborts the determination of whether or not living things A1 and A2 have escaped. The time for which the determination of whether or not living things A1 and A2 have escaped is aborted may be fixed to a predetermined value or may be set each time the abort command is transmitted. The date and time for transmitting the abort command may also be set in advance.

For example, it is known in advance that when organisms A1 and A2 are moved from the organism transportation system 3 to the animal experiment system 8, the distance will be greater than when organisms A1 and A2 are contained in the containment chambers 13 and 14. The "distance" referred to here refers to the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195, and the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195. In other words, if organisms A1 and A2 are moved from the organism transportation system 3 to the animal experiment system 8 and the distance becomes greater, the judgment unit 277 may erroneously determine that organisms A1 and A2 have escaped, potentially resulting in an unnecessary warning being output by the warning output unit 279. Therefore, when organisms A1 and A2 are moved and transferred from the organism transportation system 3 to the animal experiment system 8, the condition setting unit 275 sends an abort command to the judgment unit 277 in response to an external instruction, such as an instruction input by the user.

After organisms A1 and A2 have been placed in container 89, it is preferable to input a command to stop the abort command (hereinafter referred to as the resume command). When the judgment unit 277 receives the resume command, it resumes judging whether organisms A1 and A2 have escaped. When resumed, the judgment unit 277 judges that organism A has escaped when the distance between the experimental equipment position detection unit 895 and the organism position detection units 291 and 292 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating the control method of the organism transportation system 3 and the flow of an animal experiment in the third embodiment. First, in step S51, the judgment unit 277 checks whether an abort command has been received from the condition setting unit 275. If an abort command has not been received, the judgment unit 277 continues to judge whether organisms A1 and A2 have escaped based on predetermined specified values (step S51: No). The control mode of the judgment unit 277 when an abort command has not been received is the same as in the second embodiment (Figure 6). If an abort command has been received, the judgment unit 277 executes step S81 (step S51: Yes). In step S81, the judgment unit 277 aborts the judgment of whether organisms A1 and A2 have escaped.

According to the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the organism transport system 3 for transporting the first organism A1 and the second organism A2 comprises an organism transport device 20, an organism-side first position detection unit 291, an organism-side second position detection unit 292, a transport device-side position detection unit 195, and a control device 37. The animal experiment system 8 for conducting an animal experiment after the organisms A1 and A2 transported by the organism transport system 3 have been moved from the organism transport system 3 and accommodated therein comprises an experiment device-side position detection unit 895, an experiment device 85, and a communication device 87. The experiment device-side position detection unit 895 is disposed in the experiment device 85 and detects the position information of the experiment device 85. The communication device 87 communicatively connects the control device 37 and the experiment device-side position detection unit 895. The control device 37 comprises a CPU 370 and a warning output unit 279. The CPU 370 includes an acquisition unit 271, a calculation unit 273, a condition setting unit 275, and a determination unit 277. When the condition setting unit 275 receives an external instruction, it sends a predetermined command to the determination unit 277. In this embodiment, the command is an abort command. When the determination unit 277 receives the abort command, it aborts the determination of whether or not the living things A1 and A2 have escaped. This makes it possible to abort the determination of whether or not the living things A1 and A2 have escaped depending on the situation. This reduces the possibility that the determination unit 277 will mistakenly determine that the living things A1 and A2 have escaped, for example, when it is known in advance that the distance between the living things A1 and A2 will be greater than when they are contained in the containment rooms 13 and 14. This prevents unnecessary warnings from being output when it is known in advance that the distance will be greater.

Furthermore, according to the third embodiment, the organism transportation system 3 and the animal experiment system 8 are transported from different locations and merged at the customer's site. In this way, organism A and the experimental equipment 85 can be transported from any location to conduct an animal experiment, without limiting the storage locations of the organism transportation system 3 and the animal experiment system 8 or the breeding location of organism A.

D. Fourth embodiment:
In this embodiment, the types of commands and the control mode by the judgment unit 277 differ from those in the third embodiment (FIG. 8). The configuration other than the condition setting unit 275 and the judgment unit 277 is the same as that of the organism transportation system 3 (FIG. 7) and the animal experiment system 8 (FIG. 7) in the third embodiment. Hereinafter, commands in this embodiment will be referred to as non-standard commands.

When the condition setting unit 275 receives an external instruction, it sends a predetermined command to the judgment unit 277. When the condition setting unit 275 receives an instruction to set the specified value to a value greater than the current value, it sends an irregular command to the judgment unit 277. When an irregular command is received, the judgment unit 277 sets the specified value to a value greater than when an irregular command is not received. Note that the specified value when an irregular command is sent or received may be fixed to a predetermined value, or may be set each time an irregular command is sent or received. In addition, the date and time when the irregular command is sent may be set in advance.

For example, when organisms A1 and A2 are moved and transferred from the organism transportation system 3 to the animal experiment system 8, it is known in advance that the distance will be greater than when organisms A1 and A2 are contained in the containment chambers 13 and 14. The "distance" referred to here refers to the distance between the organism-side first position detection unit 291 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195, and the distance between the organism-side second position detection unit 292 and the transport device-side position detection unit 195. In other words, if organisms A1 and A2 are moved from the organism transportation system 3 to the animal experiment system 8 and the distance becomes greater, the judgment unit 277 may erroneously determine that organisms A1 and A2 have escaped, potentially resulting in an unnecessary warning being output by the warning output unit 279. Therefore, when organisms A1 and A2 are moved and transferred from the organism transportation system 3 to the animal experiment system 8, the condition setting unit 275 sends an exceptional command to the judgment unit 277 in response to an external instruction, such as an instruction input by the user.

After organisms A1 and A2 are placed in container 89, it is preferable to input a command to stop the irregular command (hereinafter referred to as the resume command). When the judgment unit 277 receives the resume command, it resumes judging whether organisms A1 and A2 have escaped. When resumed, the judgment unit 277 judges that organism A has escaped when the distance between the experimental equipment position detection unit 895 and the organism position detection units 291 and 292 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating the control method of the organism transportation system 3 and the flow of animal experiments in the fourth embodiment. Similar to Figure 9, Figure 10 shows the control method after organisms A1 and A2 are transported from a first location to the client using the organism transportation system 3 at the client's request, and the animal experiment system 8 is transported from a second location different from the first location to the client. In other words, Figure 10 shows the control method when organisms A1 and A2 are moved from the organism transportation system 3 to the animal experiment system 8 in order to conduct an animal experiment at the client's site.

First, in step S52, the judgment unit 277 checks whether an irregular command has been received from the condition setting unit 275. If an irregular command has not been received, the judgment unit 277 continues to determine whether the creatures A1 and A2 have escaped based on a predetermined specified value (step S52: No). The control mode of the judgment unit 277 when an irregular command has not been received is the same as in the second embodiment (Figure 6). If an irregular command has been received, the judgment unit 277 executes steps S12 and S22 in this order in order to execute the subsequent step S82. Specifically, in step S12, the acquisition unit 271 acquires location information, and in step S22, the calculation unit 273 calculates the distance. Then, the judgment unit 277 executes step S82 (step S52: Yes). In step S82, the judgment unit 277 sets the specified value to a value greater than when an irregular command has not been received. If it is determined that at least one of the first organism A1 and the second organism A2 has escaped, a warning is output in step S42.

According to the fourth embodiment described above, the condition setting unit 275 transmits a predetermined command to the judgment unit 277 when an external instruction is received. In this embodiment, the command is an irregular command. When an irregular command is received, the judgment unit 277 sets the specified value to a value greater than when an irregular command is not received. In this way, the specified value as a judgment condition can be set according to the situation. This reduces the possibility that the judgment unit 277 will mistakenly determine that the organisms A1 and A2 have escaped, for example, when it is known in advance that the distance will be greater than when the organisms A1 and A2 are contained in the containment rooms 13 and 14. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary warnings from being output when it is known in advance that the distance will be greater.

Furthermore, according to the fourth embodiment, the organism transportation system 3 and the animal experiment system 8 are transported from different locations and merged at the customer's site. In this way, organism A and the experimental equipment 85 can be transported from any location to conduct an animal experiment, without limiting the storage locations of the organism transportation system 3 and the animal experiment system 8 or the breeding location of organism A.

E. Fifth Embodiment In this embodiment, the control mode by the control device 17 differs from that of the first embodiment (FIG. 3). The configuration other than the control device 17 is the same as that of the organism transportation system 1 in the first embodiment (FIG. 1). Note that the control method of this embodiment may be performed on the organism transportation system 2 in the second embodiment, the organism transportation system 3 in the third embodiment, and the organism transportation system 3 in the fourth embodiment.

In this embodiment, the judgment conditions for determining whether organism A has escaped include the movement route of the organism transportation system 1. The movement route is input, for example, via the input operation unit 165. The judgment unit 177 further determines whether the position indicated by the position information from the transportation device side position detection unit 195 is off the movement route, i.e., is in an off-route state. If the position is in an off-route state, the judgment unit 177 determines that organism A has escaped, regardless of whether the calculated distance is equal to or greater than a specified value. An example of an off-route state is when the towing vehicle that constitutes the organism transportation system 1 is stolen.

Figure 11 is a flowchart showing a control method for the organism transportation system 1 of the fifth embodiment. First, in step S91, the determination unit 177 determines whether or not the organism is in an off-route state. In this embodiment, the determination unit 177 determines that the organism is in an off-route state if the position indicated by the position information from the transportation device position detection unit 195 is more than one kilometer off the travel route (step S91: Yes). If the determination unit 177 determines that the organism is in an off-route state, it determines that organism A has escaped, regardless of whether the distance calculated by organism A1 is equal to or greater than a specified value. If the determination unit 177 determines that the organism is not in an off-route state, step S91 is repeatedly executed until the organism is determined to be in an off-route state. If the determination is that the organism is in an off-route state and that organism A has escaped, a warning is output in step S94.

According to the fifth embodiment, the determination unit 177 determines whether the position indicated by the position information of the transport device side position detection unit 195 is off the travel path, i.e., an off-route state. If the determination unit 177 determines that the organism A is escaping, regardless of whether the calculated distance is equal to or greater than a specified value. If the determination unit 177 determines that the organism A1 is escaping, the warning output unit 179 outputs a warning. In this way, even if the distance between the organism side position detection unit 191 and the transport device side position detection unit 195 is less than the specified value, if the organism A1 is in an off-route state, it can be determined that the organism A has escaped and a warning can be output. This makes it possible to quickly confirm the current location of organism A, for example, if the towing vehicle constituting the organism transportation system 1 is stolen along with the vehicle. Then, search for and capture of the escaped organism A can be quickly initiated.

F. Other Embodiments:
F-1. Other embodiment 1:
In the third and fourth embodiments, the control device 37 includes the warning output unit 279 and the condition setting unit 275 in the CPU 370. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the organism transportation systems 1, 2, and 3 may not include the condition setting unit 275 and the warning output unit 179 and 279. Even in this configuration, by transporting organism A using the organism transportation systems 1, 2, and 3, it is possible to detect the escape of organism A.

F-2. Other embodiment 2:
In the above embodiment, the organism transport devices 10, 20 were towing vehicles including a first moving body 11 as a tractor and a container 19, 29 as a trailer. The experimental apparatus 85 was a towing vehicle including a second moving body 81 as a tractor and a container 89 as a trailer. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The organism transport devices 10, 20 and the experimental apparatus 85 may each be self-propelled vehicles such as trucks. Even in this configuration, the organism transport devices 10, 20 and the experimental apparatus 85 can be transported to a desired location.

F-3. Other embodiment 3:
In the above embodiment, the organism-side position detection units 191, 291, 292, the transport device-side position detection unit 195, and the experimental apparatus-side position detection unit 895 were each GNSS receivers. That is, in the above embodiment, the position information of the organism-side position detection units 191, 291, 292, the transport device-side position detection unit 195, and the experimental apparatus-side position detection unit 895 was detected using radio waves transmitted from GNSS satellites. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The organism-side position detection units 191, 291, 292, the transport device-side position detection unit 195, and the experimental apparatus-side position detection unit 895 may each detect their position information using other methods. For example, the organism-side position detection units 191, 291, 292, the transport device-side position detection unit 195, and the experimental apparatus-side position detection unit 895 may each detect their position information using radio waves from a mobile phone base station.

F-4. Other embodiment 4:
In the above embodiment, one control device 17, 27, 37 is provided for each organism transportation system 1, 2, 3. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The organism transportation systems 1, 2, 3 may be controlled by a central monitoring device that collectively controls multiple organism transportation systems 1, 2, 3, instead of the control devices 17, 27, 37. In this configuration, a warning can be output to the organism transportation system 1, 2, 3 in which it is determined that organism A has escaped.

This disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be realized in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features of the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention section can be replaced or combined as appropriate to solve some or all of the above-described problems or achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.

1, 2, 3... Biological transport system, 8... Animal experiment system, 10, 20... Biological transport device, 11... First mobile body, 13, 14, 83, 84... Containment room, 15... Experimental equipment, 17, 27, 37... Control device, 19, 29, 89... Container, 81... Second mobile body, 85... Experimental equipment, 87... Communication device, 161... Communication unit, 163... Display, 165... Input Force manipulation unit, 167... memory unit, 170, 270, 370... CPU, 171, 271... acquisition unit, 173, 273... calculation unit, 177, 277... judgment unit, 179, 279... warning output unit, 191, 291, 292... organism position detection unit, 195... transportation device position detection unit, 275... condition setting unit, 895... experimental device position detection unit, A, A1, A2... organism

Claims (7)

A biological transport system for transporting a biological organism, comprising:
An organism transport device that accommodates and transports the organism;
an apparatus-side position detection unit disposed in the organism transportation apparatus and detecting position information of the organism transportation apparatus;
an organism-side position detection unit disposed on the organism and detecting position information of the organism;
a control device;
The control device
a determination unit that calculates the distance between the organism-side position detection unit and the apparatus-side position detection unit using the position information of the organism transport device and the position information of the organism, and determines that the organism has escaped when the calculated distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value;
a condition setting unit that transmits a predetermined command to the determination unit when an instruction from an external device is received;
The organism transport system , wherein the determination unit stops determining whether the organism has escaped when the command is received . A biological transport system for transporting a biological organism, comprising:
An organism transport device that accommodates and transports the organism;
an apparatus-side position detection unit disposed in the organism transportation apparatus and detecting position information of the organism transportation apparatus;
an organism-side position detection unit disposed on the organism and detecting position information of the organism;
a control device;
The control device
a determination unit that calculates the distance between the organism-side position detection unit and the apparatus-side position detection unit using the position information of the organism transport device and the position information of the organism, and determines that the organism has escaped when the calculated distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value;
a condition setting unit that transmits a predetermined command to the determination unit when an instruction from an external device is received;
In a living organism transportation system, when the command is received, the determination unit sets the specified value to a value greater than when the command is not received . The organism transportation system according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising:
A biological transportation system comprising an input operation unit for setting judgment conditions including the specified value. 4. The biological transportation system according to claim 3 ,
The judgment conditions further include a travel path of the organism transportation system,
The determination unit further
determining whether the position indicated by the position information of the device-side position detection unit is in an off-route state, i.e., deviating from the movement route;
When the organism is in the off-route state, the organism is determined to have escaped regardless of whether the calculated distance is equal to or greater than the specified value. The biological transportation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising:
The organism transportation system includes a warning output unit that outputs a warning when the determination unit determines that the organism has escaped. A biological transportation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The determination unit determines that the organism has escaped when the calculated distance continues to exceed the specified value for a predetermined period of time. A biological transportation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
the living organism-side position detection unit and the device-side position detection unit are each a GNSS receiver,
A biological transportation system, wherein the distance is the difference between the position indicated by the position information of the biological organism and the position indicated by the position information of the biological transportation device.