JP2009229205A - Pedestrian guidance system, computer program and pedestrian guiding method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pedestrian guidance system, a computer program and a pedestrian guiding method which enable effective guidance of a pedestrian along a route to a destination point. <P>SOLUTION: A route specifying part 179 calculates a walking distance L1 in the case when the pedestrian walks entirely along a route from his or her current location to the destination point and also calculates a walking distance L2 on a route for arriving at the destination point by utilizing a means of transportation. The route specifying part 179 selects the route utilizing the means of transportation when the calculated distance L1 is longer than L2 by a prescribed threshold or above. The route specifying part 179 determines whether or not there is a prescribed through-point on the selected route, and when there is the through-point, specifies this point. A pedestrian guiding part 20 guides the pedestrian to the through-point on the route specified by the route specifying part 179. Besides, the pedestrian guiding part 20 guides the pedestrian to the destination point when the pedestrian arrives at the last through-point. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for specifying a position, and in particular, realizes a pedestrian guidance device and a pedestrian guidance device capable of effectively guiding a route to a destination for a pedestrian by carrying the pedestrian. The present invention relates to a computer program and a pedestrian guidance method.

  A route guidance technique for guiding a driver to a destination to a driver has been studied and put into practical use for a long time. For example, there is a method of calculating an optimum route from a departure place to a destination by using a road map, travel time between roads, traffic regulation information, and the like, and displaying the calculated optimum route on an in-vehicle display device or the like. In addition, there are some which guide the branch direction by voice or display for each intersection on the optimum route.

  Unlike narrow roads, traffic regulation information is changed relatively frequently on narrow streets with narrow road widths, making it difficult for the driver who drives the vehicle to obtain the correct traffic regulation information in a timely manner. If the optimum route is derived based on incorrect traffic regulation information, it may cause a traffic accident. In addition, when there is a destination on a narrow street, the distance between adjacent roads may be about 20 m, and detailed route guidance is not always necessary, and it may not be displayed for safety during driving. Yes, vehicle route guidance is mostly performed only on the main road.

  In addition, regarding the route guidance of the vehicle, it is determined from There is disclosed a destination guidance device that guides that a destination is on the right side or the left side in the vehicle traveling direction (see Patent Document 1).

On the other hand, in the route guidance for pedestrians, unlike the case of vehicles, the walking distance is very short compared to the driving distance of the vehicle, and the walking place is not limited to the sidewalk along the main road, but in narrow streets and buildings. Or there are various such as underground shopping streets. For this reason, for example, when the destination is located on a narrow street when the location of the destination is unknown, a situation may occur where the user gets lost even if the narrow street is mistaken. Therefore, route guidance for pedestrians is more important for narrow streets, indoors, underground shopping streets, etc., rather than main roads. For this reason, in many cases, a route is guided by setting the position of the pedestrian on the optimum route, assuming that the pedestrian is walking on the optimum route in consideration of the position detection error by GPS or the like.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-259814

  However, if the technique of Patent Document 1 is applied to route guidance for pedestrians, for example, when passing through a bridge hung over a river, if the installation direction of the bridge is different from the direction from the current position to the destination, The traveling direction along the bridge does not coincide with the direction to the destination and may be temporarily guided in the opposite direction, and there is a problem that route guidance is not performed effectively.

  Conventionally, route guidance for pedestrians includes not only positioning errors such as GPS but also errors in map information (for example, there is usually an error of 10 m or more due to map errors and linearization errors). In the position detection, it is difficult to accurately specify the position of the pedestrian. For this reason, even if the pedestrian walks on a point deviating from the optimum route, the pedestrian cannot recognize it, and the possibility of walking on the wrong route increases. Also, once deviating from the optimal route, it is impossible to correctly guide the pedestrian to the destination.

  Also, walking while always looking at the optimal route displayed on the display screen is troublesome for pedestrians and may cause injury due to accidents such as contact with other pedestrians or vehicles, and road steps. obtain. On the other hand, instead of walking along the optimum route, there is a demand for walking along routes other than the optimum route on the way to the destination in order to do wind shopping and detours. In such a case, in the conventional route guidance, it is necessary to calculate the optimum route every time the route changes. In addition, when a pedestrian walks in an area where no roads or passages are set, such as indoors or parks, the optimum route cannot be calculated and the pedestrian cannot be guided along the optimum route. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a pedestrian guidance device that can effectively guide a route to a destination for a pedestrian, and the pedestrian guidance device. It is an object to provide a computer program and a pedestrian guidance method.

  A pedestrian guidance device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a pedestrian guidance device that includes positioning means for positioning its own position and is portable for a pedestrian and guides the pedestrian to a destination point. Means, a receiving means for receiving information about the destination point, a route specifying means for specifying a route to the destination point received by the receiving means based on the own position measured by the positioning means and the stored map information; Determining means for determining whether or not there is a predetermined waypoint on the route specified by the route specifying means, and guidance means for guiding a pedestrian to the waypoint when the determining means determines that the route point is present It is characterized by providing.

  The pedestrian guidance device according to a second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the guidance means is configured to guide based on a distance and a direction from the position of the pedestrian to the waypoint.

  A pedestrian guidance device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect of the invention, further comprising storage means for storing position information of a boarding / exiting point for transportation, wherein the guidance means uses transportation for the route specifying means. When the route is specified, it is configured to guide the boarding / departing point of the transportation facility as a transit point.

  The pedestrian guidance device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the pedestrian guidance device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising storage means for storing position information of an ascending / descending point that can be moved up and down to the upper floor or the lower floor. When a route using the lift point is specified by means, the lift point is guided as a via point.

  The pedestrian guidance device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the pedestrian guidance device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the plurality of routes can be specified by the route specifying means, based on the walking distance on the route. A route selection means for selecting a route is provided.

  The pedestrian guidance device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the pedestrian guidance device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, further comprising display means for simultaneously displaying the position of the pedestrian and the waypoint or destination on the map. And

  A computer program according to a seventh aspect of the invention is a computer program for causing a computer to guide a pedestrian to a destination point, and based on positioning data and map information obtained by positioning the computer, a route to the destination point is obtained. Functions as route specifying means for specifying, determining means for determining whether or not there is a predetermined waypoint on the specified route, and guidance means for guiding a pedestrian to the waypoint when it is determined that there is the waypoint It is characterized by making it.

  The pedestrian guidance method according to the eighth aspect of the present invention is a pedestrian guidance method for measuring the position of the pedestrian and guiding the pedestrian to the destination, storing map information, receiving information about the destination, and positioning itself. If the route to the received destination point is specified based on the location of the map and the stored map information, it is determined whether or not the specified route has a predetermined waypoint, and if it is determined that there is the route point, walking The person is guided to the waypoint.

  In the first invention, the seventh invention, and the eighth invention, the pedestrian guidance device specifies a route to the destination point based on the measured position and the stored map information. In order to measure its own position, for example, positioning data such as GPS, base station communication, distance sensor, direction sensor, and map information can be used. Further, positioning can be performed by communication with an optical beacon, a radio beacon or the like. Thereby, not only GPS but the position detection by the hybrid navigation which combined the independent navigation and the map matching method can be performed. The route to the destination point can be specified by using the route specified by the device as it is, or by allowing the pedestrian to select a desired route from the route specified by the device and using the selected route. Good. The pedestrian guidance device determines whether there is a predetermined waypoint on the specified route, and when it is determined that there is a waypoint, the pedestrian guidance device guides the pedestrian to the waypoint. Further, when the pedestrian reaches the last waypoint, it can be guided to the destination point.

  The predetermined waypoint is, for example, a boarding / exiting point for transportation (for example, a station) when a pedestrian is guided to a destination using transportation. In addition, when the boarding / exiting point for transportation is in the basement, the waypoint can be a contact port (for example, a staircase, an elevator, an escalator, etc.) between the ground and the basement. The waypoints are not limited to these. Thereby, when guiding the pedestrian to the destination point, it is not necessary to calculate the optimum route to the destination point and guide the pedestrian along the calculated optimum route. Pedestrians are guided to a waypoint rather than the optimal route to the destination point, so even if the pedestrian makes a detour to a favorite place such as a building or underground shopping area on the way to the destination point, A pedestrian can be reliably and effectively guided to the destination point via the route.

  In the second invention, the pedestrian guidance device guides based on the distance and direction from the position of the pedestrian to the waypoint. In other words, when a pedestrian guidance device guides a pedestrian to a destination or waypoint, guidance is performed using only the distance and direction without performing route calculation (without specifying the route according to the movement of the pedestrian). To do.

  For example, when passing through a bridge over a river or overpass, etc., if the installation direction of the bridge or overpass is different from the direction from the current position to the destination, the direction of travel along the bridge or overpass is There is a case where it does not coincide with the direction and is temporarily guided in the opposite direction, and there is a problem that route guidance is not effectively performed. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem can be solved by setting a bridge or an overpass as a waypoint and guiding the pedestrian only by the distance and direction to the waypoint or the final destination. In addition, since a pedestrian can be guided without performing route calculation, it is possible to reduce a complicated process of repeating route calculation every time the route changes.

  In the third aspect of the invention, when the route using the transportation facility is specified, the pedestrian guidance device guides the boarding / exiting point of the transportation facility as a transit point. When a transportation facility is used to reach the destination point, the pedestrian can be reliably and effectively guided to the destination point by guiding to the boarding / alighting place of the transportation facility.

  In the fourth aspect of the invention, when the pedestrian guidance device specifies a route using a lift point that can be raised or lowered to the upper floor or the lower floor, the pedestrian guidance device guides the lift point as a via point. Elevating points are, for example, connection points connecting the ground and the basement, points connecting the upper and lower floors of buildings, access points to station platforms, etc., where stairs, escalators, elevators, etc. are provided It is. In particular, since it is considered that pedestrians are likely to get lost at these points, it is possible to reliably and effectively guide pedestrians to their destinations by reliably guiding them to these transit points. .

  In the fifth invention, when a plurality of routes can be identified, the pedestrian guidance device selects one route based on the walking distance along the identifiable route. For example, if the walking distance when the route from the current position of the pedestrian to the destination point is all walked is L1, and the walking distance on the route reaching the destination point using the transportation is L2, L1 is L2. If it is longer than a predetermined threshold, a route using transportation is selected. Thereby, it can guide to a destination point for a pedestrian for a short time and without burdening labor.

  In the sixth invention, the pedestrian guidance device simultaneously displays the position of the pedestrian and the waypoint or destination on the map. Thereby, a pedestrian can be reliably and effectively guided to a waypoint or a destination point.

  In the present invention, it is not necessary to guide the pedestrian according to the optimum route to the destination point, and the pedestrian is guided to the via point instead of the optimum route to the destination point. Even when a detour is made to a favorite place such as a building or an underground shopping center in the middle of the road, a pedestrian can be reliably and effectively guided to the destination via the waypoint.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a pedestrian guidance device 10 according to the present invention. The pedestrian guidance device 10 detects the position of a pedestrian by not only GPS but also hybrid navigation combining a self-contained navigation and a map matching method. The pedestrian guidance device 10 obtains a route point on the route to the destination point based on the information on the destination point received from the pedestrian, the detected current position of the pedestrian and the previously stored map information, and the like. Guide to the waypoint. When the pedestrian reaches the last waypoint, the pedestrian is guided to the destination point. Thereby, it is not necessary to guide the pedestrian along the optimum route to the destination point as in the past.

  The pedestrian guidance device 10 is portable by pedestrians (including pedestrians traveling on bicycles), and includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, a positioning unit 13, a map database 14, and a storage unit 15 that control the entire device. , An operation unit 16, a position detection processing unit 17, a display unit 18, an audio output unit 19, a pedestrian guidance unit 20, and the like. The positioning unit 13 includes a GPS 131, a distance sensor 132, an orientation sensor 133, an altitude sensor 134, an orientation correction unit 135, a sensor calibration unit 136, and the like. The position detection processing unit 17 includes a position estimation unit 171, an error calculation unit 172, a walking behavior determination unit 173, a boarding / alight determination unit 174, a position specifying unit 175, a reliability calculation unit 176, an evaluation unit 177, a vibration detection unit 178, A route specifying unit 179 is provided.

  The communication unit 12 includes an optical beacon, a radio beacon, an RFID or a DSRC, a narrow area communication function for communicating with a road device, a mid-range communication function such as a wireless LAN such as a UHF band or a VHF band, or a mobile phone, A wide-area communication function such as PHS, multiple FM broadcasting, or Internet communication is provided. For example, the communication unit 12 uses mid-range communication such as a wireless LAN in the vicinity of an underground entrance for access to transportation such as a subway or an entrance that enters a building, and between roadside devices. Road-to-road communication, road-to-vehicle communication between on-road devices and vehicles, or map information and transportation route information (including, for example, railway route maps and required time between stations) Get signal information of traffic lights. Details of the map information and route information will be described later.

  Other examples of the road device include a traffic information collection device such as an ultrasonic sensor and an image sensor, an information board device that provides traffic information in characters or figures, and a signal control device. Moreover, the communication part 12 can also acquire map information and route information around a pedestrian from a center device such as an information processing center or a traffic control center by using wide-area communication such as a mobile phone.

  The communication unit 12 has a communication function for communicating with a base station, receives radio waves from a plurality of base stations, and outputs reception results to the positioning unit 13. In addition, the communication unit 12 outputs the position information of the communication point obtained by the narrow area communication with the road device to the positioning unit 13.

  The positioning unit 13 measures the position of the pedestrian from time to time (for example, every time 0.5 seconds, 1 second, etc., every 1 m, 2 m, etc.) (determines the positioning position) The moving distance and moving direction (positioning direction) are stored in the storage unit 15 together with the time as a positioning locus.

  The GPS 131 receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites and measures the position of the pedestrian. In addition to the GPS 131, a DGPS (differential GPS) can be mounted. DGPS can receive FM broadcasts or medium waves transmitted from a reference station whose position is known in advance, and can correct the displacement of the positioning position obtained by GPS 131, thereby improving the accuracy of the position of the pedestrian. . Note that it is also possible to perform positioning in a form that combines a method of roughly positioning a position with radio waves from a plurality of base stations of a mobile phone and GPS. As a result, even if it is difficult to receive radio waves from GPS satellites indoors, the probability that a position with poor position accuracy can be obtained is increased.

  The distance sensor 132 includes a speed in a very short time, an acceleration sensor that can detect a moving distance, a step number sensor that can detect a relatively long moving distance, and the like. Here, for example, if an acceleration sensor is used as the step sensor, steep data generated in accordance with the walking pitch can be obtained, and the number of steps and the walking speed can be obtained by counting this number. Also, in this case, when riding a bicycle and stroking the pedal, or when going up and down the stairs of a pedestrian bridge or an underground crossing passage, the characteristics of steep data, for example, peak values (walking strength) are different. Therefore, it is possible to specify a walking place to some extent. Thereby, the position of a pedestrian can be detected for each short-distance and short-distance walk in self-contained navigation. If the GPS satellite positioning accuracy is very good and there are no buildings or the like outside the metropolitan area, the walking distance is calculated based on the difference in GPS positioning without using the step sensor. Also good. In the present application, the walking speed is used as a concept including a walking pitch (the number of steps per unit time).

  The azimuth sensor 133 includes an angular velocity sensor or an angular acceleration sensor (relative azimuth sensor), a two-dimensional or three-dimensional geomagnetic sensor (absolute azimuth sensor), and the like. Thereby, in the self-contained navigation, the moving direction of the pedestrian can be detected for each short time and short distance walking. In addition, the geomagnetic sensor can detect that a pedestrian is present in a building surrounded by reinforcing bars, or that a pedestrian is present near a railroad crossing where there is a strong electric or magnetic field.

  The altitude sensor 134 detects the altitude at the position of the pedestrian using a barometer or an acceleration sensor. Note that the GPS 131, the distance sensor 132, the azimuth sensor 133, and the altitude sensor 134 may not be all provided.

  The azimuth correction unit 135 identifies the road on which the pedestrian walks by map matching, determines the estimated position of the pedestrian, and changes the positioning azimuth (movement azimuth) over a predetermined movement distance (for example, 20 m). If not, the positioning direction is corrected to the direction of the road on the map. Details of the azimuth correction will be described later.

  In the case of the relative azimuth sensor, the sensor calibration unit 136 specifies the scale factor of the relative azimuth sensor when the road or indoor passage where the pedestrian walks is specified by the map matching method and the estimated position of the pedestrian is determined. Calibrate based on the difference from the direction of the passage. In the case of a step sensor, when it is determined that the passage between two points is certain by the map matching method, the step sensor is calibrated from the distance of the road or passage between the two points and the number of steps measured therebetween. Note that the walking distance may be corrected by a positioning locus between two points.

  The positioning unit 13 is based on the measured positioning data, the reception result of the radio wave from the base station obtained via the communication unit 12, or the position information of the communication point obtained by the narrow area communication with the road device. The positioning position and the error range (estimated range) of the positioning position are calculated. Hereinafter, a method for calculating the positioning position and its error range (estimated range) will be described.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the error range of the positioning position. In the orthogonal coordinate system (x direction and y direction), as an example, a position error range detected by narrow-range communication with GPS, a base station, or a road device is a rectangular area (x direction length is 4a, y direction). Is set as 4b). That is, the positioning position is the center position of the rectangular area, and the error range extends from the center position by a range of ± 2a in the x direction and by a range of ± 2b in the y direction. For example, when 2a is set to 2 sigma, the variance in the x direction is a ² and the standard deviation can be set to a. When 2b is set to 2 sigma, the variance in the y direction is b ² and the standard deviation can be set to b.

  Since the error due to the narrow area communication with the road device is smaller than that of the GPS or the base station communication (for example, the error range is several m), the error range is determined by using the narrow area communication with the road device or the GPS. Or, it depends on whether base station communication is used. Further, for example, when using GPS, the error range is temporally determined by environmental conditions, more specifically, GPS reception level, number of captured satellites, 2D or 3D positioning, CEP (Circular Error Probability). To change. In the case of base station communication, the error range varies with time depending on the communication level with the base station, the communication range of the base station, and the like. A predetermined constant in which the error range is set to be large in advance, a constant determined in advance according to the place or time, or the like may be used. The shape of the error range is not limited to a rectangular shape, and may be an arbitrary shape such as a circle or an ellipse. For example, when positioning is performed using only GPS, when the environmental conditions are favorable, an error range of about 10 to 20 m can be set.

  Hereinafter, a method for calculating the positioning position of the pedestrian will be described. The positioning position is expressed by a two-dimensional vector in an orthogonal coordinate system, but in three dimensions, only altitude information is added and can be easily expanded. Further, in the following description, it is formulated by time, but in actual processing, processing may be performed for each unit travel distance instead of processing for each unit time. In the following, capital letters are assumed to be vectors or matrices.

  Assuming that the position P (t) of the pedestrian at time t is Equation (1), walking at time t + 1 (the interval between times t and t + 1 is a predetermined time, for example, 1 second, 0.5 seconds, etc.) The person's position P (t + 1) can be expressed by Expression (2). Alternatively, the time at which a pedestrian walks a predetermined walking distance (for example, 1 m, 2 m, etc.) from time t can be set as time t + 1. Note that “T” added to the vector means transposition. Moreover, Formula (2) shows a pedestrian's dynamic characteristic. Note that the position P (t) of the pedestrian at time t is the true position (actual position) of the pedestrian, and is an unobservable position due to the presence of an unknown error. That is, the positioning position of the pedestrian is to obtain an optimum estimated position with respect to the true position P (t).

  Here, D (t) is expressed by Equation (3), d (t) is the distance that the pedestrian has moved (walked) from time t to time t + 1, and θ (t) is relative to the orthogonal coordinate system. This is the azimuth angle of pedestrian movement (walking). E (t) is expressed by equation (4), and e (t) is an error of the moving distance d (t). Further, the variance Q (t) of the error E (t) is expressed by the equation (5), and q is the error variance in the unit distance movement and can be a constant value.

  In addition, the position S (t) detected by GPS, base station communication, or communication with a road device at time t can be expressed by Equation (6). Here, G (t) is an error of the position S (t), and the covariance matrix R (t) of the error G (t) can be expressed by Expression (7). In Expression (7), a and b are each one-fourth of the length in the x direction and the y direction of the rectangular region that is the error range shown in FIG. That is, the covariance matrix R (t) is composed of variances in the x and y directions when 2a and 2b are 2 sigma. Even if the average value of E (t) and G (t) is 0, generality is not lost.

  The optimum estimated position H (t) of the pedestrian position P (t) at time t is expressed by a recurrence formula as shown in Expression (8) by the Kalman filter.

Here, Γ (t) is a variance of the estimation error of the estimated position H (t), and can be expressed by a recurrence formula like Formula (9). Further, “−1” attached to a matrix means an inverse matrix of the matrix. Further, the estimated position H (0) at the initial time 0 and the variance Γ (0) of the estimation error can be expressed by Expression (10) and Expression (11), respectively. Here, M is a priori information on the initial position of the pedestrian, and Σ is its error variance. If there is no a priori information, M = 0 and Σ ⁻¹ = 0, and the estimated position H (0) at initial time 0 and the variance Γ (0) of the estimated error are respectively expressed by equations (12) and (13). ).

Equation (6) is obtained when a position is detected by GPS, base station communication, or communication with a road device, and therefore, while GPS, base station communication, or communication with a road device is not performed, equation (6) is obtained. Assuming that the errors a and b in (7) are sufficiently large, in Equation (8), if R ⁻¹ (t) = 0, the estimated position is repeatedly calculated using Equation (8) as it is. Can do. That is, in this case, it is equivalent to measuring the position only by the self-contained navigation.

  The error e (t) of the movement distance d (t) varies depending on the type of distance sensor. For example, when a plurality of types of distance sensors are used at the same time, a combined error obtained by combining the errors of the sensors may be set. For example, if the distances obtained by the two types of sensors are d1 and d2, and the variances of the errors are q1 and q2, respectively, the coupling distance is set by the equation (14), and the variance as the coupling error is the equation ( 15).

  In the above formulation, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that there is no error in the azimuth (azimuth angle) θ, but linear approximation is performed in consideration of the error f (t) in the azimuth (azimuth angle) θ. Thus, the above formulation can be easily extended. In this case, the error variance of the error f (t) is defined similarly to the errors e (t) and G (t). Alternatively, the position error variance can be increased in consideration of the azimuth error.

  For example, when the error F (t) is added to the measured value of the azimuth θ at time t, if the higher-order error is ignored, the expression (2) can be expanded as the expressions (16) and (17). Can do.

  In this case, equation (5) may be replaced with equation (18). Here, u is the variance of the error of the azimuth θ. Note that Q (t) in equation (5) may be set to a larger value instead of equations (16) to (18). In the above mathematical formula, it is formulated as two-dimensional position detection, but it may be formulated in three dimensions by adding a height dimension.

  The map database 14 stores a wide range of map information and transportation route information. In addition, according to the position of a pedestrian, the map information and route information of the vicinity can also be acquired by communication from the outside, such as a center apparatus or an on-road apparatus, and can be memorize | stored.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of map information. When detecting the position of a pedestrian, it becomes more complicated and difficult than when detecting the position of a vehicle. In other words, in the case of a vehicle, the position of the vehicle can be detected by map matching between the estimated position and the roadway on the map, whereas in the case of a pedestrian, walking other than the pedestrian sidewalk is possible. There are various areas where a person can walk. Moreover, the necessity of detecting the position of a pedestrian is high not only outdoors but indoors.

  In addition, when detecting the position of a pedestrian, detailed map matching such as separation of a sidewalk and a roadway is required, so detailed data is also required as map information. However, it is not necessary to store a wide range of map information in the storage unit 15 of the position detection device 10, and may be acquired by communication from the outside such as an information center device or a road device as appropriate according to the position of the pedestrian. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, there are various areas such as a pedestrian road (sidewalk), a roadway, a pedestrian crossing, a building, a retail store, a park, and a pond on the map. Therefore, first, the area on the map is divided into a walkable area and a prohibited area. Forbidden areas are areas where entry of pedestrians is generally prohibited, such as restricted areas, rivers, ponds, seas, lakes, swamps, ponds, cliffs, railway sites, imperial palaces, etc. It is.

  Next, the walkable area is divided into, for example, an indoor area, a road area, and other areas. The indoor area is, for example, a building, an underpass, a station building, a store, a retail store, a house, a factory, an underground mall, a building interior, and the like. Road areas include, for example, pedestrian roads, sidewalks in the case of main roads with separate sidewalks and roadways, pedestrian crossings, pedestrian overpasses (pedestrian bridges), underground crossing roads, railroad crossings, and other privately owned roads. Called a road). The other area is, for example, a roadway, a park, a playground, or any other outdoor area that can be freely walked. In addition, in an indoor area or other area, an area where a pedestrian normally walks is set as a passage.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the road areas are pedestrian roads, main road sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, pedestrian overpasses, underground cross roads (access passages to subway stations, etc.), and indoor areas are buildings. , Retail stores, homes, and walkways are set up in retail stores. The prohibited areas are ponds, and the other areas are highway roads and parks. Based on the information shown in FIG. 3, roads on the map (road areas, line segments for map matching) can be set.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a setting example of roads or passages on a map. As shown in FIG. 4, one or more line segments (standard gait line, road on the map) for map matching are defined for roads, indoor areas, roads or passages in other areas, and each line segment is defined. Set the connection relationship information. A road or a passage on the map can be constituted by a link and a node, or a width corresponding to a road width or a passage width with respect to a line segment can be set. A node is a part of a road or path on the map, and the node defines the connection point of the link, ie the connectivity of the road or path on the map.

  For example, with respect to the example of FIG. 3, roads or passages on the map are set as shown in FIG. The road or passage on the map may include road width or passage width information and connection relation information. In addition, the indoor area and the prohibited area may include information on the range of each area. The other area may include area range information, or if it is determined that the other area is not a road area, indoor area, or prohibited area, do not include the area range information in the other area. May be. Although not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a point or a road (passage) connecting the regions may be set on the map. For example, when there is a communication port (stairs, elevator, escalator, etc.) for communicating with an underground area in an indoor area or a subway station building on the road. When moving from the road to the indoor area, the position of the pedestrian can be corrected at the point where the communication port is located.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of underground map information near a station. The example of FIG. 5 shows a map near a station such as a subway, FIG. 5 (a) is a map of the first basement level leading from the ground to the subway platform, and FIG. 5 (b) is a map of the platform of the second basement level. It is. As shown in FIG. 5, when the station is in an indoor area such as the basement, access portions such as stairs, escalators, elevators, etc. for moving from the road area on the ground to the indoor area and the platform are connected to or connected to both areas. Can be set as a passage.

  More specifically, from the road on the ground to the platform of the station, the passage can be set in the order of road, stairs, underground access passage, corner, ticket gate, stairs (or escalator, elevator), and platform. In this case, a vector line segment for map matching can be set for the set passage as shown in FIG. The map also includes ticket machines. The pedestrian crossings, pedestrian bridges, underground crossing passages, stairs, elevators, escalators, ticket vending machines, ticket gates, station platforms, etc., as described later, are associated with the walking behavior of pedestrians to identify the location of pedestrians. It can be used as a feature point. The feature points are not limited to this, and other points such as railroad crossings, stops, boarding areas, boarding areas, and the like can be included. Further, the transportation means is not limited to the subway, and may be a train, train, train, railroad such as a streetcar or a monorail, a route bus, a cable car, a ropeway, a ferry, an aircraft, or the like.

  The storage unit 15 stores information associating the walking behavior of the pedestrian with the feature points on the map, the positioning data measured by the positioning unit 13, the processing result processed by the position detection processing unit 17, and the like. When the control unit 11, the position detection processing unit 17 and the like are constituted by a CPU, a RAM, and the like, a computer program that defines the processing procedures of the control unit 11 and the position detection processing unit 17 can be stored.

  The operation unit 16 includes various operation buttons and functions as a user interface between the pedestrian and the pedestrian guidance device 10. For example, the operation unit 16 receives a start or stop operation of the operation of the pedestrian guidance device 10 by a pedestrian operation. In addition, the pedestrian guidance device 10 receives information related to the destination point. The destination point may be set on the map displayed on the display unit 18, or the destination point can be set by inputting or selecting the destination address, telephone number, name, or the like.

  The position detection processing unit 17 may be configured by a dedicated hardware circuit, or may be configured to execute a computer program having a predetermined processing procedure.

  The position estimation unit 171 includes the estimated position calculated last time (for example, may be the latest or may be two or three times before), or the detected position obtained by updating the estimated position, and the positioning calculated by the positioning unit 13. Based on the position trajectory (positioning trajectory), an estimated position on the map (estimated position trajectory) is calculated. More specifically, the trajectory and the estimated position of the estimated position are calculated by obtaining a trajectory along the positioning trajectory from the estimated position or the detection position calculated last time to the positioning position.

  The error calculation unit 172 calculates the error range of the estimated position estimated by the position estimation unit 171. More specifically, the error calculation unit 172 sets the error range of the estimated position to a predetermined value when initially registering the estimated position, as described later, or when updating the estimated position. For example, when the estimated position is initially registered, the error range of the estimated position can be set to an error range of the positioning position (for example, 20 to 200 m). Further, when the estimated position is updated at a characteristic point of a curve, road or passage on the road, the minimum error (for example, a range of about the road width) can be obtained.

  After setting the error range of the initially registered estimated position or the updated estimated position to a predetermined value, the error calculation unit 172 moves the pedestrian's moving distance or movement from the initially registered or updated estimated position to the set predetermined value. An error range is calculated by adding a value corresponding to the direction (for example, an increase in positioning error). As a result, once the position of the pedestrian is determined (confirmed), and after setting the error range at that position to a predetermined value, the positioning error increases with an increase in the positioning trajectory (movement distance or direction) However, an appropriate error range of the estimated position can be obtained according to the positioning locus. Note that the error range can always be an appropriate predetermined constant value (for example, 100 m).

  The walking behavior determination unit 173 determines the walking behavior of the pedestrian based on data obtained by the distance sensor 132, the orientation sensor 133, the altitude sensor 134, and the like of the positioning unit 13. The walking behavior indicates a walking characteristic of a pedestrian and includes a traveling characteristic when riding a bicycle. The walking behavior is, for example, the start of walking, walking speed, fluctuation in walking speed, walking strength (for example, the level intensity indicated by acceleration by the step sensor), fluctuation in walking strength, per unit time The number of steps (in the case of a bicycle, the number of pedaling), the variation in the number of steps, the walking direction, the walking stop, and the like.

  The walking behavior determination unit 173 determines the presence / absence of disturbance in walking based on the walking behavior. For example, when the walking speed is low or the number of steps is small with reference to the predetermined walking speed or the number of steps per unit time, the walking speed is not substantially constant and the walking speed varies frequently, This is the case when there is meandering or circulation, or when the strength of walking is unstable.

  Based on the walking behavior determined by the walking behavior determination unit 173 and the data obtained by the distance sensor 132, the direction sensor 133, etc. of the positioning unit 13, the boarding / alighting determination unit 174 has entered a transportation means such as a subway. Or whether it gets off. For example, it can be determined that the user has boarded when a stop of walking and a moving speed equal to or higher than a predetermined speed are detected. Moreover, it can determine with having got off when the start of walking and the walking speed more than predetermined | prescribed speed are detected. Detection of walking start, walking stop, walking speed, moving speed, etc. can use an acceleration sensor or a step number sensor.

  Moreover, the boarding / alighting determination unit 174 determines boarding / alighting of pedestrians based on the walking behavior determined by the walking behavior determination unit 173 and the vibration characteristics detected by the vibration detection unit 178. The vibration characteristic can be obtained as a frequency component of the intensity of vibration by detecting its own vibration by a sensor capable of detecting vibration such as an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, or an angular acceleration sensor. For example, when a pedestrian is walking, the frequency characteristic of vibration has a peak of intensity at a predetermined frequency and a relatively high level of strength, whereas the pedestrian gets on a means of transportation. The frequency characteristic of vibration has a relatively low level of strength over a wide range of frequencies. For example, when a vibration characteristic having a relatively small intensity level is detected at a walking stop and a wide range of frequencies, it can be determined that the vehicle has got on the transportation means. Further, when vibration characteristics having a relatively large strength level at a predetermined frequency with the start of walking are detected, it can be determined that the vehicle has got off. Thereby, it is possible to accurately determine whether the pedestrian gets on the transportation means or gets off. Even if it is determined that the pedestrian has boarded the means of transportation, and if it can be determined that the pedestrian is on the basis of the moving speed or vibration characteristics, even if the pedestrian temporarily detected What is necessary is just to determine that the pedestrian is getting on.

  The position specifying unit 175 performs initial registration of the estimated position based on the positioning position. Further, the position specifying unit 175 uses the map matching method to update and update the estimated position to a position considered to be walking within the error range based on the estimated position calculated by the position estimating unit 171. The position is specified (detected) as the position of the pedestrian. In this case, the most likely estimated position can be specified as the position of the pedestrian based on the evaluation coefficient calculated by the evaluation unit 177. Details of the evaluation coefficient will be described later. Note that the reciprocal of the evaluation coefficient can be defined as the degree of correlation, and the degree of correlation can be used.

  The position specifying unit 175 determines whether or not there is a feature point related to the walking behavior determined by the walking behavior determination unit 173 within the error range calculated by the error calculation unit 172. The feature point is specified as the position of the pedestrian. For example, if there is a staircase within the error range of the estimated position of the pedestrian when there is a change in the walking speed or walking strength of the pedestrian, the position of the pedestrian is updated by updating the estimated position to the position of the staircase. Can be specified. Thereby, a pedestrian's position can be specified with sufficient accuracy.

  Moreover, when the position determination part 175 determines with the boarding / alighting determination part 174 that the pedestrian got on the transportation means, it is based on the elapsed time from the time of having determined that the pedestrian got on and the required time between the stations of the transportation facility. Then, the position of the pedestrian is specified along the route of transportation.

  The reliability calculation unit 176 calculates the reliability of the positioning data measured by the positioning unit 13. More specifically, the reliability calculation unit 176 performs self-inconsistency of data in a single sensor such as the distance sensor 132, the azimuth sensor 133, and the altitude sensor 134, or inconsistency of data between sensors or inconsistency with map information. The determination of the presence / absence of abnormality such as GPS, the positioning data of the GPS 131 and the calculation of the usage environment index indicating the reliability of base station communication are performed. In addition, when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the sensor or the like, a usable sensor is selected, and for an unusable sensor, a process for making the error variance of the sensor infinite (or increased) is performed. Do. Thereby, the availability of the sensor is always monitored. Hereinafter, details of the processing in the reliability calculation unit 176 will be described.

  The determination of the presence or absence of abnormality of the GPS 131 is performed by, for example, determining whether or not there is self-contradiction in temporal changes such as a positioning position determined based on the positioning data obtained by the GPS 131, a walking speed of the pedestrian, and a moving direction. be able to. If there is an abnormality, the error variance of the GPS 131 data is set to infinity and is not used. Further, when such an abnormal situation continues for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined distance, it is assumed that the reliability of the GPS 131 is low. Further, when such an abnormal situation disappears, the GPS 131 data is used, and if the normal situation continues for a predetermined time or a predetermined distance, the reliability of the GPS is returned to a normal value. .

  As the usage environment index of the GPS 131, for example, if the reception level of the GPS 131, the number of captured satellites, 2D or 3D positioning, and CEP (Circular Error Probability) is below a predetermined standard value, it is determined that the GPS 131 is abnormal. Make the error variance of the data infinite and avoid using it. Further, when such an abnormal situation continues for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined distance, it is assumed that the reliability of the GPS 131 is low. Further, when such an abnormal situation disappears, the GPS 131 data is used, and if the normal situation continues for a predetermined time or a predetermined distance, the reliability of the GPS 131 is returned to a normal value. .

  Base station communication usage environment indicators include, for example, when the communication level with the base station, the communication range of the base station, etc. falls below a predetermined standard value, the error distribution of data due to base station communication is infinite as abnormal And avoid using it. In addition, when such an abnormal situation continues for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined distance, it is assumed that the reliability of base station communication is low. In addition, when such an abnormal situation disappears, the base station communication data is used, and if the normal situation continues for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined distance, the reliability of the base station communication is increased. Return to normal value. In the above description, GPS and base station communication are distinguished from each other, but a positioning method combining GPS and base station communication may be used.

  In the case of a geomagnetic sensor, noise is added to detection data due to the presence of a surrounding iron plate or reinforcing bar, and the presence of an electric field or magnetic field such as a railroad crossing, and the detection accuracy often decreases. In such a case, even if there is no error, the geomagnetic sensor may not be used. Further, since noise is added to the detection data of the geomagnetic sensor in the building (indoor) or in the vicinity of the railroad crossing, it can be determined that there is a high possibility that a pedestrian is present indoors or in the vicinity of the railroad crossing.

  The determination of whether there is a contradiction between the data of the sensors, for example, is obtained by adding the data increment of the relative direction sensor from that time to the current time to the positioning direction (estimated direction) measured at a certain time in the past, If there is a large difference from the data of the geomagnetic sensor, the data of the geomagnetic sensor can be regarded as abnormal and the geomagnetic sensor can not be used. In addition, when such an abnormal situation continues for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined distance, it is assumed that the reliability of the geomagnetic sensor is low. In addition, when such an abnormal situation disappears, the geomagnetic sensor data is used, and if the normal situation continues for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined distance, the reliability of the geomagnetic sensor becomes normal. Return to value.

  Also, when formulating in consideration of azimuth errors, the error variance of the geomagnetic sensor is, for example, infinite (or a sufficiently large value) in the case of abnormality, and standard value (for example, average) in the normal state Error). The error variance of the relative orientation sensor is set to a minimum when calibrated, for example, and increases with time or distance. The error variance by a plurality of sensors may be combined with the variance of each sensor. In addition, as another mutual check, if the estimated position at a certain time in the past and the distance estimated from the step number sensor deviate greatly from the positioning position measured by the GPS 131 at the current time, the positioning data of the GPS 131 Can be considered abnormal.

  The evaluation unit 177 calculates an evaluation coefficient for evaluating the estimated position calculated by the position estimation unit 171 and the estimated position updated by the position specifying unit 175 (in this case, the specified position). The evaluation coefficient is a coefficient for evaluating the certainty of the estimated position. For example, the smaller the evaluation coefficient, the larger the certainty (probability) of the estimated position. The evaluation coefficient is, for example, the positional deviation between the estimated position and the positioning position, the average of the positional deviation between the estimated position and the positioning position at the road or passage characteristic point, the estimated position and the road or passage at the characteristic point of the road or passage. And the average of the positional deviation (distance deviation). Details of the evaluation coefficient will be described later.

  The vibration detection unit 178 detects vibration characteristics by the distance sensor 132, the acceleration sensor in the azimuth sensor 133, the angular velocity sensor, the angular acceleration sensor, or the like.

  The route specifying unit 179 determines the route to the destination based on the information on the destination received from the pedestrian by the operation unit 16, the position (current position) of the pedestrian specified by the location specifying unit 175, the stored map information, and the like. Is identified. Hereinafter, a method for specifying a route will be described.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of specifying a route. When the distance between the pedestrian's current position (departure point) and the destination point is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance (for example, 5 km), the route specifying unit 179 has a transportation boarding / exiting location ( For example, it is determined whether or not a station exists. When it is determined that there is a boarding / exiting location, the route specifying unit 179 specifies a route that does not use transportation and a route that uses transportation. In the example of FIG. 6, the route when all the routes from the current position of the pedestrian to the destination point are walked is a route along the road from the current position P1 to the destination point P5. The route using the transportation means is the route from the current position P1 to the destination point P5 via the contact port P2, the station P3, and the station P4. A plurality of routes that do not use transportation facilities may be specified.

  The route specifying unit 179 calculates the walking distance L1 when all the routes from the current position of the pedestrian to the destination point are walked, and calculates the walking distance L2 on the route that reaches the destination point using the transportation facility. To do. When the calculated distance L1 is longer than a predetermined threshold (for example, 500 m, 1 km, 2 km, etc.) than L2, the route specifying unit 179 selects a route using transportation. When the calculated distance L2 is longer than the predetermined threshold by L1 or more, a route that does not use transportation is selected. It is also possible to display a plurality of identified routes on the display unit 18 and allow the pedestrian to select which route to use. Thereby, since the walking distance until it reaches the destination point is shortened, the pedestrian can reach the destination point in a short time without burdening the labor.

  The route specifying unit 179 determines whether there is a predetermined waypoint on the selected (specified) route, and if there is a waypoint, specifies the waypoint. The predetermined waypoint is, for example, a boarding / exiting point for transportation (for example, a station) when a pedestrian is guided to a destination using transportation. In addition, when the boarding / exiting point for transportation is in the basement, the waypoint can be a contact port (for example, a staircase, an elevator, an escalator, etc.) between the ground and the basement. The via points are not limited to these, and may be points connecting the upper and lower floors in the building, access points to the platform of the station, and the like.

  In addition, when calculating distance L1, L2 in the above-mentioned example, the walking distance at the time of walking along a road can also be used, or the linear distance between points can also be used. In addition, when there are multiple transportation facilities, if multiple access points can be used, consider the total walking distance from the current position to the destination point or the transportation time of transportation, etc. A route that can reach the ground may be specified, or a pedestrian may be selected.

  The display unit 18 is a liquid crystal display panel, for example, and displays its position on a map to a pedestrian. Moreover, the display part 18 displays a route point or a destination point simultaneously with the position of a pedestrian. Thereby, a pedestrian can be reliably and effectively guided to a waypoint or a destination point.

  When the pedestrian's position is displayed on the display unit 18, the audio output unit 19 outputs audio or sound to notify the pedestrian of necessary information or to call attention. For example, a pedestrian is guided by voice to a waypoint or a destination point.

  The pedestrian guide unit 20 guides the pedestrian to a waypoint on the route specified by the route specifying unit 179. Moreover, the pedestrian guidance part 20 guides to a destination point, when a pedestrian reaches the last waypoint. The timing of guidance is, for example, every time a pedestrian walks a predetermined distance, when there is an intersection near the current position of the pedestrian, before the intersection, every time a predetermined time elapses, or when the pedestrian guides When requested, use voice or display. Hereinafter, pedestrian route guidance will be described.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of guidance by voice. As shown in FIG. 7, the pedestrian is guided by voice based on the linear distance and direction from the current position of the pedestrian to the waypoint or the destination point. For example, “the direction of the destination point (or waypoint) is the front (or right forward, right, right back, back front, left back, left, left front) direction of the road you ’ve been walking on. And the straight line distance to the destination is 500m. " Or, “The direction of the destination point (or waypoint) is the front direction (or right 30 °, right 150 °, opposite, left 150 °, left 30) with respect to the direction of the road you have walked to the destination point. The straight line distance is 500m. "

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing another example of guidance by voice. As shown in FIG. 8, if the road on which the pedestrian is walking is not specified, or if the pedestrian is not walking on the road, the direction of walking to the current position is used as a reference, Instead of guiding “to the road direction”, it is possible to guide “to the traveling direction”. In addition, when the advancing direction of a pedestrian is not linear over predetermined distance or more, you may make it interrupt guidance until the advancing direction of a pedestrian becomes linear.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of guidance by display. As shown in FIG. 9, when the pedestrian is walking along the road, the straight line distance and direction from the current position of the pedestrian to the waypoint or the destination point are displayed. If there is an intersection in the middle of the route, the distance to the intersection may be displayed.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of guidance by display. As shown in FIG. 10, if the road on which the pedestrian is walking cannot be specified, or if the pedestrian is not walking on the road, walking based on the direction of walking to the current position The straight line distance and direction from the current position of the person to the waypoint or destination point are displayed. Further, when there is a road, a pedestrian crossing or an intersection in the middle of the route, the distance to the road, the pedestrian crossing or the intersection may be displayed.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of guidance using both display and voice. As shown in FIG. 11, when there is no road in the walking direction of the pedestrian from the current position of the pedestrian to the waypoint or the destination point, the road returns to the opposite direction to the walking direction and detours to another road. There is a need to. In such a case, first, the entire route from the current position to the waypoint or the destination point is displayed to allow the pedestrian to grasp the approximate route. And after making the pedestrian recognize the path | route which should walk, guidance by an audio | voice can be performed after that. Thereby, a pedestrian can be guided to a waypoint or a destination point more effectively.

  Also, the route to the waypoint or the destination point is obtained, and when the direction from the current position of the pedestrian to the waypoint or the destination point has an angle difference more than a predetermined distance from the direction of the straight distance, the route is displayed and the pedestrian It can also be set as the structure made to select.

  As described above, the pedestrian guidance device 10 performs guidance based on the distance and direction from the position of the pedestrian to the waypoint. That is, the pedestrian guidance device 10 does not perform route calculation (without specifying the route according to the movement of the pedestrian), and only the distance and direction when guiding the pedestrian to the destination or waypoint. Induce.

  For example, when passing through a bridge over a river or overpass, etc., if the installation direction of the bridge or overpass is different from the direction from the current position to the destination, the direction of travel along the bridge or overpass is There is a case where it does not coincide with the direction and is temporarily guided in the opposite direction, and there is a problem that route guidance is not effectively performed. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem can be solved by setting a bridge or an overpass as a waypoint and guiding the pedestrian only by the distance and direction to the waypoint or the final destination. In addition, since a pedestrian can be guided without performing route calculation, it is possible to reduce a complicated process of repeating route calculation every time the route changes.

  Next, the position detection process by the map matching method of the pedestrian guidance device 10 will be described. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of new registration of an estimated position. The new registration (initial registration) of the estimated position is a process performed when the map matching process is started or when there is no estimated position candidate.

  Whether or not to newly register the estimated position is determined by, for example, the following condition (1) and condition (2). That is, when both the condition (1) and the condition (2) are satisfied, the new registration of the estimated position is not performed, and when either the condition (1) or the condition (2) is not satisfied, the new registration of the estimated position is performed. I do. Condition (1) is a case where the reliability of the sensor or the like is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (bad reliability). For example, the reliability of the GPS 131 is bad or the reliability of the geomagnetic sensor is bad. Further, the condition (2) is a case where there is a disturbance of walking over a predetermined range (time and / or distance).

  As shown in FIG. 12, it is determined whether there is a road on the map or a set passage within the error range of the positioning position A. If there is a road (or a passage), the closest to the positioning position A A point on the road or passage is registered as a new estimated position corresponding to the positioning position A. In FIG. 12, since there are two roads (or passages) within the error range, the points M and N closest to the positioning position A on each road (or passage) are registered as estimated positions. In this case, it is also possible to register in advance a road (or a passage) whose orientation substantially coincides with the orientation of the positioning locus up to the positioning location A or the positioning orientation at the positioning location A. If there is no road (or passage) in which the orientation of the positioning trajectory or the positioning orientation substantially matches the direction of the road (or passage), until there is a road (or passage) that can be registered within the error range Wait without newly registering the estimated position.

  When the estimated position is newly registered, the error range of the positioning position corresponding to the estimated position is set (registered) as the error range of the newly registered estimated position. In the example of FIG. 12, the error range of the estimated positions M and N inherits the error range of the positioning position A. Further, based on the positional deviation between the newly registered estimated positions M and N and the corresponding positioning position A, evaluation coefficients for the estimated positions M and N are calculated.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of calculation of an evaluation coefficient for a newly registered estimated position. The example of FIG. 13 shows a case where the estimated position M is newly registered in association with the positioning position A. If the coordinates of the positioning position A are (X, Y) and the coordinates of the newly registered estimated position M are (x, y), the evaluation coefficient C of the estimated position M can be C = C1 + C2. Here, C1 = | x−X | and C2 = | y−Y |. That is, the evaluation coefficient C of the estimated position M can be the difference between the x coordinate of the estimated position M and the positioning position A, and the difference of the y coordinate between the estimated position M and the positioning position A. In this case, the smaller the evaluation coefficient, the higher the probability (probability) of the estimated position. The evaluation coefficient C is not only calculated for each x coordinate and each y coordinate, but can also be used as one index by the sum of absolute values of the x coordinate and the y coordinate or the square root of the square sum. Thereby, it is possible to grasp how much the estimated position M is relative to the positioning position A.

  Next, an example of calculating the locus of the estimated position after new registration will be described. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of calculating the estimated position trajectory on the ground until the transportation facility is used, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of calculating the estimated position locus on the underground until the transportation facility is used. FIG. In the examples of FIGS. 14 and 15, map matching is used, and the estimated position is updated (corrected) at the feature point of the road or passage. As shown in FIG. 14, when an underground crossing passage that is a characteristic point exists within the error range of the estimated position, the estimated position is updated to a point of the underground crossing road. Note that the estimated position is not updated to a road at points other than the characteristic points.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, when there are corners, ticket machines, ticket gates, stairs, escalators, elevators, and the like that are characteristic points within the error range of the estimated position, the estimated position is updated to these characteristic points. Note that the estimated position is not updated to a passage at a point other than the feature point.

  FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the calculation of the locus of the estimated position on the ground until the transportation facility is used, and FIG. 17 is another diagram of the locus calculation of the estimated position in the underground until the transportation facility is used. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example. In the examples of FIGS. 16 and 17, the estimated position is always matched on the road or passage unless the walking direction of the pedestrian and the direction of the road or passage exceed a predetermined threshold using map matching.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 16, when an underground crossing passage that is a characteristic point exists within the error range of the estimated position, the estimated position is updated to a point of the underground crossing road. In addition, as shown in FIG. 17, when there are turning points, ticket machines, ticket gates, stairs, escalators, elevators, and the like that are characteristic points within the error range of the estimated position, the estimated position is updated to these characteristic points.

  As another method, when the estimated position protrudes from the passage (passage area) using map matching, the estimated position can be updated to the passage. In addition, when there are ticket machines, ticket gates, stairs, escalators, elevators, and the like that are feature points within the error range of the estimated position, the estimated position can be updated to these feature points. At points other than the feature points, the estimated position is not updated to the passage unless the estimated position protrudes from the passage. The same applies to the ground.

  As another method, it is possible to use only the self-contained navigation without using the map matching. For example, in the basement where radio waves from GPS satellites cannot be received, the estimated position is obtained using only self-contained navigation, and ticket machines, ticket gates, stairs, escalators, elevators, etc. that are characteristic points within the estimated position error range If present, the estimated position can be updated to these feature points.

  Also, as an example of using only self-contained navigation without using map matching, for example, in the basement where radio waves from GPS satellites cannot be received, the estimated position is obtained using only self-contained navigation, and the estimated position at the feature point It is also possible to update. It can be used when the size of the estimated position error range can be tolerated to some extent, for example, it is easy to specify a point where a pedestrian gets on or off the transportation means by a structure such as a station building.

  In the above-described example, the example of entering the underground from the road and getting on the transportation means has been described. However, the estimated position from the transportation means to the road and exiting on the road can be similarly identified and tracked. Therefore, for example, it is possible to identify and track the position of a pedestrian continuously (continuously) on all routes from the platform until getting on the transportation means, getting off after getting on, and getting off after getting off the road. It becomes possible.

  The error range of the estimated position can be a positioning error (for example, a range of 20 to 200 m) in the new registration (initial registration) of the estimated position. Further, the error range of the estimated position can be set to the minimum error range (for example, about the road width or the passage width) when the estimated position is updated (corrected) at the feature point of the road or the passage. Thereafter, as the pedestrian walks, positioning errors are accumulated, so that the error range of the estimated position can be increased. As a result, once the position of the pedestrian is determined (confirmed), and after setting the error range at that position to a predetermined value, the positioning error increases with an increase in the positioning trajectory (movement distance or direction) However, an appropriate error range of the estimated position can be obtained according to the positioning locus. The error range of the estimated position can always be an appropriate predetermined constant value (for example, 100 m). Thereby, the processing effort of position detection can be reduced.

  Next, a method for updating the estimated position will be described. The update of the estimated position includes, for example, the connection characteristics of the road or passage within the error range of the estimated position, the connection characteristics between the road or passage and other areas, the walking behavior of the pedestrian, the reliability (reliability) of the positioning data, This is performed based on the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position. If the estimated position is not valid, the estimated position is rejected.

  FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of updating the estimated position. As shown in FIG. 18, corresponding to the positioning locus up to the positioning position A, the estimated position from the estimated position updated last time (for example, may be the latest or may be two or three times before). It is assumed that there are two estimated positions M and N corresponding to the positioning position A due to the locus. Since a road or a passage exists within the error range of the estimated position M, the estimated position M is updated to a position on the road or the passage. Further, a value corresponding to the positional deviation between the estimated position M and the updated estimated position may be added to the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position M and inherited as the updated estimated coefficient of the estimated position. In addition, at the feature point, the estimated position can be updated by correcting the displacement of the estimated position M, and the evaluation coefficient and error range can be updated. In this case, as the error range to be updated, for example, a minimum value (a range of road width or passage width) can be set. In addition, it is determined whether or not the azimuth difference between the azimuth of the estimated position and the azimuth of the road or the passage is smaller than a predetermined threshold. If the azimuth difference is larger than the threshold, the estimated position is not updated on the road or the passage. You can also

  Within the error range of the estimated position N, the road or passage where the estimated position updated last time is outside the error range, so it is determined whether there is another road or passage within the error range. If another road or passage exists, the estimated position is updated to the position of the road or passage, and the error range of the estimated position N and the error range of the estimated position updated with the evaluation coefficient are taken over as the evaluation coefficient. If it is determined that there is no road or passage to be updated, the estimated position N can be rejected.

  FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of updating the estimated position. In the example of FIG. 19, the road or passage where the estimated position updated last time (for example, the latest or two or three times before) may be branched into two roads or passages. It is. Assume that there is one estimated position M corresponding to the positioning position A by the locus of the estimated position from the previously updated estimated position corresponding to the positioning locus up to the positioning position A. Since one branched road or passage exists within the error range of the estimated position M, the estimated position M is updated to a position on the road or the passage. Further, a value corresponding to the positional deviation between the estimated position M and the updated estimated position may be added to the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position M and inherited as the updated estimated coefficient of the estimated position. The estimated position on the other road or passage that is outside the error range of the estimated position M is rejected. In this case as well, at the feature point, the estimated position can be updated by correcting the displacement of the estimated position M, and the evaluation coefficient and error range can be updated.

  FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of updating the estimated position. In the example of FIG. 20 as well, when the road or passage where the estimated position updated last time (for example, the latest or two or three times before) may exist is branched into two roads or passages. It is. Assume that there is one estimated position M corresponding to the positioning position A by the locus of the estimated position from the previously updated estimated position corresponding to the positioning locus up to the positioning position A. Since both branched roads or paths exist within the error range of the estimated position M, the estimated position M is updated to a position on each road or path. The updated estimated position is set as the estimated position of the first candidate and the estimated position of the second candidate. Further, a value corresponding to the positional deviation between the estimated position M and the estimated position of the first candidate and the estimated position of the second candidate is added to the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position M, and the estimated position of the first candidate and the second candidate You may make it inherit as an evaluation coefficient of an estimated position. In this case as well, at the feature point, the estimated position can be updated by correcting the displacement of the estimated position M, and the evaluation coefficient and error range can be updated.

  Next, a method for calculating the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position at the feature point will be described. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of calculation of an evaluation coefficient for an estimated position at a feature point. In the example of FIG. 21, it is assumed that there are estimated positions M1, M2, and M3 that have been updated to positions on the road or passage corresponding to the positioning positions A1, A2, and A3 at the feature points B1, B2, and B3. The positional deviation between the positioning position A1 and the estimated position M1 is (x1, y1), the positional deviation between the positioning position A2 and the estimated position M2 is (x2, y2), and the positional deviation between the positioning position A3 and the estimated position M3 is Let (x3, y3). In addition, the positional deviation between the estimated position updated last time (for example, the latest position or a plurality of previous times such as two times or three times) and the corresponding positioning position is (x0, y0). The evaluation coefficient of the estimated position (for example, estimated position M3) can be obtained as an average value of the difference in positional deviation between the estimated position and the positioning position.

  That is, the average value of the difference in positional deviation in the x direction is {| x1-x0 | + | x2-x1 | + | x3-x2 |} / 3, and the average value of the positional deviation in the y direction is { | Y1-y0 | + | y2-y1 | + | y3-y2 |} / 3. It can be said that as the positional deviation at each of the feature points B1, B2, and B3 is equal, the evaluation coefficient becomes smaller and the probability (probability) of the estimated position is larger. Thereby, it is possible to grasp how much the estimated position is relative to the positioning position.

  In addition, as an evaluation coefficient, the square of the difference of the position shift in each feature point is totaled and averaged, and the square root of the average value can be obtained. Further, instead of the average value, other statistical values such as a median value and a numerical value that is a half of the sum of the maximum value and the minimum value can be used.

  FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of calculating the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position at the feature point. In the example of FIG. 22, it is assumed that there are estimated positions M1, M2, and M3 corresponding to the positioning positions A1, A2, and A3 at the feature points B1, B2, and B3. The positional deviation (distance) between the position of the point B1 and the estimated position M1 is d1, the positional deviation (distance) between the position of the point B2 and the estimated position M2 is d2, and the positional deviation between the position of the point B3 and the estimated position M3. Let (distance) be d3. The evaluation coefficient of the estimated position (for example, estimated position M3) can be obtained as an average value (d1 + d2 + d3) / 3 of the positional deviation (distance) between the feature point on the road or the passage and the estimated position.

  That is, it can be said that the shorter the distance between the estimated position and the position of the road or passage, the smaller the evaluation coefficient and the greater the probability (probability) of the estimated position. Thereby, it can be grasped how much the estimated position is relative to the road or the passage.

  FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position. When obtaining the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position, the present invention is not limited to the configuration in which the evaluation coefficient is calculated at a point where there is an obvious azimuth change, such as a characteristic point as shown in the examples of FIGS. As shown in Fig. 5, it is possible to evaluate the matching between the locus of the estimated position or the positioning locus and the road shape or the passage shape on the map. In addition, it is possible to evaluate using any one of the plurality of types of evaluation coefficients as described above. Alternatively, the plurality of types of evaluation coefficients may be appropriately weighted and combined to be used as one evaluation coefficient. it can.

  Next, a method for updating (correcting) the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position will be described. When the estimated position updated to the position on the road is at or near the pedestrian crossing, if the increase of the walking speed of the pedestrian or the stop of walking is detected, the probability that the pedestrian is in the pedestrian crossing or near the pedestrian crossing Assuming that the evaluation coefficient is high, the evaluation coefficient is updated to be small by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m1 = 1/3) to the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position. When updating the evaluation coefficient so that the evaluation coefficient becomes smaller by adding a numerical value of 1 or less to the evaluation coefficient, actually, data of the evaluation coefficient and the numerical value (default value is 1) is prepared. The stored value of the evaluation coefficient is kept as it is, and the numerical value to be integrated is changed, and the above integrated value can be used as an apparent evaluation coefficient when comparing with other estimated positions. Thereby, subsequent calculation of the evaluation coefficient can be performed without contradiction.

  When the estimated position updated to the position on the road is at or near the pedestrian crossing, the evaluation coefficient is updated according to the walking behavior at the start of the green light or the walking behavior at the start of the red signal. For example, if the walking starts from the stop when the green light starts, it is assumed that the pedestrian is walking on a pedestrian crossing, and the calculated evaluation coefficient is a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m2 = 1/5). ) Is updated so that the evaluation coefficient becomes smaller. Further, if there is an increase in walking speed at the start of the red signal, it is assumed that the probability that the pedestrian is walking on the pedestrian crossing is high, and the calculated evaluation coefficient is a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m3 = 1/5). ) Is updated so that the evaluation coefficient becomes smaller.

  In addition, when the estimated position updated to the position on the road is on the pedestrian overpass, if the pedestrian walks on the pedestrian overpass when a change in walking speed or a change in walking strength is detected during stair walking As a result, the evaluation coefficient is updated so that the evaluation coefficient becomes smaller by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m4 = 1/5) to the calculated evaluation coefficient. In this case, it is determined whether or not there is an increase or decrease in altitude. If there is an increase or decrease in altitude, the evaluation coefficient can be updated to be smaller.

  Also, when the estimated position updated to the position on the road is in the vicinity of the railroad crossing, if a pedestrian stoppage is detected, or if noise is added to the detection level of the geomagnetic sensor, the pedestrian will Assuming that there is a high probability of stopping before this, the evaluation coefficient is updated to be small by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m5 = 1/3) to the calculated evaluation coefficient.

  In addition, when the estimated position updated to the position on the passage moves from the road to the underground crossing passage (access passage to the station), when detecting fluctuations in walking speed or walking strength in stairs walking, Assuming that the probability that a pedestrian is walking in the underground crossing passage is high, the evaluation coefficient is updated to be small by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m6 = 1/5) to the calculated evaluation coefficient. . In this case, for example, m5 = 1/5 is used as a predetermined numerical value due to low reliability of the sensor such as GPS 131, low reliability of the geomagnetic sensor, fluctuation in walking speed or fluctuation in walking strength, and the like. it can. It is also possible to determine whether or not there is an increase or decrease in altitude, and when there is an increase or decrease in altitude, the evaluation coefficient can be updated to be smaller.

  In addition, when the estimated position updated to the position on the aisle is in the vicinity of the elevator, when the pedestrian stops walking, changes in altitude or atmospheric pressure, or the reliability of sensors such as GPS 131 decreases, the pedestrian Assuming that the probability of being in the elevator is high, the evaluation coefficient is updated to be small by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m7 = 1/5) to the calculated evaluation coefficient.

  Also, when the estimated position updated to the position on the passage is in the vicinity of the escalator, the walking stop of the pedestrian, the fluctuation of the walking speed or the fluctuation of the walking strength, the change of the altitude or the atmospheric pressure, the reliability of the sensor such as the GPS 131 When a decrease in sex is detected, it is assumed that a pedestrian is likely to be on the escalator, and the evaluation coefficient is reduced by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m8 = 1/5) to the calculated evaluation coefficient. Update as follows. In addition, as another walking behavior for distinguishing between an escalator and an elevator, for example, when there is a change in acceleration in the vertical direction, it is determined that the pedestrian is in the elevator and the acceleration is performed not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction. If there is a change, it may be determined that the pedestrian is on the escalator.

  In addition, when the estimated position updated to the position on the aisle is in the vicinity of the station platform, stop, boarding area, boarding area, etc., the pedestrian stops walking for a predetermined time or more, and the reliability of the sensor such as GPS 131 decreases. Is detected, it is assumed that there is a high probability that the pedestrian is in the platform, stop, boarding area, boarding area of the station, and a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m9 = 1/5) is added to the calculated evaluation coefficient. As a result, the evaluation coefficient is updated to be smaller.

  In addition, when the estimated position updated to the position on the passage is in the vicinity of the ticket vending machine, if the pedestrian detects a temporary stoppage of the pedestrian or a decrease in the reliability of the sensor such as the GPS 131, the pedestrian Assuming that the probability of being in the vicinity is high, the evaluation coefficient is updated to be small by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m10 = 1/3) to the calculated evaluation coefficient.

  In addition, when the estimated position updated to the position on the aisle is in the vicinity of the ticket gate, if a pedestrian's instantaneous walking stop or disorder of walking is detected, there is a probability that the pedestrian is near the ticket gate. Assuming that the value is high, the evaluation coefficient is updated to be small by adding a predetermined numerical value of 1 or less (for example, m11 = 1/3) to the calculated evaluation coefficient.

  The association between the feature point of the road or the passage and the walking behavior of the pedestrian or the association between the feature point and the reliability of the sensor may be stored in the storage unit 15 in advance.

  As described above, it is possible to update the evaluation coefficient so as to decrease, to increase the certainty of the estimated position, and to determine the accuracy of position detection. Further, when detecting the own position based on the estimated position, it is possible to continue detecting the own position based on the most likely estimated position even when there are a plurality of estimated position candidates. Instead of reducing the value of the evaluation coefficient, all other estimated positions may be rejected. This corresponds to specifying the initial position of the estimated position.

  When there are a plurality of estimated position candidates, the estimated position having the smallest evaluation coefficient among the estimated position candidates is regarded as the position of the pedestrian, and the estimated position having an evaluation coefficient larger than a predetermined threshold is rejected from the candidate target. be able to. In addition, when the estimated position of the other region and the estimated position of the road or passage exist at a walking distance that is equal to or greater than the threshold, the estimated position of the other region may be rejected as having a low existence probability. Furthermore, the estimated position that is outside the error range of the positioning position can be rejected. In addition, when there is only one estimated position and the estimated position is on a road or a passage for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined distance, the estimated position is determined as a pedestrian position, The evaluation coefficient for the determined estimated position is set to zero. Further, when there is no estimated position, a position obtained by accumulating the positioning position or the positioning locus from the latest estimated position until a new estimated position is obtained is set as a temporary estimated position (temporary position). Can do.

  Next, the correction of the positioning direction will be described. When the map matching method identifies the road or passage and its estimated position, and the positioning direction does not change more than a predetermined walking distance (for example, 20 m), the positioning direction is changed to the road or passage direction on the map. It can be corrected. The timing for correcting the positioning direction is, for example, when a situation where the specified estimated position is unique continues for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) or a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m), or for all specified positions The situation where the road or passage direction on the map corresponding to the estimated position is within a predetermined threshold (for example, 2 degrees) is within a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) and / or a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m) This is a case where the above is continued and the positioning azimuth has not changed more than a predetermined walking distance (for example, 20 m).

  Further, the following correction timing conditions can be added. As the condition (1), if the difference between the estimated position and the positioning position is within a predetermined threshold (for example, 50 m) for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) or a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m), (2) When the probability that the geomagnetic sensor is normal for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) or a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m) is low, for example, continuous for a predetermined walking distance (for example, 20 m) or more When the geomagnetic sensor is not normal, as the condition (3), when the probability that the GPS 131 is normal for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) and / or a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m) is low, for example, This is a case where the GPS 131 is not normal continuously for a predetermined walking distance (for example, 50 m). The correction of the positioning direction may be limited to the case where the road direction or the passage direction on the map is straight.

  When the position of the pedestrian is displayed on the display unit 18, when there are a plurality of specified positions, the most likely specific position can be displayed according to the magnitude of the calculated or corrected evaluation coefficient, or a plurality of specific positions can be displayed. All the positions may be displayed, or some of the specified positions may be selected and displayed. Also, at a certain point in the process of detecting the position of the pedestrian, the position cannot be detected temporarily with high accuracy, and if the evaluation coefficient increases and the detected position is displayed, the pedestrian Even if there is a possibility that the wrong position is displayed, if the accuracy of the specific position is sufficiently secured as a result of the subsequent positioning, the position will be identified after the time when the certainty of the position can be secured. The position can also be displayed.

  Next, a case where a pedestrian uses transportation, for example, a case where a pedestrian gets on a railroad will be described. FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a railway route map, and FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a required time between railway stations. The required time (for example, an up train) in FIG. 25 corresponds to the route map in FIG. The route map and required time constitute route information. As shown in FIG. 24, it is assumed that there are a main line, a branch line 1 and a branch line 2 branching from the main line on the railway line. The main line has stations J1 to J12, and the branch line 1 branches from the station J3 and has stations K1 to K6. Further, it is assumed that the branch line 2 branches at the station J7 and there are stations L1 to L3. For example, railways are classified into limited express, express, semi-express, and normal, and the stations where the express stops are J1, J7, J12, and the stations where the express stops are J1, J3, J7, J10, J12. The stations where the semi-express stops are J1, J3, J7, J10, J12, K3, K6, and usually stop at all stations.

  As shown in FIG. 25, the route information includes the position of each station for each main line, branch line 1, and branch line 2, the distance between the stations, and the time required between the stations according to the classification of each train. In addition, the above-mentioned division is an example, and is not limited to this, and other divisions such as rapid, commuting rapid, and new rapid may be used, or vehicles stop at all stations like a subway. In such a case, it is not necessary to provide a division. There may also be mutual trains between railways. In FIG. 25, for example, the time required for an up train is illustrated, but the same applies to a down train.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the access path to the indoor area or road area of each station may be stored in the map database 14 as two-dimensional space or line data map information so that map matching can be performed. It is also possible to store the entire station building as a station area and store only the range (boundary).

  Train categories are stored in advance, such as train speed and vibration characteristics for each category, and by detecting movement speed and vibration characteristics when a pedestrian gets on the train, the category of the train on which the pedestrian gets Can be determined. For example, it can be determined in the order of fast moving speed, such as limited express, express, semi-express, and normal. Further, it can be determined in the order of strong vibration, such as limited express, express, semi-express, and normal.

  In addition, the station from which the train stops is determined by the elapsed time from when the pedestrian gets on the train until the train stops and the required time between the stations. It is also possible to determine the category of the train on which the boarding was made. Alternatively, the train where the pedestrian boarded from the section of the train that passes through the station by obtaining the station that the train passed without stopping by the elapsed time from the time when the pedestrian boarded the train and the required time between stations Can be determined.

  The position of the pedestrian when the pedestrian is on the train can be specified along the route map. For example, the ratio of the elapsed time after boarding to the time required from the boarding station to the next station is proportionally distributed between the boarding station and the next station, and the distance from the boarding station is determined. be able to. For example, in the example of FIGS. 24 and 25, if it is determined that a pedestrian has boarded an express train, and if the elapsed time is 5 minutes after getting on from the station J1, the stations J1 and J7 (the express train is next The position of the pedestrian is a position that is separated from the station J1 by a distance obtained by multiplying the distance between the stations by 5/9 (9 minutes is the required time between the stations J1 and J7).

  In addition, when specifying the position of the pedestrian on the route map, the elapsed time is not only the elapsed time from the boarding point where the pedestrian got on the transportation means, but also when stopping or passing at any station In addition, the elapsed time from the station where the vehicle stopped or passed is included. Thus, the position of the pedestrian may be specified based on the elapsed time starting from the boarding station and the required time to each station, or the elapsed time starting from a certain station and the starting point regardless of the boarding station The position of the pedestrian can be specified based on the required time from the station.

  In the above example, the case of an indoor station building such as a subway has been described, but it is connected to or on a road like an outdoor train, train, train, monorail, streetcar, route bus, airplane, cable car, ropeway, etc. Even if there is a platform, stop, or boarding area at the station, in the same way as above, set the platform, stop, boarding area, access passage, route map, and required time between stations in the road area or indoor area. Thus, the position of the pedestrian can be specified similarly. If the means of transportation does not travel underground like a subway, there is a possibility that radio waves from GPS satellites can be received at least intermittently, and the position of pedestrians can also be specified using GPS positioning. it can.

  26 and 27 are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of vibration characteristics. 26 and 27, the horizontal axis indicates the frequency (Hz), and the vertical axis indicates the intensity of vibration. FIG. 26A shows vibration characteristics when a pedestrian normally walks. FIG. 26 (b) shows the vibration characteristics when the pedestrian goes up the stairs, and FIG. 26 (c) shows the vibration characteristics when the pedestrian goes down the stairs. FIG. 27A shows vibration characteristics when a pedestrian gets on a transportation means such as a subway or a train and the transportation means is moving. FIG. 27B shows vibration characteristics when a pedestrian gets on a transportation means such as a subway or a train and the transportation means is stopped.

  As shown in FIG. 26, for example, when a pedestrian is walking, the frequency characteristic of vibration has a peak of intensity at a predetermined frequency (for example, 2 Hz, 4 Hz, 6 Hz, etc.) and is relatively strong. The level of is great. It can also be seen that the level of vibration intensity differs between when going up the stairs and when going down. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 27, when the pedestrian gets on the transportation means and the transportation means is moving, the frequency characteristic of the vibration has no intensity peak at a specific frequency, A relatively low level of strength over a wide range of frequencies. Further, when the transportation means is stopped, the frequency characteristics of vibration are at a very small level as a whole.

  Next, an example of displaying the position of the pedestrian when the pedestrian gets on the transportation means and is moving will be described. FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the position of a pedestrian who is moving by means of transportation. As shown in FIG. 28, the route map of the transportation facility on which the pedestrian has boarded can be displayed on the display unit 18, and the current position of the pedestrian can be displayed along the route map.

  In this case, when an optimum route is guided from the departure point to the destination, a route map between the boarding station and the getting-off station on the route to be guided can be displayed. In addition, when getting on a transportation means and traveling a relatively long distance, a route map near the current position can be displayed.

  FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the display of the position of a pedestrian who is moving by means of transportation. As shown in FIG. 29, in addition to the route map in the vicinity of the current position, the time required to the next station, information for transfer guidance, and the like can be displayed. Moreover, when performing route guidance, you may display the required time to the station which gets off.

  Next, the procedure of the position detection process will be described. 30, 31 and 32 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the position detection process. The control unit 11 performs position detection processing in cooperation with each unit in the pedestrian guidance device 10. The control unit 11 determines whether or not a search for an initial position is necessary (S11).

  Unlike in the case of pedestrians, in the case of a vehicle, position detection is almost impossible, and even when the power is turned off, the detected position is saved, so there is almost no need to search for the initial position. There is nothing. However, in the case of a pedestrian, position detection may become impossible after the pedestrian turns off the mobile device or after coming out of the road from the basement, and it is necessary to search for the initial position. is there. The search for the initial position is, for example, when the pedestrian moves by means of transportation, the position of the pedestrian can be tracked along the route map, and is limited to the vicinity of the station where the pedestrian gets off the transportation means By doing so, positioning by the GPS 131 or communication with a normal base station can be performed.

  When the search for the initial position is necessary (YES in S11), the control unit 11 searches for the initial position (S12), and sets the search position as a temporary positioning position (S13). When the search for the initial position is not necessary (NO in S11), that is, when one or more estimated positions are already held, the control unit 11 does not perform the processes of Step S12 and Step S13, but will be described later in Step S14. Perform the process.

  The control unit 11 determines whether or not there is communication with the road device (S14), and when there is communication with the road device (YES in S14), the positioning position is corrected to the communication position (S15), and the estimated that has been held. All positions are rejected (S16). The error due to narrow area communication (local communication) with the on-road device is considerably smaller than GPS etc., and the accuracy is high. Therefore, when the communication position is obtained by local communication, this communication position is the most reliable. It can be an estimated position.

  The control unit 11 registers the corrected positioning position as an estimated position (S17), and registers an error range of the estimated position and an evaluation coefficient (S18). Thereby, the new registration (initial registration) of the estimated position is completed, and the error range of the estimated position and the evaluation coefficient are set. When there is no communication with the road device (NO in S14), the control unit 11 performs the process of step S17 and registers the provisional positioning position as the estimated position.

  The control unit 11 acquires the positioning data (S19), confirms whether the positioning data is abnormal (S20), and calculates the reliability of the positioning data according to the confirmation result (S21). The control unit 11 calculates a positioning position based on the positioning data (S22), and calculates a positioning error of the positioning position (S23). As described above, the positioning position can be calculated by a combination of the independent navigation using the distance sensor 132, the direction sensor 133, and the like and the satellite navigation using the GPS 131 or the like. However, when there is no high obstacle such as a building around and the positioning performance of the GPS satellite is very good, it is possible to perform positioning using only the GPS satellite without using self-contained navigation.

  The control unit 11 acquires the walking behavior of the pedestrian (S24), and determines whether or not the map information and the route information from the external device are updated (S25). When the map information and the route information are updated (YES in S25), the control unit 11 acquires the map information and the route information (S26). When the map information and the route information are not updated (NO in S25), the control unit 11 performs the process of step S27 described later without performing the process of step S26. In addition, you may make it acquire the signal information of the traffic signal around a pedestrian from an external device.

  The control unit 11 updates the estimated position to specify the position of the pedestrian (S27), and determines whether or not the pedestrian has set the destination point (S28). When the pedestrian has not set the destination point (NO in S28), the control unit 11 continues the process after step S27.

  When the pedestrian sets the destination point (YES in S28), the control unit 11 specifies a route from the current position of the pedestrian to the destination point (S29), and determines whether there are a plurality of specified routes. (S30). When there are a plurality of routes (YES in S30), the control unit 11 displays the specified route on the display unit 18, prompts the pedestrian to select a route, and accepts the route selection (S31). When there are not a plurality of routes (NO in S30), the control unit 11 performs the process of step S32 described later without performing the process of step S31.

  The control unit 11 determines whether or not there is a predetermined waypoint on the specified route (S32), and if there is a predetermined waypoint (YES in S32), determines whether or not it is a route guidance timing. (S33). When it is not the timing of route guidance (NO in S33), the control unit 11 continues the process of step S33.

  When it is the timing of route guidance (YES in S33), the control unit 11 guides to the waypoint by voice and / or display (S34), and determines whether the pedestrian has reached the waypoint (S35). . When the pedestrian has not reached the waypoint (NO in S35), the control unit 11 continues the process from step S34.

  When the pedestrian reaches the waypoint (YES in S35), the control unit 11 determines whether or not it is the last waypoint on the route to the destination point (S36). If it is not the last waypoint (NO in S36), the control unit 11 continues the processing from step S34. When it is the last waypoint (YES in S36), the control unit 11 guides the pedestrian to the destination point by voice and / or display (S37).

  The control unit 11 determines whether or not the pedestrian has reached the destination point (S38). If the destination has not reached the destination point (NO in S38), the processing from step S37 is continued. When the pedestrian reaches the destination point (YES in S38), the control unit 11 ends the process.

  When there is no predetermined waypoint (NO in S32), the control unit 11 determines whether it is the timing of route guidance (S39). When it is not the timing of route guidance (NO in S39), the control unit 11 continues the process of step S39. When it is the timing of route guidance (YES in S39), the control unit 11 continues the processing from step S37.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to guide the pedestrian along the optimal route to the destination point, and the pedestrian is not guided to the optimal route to the destination point, but is guided to the waypoint. Even when a person detours to a desired place such as a building or an underground shopping area on the way to the destination, the pedestrian can be reliably and effectively guided to the destination via the waypoint.

  In the above-described embodiment, when a route from the current position of the pedestrian to the destination is searched and there is no transport that can be used, the route is directly guided to the destination without specifying the waypoint. May be. Even in this case, instead of calculating the optimum route and guiding the route according to the optimum route, even if the pedestrian walks to a place off the route, the guidance from the position to the destination point can be made by voice or display. It can be carried out. If the current position (departure point) or destination point is on a narrow street, the nearest main road from the current position to the nearest main road is obtained, and the route of the main road is derived by route calculation. Also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, for example, when a plurality of different routes are connected to one station building, depending on the position of the platform, it can be determined which route is the pedestrian based on the positioning result. It is possible to specify the platform from which the vehicle was boarded, and to specify the position along the pedestrian route.

  In the above example, a case is described in which a pedestrian wears a portable device during normal walking or bicycle riding, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the pedestrian directly wears the portable device. First, store a bag or a portable device in a travel case with wheels, cart, baby carriage, wheelchair, etc., temporarily install or temporarily place it, carry it by a pedestrian, push or pull the car, or rotate the wheel by hand And it may be a case where it is going through the field which a pedestrian can pass. In this case, these conditions may be estimated from the data of the step sensor, and the distance may be calculated by detecting the number of steps of the pedestrian or the period of rotation by hand.

  Further, in the above, a mode is shown in which all the data necessary for position detection is collected in the mobile device and the position detection is performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and necessary data is transmitted from the mobile device to a server installed on the road or in the center. The position detection process may be executed by the server, and the result may be transmitted to the mobile device. Or you may share execution of a process. This can reduce the burden on the mobile device.

  The pedestrian guidance device described above can be applied to, for example, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a PHS, a notebook personal computer, a music player, an information terminal device such as a portable game device, or a portable terminal device. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the pedestrian guidance device may include an inclination angle sensor. As a result, when the device tilts due to vibration or posture change of the device accompanying walking, taking out, operation, etc. of the pedestrian, the function may stop or the performance may be deteriorated depending on the type of the orientation sensor or the distance sensor. . Accordingly, the tilt angle can be detected by the tilt angle sensor, and the azimuth sensor or the distance sensor can be corrected.

  The mathematical formulas for estimating the position of the pedestrian shown in the above-described embodiment are merely examples, and the mathematical formulas are not limited thereto, and mathematical formulas appropriately modified can be used.

  The disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a block diagram showing an example of composition of a pedestrian guidance device concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the error range of a positioning position. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of map information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a setting of the road or channel | path on a map. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the underground map information near a station. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example which pinpoints a path | route. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the guidance by an audio | voice. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of guidance by an audio | voice. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the guidance by a display. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the guidance by a display. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the guidance by combined use of a display and an audio | voice. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the new registration of an estimated position. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of calculation of the evaluation coefficient of the newly registered estimated position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of calculation of the locus | trajectory of the estimated position on the ground until it uses a transportation system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of calculation of the locus | trajectory of the estimated position in the basement until it uses a transportation system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the locus | trajectory calculation of the estimated position on the ground until it uses a transportation system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the locus | trajectory calculation of the estimated position in the basement until it uses a transportation system. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the update of an estimated position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the update of an estimated position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the update of an estimated position. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of calculation of the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position in a feature point. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of calculation of the evaluation coefficient of the estimated position in a feature point. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the evaluation coefficient of an estimated position. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a route map of a railway. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the required time between the stations of a railway. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a vibration characteristic. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a vibration characteristic. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display of the position of the pedestrian who is moving by the transportation means. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of a display of the position of the pedestrian who the pedestrian is moving by a transportation means. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a position detection process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a position detection process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a position detection process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pedestrian guidance apparatus 11 Control part 12 Communication part 13 Positioning part 131 GPS
132 Distance Sensor 133 Direction Sensor 134 Altitude Sensor 135 Direction Correction Unit 136 Sensor Calibration Unit 14 Map Database 15 Storage Unit 16 Operation Unit 17 Position Detection Processing Unit 171 Position Estimation Unit 172 Error Calculation Unit 173 Walking Behavior Determination Unit 174 Getting On / Off Determination Unit 175 Position Identification unit 176 Reliability calculation unit 177 Evaluation unit 178 Vibration detection unit 179 Route identification unit 18 Display unit 19 Audio output unit 20 Pedestrian guidance unit

Claims (8)

In a pedestrian guidance device that has positioning means for positioning its own position and is portable for a pedestrian and guides the pedestrian to a destination point,
Storage means for storing map information;
A receiving means for receiving information about the destination point;
Route specifying means for specifying a route to the destination point received by the receiving means based on the own position measured by the positioning means and stored map information;
Determining means for determining whether or not there is a predetermined waypoint on the route specified by the route specifying means;
A pedestrian guidance device comprising: guidance means for guiding a pedestrian to the route point when the determination unit determines that the route point is present. The guiding means includes
The pedestrian guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the pedestrian guidance device is configured to perform guidance based on a distance and a direction from the position of the pedestrian to the waypoint. A storage means for storing the location information of the boarding / exiting points for transportation is provided.
The guiding means includes
The walking according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the route specifying means using the transportation means is specified by the route specifying means, the boarding / departing point of the transportation means is used as a waypoint. Person guidance device. Comprising storage means for storing the position information of the ascending / descending points that can be raised or lowered to the upper floor or the lower floor;
The guiding means includes
3. The pedestrian guidance according to claim 1, wherein when the route specifying means uses a route that uses the lift point, the route specifying unit guides the lift point as a transit point. 4. apparatus.   The route selecting means according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising route selecting means for selecting one route based on a walking distance on the route when the route specifying means can specify a plurality of routes. Pedestrian guidance device as described in one.   The pedestrian guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising display means for simultaneously displaying a pedestrian position and a transit point or destination point on a map. In a computer program for guiding a pedestrian to a destination,
Computer
A route specifying means for specifying a route to a destination point based on positioning data and map information obtained by positioning;
A determination means for determining whether or not there is a predetermined waypoint on the identified route;
A computer program for causing a pedestrian to function as a guiding means for guiding a pedestrian to the waypoint when it is determined that the waypoint is present. In the pedestrian guidance method to measure the position of itself and guide the pedestrian to the destination point,
Remember the map information,
Accept information about the destination point,
Based on the measured position and the stored map information, the route to the accepted destination point is specified,
Determine if there is a predetermined waypoint on the identified route,
A pedestrian guidance method characterized by guiding a pedestrian to the waypoint when it is determined that there is the waypoint.

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