JP2004317244A - Distressed person locating/search support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distressed locating/search support system to be used for early rescue and safety security of a rescue activity, capable of locating the position on a map, and providing information of the map around the accident location or the like integrated with three-dimensional map information around there, speedily to a rescue team or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This distressed locating/search support system has a receiving device loaded on a small aircraft such as a helicopter, for receiving a radio wave from some of a cellular phone, a radio communicator, a radio beacon or the like of the distressed, and acquiring the azimuth and the depression angle/elevation angle of the distressed, and a data transmitting device loaded similarly on the small aircraft, for transmitting its own aircraft position data by a GPS, and the azimuth and the depression angle/elevation angle of the distressed to an aeronautical station. The system comprises a data processing device on the aeronautical station for acquiring the accurate latitude, longitude and altitude data of the distressed by a position specification means from the received own aircraft position data and the azimuth and the depression angle/elevation angle of the distressed, and a display/transmission device for displaying the latitude, longitude and altitude data of the distressed acquired by data processing on a three-dimensional map, returning the data to the small aircraft, and allowing to display the data on GPS-MAP on the aircraft. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention is intended to contribute to securing the safety of early rescue and rescue activities, in the event of a mountain climber, avalanche, mountain vegetables, mushroom harvester get lost in the mountains, etc. The present invention relates to a location identification / search support system for victims.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a mountain climber suffers from a mountain disaster, an avalanche, or a mountain vegetable or mushroom harvester gets lost in a mountain, finding the victim basically depends on visual observation of a rescuer from the ground or a helicopter. In addition, although techniques for narrowing down from the helicopter to the direction of the distress position are being established with reasonable accuracy, altitudes at distress sites are often high in mountainous areas, etc. Is extremely low in identification accuracy. Even if the location of the distress site can be almost specified, the terrain around the site (rocks, distance from mountain trails, etc.) still relies on guides with a good sense of land and two-dimensional planar maps. is there. All of the above search activities can be performed when the weather is good, but not when the visibility is bad, such as rain or snow.
[0003]
The biggest point in rescue such as mountain distress is the early detection of victims. In recent years, the number of distress cases has been increasing along with the increase of middle-aged and elderly climbers. Among them, there have been frequent cases of rescue from reports of victims using mobile phones, and radio waves emitted from mobile phones with power turned on can be transmitted to small aircraft such as helicopters. Research has been conducted to equip special antennas, catch, and quickly find distress locations.
In addition, as a radio beacon, "Yamatan System", "Avalanche Beacon", and the like are used for mountain climbers in winter to rescue victims.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In order to contribute to the realization of early detection of victims, the present invention further proceeds from the above research, identifies the location of the victim on the map, and further combines it with the surrounding three-dimensional map information, The aim is to provide information to rescue squads as soon as possible, and to provide a location identification and search support system for victims to help ensure early rescue and rescue operations.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
One of the basic systems of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, which is a support system for identifying and searching for the location of a victim, is mounted on a small aircraft such as a helicopter, and is provided with a mobile phone, a wireless communication device, a radio beacon, etc., for the victim. A receiving device that receives radio waves emitted from any of them and obtains the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim, and also mounted on a small aircraft, own position data by GPS and the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim And a data transmission device for transmitting the data to the ground station.
[0006]
Another one of the assisting systems for locating and searching for a victim, which is the basis of the present invention, is based on the position data transmitted from a helicopter aircraft and the azimuth, depression / elevation / elevation angle of the victim. A data processor for the ground station that obtains accurate latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the aircraft, and a device that displays the latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim obtained by the data processor on a three-dimensional map and sends it back to a small aircraft And a display / transmission device for displaying on the above GPS-MAP.
[0007]
The practical victim position identification and search support system of the present invention is mounted on a small aircraft such as a helicopter, and receives radio waves emitted from any of a victim's mobile phone, a radio communication device, a radio beacon, and the like. A receiving device that obtains the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim, and a data transmission device that is also mounted on a small aircraft and transmits its own position data by GPS and the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim to a ground station. The data processing device of the ground station and the data processing device of the ground station that obtains the exact latitude, longitude and altitude data of the victim by the position specifying means from the transmitted own location data and the azimuth, depression / elevation angle of the victim And a display / transmission device for displaying the latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim in a three-dimensional map, returning the data to a small aircraft, and displaying the data on a GPS-MAP on the aircraft.
[0008]
In the position assisting / searching system for victims according to the present invention described in the above 0006 or 0007, the position identifying means is a part of the technology of Patent No. 2695393 “Position identifying method and device” owned by the present applicant. The content is used to determine the ground surface where the victim is located from the three-dimensional terrain data including altitude information about the relief of the ground surface created in advance, and the direction of the victim from the ground surface and its own position The exact position of the victim, that is, the latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim, is specified as the position of the intersection with the straight line extending to.
[0009]
In the above-mentioned 0006 or 0007 or 0008, the three-dimensional map for displaying the latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim in the position identification / search assistance system for the victim according to the present invention, the climbing road, the rocky field, It is preferable that mountain huts, difficulties, places where helicopters can land, distances and required times, obstacles, past distress data, and the like are input in advance.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A practical embodiment of the position identification / search support system for a victim according to the present invention will be described in the case of a mountain accident. Mountaineers generally have any of mobile phones, wireless communication devices, radio beacons, etc., and rescue is sent in the event of an accident. Even if the victim 1 in the mountains shown in FIG. 1 does not send out a rescue, the mobile phone emits a radio wave every ten and several seconds when the power is turned on. This radio signal is received by a receiving device 3 mounted on a small aircraft in search flight, for example, a search and rescue helicopter 2, and the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim 1 from the helicopter 2 is detected. In the case of this example, the receiving device 3 is a receiving antenna 3a fixed to the fuselage, and a direction detecting device that calculates the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the mobile phone of the victim 1 by changing the radio wave receiving position accompanying the movement of the fuselage. 3b and a position indicator 3c for displaying the detected azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle. The azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim 1 detected by the receiving device 3 are transmitted to the ground station 5 by the data transmitting device 4 mounted on the own device together with the own position data of the helicopter 2 by GPS. The data processing device 6 of the ground station 5 uses the transmitted azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim 1 and the position data of the helicopter 2 by the position specifying means, that is, altitude information about the undulation of the ground surface created in advance. As shown in FIG. 2, the ground surface G where the victim 1 is located is obtained from the three-dimensional terrain data including the following. Latitude, longitude, and altitude data, which are accurate positions of the victim 1, are specified. The position data of the victim identified in this way is displayed as a symbol mark on the three-dimensional map of the ground station 5 shown in FIG. 3 by the display / transmission device 7 in the ground station 5, and the accurate position data of the victim is returned to the helicopter 2. Then, it is displayed on the GPS-MAP on the aircraft.
As shown in FIG. 3, the three-dimensional map of the ground station 5 includes a mountain trail, a mountain hut, a rocky place, a difficult place, a place where a helicopter can land, a distance and a required time, a cableway and a transmission, based on data of the Geographical Survey Institute and the like in advance. It is important to input useful information for search and rescue activities, such as obstacles such as electric wires and towers, and past distress data.
[0011]
The location identification and search support system for the victim who performs the above-mentioned processing operation identifies the exact location of the victim even if the weather is irregular and the visibility is poor, and the topographical information around the distress site is shown as a three-dimensional image in FIG. The information can be provided in real time to the distress countermeasures headquarters 8, local countermeasures headquarters, and local emergency centers. Therefore, the distress countermeasure headquarters 8 can examine and direct the search method based on the three-dimensional map. In other words, by confirming and managing the flight status of the helicopter, it is possible to instruct the helicopter 2 on the movement of the helicopter 2 such as which route the helicopter 2 will fly for and investigate, and where to go next, and examine the search route. In addition, it is possible to examine and instruct rescue methods such as how far the victim 1 is, the route to the victim 1 and how many people will perform rescue. Further, it is possible to realize a safe rescue operation by eliminating a risk factor such as a secondary disaster. Then, the distress countermeasure headquarter 8 can save, as data, a record of a search range, a search status, and the like, which have begun to be executed, and this can be used effectively.
[0012]
FIG. 4 shows the processing operation of the distressed person position identification / search support system according to the present invention and the flow of activities at the distress countermeasure headquarters based on the processing operation. Since the flow shown in FIG. 4 is performed in real time, it is possible to contribute to realizing a quick and safe rescue operation.
[0013]
【The invention's effect】
As can be seen from the above description, according to the position identification / search support system for a distressed person according to the present invention, the exact distressed position of the distressed person on a map can be specified even if the weather is irregular and visibility is poor. In addition, it is possible to provide real-time 3D images of the terrain information around the distress site to the Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, etc., which can contribute to the realization of early rescue and to ensure the safety of rescue activities by avoiding dangers such as secondary disasters. Can contribute. Furthermore, accurate communication with the search and rescue helicopter by data communication becomes possible, and troubles due to erroneous recognition by voice and the like can be avoided. In addition, since a record of a search range, a search state, and the like based on a result of the processing operation of the present system can be stored as data, it can be effectively used. This system can be realized if there is a receiver installed on the helicopter to receive the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim, a data transmission device for transmitting necessary information, a data processing device on the ground, and a display / transmission device. Therefore, only one helicopter and the distress countermeasures headquarters can be used, and a great effect can be obtained with a very small system configuration.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view showing a configuration of a position identification / search assistance system for a distressed person according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a procedure for specifying an accurate position of a victim by latitude, longitude, and altitude data by a position specifying means from the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the victim and his / her own position data of the helicopter.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a three-dimensional map displaying an accurate position of a victim in the position identification / search assistance system for a victim according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a processing operation of a distressed person position identification / search support system according to the present invention and a flow of activities in a distress countermeasure headquarters based on the processing operation.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Distressed person 2 Search and rescue helicopter 3 Receiving device 3a Receiving antenna 3b Direction detecting device 3c Position indicator 4 Data transmitting device 5 Ground station 6 Data processing device 7 Display / transmitting device 8 Distress countermeasures headquarters

Claims (5)

A receiver mounted on a small aircraft such as a helicopter that receives radio waves emitted from any of the victim's mobile phone, wireless communication device, radio beacon, etc., and obtains the azimuth, depression / elevation angle of the victim A position identification / search support system for a distressed person, which is mounted on a small aircraft and includes a data transmission device for transmitting own position data by GPS and the azimuth angle, depression angle / elevation angle of the distressed person to a ground station. A ground station data processing device that obtains accurate latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim from the azimuth angle, depression / elevation angle of the victim, and data from the position data transmitted from the small aircraft, such as a helicopter, A display / transmission device for displaying the latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim obtained by the processing device on a three-dimensional map, returning the data to a small aircraft and displaying the data on a GPS-MAP on the aircraft, and specifying the position of the victim. -Search support system. A receiver mounted on a small aircraft such as a helicopter that receives radio waves emitted from any of the victim's mobile phone, wireless communication device, radio beacon, etc., and obtains the azimuth, depression / elevation angle of the victim A data transmission device mounted on a small aircraft and transmitting the position data by GPS and the azimuth angle and depression / elevation angle of the victim to the ground station; and the transmitted own position data and the azimuth angle and depression angle / depression angle of the victim A ground station data processor that obtains the exact latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim from the elevation angle by means of position identification means, and the latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim obtained by the data processor are displayed on a three-dimensional map. And a display / transmitting device for sending a reply to the small aircraft and displaying it on the GPS-MAP on the aircraft. The position specifying means obtains the ground surface on which the victim is located from the three-dimensional terrain data including the altitude information on the undulation of the ground surface prepared in advance, and the intersection extending in the direction of the victim from the ground surface and the own aircraft position 4. The position identification / search support system for a distressed person according to claim 2, wherein the position specifies accurate latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the distressed person. A three-dimensional map that displays the latitude, longitude, and altitude data of the victim is displayed on the map in advance with information on mountain trails, rocky terrain, mountain huts, difficulties, helicopter landing locations, distance and required time, obstacles, and past distress data. 5. The position identification / search support system for victims according to claim 2, wherein the information is inputted.

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