JP7757683B2 - Control System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control system.

Conventionally, there have been lighting devices with cameras installed in facilities, for example. In the field of such lighting devices with cameras, for example, technology has been proposed for managing inventory, such as stockpiles, using images taken by a camera inside a warehouse (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-54541

However, conventional technology has not taken into consideration, for example, the appropriate management of the behavior of users of the facility.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a control system that can appropriately manage the behavior of users using a facility.

A control system according to an embodiment includes an acquisition unit, an identification unit, and an association unit. The acquisition unit acquires attribute information of users who use a facility. The identification unit identifies the behavioral status of the users from sensing data within the facility. The association unit associates the attribute information acquired by the acquisition unit with the behavioral status identified by the identification unit.

This invention makes it possible to appropriately manage the behavior of users using a facility.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the control system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the information processing device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the behavior information DB. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the facility information DB. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the server device.

The control system 1 according to the embodiment described below includes an acquisition unit 121 that acquires attribute information of a user U who uses the facility Sc, an identification unit 122 that identifies the behavioral status of the user U from sensing data within the facility Sc, and an association unit 123 that associates the attribute information acquired by the acquisition unit 121 with the behavioral status identified by the identification unit 122.

In addition, the control system 1 according to the embodiment described below includes a lighting unit 51 that changes the lighting conditions within the facility Sc according to the attribute information of the user U.

Furthermore, in the control system 1 according to the embodiment described below, the acquisition unit 121 acquires attribute information stored in the user terminal 100 of user U through data communication with the user terminal 100.

Furthermore, in the control system 1 according to the embodiment described below, the acquisition unit 121 acquires information regarding whether or not the user U has been vaccinated as attribute information.

Furthermore, in the control system 1 according to the embodiment described below, the identification unit 122 identifies the degree of crowding of users U within the facility Sc as the behavioral status.

The control system 1 according to the embodiment described below also includes a generation unit 124 that generates a report in which the behavioral status is weighted according to attribute information, based on the processing results by the association unit 123.

The control system according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same components in the embodiments will be designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

First, an overview of the control system according to the embodiment will be described using Figure 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the control system. As shown in Figure 1, the control system 1 according to the embodiment includes a server device 10 and multiple lighting devices 50 installed in a facility Sc. Note that, although the following description will be given using an example in which the facility Sc is a commercial facility, the facility Sc may also be any facility, such as a school, factory, or office building.

The server device 10 is a processing device that analyzes camera images captured by the camera 52 of the lighting device 50 installed in the facility Sc and analyzes the flow of people (hereinafter referred to as people flow) within the facility Sc.

The lighting device 50 is installed on the ceiling of the facility Sc. As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting device 50 includes a lighting unit 51, a camera 52, and a communication unit 53. The lighting unit 51 includes a predetermined light source, such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or a fluorescent lamp. The lighting unit 51 may also be an emergency light or a germicidal lamp.

The camera 52 also has a specified imaging element and, for example, captures images of the floor from the ceiling of the facility Sc. In this way, the lighting device 50 is a lighting device equipped with a camera 52, and the camera 52 can capture an overhead image of the inside of the facility Sc.

As a result, the camera 52 of the lighting device 50 can capture bird's-eye camera images of the facility Sc, and the server device 10 can easily understand the behavior of each user U within the facility Sc by analyzing these camera images.

The communication unit 53 is a communication device for communicating data with the user terminal 100 of the user U. For example, the user terminal 100 has an application (hereinafter simply referred to as the app) for communicating data with the communication unit 53, and the communication unit 53 receives attribute information of the user U stored in the user terminal 100 by communicating with the app of the user terminal 100. In the following, we will explain the case where the attribute information is, for example, the presence or absence of a vaccine passport (described below), i.e., information regarding whether or not the user has been vaccinated. In addition, the attribute information may also be information regarding the gender, age, etc. of the user U, for example.

Furthermore, the attribute information may be, for example, information that can be identified from a camera image, or information regarding whether a mask is being worn or the type of mask worn by user U. Note that types of masks in this case include nonwoven masks, urethane masks, cloth masks, etc. Furthermore, for example, the body temperature of user U photographed by a thermographic camera may also be used as attribute information.

In recent years, the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a decline in the use of commercial facilities by users U. In response to this, with the aim of preventing the spread of infection and reviving economic activity, consideration is being given to issuing vaccine passports to those who have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. Furthermore, for example, in addition to issuing vaccine passports on paper, consideration is being given to issuing them as digital data to each user terminal 100.

For example, commercial facilities could implement campaigns using vaccine passports, such as offering certain benefits to users U who present their vaccine passports, which is expected to increase customer numbers while reducing the risk of infection spreading.

The control system 1 according to the embodiment proposes a new business model that combines vaccine passports with people flow analysis. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the server device 10 first acquires a camera image captured by the camera 52 from the lighting device 50 (step S1).

At this time, the server device 10 also acquires, for example, attribute information of the user U (information regarding whether or not the user has been vaccinated) acquired by each lighting device 50 from the user terminal 100.

Next, the server device 10 analyzes the camera images to identify the behavioral status of the user U (step S2). The behavioral status here refers to, for example, the behavior of each user U within the facility Sc. For example, the server device 10 analyzes the camera images and tracks the user U to identify the behavior of the user U in terms of when and where the user U was.

In addition, by identifying the behavioral status of each user U, the server device 10 can also determine the degree of crowding, such as whether or not users U interact with each other.

Next, the server device 10 associates information about user U's behavioral status with user U's attribute information (information about whether or not the user has been vaccinated) (step S3) and stores the information in the behavioral information DB.

Then, for example, the server device 10 creates a report based on the information stored in the behavior information DB (step S4). For example, the server device 10 sets a priority for each user U according to their attribute information and then generates the report.

For example, the server device 10 references the behavioral information DB, extracts other users U (e.g., close contacts) who may be at risk of infection due to the virus-infected user U having used facility Sc, and generates a report.

In this case, the server device 10 may generate a report that changes the priority of user U depending on whether or not the user has been vaccinated. This is because it is suggested that vaccinated individuals have a lower risk of developing serious symptoms compared to unvaccinated individuals.

In other words, when generating a report for a public health center, the server device 10 may, for example, increase the priority of unvaccinated individuals, thereby encouraging the public health center to prioritize those who have not been vaccinated.

Furthermore, if the attribute information is the type of mask used by user U, the priority may be changed between users U wearing nonwoven masks and those wearing masks other than nonwoven masks or those not wearing masks at all. In this case, for example, a report regarding the presence or absence of crowding may be generated based on the behavioral status of users U, and if there are users U in a crowd who are wearing masks other than nonwoven masks or who are not wearing masks, a report may be generated that increases the priority of those users U.

Furthermore, if the attribute information is the body temperature of the user U, a report may be generated that gives a higher priority to users U whose body temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold, i.e., users U who have come into contact with users U suspected of being infected with a virus.

In addition, the server device 10 may, for example, generate a report regarding the percentage of vaccinated users among all users U and notify the administrator of the facility Sc.

In this way, the control system 1 according to the embodiment identifies the behavioral status of the user U at the facility Sc and associates the behavioral status with the attribute information of the user U. Therefore, the control system 1 according to the embodiment appropriately manages the behavior of the user U who uses the facility Sc.

The control system 1 may also be configured to work in conjunction with, for example, the POS (Point of Sales System) system of each store in the facility Sc. That is, for example, the control system 1 may notify the store individually of whether or not a user U who uses each store has been vaccinated, thereby notifying the store of whether or not a campaign using a vaccine passport is applicable to the user U.

For example, the control system 1 may notify whether a user U who uses each store within the facility Sc has been vaccinated by changing the lighting mode of the lighting device 50 installed in the store depending on whether the user U has been vaccinated.

This allows the facility Sc to easily distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated users U, allowing it to provide various services such as omitting temperature checks for vaccinated users U.

In this way, the control system 1 according to the embodiment can improve the convenience of facility Sc by providing services in cooperation with facility Sc.

Next, an example configuration of the server device 10 according to the embodiment will be described using Figure 2. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the server device 10. As shown in Figure 2, the server device 10 includes a communication unit 110, a control unit 120, and a storage unit 130.

The communication unit 110 is realized, for example, by a NIC (Network Interface Card). The communication unit 110 transmits and receives information to and from each lighting device 50 via a network such as a variety of wireless communication networks, including 4G (Generation), 5G, LTE (Long Term Evolution), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), or a variety of wired communication networks.

The memory unit 130 is realized, for example, by a semiconductor memory element such as RAM or flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or optical disk. The memory unit 130 also has a sensing data DB 131, a behavior information DB 132, and a facility information DB 133.

Sensing data DB131 is a database that stores sensing data within facility Sc. This sensing data includes, for example, camera images taken by the camera 52 of each lighting device 50, as well as carbon dioxide concentration and the body temperature of each user U detected by a thermographic camera. For example, sensing data DB131 stores this sensing data in association with information regarding the location and time of sensing.

The behavioral information DB 132 is a database that stores information about the behavior of each user U. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the behavioral information DB 132. In the example shown in Figure 3, the behavioral information DB 132 stores information on the items "user ID," "vaccination," and "behavioral information" in association with each other.

"User ID" is an identifier used to identify each user U. "Vaccination" indicates whether the user U identified by the corresponding "User ID" has been vaccinated; for example, "1" is stored for a user U who has been vaccinated, and "0" is stored for a user U who has not been vaccinated.

"Behavior information" is information indicating the behavior of a user U identified by a corresponding "user ID" within the facility Sc. For example, the server device 10 adds information about newly identified behavior to the "behavior information" as the behavioral status of user U is identified.

For example, if information about user U can be obtained along with the vaccine passport, such information may be associated with the "user ID" and stored in behavioral information DB132. Note that the information about user U here may include, for example, user U's name, age, contact information, etc.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 2, we will now explain the facility information DB133. The facility information DB133 is a database that stores various information related to facilities. Figure 4 shows an example of the facility information DB133.

In the example shown in Figure 4, the facility information DB133 stores information on items such as "area ID," "last sterilization time," and "crowding history" in association with each other. "Area ID" is an identifier for identifying each area within the facility Sc.

"Last sterilization time" indicates the most recent time when the area identified by the corresponding "area ID" was sterilized. "Crowding history" is a history of the degree of crowding of identified users U (including personnel associated with facility Sc (store staff)) in the area identified by the corresponding "area ID."

Returning to the explanation of Figure 2, the control unit 120 will now be described. The control unit 120 is, for example, a controller, and is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc., executing various programs stored in the storage device inside the server device 10 using RAM as a working area.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 120 includes an acquisition unit 121, an identification unit 122, an association unit 123, a generation unit 124, and a lighting control unit 125. The acquisition unit 121 acquires attribute information of a user U who uses the facility Sc.

For example, the acquisition unit 121 acquires information about the vaccine passport as attribute information from the user terminal 100 of the user U via the communication unit 53 (see Figure 3) of the lighting device 50. Note that, for example, when the user U enters the facility Sc, the user terminal 100 may read a QR code (registered trademark) installed at the entrance, causing the user terminal 100 to transmit information about the vaccine passport to the server device 10, and the acquisition unit 121 may acquire such information.

The acquisition unit 121 passes attribute information regarding whether each user U has been vaccinated to the association unit 123. The acquisition unit 121 also acquires sensing data within the facility Sc and stores it in the sensing data DB 131.

In this case, for example, the acquisition unit 121 may acquire information about the user U's body temperature from the sensing data as attribute information and pass it to the association unit 123. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 121 may analyze, for example, camera images from the sensing data, identify whether the user U is wearing a mask and the type of mask they are wearing, and acquire this as attribute information.

The identification unit 122 identifies the behavioral status of each user U from sensing data within the facility Sc. For example, the identification unit 122 identifies the behavioral status of each user U by tracking each user U using camera images captured by multiple cameras 52.

In other words, the identification unit 122 virtually stitches together camera images from cameras 52 with adjacent imaging ranges to track the behavior of user U across imaging ranges. This makes it possible to manage, for example, the user U's movement history from when he or she enters facility Sc to when he or she leaves, using a single trajectory. For example, the identification unit 122 can manage user U with a single user ID by writing the identified behavioral status into the behavior information DB 132 each time the behavioral status of user U is identified.

Furthermore, for example, the identification unit 122 may identify the density according to the distribution status of each user U and write it in the "Density History" field in the facility information DB 133. In addition, for example, the identification unit 122 may identify whether or not sterilization work has been performed in each area from camera images and update the "Last Sterilization Time" in the facility information DB 133. Note that the "Last Sterilization Time" may be updated based on information entered by, for example, store employees or cleaning workers at facility Sc. Note that the "Last Sterilization Time" may be replaced with the "Last Cleaning Time."

The association unit 123 associates the attribute information acquired by the acquisition unit 121 with the behavioral situation identified by the identification unit 122. For example, the association unit 123 associates the attribute information with the behavioral situation by writing the attribute information received from the acquisition unit 121 into the "vaccination" item of user U, who is identified by the corresponding user ID, in the behavioral information DB 132.

The generation unit 124 generates a report on the behavioral status of user U based on the matching results by the matching unit 123. For example, the generation unit 124 generates a report by prioritizing unvaccinated users U who meet certain conditions.

For example, based on instructions from a public health center, the generation unit 124 generates a report based on the behavioral history of a virus-infected user U, including information on whether or not there are close contacts, information on a list of close contacts, etc.

For example, the generation unit 124 generates a report by prioritizing unvaccinated users from among users U in a crowded area identified using camera images. Furthermore, if there are users U wearing masks other than nonwoven masks among the crowded area, the generation unit 124 may generate a report by prioritizing the users U who make up the crowded area. In other words, for example, in a crowded area where all users U are wearing nonwoven masks, the risk of infection is relatively low, and so the report priority is lowered.

Furthermore, for example, a report may be generated based on the body temperature information of each user U, prioritizing users U whose body temperature exceeds a predetermined value, i.e., users U who have come into contact with users U suspected of being infected with a virus. In this case, for example, the generation unit 124 may generate a report that reflects information such as whether each user U is wearing a mask, their body temperature, etc.

Furthermore, for example, the generation unit 124 may generate a report that associates information regarding whether each user U among close contacts has been vaccinated. This allows the public health center to prioritize unvaccinated individuals, who are considered to be at relatively higher risk of developing serious symptoms compared to vaccinated individuals.

The generation unit 124 also generates reports on the attendance rate of vaccine passport-related events and the vaccine passport ownership rate, and notifies the administrator of facility Sc. This allows the administrator of facility Sc to easily understand the cost-effectiveness of the event by referring to such reports. Note that the attendance rate of an event here is, for example, the ratio of attendance on days when the event is held to attendance on days when the event is not held.

For example, as described above, if the control system 1 is linked to a POS system, it may obtain information about sales performance from the POS system and generate a report on sales performance depending on whether or not an event has occurred.

Furthermore, for example, if the lighting device 50 has a germicidal lamp, the generation unit 124 may generate a sterilization schedule using the germicidal lamp. For example, the generation unit 124 generates a sterilization schedule using the germicidal lamp in accordance with the matching results by the matching unit 12. For example, the generation unit 124 generates a sterilization schedule using the germicidal lamp in accordance with information about the behavioral status of each user U and whether or not they have been vaccinated.

In this case, for example, the generation unit 124 generates a sterilization schedule such that the germicidal lamp irradiation time is longer in areas that are more frequently used by unvaccinated individuals, and instructs each lighting device 50 to operate according to this sterilization schedule. Furthermore, for example, the generation unit 124 generates a sterilization schedule such that the germicidal lamp irradiation time is relatively shorter for areas that are more frequently used by vaccinated individuals and less frequently used by unvaccinated individuals. In other words, in this case, the facility Sc can be appropriately sterilized by extending the germicidal lamp irradiation time in spaces where the virus is more likely to be prevalent or attached.

The lighting control unit 125 controls the lighting units 51 according to the attribute information of the user U. For example, the lighting control unit 125 controls each lighting unit 51 so that the lighting mode changes depending on whether the person has been vaccinated or not.

Specifically, when a user U enters a specified area, the lighting control unit 125 instructs the corresponding lighting unit 51 to change the lighting mode, for example, depending on the current location of each user U identified by the identification unit 122 and whether or not each user U has been vaccinated.

This allows facility Sc personnel to easily understand the attribute information of each user U based on differences in lighting conditions.

Next, the processing steps executed by the server device 10 according to the embodiment will be described using FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing steps executed by the server device 10.

As shown in FIG. 5, first, the server device 10 acquires attribute information of a user U of the facility Sc (step S101). Next, the server device 10 identifies the behavioral status of the user U based on the sensing data (step S102).

Next, the server device 10 associates attribute information with the behavioral status of user U (step S103). Next, the server device 10 sets a priority for each user U (step S104), generates a report on the behavioral status of user U (step S105), and ends the process.

As described above, the control system 1 includes an acquisition unit 121, an identification unit 122, and an association unit 123. The acquisition unit 121 acquires attribute information of a user U who uses the facility Sc. The identification unit 122 identifies the behavioral status of the user U from sensing data within the facility. The association unit 123 associates the attribute information acquired by the acquisition unit 121 with the behavioral status identified by the identification unit 122. Therefore, the control system 1 according to the embodiment can appropriately manage the behavior of the user U who uses the facility Sc.

In the above-described embodiment, the lighting mode of the lighting unit 51 is changed depending on whether or not a vaccination has been administered, but this is not limited to this. In other words, the lighting mode of the lighting unit 51 may be changed depending on attribute information arbitrarily set by the facility Sc.

For example, if the facility Sc is an amusement parlor such as a pachinko parlor, the attribute information may be set to age, and the lighting mode of the lighting unit 51 may be changed if a minor user U enters the facility Sc.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which attribute information of the user U himself/herself is acquired, but this is not limited to this. For example, whether or not the user U is accompanied by someone, and the type of accompanying person, may also be acquired as attribute information.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the server device 10 manages the entire control system 1 in an integrated manner, but this is not limited to this. In other words, some or all of the functions of the server device 10 may be provided in the lighting device 50.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This embodiment can be embodied in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its variations are within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims.

1 Control system 10 Server device 50 Lighting device 51 Lighting unit 52 Camera 53 Communication unit 100 User terminal 121 Acquisition unit 122 Identification unit 123 Correspondence unit 124 Generation unit 125 Lighting control unit 131 Sensing data DB
132 Behavior information DB
133 Facility Information DB
Sc Facility U User

Claims (5)

an acquisition unit that acquires attribute information of users who use the facility;
an identification unit that identifies the behavioral status of the user from sensing data within the facility;
a correlation unit that correlates the attribute information acquired by the acquisition unit with the behavioral situation identified by the identification unit;
a communication unit that cooperates with a store terminal installed in a store of the facility and individually notifies the store terminal of attribute information of the user who uses the store based on a result of the association unit;
a generation unit that generates a report on the behavioral status of the user based on the association result by the association unit;
Equipped with
The generation unit
A control system that generates the report extracting the users who have come into contact with the specific user within the facility. a lighting unit that changes a lighting mode in the facility in accordance with the attribute information of the user;
The control system of claim 1 , comprising: The acquisition unit
Acquiring the attribute information stored in the user terminal of the user through data communication with the user terminal.
3. A control system according to claim 1 or 2. The acquisition unit
acquiring, as the attribute information, information regarding whether or not the user has been vaccinated;
4. A control system according to claim 1, 2 or 3. The identification unit
Identifying the degree of crowding of the users within the facility as the behavioral situation;
A control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.