JP2002170193A - Information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for enabling real time position measurement without being affected by radio interference noise caused by recessed and projecting parts of a block greatly. SOLUTION: An information providing system has a portable information terminal unit receiving path information from the outside and outputting it and an information providing device providing the portable information terminal unit with information. The portable information terminal unit obtains the direction that the terminal unit faces and transmits the direction to the information providing device. The information providing device obtains a path to a GI stone in the direction that the portable terminal unit is directed based on a database managing ID information provided per GI stone and position information in which GI stone exists by corresponding them and the database in which map information is stored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pedestrian information providing system for providing pedestrians with information necessary for walking.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional information providing technique, a navigation device which receives a positioning signal from a GPS satellite and obtains a reception position from the received positioning signal, or a radio wave emitted by a cellular phone is received by a plurality of base stations, and the cellular phone receives the signal. It is known that a position at which a telephone has transmitted a radio wave is obtained by a base station and the position is transmitted to a mobile phone. In addition, as means for providing information to the visually impaired, there is a method of laying on the ground a block for yellow blind who is provided with dot-like projections or linear projections and has a color of about 300 cm on a side and is colored yellow. In this case, the visually impaired person checks the unevenness of the block with the sole of the foot and obtains simple information such as “progress report” and “progress warning”.

[0003]

In the conventional navigation apparatus, since the intensity of the positioning signal is greatly affected, it is difficult to measure an accurate position in a short time in a place where communication conditions are poor such as a valley of a building. It is. Further, in a conventional positioning system using a mobile phone, since the sensitivity of radio waves is greatly affected, it is similarly difficult to measure an accurate position.

[0004] Conventional walking guidance for visually impaired persons is as follows.
As described above, since it relies on the tactile sensation of a visually impaired person guided by unevenness of a block laid on a road surface, only simple information on the spot can be shown. Even if the information is provided by telephone or the like, the visually impaired person cannot act with peace of mind if the information does not correspond to the unevenness of the block. In particular, it is difficult for a visually impaired person to accurately grasp the direction and distance, and information that does not correspond to a block can only be compensated by the intuition of the visually impaired person. That is, conventionally, it has not been considered to provide information related to information obtained from unevenness of a block laid on a road surface.

[0005] Even if information is provided to pedestrians using an information transmitting device that broadcasts position information and the like, how to manage the information is a major problem. In particular, the installation of the information transmitting device is performed by a civil engineering contractor. Therefore, when the information transmitting device in which the position information is input in advance is to be installed, there is a possibility that the installation location may be wrong. In such a case, although it is a problem for healthy persons, it is possible to reduce a visually impaired person who obtains extremely little information to a dangerous state, and these require special consideration.

Further, once a block in a route is interrupted, a visually impaired person loses a large source of information, and should be promptly guided to a place where the block is located. There is nothing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a technique which enables real-time position measurement without being largely influenced by blockage radio interference.

[0008] Another object is for visually impaired persons.
An object is to provide information corresponding to a Braille block.

[0009] Even if the braille block is interrupted,
It does not take into account the calculation of a route that can be walked in a pending manner.

[0010]

A portable information terminal for receiving and outputting route information from outside, and an information providing device for providing information to the portable information terminal, wherein the portable information terminal is suitable for the terminal. The information providing device transmits the direction to the information providing device, and the information providing device manages the ID information attached to each GI stone in association with the position information at which the GI stone is present. Database and
An information providing system for obtaining a route to a GI stone in a direction toward the portable terminal from a database storing map information.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a pedestrian information providing system according to the present invention.
1 shows a specific embodiment of a pedestrian information providing device and a pedestrian information providing method.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a smart PDA,
Using a high-sensitivity position measurement result represented by EGPS (Enhanced Global Positioning System) or a terrestrial Cdma base station triangulation method, the position of the user using the smart PDA can be reduced by about 10 to 20 m. It has a function to grasp by resolution, position measurement, azimuth measurement, Blue
CLA (Co which integrates five functions of tooth interface, DSRC interface and mobile phone communication interface
mpass Location Adapter) and a PDA. As described above, the smart PDA 1 has a built-in GPS, and can easily grasp its current position.

An electronic stick 2 is mainly used by visually impaired persons and has a function of reading ID information written on a GI stone (electronic tag) 3. Based on the information read by the electronic wand 2, information is transmitted to the visually impaired in cooperation with Bluetooth.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a GI stone (electronic tag), which is an information transmitting device having a memory that can be written from the outside. In this memory, individual ID information of the GI stone 3, position information (latitude / longitude, altitude, etc.), peripheral information (obstacle information (whether there is an obstacle that hinders walking, information on stairs, etc.), Danger information (projections in the upper space several meters square), facilities and buildings (several meters left and right, several meters to several tens of meters, map information centering on GI stones such as convenience stores, hospitals, police boxes, public toilets, post offices, etc.) ), Etc., information required for walking guidance can be stored.

The GI stone 3 has a communication distance of 10 cm.
If the communication distance is about 1m, wheelchair users and healthy people can use the reading device,
The information in the Braille block can be read even in a normal walking position (a position held in a wheelchair and a hand held by a healthy person and held in a hand), so there is no need to place it in a special position like an electronic stick. No problem.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a writing device for writing information to the GI stone (electronic tag) 3, and individual ID information, position information, obstacle information, danger information, and location stored in the memory of the GI stone (electronic tag) 3. The writing device 4 performs writing information such as attribute information and the like necessary for walking guidance.

5 is a pedestrian beacon, a smart PDA
1 and can display a route and the like on the smart PDA 1. The beacon center (where the information is supplied to the MI stone 26) manages the GI stone data, and (a) GI stone of the impassable section based on the obstacle information on the walking route that has risen from the ITV. Extraction
(b) Extraction of GI stones in a frozen section that has risen from the optical fiber temperature sensor (c) Extraction of GI stones in sections that cannot be walked due to road construction and the like are performed in real time. The pedestrian beacon 5 searches for a destination ID when the pedestrian (smart PDA 1) enters the pedestrian beacon communication area. On the other hand, the pedestrian beacon management roadside device transmits route information (GI stone I on the route).
D information). When there is a difference in the order of passage or at a branch point, notification is made by voice. Further, the pedestrian beacon management center updates the information to the pedestrian beacon management roadside device when the road structure is changed.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a gateway, and 7 denotes a pedestrian beacon management center. This pedestrian beacon management center 7
Uses the distributed control technology to enable the gateway 6
The route guidance information of the surrounding area is stored in the network so that high-speed information exchange is possible without successive communication with the center.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a portable carrier communication center which can communicate with a communication satellite. Reference numeral 9 denotes a geospatial information center equipped with a GIS technology, which is a system for integrating and using map information and all kinds of information relating to positions. Reference numeral 10 denotes a content center, which includes a landmark DB center and a map DB center.

In such a configuration, it is intended to provide a pedestrian with services of route guidance, position detection, and danger warning. In order to perform route guidance, first, the user inputs and sets the location information of the destination using the smart PDA 1 or the electronic stick 2.

Next, the smart PDA 1 transmits the set destination information to the gateway 6. The gateway 6 attached to the MI stone (radio wave beacon, pedestrian number) 5 determines route information (GI stone ID to be passed) based on the destination information. The route information transmitted by the gateway 6 is updated by data transmission from the pedestrian beacon management center 7. For the route guidance, for the visually impaired, the route calculated by the stone management roadside device is provided to the user by the bone conduction speaker of the electronic stick 2, and at the time of the route calculation, if the distance is the same, a signal output sound Take priority, such as giving priority to intersections with traffic. Furthermore, this route guidance can provide the user with the smart PDA 1 the route calculated by the stone management roadside device to a hearing-impaired person. For this route guidance, for a person with a physical disability, the stone management roadside device takes into account any conditions under which a wheelchair can pass when calculating the route. Specifically, if you have road width information and have wheelchair width information you own,
It is possible. In addition, this route guidance can provide the route calculated by the stone management roadside device to the user by using the smart PDA 1 for a general healthy person.

Further, the position detection is performed by using a high-precision position detection technique by RTK-GPS when inputting the spatial information for the GI stone 3, thereby providing an accurate current position of the pedestrian. This location detection is for visually impaired
Based on the ID information acquired by the pedestrian beacon 5, the center can always know the owner of the pedestrian terminal. Further, a family or the like can grasp the position of the user via the Internet. This position detection can enable a hearing-impaired person to make a report using the emergency report button. In addition, a state such as a fall due to sudden illness can be grasped by a body motion sensor, and an automatic notification can be made when a fall occurs. Further, in this position detection, a report using an emergency report button is possible for a physically handicapped person. And
A fall of the wheelchair can be automatically detected by a body sensor and reported. In addition, this position detection provides information related to the current position to the user for healthy persons,
The information can be provided by providing nearby restaurants and shopping information to the pedestrian terminal from the current position, or by downloading information including a peripheral map from the content center 10.

Further, in the danger warning, when the dangerous place information is passed on the GI stone to which the danger location information is input, the portable information terminal activates a warning trigger. Examples of this danger point include steps on the sidewalk, stairs, road construction, and the platform end of the station. This danger warning can be provided to a visually impaired person through the bone conduction speaker of the electronic wand 2 for danger warning information. This danger warning can warn a hearing-impaired person of danger by vibrating a pedestrian terminal with a vibrator function. Further, this danger warning can warn a physically handicapped person of danger by alarm or audio information. And
This danger warning can warn a normal healthy person of danger by alarm or voice information.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the emergency call service. In the figure, in the case of a physically handicapped person 20 using a wheelchair, an emergency message is sent to the axle of the wheelchair or the back of the seat of the wheelchair so that transmission from the GI stone (electronic tag) 3 installed on the roadside can be received. A body motion sensor with a button and a smart PDA 1 are attached. Attaching to the axle of this wheelchair or the back side of the seat of the wheelchair is not a smart PDA1 but a smart PDA1.
Any device can be used as long as the person with a physical disability 20 has the DA1 and can receive the transmission from the GI stone (electronic tag) 3 and transmit the DA1 to the smart PDA1.

The axle of the wheelchair, the body movement sensor with an emergency call button attached to the back of the seat of the wheelchair, and the smart PDA 1 are connected by Bluetooth.
These are designed to be carried around. Here, the body motion sensor is a sensor that analyzes a vibration accompanying a person's motion and recognizes a motion state, and can automatically recognize a walking condition (walking, running, etc.) in addition to a fall, and an emergency call button. It is possible to detect a fall and issue an alarm without pressing. Furthermore, if a body motion sensor is attached to a wheelchair, a wheelchair that has fallen due to a step or the like can be recognized. Then, in an emergency, the position of the user can be grasped by using the GPS or the position information of the pedestrian beacon 5 transmitted from the pedestrian beacon 5. In addition, emergency call information
Sent to emergency call server via mobile phone. The emergency notification server notifies the operator's guardian or the like using an operator, FAX, or the Internet.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a route guidance service using a smart PDA. In the figure, a smart PDA 1 is a map provided in the form of a frame map, and a reference numeral 35 is a map for guidance display in the traveling direction. The azimuth measurement system mounted on the smart PDA 1 is, for example, a digital geomagnetic sensor manufactured by Apone. The direction data provided by this sensor is
When reflected on the map display of the DA1, the summary of the space information searched for the route can be presented as an arrow indicating the action direction, and can be provided in a simple format corresponding to the narrow display area of the smart PDA1.

The input of the current position by the smart PDA 1 is based on the position obtained by the GPS, the input of the destination is by selecting a landmark from the menu, and the input of the direction is by the direction of the terminal obtained by the compass. Done by The output of data by the smart PDA 1 interactively provides route information from the vicinity of the current position to the destination position as simple space summary information as an action direction from each position. further,
In the route guidance service using such a smart PDA, the direction arrow to take an action is always shown in the traveling direction from the user's viewpoint, as compared with the conventional map display method, so that the determination can be made quickly. . Furthermore, in the process of traveling to the destination position, the direction to go next is indicated,
This makes it easier to read the map.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a direction guidance service for each direction using a smart PDA. In the figure, 1 is a smart PDA. The direction guidance service for each direction provides Internet information retrieved from the smart PDA 1 in a spatially easy-to-understand manner. Before taking action in a certain direction, landmarks or landmarks existing along the road are taken. You can check the store location.

The input of the current position by the smart PDA 1 is performed by the position acquired by the GPS, and the input of the direction is performed by the terminal direction detected by the compass in the direction specified by the user. And smart PDAs
The output of the data by 1 searches for landmarks and store information existing along the line in the direction specified by the user, and symbolically displays the information as a spatial summary along the road. According to such a direction-specific peripheral guidance service, it is possible for a mobile phone user to check in advance what the direction is before the user takes an action, thereby contributing to more efficient action planning. Can be. In addition, it is possible to confirm before taking action, such as grasping the spatial surroundings suddenly boiling, for example, grasping a nearby clinic where an emergency diagnosis such as poor physical condition or injury can be made.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of an electronic wand interface using Bluetooth. In the figure, 1
Is a smart PDA, 2 is an electronic stick, 5 is a pedestrian beacon,
30 is a local server, 40 is a service center, and 45 is the Internet. In the figure, smart PDA1
The mobile communication between the pedestrian ITS and the electronic stick 2 is realized by using Bluetooth technology, which is a short-range wireless communication technology. In this usage, for example, a user carries a smart PDA equipped with Bluetooth communication means and wirelessly cooperates with an electronic stick. In addition, a user who needs voice guidance can perform voice guidance from a Bluetooth earphone / speaker via a Bluetooth dongle.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, a pedestrian information providing apparatus, a pedestrian information providing method, and a pedestrian information providing system capable of easily and accurately providing positional information and surrounding conditions. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a walking guidance system.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram for executing an emergency call service.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram for executing a route guidance service using a smart PDA.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram for executing a direction-specific peripheral guidance service using a smart PDA.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an electronic wand interface using Bluetooth.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Smart PDA, 2: Electronic wand, 3: GI Stone,
5 Pedestrian beacon 6 Gateway, 7 Pedestrian beacon management center

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 7/34 H04B 7/26 106C (72) Inventor Munetoshi Unuma 7-1-1, Omika-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture No. Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi Research Laboratories (72) Inventor Takeshi Horie 4-6-6 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Atsuya Toyama 4-6-Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Ltd. F term (reference) in Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A portable information terminal that receives and outputs route information from outside, and an information providing device that provides information to the portable information terminal, wherein the portable information terminal determines a direction in which the terminal is facing. Asked,
The direction is transmitted to the information providing device, and the information providing device transmits the I information attached to each GI stone.
Information for obtaining a route to a GI stone in the direction in which the portable terminal is directed from a database that manages the D information and the location information where the GI stone is associated and a database that stores map information. Delivery system.