JP2007041706A - Obstacle detection system, obstacle detection method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect an obstacle reliably and notify a pilot of the detection appropriately. <P>SOLUTION: An obstacle detection system which is provided to a navigation body so that the navigation body can detect an obstacle during its navigation comprises: a storage part for storing the position information on the obstacle included in its navigation region; a position detection part for detecting the present position of the navigation body based on a navigation signal received from an artificial satellite; an obstacle search part for searching for the obstacle located adjacent to the navigation body in the present position from the storage part based on the detected present position of the navigation body; and a warning output part for outputting a warning when the obstacle has been located. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle detection system, an obstacle detection method, and a program.

  According to the provisions of Article 51, Paragraph 1 of the Aviation Act (Act No. 231 of 1947), in order to ensure the safety of aircraft navigation, “the installer of a property with a height of 60 meters or more The installer is obligated to install an aviation obstruction light according to the provisions.

  In addition, the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 51-2 of the Aviation Law states that “a chimney, steel tower or other property specified by an Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism that is difficult to see from the aircraft during the day is at least 60 meters above the surface or water surface. The installer of the product is obligated to install a daytime obstacle sign on the property as specified by an Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 shown below discloses an aviation obstruction light system installed in a building, steel tower, chimney, iron bridge, or the like having a predetermined height or more in a predetermined area in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned Aviation Law. .
JP 2004-55460 A

  However, despite legal measures on the obstacle side, for example, accidents such as a helicopter in contact with a power transmission line laid in a wide area and difficult to see have occurred. In addition, for example, there is a possibility that a ship in operation collides with a power transmission line laid on a bridge in the strait and provided with an aviation obstacle light because it is difficult to visually recognize the ship.

  In this way, there is a possibility that an accident may still occur only by legal measures on the obstacle side. In addition, it is practically difficult to install aviation obstacle lights for all obstacles, including technical aspects and costs.

  The main present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is to store position information of the obstacles included in the navigation area in an obstacle detection system provided in the navigation body so that the navigation object in navigation detects the obstacle. A storage unit that detects the current position of the navigation object based on a navigation signal received from an artificial satellite, and the current navigation object from the storage unit based on the detected current position of the navigation object. An obstacle search unit that searches for the obstacle located in the vicinity of the vehicle, and an alarm output unit that outputs an alarm when the obstacle is searched.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an obstacle detection system, an obstacle detection method, and a program capable of reliably detecting an obstacle and appropriately notifying a passenger to that effect.

<Configuration of obstacle detection system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an obstacle detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention mounted on a navigation body. In addition, although the navigation body in this embodiment is intended for the aircraft which navigates in the air, such as a helicopter or an airplane, it may be targeted for ships and the like which navigate on the water. In addition, the obstacle according to the present embodiment targets at least the property defined in Article 51, Paragraph 1 of the Aviation Law or Article 51-2, Paragraph 1 of the Aviation Law, in particular, steel towers and transmission lines between steel towers. Note that the transmission line is not limited to an existing line, but may be in planning or construction, and the position information may be clear in advance. Of course, as in the provisions of Article 51, Paragraph 3 of the Aviation Law or Article 51-2, Paragraph 2 of the Aviation Law, the property other than the property (for example, power transmission line) where an aviation obstacle light or daytime obstacle sign should be installed This also applies to those that may significantly impair the safety of aircraft navigation.

  The obstacle detection system 100 uses a so-called GPS (Global Positioning System), and is an information processing system provided in, for example, a cockpit of the aircraft in order to detect an obstacle that is difficult to visually recognize the aircraft during navigation. I mean. Here, the GPS is a global positioning system that receives a navigation signal transmitted from the artificial satellite 200 and obtains the current position. In the GPS, a total of 24 artificial satellites 200 orbit four on each of the six orbital planes in the sky above the earth. Further, the navigation signal transmitted from the artificial satellite 200 includes information such as the satellite time and the orbit thereof engraved by the atomic clock mounted on the artificial satellite 200. Therefore, the receiving side can calculate the position and speed of the receiving side by receiving and analyzing the navigation signals normally transmitted from 3 to 4 artificial satellites. For example, in the positioning method called the direct method, the distance to the artificial satellite is measured based on the difference between the time of the quartz clock mounted on the GPS receiving system and the satellite time obtained from the navigation signal, and the three-dimensional reception point is measured. The position can be determined.

  The antenna 10 receives navigation signals transmitted from at least three artificial satellites 200. An LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) 11 amplifies the navigation signal received by the antenna 10 and generates an RF signal. The RF / IF converter 12 converts the RF signal from the LNA 11 into an IF signal (intermediate frequency signal).

  The GPS demodulator 13 is an embodiment of a “position detector” and a “speed detector” according to the present invention. The GPS demodulator 13 generates digital data obtained by demodulating the IF signal from the RF / IF converter 12, and then uses the digital data to perform operations such as the above-described direct method to obtain the current position of the aircraft. Positioning data such as information (longitude, latitude, altitude above sea level) and speed are generated. Note that a speed sensor such as a gyro may be used for detection of the current speed of the aircraft.

  The contour map DB (database) 14 is an embodiment of a “storage unit” according to the present invention. The contour map DB 14 is a database that stores three-dimensional (longitude, latitude, altitude) topographic map information (contour map) in the navigation area of the aircraft. This topographic map information is displayed on the display device 18 by contour lines or the like, and information can be easily collected and a database can be constructed by using existing map data and the like that are commercially available. In addition to the fixed storage medium embodiment such as the contour map DB 14, an embodiment of a portable storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM may be used.

  The contour map DB 14 further stores “obstacle position information” included in the navigation area of the aircraft. As the obstacle position information, a three-dimensional “obstacle detection range” on the obstacle side is set for the three-dimensional position information based on the longitude, latitude, and altitude of the obstacle. The obstacle detection range is a range set in advance on the obstacle side so that the obstacle detection system 100 can detect itself in advance. The range should be set to an appropriate range so that a warning described later is not frequently output while considering safety as a top priority.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the obstacle detection range set for the power transmission line 40 when the power transmission line 40 between the steel towers 30a and 30b is an obstacle that is difficult to visually recognize. Here, the three-dimensional position of the tower 30a is expressed by “latitude P1LA, longitude P1LO, altitude P1HE”, and the three-dimensional position of the tower 30b is expressed by “latitude P2LA, longitude P2LO, altitude P2HE”. Therefore, the power transmission line 40 between the steel towers 30a and 30b is in the range of “longitude P1LA to P2LA, latitude P1LO to P2LO, altitude P1HE to P2HE”. Further, the power transmission line 40 has predetermined ranges “± x, ± y, ± z” for each of latitude, longitude, and altitude. Thus, the obstacle detection range of the power transmission line 40 is set.

  FIG. 3 shows an example in which the position information of the obstacle in which the obstacle detection range is set is stored in the contour map DB 14. Here, as described above, when the contour map DB 14 stores the existing three-dimensional topographic map information, the topographic map information, the three-dimensional position information of the obstacle included in the topographic map information, and the obstacle coverage are stored. The detection range is stored in association with each other. As described above, by effectively utilizing the existing topographic map information, the “three-dimensional position information of the obstacle” and the “obstacle detection range” according to the present invention can be easily made into a database.

  The CPU 15 controls the entire obstacle detection system 100 and is an embodiment of the “obstacle search unit”, “alarm output unit”, and “obstacle detection range setting unit” according to the present invention. First, the CPU 15 searches the contour map DB 14 for an obstacle included in the vicinity position of the current aircraft based on the current position information of the aircraft detected by the GPS demodulator 13.

  Note that the CPU 15 presets an obstacle detection range in order to detect obstacles in advance on the aircraft side when searching for such obstacles. The obstacle detection range is set as a three-dimensional range on the aircraft side with respect to the three-dimensional position information based on longitude, latitude, and altitude that specifies the current position of the aircraft detected by the GPS demodulator 13. . FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an obstacle detection range set in the helicopter 50 as an example of an aircraft. Here, when the current position of the helicopter 50 is expressed by the latitude FLA, the longitude FLO, and the altitude FHE, they are given predetermined ranges “± α, ± β, ± γ”. Parameters α, β, and γ that define the obstacle detection range can be arbitrarily set by a driver or the like via an input device 19 such as a keyboard, and are stored in a memory 16 that is accessible to the CPU 15 such as a RAM. .

  By the way, when the flight speed of an aircraft becomes high, if the fixed settings of the parameters α, β, and γ are those at a low speed, there is a risk that a safety problem may occur. Therefore, the parameters α, β, and γ are preferably set to be variable according to the speed of the aircraft. More specifically, the CPU 15 sets the parameters α, β, γ according to the distance determined based on the current speed detected by the GPS demodulator 13 and the allowable time required to detect an obstacle in advance. That is, the setting of the obstacle detection range is updated.

  In this way, the obstacle detection range is set on the aircraft side, and the obstacle detection range is preset on the obstacle side, so that the CPU 15 detects the aircraft object detected by the GPS demodulator 13. The contour map DB 14 is searched for the presence or absence of an obstacle detection range that intersects with the obstacle detection range according to the current position.

  When the obstacle is searched from the contour map DB 14, the CPU 15 outputs an alarm indicating that fact. Note that the alarm is displayed on the display device 18 together with the topographic map information, and is output as audio by the speaker 17. That is, when an obstacle approaches during navigation, a mechanism is provided to ensure that the aircraft operator is notified accordingly. In addition to simply outputting an alarm, as shown in the screen display example at the time of alarm output shown in FIG. 5, the positional relationship between an aircraft and an obstacle (the longitude, latitude, altitude, etc. of each aircraft / obstacle) It is preferable to display on the display device 18 and to output sound (eg, “approaching the transmission line yy in xx minutes”) by the speaker 19.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the obstacle detection system 100 described above, in other words, the procedure of the obstacle detection method according to the present invention. Note that the CPU 15 performs the following operation unless otherwise specified.

  First, the antenna 10 receives a navigation signal from the artificial satellite 200 (S600), and supplies an IF signal corresponding to the navigation signal to the GPS demodulator 13 via the LNA 11 and the RF / IF converter 12. Based on the IF signal, the GPS demodulator 13 generates positioning data (hereinafter referred to as GPS reception data) such as the current position and speed of the aircraft on which the obstacle detection system 100 is mounted (S601).

  The CPU 15 sets the values of the parameters α, β, and γ, that is, the obstacle detection range based on the GPS reception data by the GPS demodulator 13 (S602). Here, the CPU 15 searches the contour map DB 14 for whether there is an obstacle detection range that intersects with the set obstacle detection range (S603). That is, it is searched whether there is an obstacle located in the vicinity of the current aircraft. If it is found that there is an obstacle located in the vicinity of the current aircraft (S603: YES), a warning to that effect is output via the display device 18 or the speaker 17 (S604). If there is no obstacle located in the vicinity of the current aircraft (S603: NO), the processing from S600 to S603 is repeatedly executed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the countermeasure for obstacle detection is taken on the navigation body side, so that it is not necessary to spend a cost for countermeasures such as an aviation obstacle light on the obstacle side. In addition, obstacles such as power transmission lines and bridges are difficult to see due to the occurrence of recent accidents, and are difficult to see for passengers even when aviation obstacle lights are installed. Therefore, it can be said that the present invention is an effective and practical measure against such a property.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described as mentioned above, it is for making an understanding of this invention easy, and is not for limiting and interpreting this invention. The present invention can be changed / improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

  For example, you may implement the obstacle detection method mentioned above as a program which makes various information processing systems perform. Note that the program is provided using a communication line by a recording medium readable by a general information processing system or an ASP. Thereby, the obstacle detection method according to the present invention can be executed on various information processing systems.

It is a figure showing composition of an obstacle detection system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting of the obstruction detection range which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information stored in contour map DB which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting of the obstacle detection range which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen display at the time of the alarm output which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the obstruction detection system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Obstacle detection system 10 Antenna 11 LNA 12 RF / IF conversion part 13 GPS demodulation part 14 Contour map DB
15 CPU 16 Memory 17 Speaker 18 Display Device 19 Input Device 30a, 30b Steel Tower 40 Transmission Line 50 Helicopter

Claims (10)

In the obstacle detection system provided in the navigation body in order for the navigation body in navigation to detect the obstacle,
A storage unit for storing position information of the obstacle included in the navigation area;
A position detector for detecting a current position of the navigation body based on a navigation signal received from an artificial satellite;
An obstacle search unit for searching the obstacle located in the vicinity of the current navigation object from the storage unit based on the detected current position of the navigation object;
An alarm output unit that outputs an alarm when the obstacle is searched; and
The obstacle detection system characterized by having.   The storage unit stores the position information of the obstacle as information in which a three-dimensional obstacle detection range on the obstacle side is set with respect to the three-dimensional position information of the obstacle. The obstacle detection system according to claim 1.   The storage unit stores three-dimensional topographic map information in the navigation area in association with the three-dimensional position information of the obstacle and the obstacle detection range included in the three-dimensional topographic map information. The obstacle detection system according to claim 2, wherein:   An obstacle detection range setting unit is provided for setting a three-dimensional obstacle detection range on the navigation object side with respect to the three-dimensional position information that specifies the detected current position of the navigation object. The obstacle detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Having a speed detector for detecting a current speed of the navigation body;
The obstacle detection range setting unit is
Updating the setting of the obstacle detection range based on the detected current speed and an allowable time required to detect the obstacle in advance;
The obstacle detection system according to claim 4. The obstacle search unit
Searching for the presence or absence of the obstacle detection range intersecting with the obstacle detection range according to the detected current position of the navigation body;
The obstacle detection system according to claim 4 or 5, characterized by the above-mentioned. A display device for displaying the three-dimensional topographic map information in the navigation area;
And a speaker for performing audio output,
The alarm output unit
Displaying the alarm on the display device and outputting sound from the speaker;
The obstacle detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The alarm output unit
Displaying a positional relationship between the navigation object and the searched obstacle on the display device and outputting sound from the speaker;
The obstacle detection system according to claim 7. In the obstacle detection method in which the navigation body that is in navigation detects an obstacle,
Store the position information of the obstacles included in the navigation area,
Detecting the current position of the navigation body based on the navigation signal received from the artificial satellite;
Search the obstacle located in the vicinity of the navigation body from the storage unit based on the current position of the detected navigation body,
An obstacle detection method characterized by outputting an alarm when the obstacle is searched. For the obstacle detection system for the navigation body that is in navigation to detect obstacles,
Storing the position information of the obstacle included in the navigation area;
Detecting a current position of the navigation body based on a navigation signal received from an artificial satellite;
Searching the obstacle located in the vicinity of the navigation body from the storage unit based on the detected current position of the navigation body;
And a step of outputting an alarm when the obstacle is searched.