JP2011196781A - Apparatus for measurement of self-position, and service method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-position measuring apparatus that reduces a burden in image processing and achieves reduction of power consumption, concerning the self-position measuring apparatus to measure a self-position based on image information.SOLUTION: The self-position measuring apparatus 30 for computing the self-position includes: an image information acquirer for acquiring an image containing an illumination source 20 in a prescribed space as image information 22; an illumination source image extractor for extracting extraction illumination source image information 24 of an image of the illumination source 20 from the image information 22 acquired by the image information acquirer; a first memory device 25 for storing the extraction illumination source image information 24 extracted by the illumination source image extractor; a second memory device 27 for previously storing reference illumination source image information 26 for each illumination source 20; and a self-position measuring device 28 for computing the self-position based on the extraction illumination source image information 24 and the reference illumination source image information 26.

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-position measuring device that measures the position of the device itself and a service method using the same.

  In order to measure the position of people and things, many self-position measuring devices that measure the position of the device itself have been devised, and this self-position measuring device can be worn by people or attached to things. Measuring the position of people and things has been realized. One example is GPS (Global Positioning System), which is widely used for car navigation and mobile phones installed in cars. GPS is a device based on triangulation using radio waves from an artificial satellite orbiting the earth.

  As an example other than GPS, a self-position measuring device has been devised that uses a wireless LAN function to perform triangulation from the strength and phase of the wireless and the phase difference. An accuracy of about 3 m is realized. In recent years, an accuracy of 1 m or less has been realized by utilizing a higher frequency UWB (Ultra Wide Band) band. In addition, recently, an outdoor self-position measuring device using a position at a wireless base station level has been realized. In addition, a self-position measuring apparatus in a room using a batch type RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) has been realized. However, since the above-described self-position measuring device using wireless requires relatively large power consumption as a portable device for wireless communication, it is difficult to realize a small device or a device having a long use time. In addition, even when information communicated from a wireless network is not used by the device, performing wireless communication for self-position measurement of the device is a large load energy for wireless communication with respect to the original information. From the viewpoint, there is an energy load, which is not preferable. Further, in the case of a position measurement method in a room using a batch type RFID, although there is energy saving, the accuracy is usually about several meters, and there is a problem that the actual place in the room is unclear.

  On the other hand, as a self-position measuring device that does not use wireless communication, for example, a surveillance camera or a WEB camera installed outdoors or indoors is used, and only an object such as a person or an object is distinguished from the image by image processing. First, a method for realizing the purpose by measuring the position of a specific person or thing by performing ID (individual identification) of the image object has been devised. In addition, by attaching a module that emits light to the end organ parts of the body such as arms, hands, legs and shoes, there are also things that measure not only the position of the person outside and indoors but also the movement of the person's limbs. . However, the self-position measurement method (apparatus) using these image processing requires a plurality of cameras equivalent to the surveillance camera to be installed in a space where a person or object whose position is to be measured exists, and the apparatus is very large. In addition, when functions such as a surveillance camera and a video conference are unnecessary, there is a lot of waste in terms of energy.

  In addition to the example using the image processing, there is a self-position measuring device that does not use wireless communication or radio waves. For example, many devices using an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor have been devised. However, all of them measure the amount of position movement, not the position itself. Therefore, these alone will cause the position accuracy to deteriorate over time due to error integration, and depending on the accuracy of the individual method, both of them are devices that need to be combined with other methods within a certain time. Yes, self-position measurement alone is not possible.

  Furthermore, many devices for measuring the position of the device based on image information input (acquired) by the device itself have been devised. There is no device whose main purpose is to measure the position of the device itself. As shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, three-dimensional image information of the surrounding environment that is a technical classification such as a three-dimensional input device is used. There are many devices whose main purpose is input, and as a result, the position of the device itself is measured. Since these methods need to calculate the feature points and optical flow etc. by image processing from a plurality of three-dimensional image information in an outdoor street or indoor, the burden of the image processing is relatively large. It is difficult to reduce the size of the device itself. In addition, when an object moves outdoors or indoors, it may be difficult to measure the position of the object.

  On the other hand, as another device for measuring the position of the device from the image information input by the device itself, an artificial geometric pattern is provided in advance for the ceiling, furniture, or object, and this is determined by image processing. By doing so, there is a device for measuring the self-position of this device. For example, when a geometric pattern is provided on paper, it is put into practical use as a digital pen by Anoto Group AB (Sweden). However, the artificial geometric pattern used for these is a pattern that is uncomfortable in the indoor space with an inorganic image because of its ease of identification. Actually, the above-mentioned Anoto, one-dimensional and two-dimensional patterns are used. It is rarely used except for use in a state where it is printed on paper like a dimensional barcode. In order to reduce the sense of discomfort in the indoor space and the appearance of things, there are also ideas to embed necessary information in natural images or design images, but these require a higher resolution image input device (image acquisition device) as a trade-off. End up.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a self-position measuring device that measures self-position based on image information, the self-position measuring device that reduces the burden of image processing and reduces power consumption. It is another object of the present invention to provide a service method using the same.

  In order to achieve such an object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a self-position measuring device for calculating a self-position, an image information obtaining unit for obtaining an image including an illumination light source in a predetermined space as image information, Illumination light source image extraction means for extracting extracted illumination light source image information that is an image of the illumination light source from the image information acquired by the image acquisition means, and extraction illumination light source image information extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means is stored. One storage means, a second storage means for preliminarily storing reference illumination light source image information, which is information relating to each of the illumination light sources, and its own position is calculated based on the extracted illumination light source image information and the reference illumination light source image information And self-position measuring means.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, illumination light source specific information superimposing means for superimposing illumination light source specific information, which is specific information of the illumination light source, on the illumination light from the illumination light source, and image information acquired by the image information acquisition means From the extracted illumination light source image information extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means, the illumination light source unique information extraction means for extracting the illumination light source unique information superimposed by the illumination light source unique information superimposing means, and the illumination light source unique information extraction means Third storage means for storing the extracted extracted illumination light source specific information, and the self-position measuring means calculates its own position based on the extracted illumination light source image information and the extracted illumination light source specific information. Features.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, illumination control information superimposing means for superimposing illumination control information indicating the illumination light control state of the illumination light source on the illumination light from the illumination light source, and image information acquired by the image information acquisition means Illumination control information extracting means for extracting the illumination control information superimposed by the illumination control information superimposing means from the extracted illumination light source image information extracted by the illumination light source image extracting means, and the illumination control information extracted by the illumination control information The self-position measuring means calculates the position of itself based on the extracted illumination light source image information, the extracted illumination light source specific information, and the illumination control information.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, a reference natural light image which is image information of natural light in a predetermined space from the extracted illumination light source image information further extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means from the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means A reference natural light image information acquisition means for acquiring information, and a fifth storage means for storing the reference natural light image information acquired by the reference natural light image information acquisition means. The self-position is calculated based on the information, the reference illumination light source image information, and the reference natural light image information.

  A second aspect of the present invention is a service method for performing predetermined control using the self-position measuring apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, in a self-position measuring device that measures a self-position based on image information, it is possible to reduce the burden of image processing and to reduce power consumption.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the self-position measuring apparatus as 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the surrounding environment of the self-position measuring apparatus as 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the image information example by the self-position measuring apparatus as 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the self-position measuring apparatus as 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the self-position measuring apparatus as 3rd embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the self-position measuring apparatus as 4th embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the service method using the self-position measuring apparatus as 5th embodiment of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments (embodiments) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First embodiment]
A configuration example of the self-position measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, 20 is an illumination light source, 21 is an image information input means (also referred to as an image information acquisition means), 22 is image information, 23 is an illumination light source image extraction means, and 24 is Extraction illumination light source image information, 25 is first storage means, 26 is reference illumination light source image information, 27 is second storage means, 28 is self-position calculation means, and 29 is self Reference numeral 30 denotes a self-position measuring device composed of 20 to 29.

  In FIG. 1, first, the image information input means 21 inputs (acquires) an image including an illumination light source in the office space that is the environment around the office worker of the device 30 to the device 30 as image information 22. The image information input means 21 is a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor), etc. disposed on the image plane formed by the optical lens body, the optical lens control system, and the optical lens, as in a digital camera, a video camera, or the like. It is comprised from the image pick-up element. The image input means 21 may use infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, or terahertz waves, or may use special filter processing or polarization processing.

  A configuration example of the office space in which image information is input as image information 22 by the image information input means 21 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, 12 is a part of office space, 8 is a floor, 11 is a passage side wall, 10 is a window side wall, 7 is a partition wall with an adjacent room, 9 is a ceiling, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3c are indoor ceiling illumination light sources provided on the ceiling 9, 6 is a door on the passage side, 5 is a small window provided on the door, and 4a and 4b are windows. is there.

  In FIG. 2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3c are obtained by providing a weak optical transmission diffusive cover to a lighting apparatus arranged in parallel with two fluorescent lamps. Image information 22 based on the luminance distribution based on the parallel arrangement is input to the apparatus 30 by the image information input means 21 in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, windows 4 a and 4 b exist, and natural light originating from the sun is incident as external light from these windows as an illumination light source. Therefore, from the illumination light source as external light based on the shape of the window The image information 22 is input to the apparatus 30 by the image information input means 21 in FIG. 1 as in the case of the fluorescent lamp. Further, in FIG. 2, a small window 5 is provided in the door 6 on the passage side, and when the illumination light source of the passage is sufficiently strong, this small window 5 can also be an illumination light source for the office space.

  In such an office space as shown in FIG. 2, the indoor ceiling illumination light source composed of 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3c is compared with other objects that normally exist in the office space because of its function. It is a very bright object. For this reason, in FIG. 1, the image of the indoor ceiling illumination light source, that is, the extracted illumination light source image information 24 is relatively easily obtained by performing image processing by the illumination light source image extraction means 23 from the image information 22 input to the apparatus 30. Can be obtained.

  More specifically, it is basically based on extracting from the image information 22 a portion of luminance information having a relatively constant value or more. Further, since the room illumination is usually at a position higher than the line of sight, image information at a position higher than the line of sight among the image information 22 may be preferentially image processed. Images related to the illumination light source can be easily extracted from the image information that the object itself has acquired brightness, and the contour of the object is easy to extract because of its contrast with other objects. The fact that the information is large means that the noise itself is small compared to other images, and that the image accuracy per pixel unit is high. In addition, the illumination light source often has a simple shape, which facilitates image processing.

  The extracted illumination light source image information 24 is subjected to primary processing such as γ correction, edge extraction, filter processing, feature point extraction, Fourier transform, image recognition, character recognition, shape recognition, object recognition, and the like as necessary. Information relating to metadata processing accompanying the extracted illumination light source image information 24 after the primary processing of the light source image information 24 or before and during the primary processing may be further calculated.

  In addition, outside light from the windows 4a and 4b in the office space as shown in FIG. 2 is usually a brighter object than other objects existing in the office space. For this reason, in FIG. 1, the extracted illumination light source image information 24 can be obtained relatively easily by performing image processing by the illumination light source image extraction means 23. In addition, when a light beam of a certain value or more that can be handled as an illumination light source flows from the passage into the office space from the door window provided on the passage side, the illumination light source image extraction unit 23 similarly extracts the illumination light source image. Information 24 can be obtained.

  The extracted illumination light source image information 24 extracted from the image information 22 by the illumination light source image extraction means 23 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, FIG. 3A shows image information 22 inputted as an image to the office space, and reference numerals 1 to 11 denote individual image information elements corresponding to the objects 1 to 11 in FIG. Reference numeral 31 denotes the whole of these individual image information elements. FIG. 3B shows the extracted illumination light source image information 24, and 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b, 43a, and 43b correspond to the indoor ceiling illumination light sources 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3b provided on the ceiling 9. 44a and 44b are extracted illumination light source image information corresponding to the windows 4a and 4b, and 45 is extracted illumination light source image information corresponding to the small window 5 provided on the door 6 on the passage side. .

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the extracted illumination light source image information 24 corresponding to the fluorescent lamps 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b and the windows 4a, 4b and the small window 5 of the door as the illumination light source, 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b, 43a, 43b, 44a, 44b, 45 are obtained. These pieces of information can be stored in the first storage means 25 and used for self-position calculation by the self-position calculation means 28. The first storage means 25 need not be provided in an independent office space, and may be provided outside the office space through a network.

  In FIG. 1, reference illumination light source image information 26 is information relating to a three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, and the like regarding each illumination light source provided in the office. This reference illumination light source image information 26 is acquired in advance and stored in the second storage means 27 so that it can be used for self-position calculation by the self-position calculation means 28.

  Individual lighting sources provided in the office space, other than those installed by individuals on individual desks, are usually determined when a building is newly constructed or refurbished, and the office layout is changed irregularly. It is. For this reason, most of the information hardly changes over time, and can be easily realized by acquiring and recording the information when the building is constructed or renovated and when the office layout is changed.

  In FIG. 1, the self-position calculating unit 28 uses the extracted illumination light source image information 24 stored in the first storage unit 25 and the reference illumination light source image information 26 stored in the second storage unit 27. The relationship between the two pieces of image information is fitted to the three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, and the like of each illumination light source. Thereby, the line-of-sight vector of the image input means can be specified, thereby the three-dimensional position of the image information input means 21 can be specified, and the self-position information 29 of the self-position measuring device 30 is acquired. Can do.

  An apparatus for specifying the three-dimensional position of the image input means for inputting the image information by fitting two pieces of image information has already been devised, but these devices include a desk, a monitor, a chair, and a door in an office space. Since image acquisition including dimension position measurement is considered at the same time, the amount of calculation becomes enormous, and it requires a CPU load equivalent to or higher than that of a normal desktop personal computer, which increases the required power consumption. As a result, it was difficult to realize with a small portable device.

  In the present embodiment, on the premise that the office worker performs office work in the office space, it is utilized that the illumination light source sufficient for the office worker to perform office work exists in the office space. In other words, by focusing on this illumination light source, instead of performing image processing on various shapes of models and complex shapes that are difficult to recognize as in the past, fitting on an existing model base is performed. Thus, it becomes possible to specify the line-of-sight vector by very simple image processing. As a result, the necessary CPU load can be reduced, and thus the necessary power consumption can be reduced, and as a result, it can be realized with a small portable device.

  In FIG. 1, in the actual calculation by the self-position calculating means 28, it is necessary to consider that the illumination light source 20 is turned on or off according to the intention of the office worker, and in some cases, the intermediate brightness is turned on. Moreover, it is necessary to consider the illumination light source by natural light like a window changing greatly with the environment of the day, and the change by utilization of a blind, a curtain, etc. These are preferably stored in advance as additional information as illumination light source image information.

  In addition, it is necessary to consider error factors such as the presence of a large amount of light flux with a large amount of change by the projector and the presence of light flux by individual lighting set by the individual in a timely manner. However, these are mostly illumination light sources in the vicinity of the line of sight, and can be easily distinguished from illumination light sources installed on the ceiling and windows having openings at positions considerably higher than the line of view so that natural light from the sun enters. In addition, projectors that are not mobile are usually installed at a position higher than the line of sight, such as being installed on the ceiling. However, since these positions are fixed, they are stored in advance as illumination light source information. It can respond.

  The image information input means 21 in FIG. 1 has the main image information input target being the illumination light source 20, and therefore, by setting the optical axis above the horizontal, more efficient image information with high resolution. Can be obtained. This can be easily realized by, for example, offsetting the image pickup element with respect to the horizontal optical axis of the optical lens in addition to tilting the optical axis of the optical lens upward.

[Second Embodiment]
A configuration example of the self-position measuring apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 4, 51 is illumination light source unique information, 52 is illumination light source unique information superimposing means, 53 is illumination light source unique information extracting means, 54 is extracted illumination light source unique information, and 55 is third information. A storage means 56 is a self-position measuring device composed of 20 to 29 and 51 to 55. The part other than the part constituted by 51 to 55 is the same as that of FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment, and the part constituted by 51 to 55 is a part added to the first embodiment.

  The illumination light source 20 of some or all of 1a to 3b provided on the ceiling of the office space in FIG. 2 is composed of an element capable of optical communication such as an inorganic white LED or an organic white EL, or a part of the illumination light source 20 is infrared. A light emitting element made of light is provided in advance. Thereby, the illumination light source specific information superimposing means 52 is realized. The illumination light source unique information superimposing means 52 superimposes illumination light source unique information 51 (details will be described later) on illumination light from the illumination light source 20 that is unique information of the illumination light source 20. The illumination light of the illumination light source 20 (including the illumination light source specific information 51) illuminates the office worker in the office space. The office worker wears the self-position measuring device 56 shown in FIG. The image information input means 21 of the self-position measuring device 56 inputs an image including an illumination light source in the office space that is the environment around the office worker of the device 56 to the device 30 as the image information 22.

  The illumination light source specific information 51 in FIG. 4 is the ID number of the illumination light source 20, and further the three-dimensional shape, luminance distribution, position information, etc. of the illumination light source 20, and is stored in the second storage means 27 separately in FIG. It is equivalent to the reference illumination light source image information 26 being performed.

  In such an office space as shown in FIG. 2, the indoor ceiling illumination light source composed of 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3b is usually compared with other objects in the office space because of its function. It is a very bright object. Therefore, in FIG. 4, images of the indoor ceiling illumination light source, that is, the extracted illumination light source image information 24 are relatively easily obtained by performing image processing by the illumination light source image extracting unit 23 from the image information 22 input to the device 56. Can be obtained.

  In FIG. 4, reference illumination light source image information 26 is information relating to a three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, and the like regarding each illumination light source provided in the office. This reference illumination light source image information 26 is acquired in advance and stored in the second storage means 27.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 4, the illumination light source specific information extraction means 53 is superimposed on the illumination light from the extracted illumination light source image information 24 extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means 23 from the image information 22 input to the device 56. Light source unique information 51 (extracted illumination light source unique information 54) is extracted. Specifically, the illumination light source specific information extraction unit 53, when the illumination light source specific information 51 is superimposed by amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or luminance distribution modulation of the illumination light source 20, is a time axis of the illumination light. It consists of an electric circuit that can carry out waveform analysis. More specifically, when an image sensor made of CMOS is used for the image information input means 21, it is possible to extract a certain amount of information from the illumination light source 20 by utilizing its high time-axis resolution. . In addition, when the illumination light source specific information 51 is superimposed as light having a wavelength other than illumination light, the light source unique information 51 includes a wavelength separation filter, a corresponding wavelength light receiving element, and an electric circuit that performs waveform analysis of an output signal from the wavelength separation filter.

  The extracted illumination light source specific information 54 is stored in the third storage means 55 as information equivalent to the reference illumination light source image information 26. Then, the self-position calculating means 28 uses the extracted illumination light source specific information 54 and the extracted illumination light source image information 24 stored in the first storage means 25 to determine the relationship between these two pieces of image information. Fitting is performed on the three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, etc. of the illumination light source. As a result, the line-of-sight vector of the image information input means 21 can be specified, whereby the three-dimensional position of the image information input means 21 can be specified, and the self-position information 29 of the self-position measuring device 56 is acquired. can do.

  In the present embodiment, since the self-position calculating unit 28 obtains the extracted illumination light source specific information 54 related to the illumination light source input as an image from the image information 22, it is possible to reduce specific errors of the illumination light source 20. . Therefore, the necessary CPU load can be reduced in a short time, and thus the necessary power consumption can be reduced, and as a result, it can be realized with a small portable device.

  The illumination light source unique information 51 superimposed on the illumination light source 20 by the illumination light source unique information superimposing means 52 is appropriately determined by the illumination light source unique information superimposing means 52 based on a signal from the image information input means 21 side. May be superimposed. For example, a large movement of the office worker is detected from an acceleration sensor or a magnetic sensor separately provided in the device 56, and the light source specific to the illumination light source is intermittently provided from a signal generator separately provided in the image information input means 21 according to the detection state. The superimposition start signal is transmitted to the information superimposing means 52, and the illumination light source specific information superimposing means 52 superimposes the illumination light source specific information 51 on the illumination light at an instant or programmed time according to the received superposition start signal. Thereby, it is possible to more efficiently superimpose the illumination light source specific information 51 on the illumination light, and as a result, it is possible to reduce power consumption.

[Third embodiment]
A configuration example of the self-position measuring device according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 5, 61 is illumination control information, 62 is illumination control information superimposing means, 63 is illumination control information extracting means, 64 is extracted illumination control information, and 65 is fourth storage means. The rest is the same as that of FIG. 4 showing the second embodiment, and 66 is a self-position measuring device constituted by 20 to 29, 51 to 55 and 61 to 65. A part constituted by 61 to 65 is a part added to the second embodiment.

  A part or all of the illumination light sources 20 of 1a to 3b provided in advance on the ceiling of the office space in FIG. 2 is composed of an optically communicable element such as an inorganic white LED or an organic white EL, or a part thereof is infrared. A light emitting element made of light is provided. Thereby, the illumination light source specific information superimposing means 52 and the illumination control information superimposing means 62 are realized. The illumination light source unique information superimposing means 52 and the illumination control information superimposing means 62 superimpose illumination light source unique information 51 and illumination control information 61 (details thereof will be described later) on the illumination light from the illumination light source 20. Illumination light from the illumination light source 20 (including illumination light source specific information 51 and illumination control information 61) illuminates an office worker in the office space. The office worker is equipped with the self-position measuring device 66 shown in FIG. 5, and the image information input means 21 provided in the self-position measuring device 66 supplies an illumination light source for the office space that is the surrounding environment of the office worker of the device 66. The included image is input to the device 66 as the image information 22.

  The illumination light source unique information 51 in FIG. 5 includes the ID number of the illumination light source 20, and further the three-dimensional shape, luminance distribution, position information, and the like of the illumination light source 20. The illumination control information (illumination light control information) 61 includes information indicating an illumination light control state of the illumination light source 20 having a specific ID number, that is, a luminance distribution control state. This is because the illumination light source 20 is actually dimmed in various ways depending on the room usage location, outdoor brightness, time of day, preference of the office worker to be used, and the luminance distribution of the illumination light at this time is large. Change.

  In the office space as shown in FIG. 2 in such a state, the indoor ceiling illumination light source composed of 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3b is usually used for other objects in the office space because of its function. Is a very bright object. For this reason, in FIG. 5, the image of the indoor ceiling illumination light source, that is, the extracted illumination light source image information 24 is relatively easily obtained by performing image processing by the illumination light source image extraction means 23 from the image information 22 input to the device 66. Can be obtained.

  In FIG. 5, reference illumination light source image information 26 is information relating to a three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, and the like regarding each illumination light source provided in the office. This reference illumination light source image information 26 is acquired in advance and stored in the second storage means 27.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 5, the illumination light source specific information extraction unit 53 is superimposed on the illumination light from the extracted illumination light source image information 24 extracted by the illumination light source image extraction unit 23 from the image information 22 input to the device 66. Light source unique information 51 (extracted illumination light source unique information 54) is extracted. Specifically, the illumination light source specific information extraction unit 53, when the illumination light source specific information 51 is superimposed by amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or luminance distribution modulation of the illumination light source 20, is a time axis of the illumination light. It consists of an electric circuit that can carry out waveform analysis. These are the same as in FIG.

  Further, in FIG. 5, the illumination control information extraction means 63 is superposed on the illumination light from the extracted illumination light source image information 24 extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means 23 from the image information 22 input to the device 66. Information 61 (extracted illumination control information 64) is extracted. Specifically, when the illumination control information 61 is superimposed by amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or luminance distribution modulation of the illumination light source 20, the illumination control information extraction unit 63 performs the illumination control information extraction on the time axis of the illumination light. It consists of an electric circuit that can perform waveform analysis. These are the same as in the case of FIG. 4 except that an electric circuit with a larger amount of information becomes more complicated and the frequency characteristics required for the image sensor become higher.

  The extracted illumination light source specific information 54 is stored in the third storage means 55 as information equivalent to the reference illumination light source image information 26. The extracted illumination control information 64 of the illumination light source 20 is stored in the fourth storage unit 65. Then, the self-position calculating unit 28 uses the extracted illumination light source specific information 54, the illumination control information 64, and the extracted illumination light source image information 24 stored in the first storage unit 25. Are fitted to the three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, and the like of each illumination light source. As a result, the line-of-sight vector of the image information input means 21 can be specified, whereby the three-dimensional position of the image information input means 21 can be specified, and the self-position information 29 of the self-position measuring device 66 is acquired. can do.

  In the present embodiment, the self-position calculating means 28 obtains illumination control information 64 from the image input information 22 in addition to the extracted illumination light source specific information 54 related to the illumination light source 20 inputted as an image. Therefore, the specific error of the illumination light source 20 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the necessary CPU load in a short time, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the necessary power consumption, and as a result, it can be realized with a small portable device.

  The illumination light source unique information 51 superimposed on the illumination light source 20 by the illumination light source unique information superimposing means 52 is appropriately determined by the illumination light control information superimposing means 52 based on a signal from the image information input means 21 side. May be superimposed. For example, a large movement of the office worker is detected from an acceleration sensor or a magnetic sensor separately provided in the device 66, and an illumination light source specific is generated from a signal generator separately provided in the image information input means 21 according to the detection state. The superimposition start signal is transmitted to the information superimposing means 52, and the illumination light source specific information superimposing means 52 superimposes the illumination light source specific information 51 on the illumination light at an instant or programmed time according to the received superposition start signal. Thereby, it is possible to more efficiently superimpose the illumination light source unique information 51 on the illumination light, and as a result, it is possible to improve the reliability that can reduce power consumption.

  As already described, the illumination light source 20 is actually dimmed in various ways depending on the usage location of the room, the outdoor brightness, the time, the preference of the office worker to be used, etc. Since the luminance distribution of light changes greatly, even if the illumination light source is the same, the image information of the illumination light source may be greatly different. Therefore, there are a plurality of illumination light sources in the office space and their lighting / non-lighting state. There are many combinations.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the self-position calculating unit 28 uses the extracted illumination light source specific information 54 and the extracted illumination light source image information 24 stored in the first storage unit 25 to obtain these 2 items. By fitting the relationship between two pieces of image information to the three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, etc. of each illumination light source, the line-of-sight vector of the image input means may not be specified.

  However, in the present embodiment, the image information 22 of the illumination light source 20 related to the actual luminance distribution of the illumination light source 20 is obtained directly using the illumination control information superimposing means 62, or the extracted illumination light source specific information 54 or The calculation result can be obtained from the reference illumination light source image information 26. As a result, the line-of-sight vector of the image information input means 21 can be specified by performing fitting with respect to the three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, and the like of each illumination light source 20 with higher accuracy and higher reliability. become.

[Fourth embodiment]
A configuration example of the self-position measuring device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 6, reference numeral 71 denotes reference natural light image information acquisition means, 72 denotes reference natural light image information, 73 denotes fifth storage means, and 74 denotes 20 to 29 and 51 to 55 and 61 to 65 and 71 to 73 is a self-position measuring device constituted by 73. The self-position measuring device 74 in FIG. 6 is obtained by adding a part composed of 71 to 73 to the structure in FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment.

  In the office space as shown in FIG. 2, the indoor ceiling illumination light source consisting of 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b is very much in comparison with other objects that normally exist in the office space because of its function. It is a bright object. For this reason, from the image information 22 input to the device 74, the image of the indoor ceiling illumination light source, that is, the extracted illumination light source image information 24 can be obtained relatively easily by performing image processing by the illumination light source image extraction means 23. it can.

  However, some office spaces are designed such that a large window is provided so that sunlight from the window is actively collected into the office space. In this case, the luminance of the illumination light source image information corresponding to the windows 4a and 4b is larger than the image information corresponding to the indoor ceiling illumination light sources 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3b provided on the ceiling 9. In some cases, the luminance distribution of the indoor ceiling illumination light sources 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b may be affected.

  At this time, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6, as a means different from the image information input means 21, the reference natural light image information 72 which becomes the natural light image information by the reference natural light image information acquisition means 71. To win. The reference natural light image information acquisition means 71 acquires reference natural light image information 72 from the extracted illumination light source image information 24 extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means 23 from the image information 22 input by the image information input means 21. The acquired reference natural light image information 72 is stored in the fifth storage unit 73. The reference natural light image information 72 includes image information based on luminance distribution information when natural light from a specific window in a specific office space is input as an image from a specific position in the office space. It is information that takes into account the change values corresponding to the weather outside and the time of day. The reference natural light image information 72 can be acquired as information from various sensors or networks provided separately, or as actual measurement or statistical prediction data prepared in advance using a table.

  Then, the self-position calculating unit 28 stores the extracted illumination light source image information 24 stored in the first storage unit 25, the reference illumination light source image information 26 stored in the second storage unit 27, and the fifth storage unit 73. Using the stored reference natural light image information 72, the relationship between these three pieces of image information is fitted to the three-dimensional position, shape, luminance distribution, and the like of each illumination light source. Thereby, the line-of-sight vector of the image information input means 21 can be specified, whereby the three-dimensional position of the image input means can be specified, and the self-position information 29 of the self-position measuring device 74 is acquired. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, since the self-position calculation means 28 uses the reference natural light image information 72 in the calculation, it can be realized with a small portable device that can reduce specific errors of the illumination light source 20. Become.

[Fifth embodiment]
A service method using the self-position measuring apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an office space input as image information 22 by the image information input means 21, and is basically the same as FIG. That is, in FIG. 7, 8 is a floor, 11 is a passage side wall, 10 is a window side wall, 7 is a partition wall with an adjacent room, 9 is a ceiling, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b are indoor ceiling illumination light sources provided on the ceiling 9, 6 is a door on the passage side, 5 is a small window provided on the door, and 4a and 4b are windows. Further, 81 is an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), 83 is an office worker, 84 is a self-position measuring device worn on the chest by the office worker, and 85 is a flow of movement of the office worker. . The self-position measuring device 84 is one of the device 30 in FIG. 1, the device 56 in FIG. 4, the device 66 in FIG. 5, and the device 74 in FIG.

  In FIG. 7, reference numerals 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3c are obtained by providing a weak optical transmission diffusive cover on a lighting apparatus in which two fluorescent lamps are arranged in parallel. For this reason, the image information 22 based on the luminance distribution based on the parallel arrangement of the two fluorescent lamps is input to the device 84 by the image information input means 21, and any one of the above-described FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. In the same operation, the self-position of the device 84 is measured.

  Since the office worker 83 wears the device 84 on the chest, the two-dimensional position of the office worker 83 in the office space can be measured. The following services can be realized using the location of this office worker. That is, if the MFP 81 acquires position information from time to time by wireless communication from the pre-registered device 84, and the position information reaches a preset value, the MFP 81 performs a preset operation (for example, print paper) Output, energy saving mode on / off). Note that a plurality of preset operations may be performed, and these operations may be executed in a predetermined order.

  For example, when the office worker approaches the MFP 81 on the flow line indicated by 85, the MFP 81 is preset by the office worker 83 when the position information transmitted from the device 84 reaches a predetermined value. Starts printing the printed paper. That is, since the output of the print paper is started before the office worker 83 stands in front of the MFP 81, the waiting time for paper output can be reduced. For this reason, it becomes possible to provide a service that simultaneously realizes a reduction in TCO by improving security and reducing waiting time.

  In addition, for example, when the office worker approaches the MFP 81 by the flow line indicated by 85 when the MFP 81 is in the energy saving mode, the MFP 81 indicates that the position information transmitted from the device 84 has a predetermined value. At this point, the recovery from the energy saving mode set in advance by the office worker 83 is started. That is, since the return from the energy saving mode is performed before the office worker 83 stands in front of the MFP 81, the waiting time required for the return can be reduced. For this reason, since power can be supplied to the MFP 81 only when necessary, an energy saving effect can also be realized. Note that what kind of control (for example, output of print paper or return from the energy saving mode) is performed in advance is set in the MFP 1 for each of a plurality of office workers, and the office where the MFP 1 approaches the MFP 81. By specifying a worker, control can be performed for each office worker.

  As described above, the service using the device 84 is not limited to the printing paper output and the return from the energy saving mode in the MFP 81 described above. For example, by further utilizing the network function, energy saving control corresponding to the movement of lighting office, air conditioning and IT office specific office worker, IT equipment security control, improvement of IT equipment user interface, office log documents and Various services such as information storage and retrieval support are available.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, it is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  For example, the operation in the above-described embodiment can be executed by hardware, software, or a combined configuration of both.

  When executing processing by software, a program in which a processing sequence is recorded may be installed and executed in a memory in a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. Or you may install and run a program in the general purpose computer which can perform various processes.

  For example, the program can be recorded in advance on a hard disk or a ROM (Read Only Memory) as a recording medium. Alternatively, the program is temporarily or permanently stored on a removable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), an MO (Magneto optical) disc, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a magnetic disc, or a semiconductor memory. It can be stored (recorded). Such a removable recording medium can be provided as so-called package software.

  The program may be wirelessly transferred from the download site to the computer in addition to being installed on the computer from the removable recording medium as described above. Or you may wire-transfer to a computer via networks, such as LAN (Local Area Network) and the internet. The computer can receive the transferred program and install it on a recording medium such as a built-in hard disk.

  In addition to being executed in time series in accordance with the processing operations described in the above embodiment, the processing capability of the apparatus that executes the processing, or a configuration to execute in parallel or individually as necessary Is also possible.

1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3c Indoor ceiling illumination light source 4a, 4b Window 5 Small window 6 Door on the side of the passage 7 Bulkhead with the adjacent room 8 Floor 9 Ceiling 10 Window side wall 11 Passage side wall 12 Part of the office space 20 Illumination light source 21 Image information input means 22 Image information 23 Illumination light source image extraction means 24 Extraction illumination light source image information 25 First storage means 26 Reference illumination light source image information 27 Second storage means 28 Self-position calculation means 29 Self-position information 30 56, 66, 74, 84 Self-position measuring device 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b, 43a, 43b Extracted illumination light source image information 44a, 44b corresponding to indoor ceiling illumination light sources 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b Extracted illumination light source image information corresponding to 4a and 4b 45 Extracted illumination light source image information corresponding to the small window 5 51 Illumination light source specific information 52 Illumination Source unique information superimposing means 53 Illumination light source specific information extracting means 54 Extracted illumination light source specific information 55 Third storage means 61 Illumination control information 62 Illumination control information superimposing means 63 Illumination control information extracting means 64 Extracted illumination control information 65 Fourth memory Means 71 Reference natural light image information acquisition means 72 Reference natural light image information 73 Fifth storage means 81 MFP
83 Office worker 85 Direction of office worker movement

Japanese Patent No. 3655065 Japanese Patent No. 3712847

Claims (5)

In a self-position measuring device that calculates its own position,
Image information acquisition means for acquiring an image including an illumination light source in a predetermined space as image information;
Illumination light source image extraction means for extracting extracted illumination light source image information that is an image of the illumination light source from the image information acquired by the image acquisition means;
First storage means for storing extracted illumination light source image information extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means;
Second storage means for storing in advance reference illumination light source image information that is information relating to each of the illumination light sources;
Self-position measuring means for calculating the position of the self based on the extracted illumination light source image information and the reference illumination light source image information;
A self-position measuring device characterized by comprising: Illumination light source specific information superimposing means for superimposing illumination light source specific information, which is specific information of the illumination light source, with respect to the illumination light from the illumination light source;
An illumination light source that extracts the illumination light source specific information superimposed by the illumination light source specific information superimposing means from the extracted illumination light source image information extracted by the illumination light source image extracting means from the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means Unique information extraction means;
Third storage means for storing the extracted illumination light source specific information extracted by the illumination light source specific information extraction means,
The self-position measuring means is
The self-position measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the self-position is calculated based on the extracted illumination light source image information and the extracted illumination light source specific information. Illumination control information superimposing means for superimposing illumination control information indicating an illumination light control state of the illumination light source on illumination light from the illumination light source;
Illumination control information extraction for extracting the illumination control information superimposed by the illumination control information superimposing unit from the extracted illumination light source image information extracted by the illumination light source image extracting unit from the image information acquired by the image information acquiring unit. Means,
Fourth storage means for storing the illumination control information extracted by the illumination control information,
The self-position measuring means is
The self-position measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the self-position measuring device calculates its own position based on the extracted illumination light source image information, the extracted illumination light source specific information, and the illumination control information. Reference natural light that acquires reference natural light image information that is image information of natural light in the predetermined space from the extracted illumination light source image information extracted by the illumination light source image extraction means from the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means. Image information acquisition means;
And fifth storage means for storing the reference natural light image information acquired by the reference natural light image information acquisition means,
The self-position measuring means is
The self-position measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the self-position is calculated based on the extracted illumination light source image information, the reference illumination light source image information, and the reference natural light image information.   5. A service method, wherein predetermined control is performed using the self-position measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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