JP2017223587A - Tracking object discovery device, tracking object discovery method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recognize an object as an individual object.SOLUTION: A tracking object discovery device comprises: a distance measurement sensor for measuring a distance between the device and each object out of plural objects in an environment; an environment map generation part for generating an environment map, based on the distance between the device and each object out of the plural objects, measured by the distance measurement sensor; a map information storage part for storing the environment map generated by the environment map generation part; an object movement information acquisition part for acquiring object movement information indicating that, the object moved; and an object tracking part for, based on information indicating a difference between the environment map which was generated before the object moved, and environment map which is generated after the object moved, and the object movement information, identifying the object which moved, and identifying a position of the identified object after the object moved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a tracking object discovery device, a tracking object discovery method, and a program.

When a robot moves or works in a human living space, the robot needs to grasp the state of the human living space. Specifically, the robot needs to accurately know the position of the object in the environment map and the environment.
The environment map used by the robot is generally created using a distance measuring sensor (for example, a sensor equipped with a camera and a laser range finder (LRF)). For example, in the environment information creation method described in Patent Document 1, environment information that indicates the shape and position of an object is created using a sensor that acquires a measurement value that indicates the relative position of the object that is present in the surroundings as viewed from the moving body. Is done.

JP 2009-174898 A

  In the environment information creation method described in Patent Document 1, for example, when two objects are in contact, such as when a measurement object is on a table that is a part of the environment to be measured, It is difficult to recognize the table and the measurement object as individual objects without preparing the shape data of the measurement object in advance. In addition, for example, it is difficult to recognize a measurement object having an indefinite shape such as cloth or paper as an individual object.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a tracking object discovery device, a tracking object discovery method, and a program capable of recognizing an object as an individual object.

(1) The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. As one aspect of the present invention, a distance measuring sensor that measures a distance from each of a plurality of objects in the environment, and the distance measuring sensor An environment map creation unit that creates an environment map based on the distances to the plurality of objects measured by the map, a map information storage unit that stores the environment map created by the environment map creation unit, and A difference between an object movement information acquisition unit that acquires object movement information indicating that an object has moved, and the environment map that is created before the object moves and the environment map that is created after the object moves A tracking object generator comprising: an object tracking unit that identifies the moved object based on the information indicating and the object movement information, and identifies a position after the movement of the identified object. It is a device.

(2) As an aspect of the present invention, the object movement information acquisition unit acquires the object movement information based on acceleration information measured by an acceleration sensor mounted on the object. The tracking object finding device according to 1).

(3) Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, when the object movement information acquisition unit acquires object movement information about a plurality of the objects, the object tracking unit is configured to move the object tracking information before the plurality of objects move. Information indicating a plurality of differences between the created environment map and the environment map created after the plurality of objects have moved; information analyzing the object movement information of the plurality of objects in time series; The tracked object finding device according to (1) or (2), wherein the plurality of moved objects are respectively identified based on the information, and the moved positions of the identified objects are respectively identified. It is.

(4) Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, the object tracking unit acquires a plurality of environment maps stored in the map information storage unit based on acquiring object movement information about the specific object. The environment according to any one of (1) to (3) is characterized in that the environment in which the tracking object discovery device of the self exists is identified among the plurality of environments indicated by It is a tracking object discovery device.

(5) Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, an object management information storage unit is provided that stores object management information that associates identification information for identifying the object, attribute information representing the position of the object, and characteristics of the object. The tracking object finding apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), characterized in that:

(6) Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus includes an interaction unit that receives input of information indicating an inquiry from a user and outputs information indicating a response to the user based on the object management information. The tracking object finding device according to (5).

(7) According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tracking object finding method using a computer, in which a distance measurement sensor measures a distance from each of a plurality of objects in the environment, and an environment map. An environment map creating step in which the creating unit creates an environment map based on each of the distances to the plurality of objects measured by the distance measuring sensor, and a map information storage unit is created by the environment map creating unit. A map information storage step for storing the environmental map, an object movement information acquisition unit for acquiring object movement information indicating that the object has moved, and an object tracking unit for moving the object. Information indicating the difference between the environmental map created before and the environmental map created after the object has moved, and the object movement information, the moved Identifying the body, and a tracking object finding method characterized by having, an object tracking step of identifying the position after the movement of the identified said object.

(8) Further, as one aspect of the present invention, a computer includes a distance measuring step for measuring the distance to each of a plurality of objects in the environment, and each of the plurality of objects measured in the distance measuring step. An environment map creation step for creating an environment map based on the distance, a map information storage step for storing the environment map created in the environment map creation step, and object movement information indicating that the object has moved are acquired. An object movement information acquisition step, information indicating a difference between the environmental map created before the object moves and the environmental map created after the object moves, and the object movement information And an object tracking step for identifying the moved object and identifying the position of the identified object after the movement. .

  According to the present invention, an object can be recognized as an individual object.

It is the schematic which shows the tracking of the object by the tracking object discovery system 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the tracking object discovery system 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the acceleration information 1033 which the memory | storage part 103 of the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 concerning embodiment of this invention memorize | stores. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the object management information 1032 which the memory | storage part 103 of the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention memorize | stores. It is the schematic which shows the identification of the moved object and position by the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the identification of the moved object and position by the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows specification of the environment by the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, an outline of tracking an object according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating tracking of an object by a tracking object discovery system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, in the space spc1, which is the environment to be measured, the tracking object finding device 10 and three objects (object obj1, object obj2, and object obj3) are placed. The tracking object discovery apparatus 10, the plurality of sensor tags 20, and the communication network that wirelessly connects the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 and the sensor tag 20 are hereinafter referred to as a tracking object discovery system 1.

  The tracking object finding device 10 is a device (for example, a robot) including a distance measuring sensor 101 that can measure the distance of each of a plurality of objects placed in the space spc1 from the tracking object finding device 10. For example, an object (object obj1, object obj2, or object obj3) in which light emitted from a light source (for example, an LED (light emitting diode) or laser diode) included in the distance measuring sensor 101 is placed in the space spc1 is used. ) And is received by a light receiving element included in the distance measuring sensor 101. The distance measuring sensor 101 measures the distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to each object by analyzing the received light. The tracking object finding device 10 identifies the position of each object in the space spc1 based on the measured distance, and creates an environment map.

  Sensor tags 20 on which acceleration sensors are mounted are respectively installed on the objects obj1 and obj2. As a result, when the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed moves or is intentionally moved, the tracking object discovery device 10 receives acceleration information from the sensor tag 20 to determine when the object has moved at what acceleration. Can be recognized.

  The objects (object obj1 and object obj2) on which the sensor tag 20 is installed are objects to be tracked by the tracking object finding device 10. Further, the object (object obj3) where the sensor tag 20 is not installed is a part of the environment to be measured, and is not an object to be tracked by the tracking object discovery device 10.

  When the object (object obj1 or object obj2) on which the sensor tag 20 is installed moves, the acceleration sensor included in the sensor tag 20 detects a change in acceleration accompanying the movement of the object, and information indicating the detected acceleration and the sensor tag 20 ( And the acceleration information associated with the identification information for identifying the object) is transmitted to the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 via the wireless communication network by the wireless communication module provided in the sensor tag 20.

  When the tracking object finding device 10 receives the acceleration information from the sensor tag 20, the distance measuring sensor 101 again measures the distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to each of the objects, and the tracking object finding device 10 in the space spc1 based on the measured distance. The position of the object is identified again, and an environmental map is created.

  Then, the tracking object discovery device 10 includes information indicating the difference between the environment map created before the object moves and the environment map created after the object moves, information indicating the acceleration of the object, and the sensor tag 20 (and the object). ) Is analyzed to identify which object has moved to which position. The details of the moving object and the method for specifying the position of the moved object will be described later.

  In the above description, it is assumed that the distance measuring sensor 101 is provided only in the tracking object finding device 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, by installing a plurality of distance measuring sensors 101 at different positions in the space spc1, and measuring the distance from each of the objects from the plurality of positions, the measurement accuracy of the position of the object can be further improved. In addition, this can reduce cases where the distance to be measured cannot be measured because the object to be measured is hidden behind another object.

(Configuration of tracking object discovery system)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the tracking object finding system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the tracking object discovery system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the tracking object discovery system 1 includes a tracking object discovery device 10, a plurality of sensor tags 20 (sensor tag group), and a communication network 30.

  The tracking object discovery device 10 includes a distance measuring sensor 101, an environment map creation unit 102, a storage unit 103, an acceleration information acquisition unit 104, an acceleration information writing unit 105, an object tracking unit 106, and an environmental structure management unit 107. And a dialogue unit 108.

The distance measuring sensor 101 measures each distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to a plurality of objects (for example, the object obj1, object obj2, and object obj3) in the environment (for example, the space spc1).
The environment map creation unit 102 identifies the positions of a plurality of objects based on the distances measured by the distance measuring sensor 101, and a general environment map creation method, for example, SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). An environmental map using various techniques.

  The storage unit 103 stores map information 1031 based on the environment map created by the environment map creation unit 102. The storage unit 103 also stores acceleration information 1033 written in time series by an acceleration information writing unit 105 described later. The storage unit 103 also includes identification information for identifying the sensor tag 20 (and the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed), the name of the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed, information indicating the position of the object, and attributes of the object Object management information 1032 that associates information (for example, information related to the feature of the object) is stored.

The acceleration information acquisition unit 104 (object movement information acquisition unit) identifies the information indicating the acceleration of the object (object movement information indicating that the object has moved) and the sensor tag 20 (and the object) transmitted from the sensor tag 20. Acceleration information 1033 that associates the information is received via the communication network 30.
The acceleration information writing unit 105 writes the acceleration information 1033 received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 into the storage unit 103.

The object tracking unit 106 is a mechanism for extracting an object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed from the environment map and specifying the position of the object. The object tracking unit 106 monitors the acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103, and performs processing for specifying the position of the object at a timing when the acceleration information 1033 is updated. The object tracking unit 106 includes information indicating a difference between the environment map created by the environment map creating unit 102 before the object moves and the environment map created by the environment map creating unit 102 after the object moves, and acceleration information 1033, the moved object is identified, and the position of the identified object after the movement is specified.
The environment structure management unit 107 updates the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103 based on the information indicating the position of the moved object specified by the object tracking unit 106.

The dialogue unit 108 includes a dialogue input / output unit 1081 and a dialogue control unit 1082 as shown in FIG.
The dialogue input / output unit 1081 receives an input of information from a user who interacts with the tracking object finding device 10 (for example, a dialogue robot having a dialogue function with the user) or outputs information to the user. I / O interface. The dialogue unit 108 includes, for example, a microphone, a speaker, or a touch panel type liquid crystal display.

The dialogue control unit 1082 analyzes the information input to the dialogue input / output unit 1081 by the user, and recognizes the content requested by the user. Then, the dialogue control unit 1082 outputs information indicating the request contents from the user to the environmental structure management unit 107.
The environment structure management unit 107 refers to the object management information 1032 based on the information input from the dialogue control unit 1082, and acquires information for generating a response to the input information from the object management information 1032. The environment structure management unit 107 outputs the information acquired from the object management information 1032 to the dialogue control unit 1082.
The dialogue control unit 1082 generates information indicating a response to the request content from the user based on the information input from the environment structure management unit 107 and outputs the information to the dialogue input / output unit 1081.
The dialogue input / output unit 1081 converts the information input from the dialogue control unit 1082 into a data format (for example, voice data) that can be recognized by the user, and outputs (to the user).
The details of the dialogue between the tracking object finding device 10 and the user will be described later.

(Configuration of acceleration information)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the acceleration information 1033 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103 of the tracking object discovery device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the acceleration information 1033 is two-dimensional tabular data composed of three data item columns of “sensor tag ID”, “time stamp”, and “acceleration value”.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, for example, the data in the first row of the acceleration information 1033 includes “A001” that is the value of the “sensor tag ID” item, “14636938725” that is the value of the “time stamp” item, and “ This is data consisting of “5.236” which is the value of the item of “acceleration value”. This data shows that the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID “A001” is assigned (the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed) has moved at an acceleration value of “5.236” at the time based on the time stamp “14636932525”. Represents that.

  The acceleration information 1033 is transmitted from the sensor tag 20 to the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 of the tracking object finding device 10 via the communication network 30 when the sensor tag 20 detects acceleration. The acceleration information 1033 received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 is written into the storage unit 103 by the acceleration information writing unit 105. The sensor tag 20 measures the acceleration information 1033 periodically at a period of 30 Hz, for example, after detecting the acceleration until the object stops, and transmits it to the acceleration information acquisition unit 104.

(Composition of object management information)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the object management information 1032 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103 of the tracking object discovery device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the object management information 1032 is data in a two-dimensional tabular format composed of four data item columns of “sensor tag ID”, “object name”, “coordinate value”, and “attribute value”.

  As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the data in the first row of the object management information 1032 includes “A001” that is the value of the “sensor tag ID” item, “remote control” that is the value of the “object name” item, and The data is composed of “(25, 36)” that is the value of the item of “coordinate value” and “remote control for display 1” that is the value of the item of “attribute value”. This data indicates that the “object name” of the object on which the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID “A001” is assigned is “remote control”. Further, this data indicates that the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID “A001” is assigned is located at the coordinates represented by the coordinate value “(25, 36)”. Further, this data indicates that the object on which the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID “A001” is assigned is installed is an object having “attribute value” (attribute information) that is “remote control for display 1”. Represents.

  As shown in FIG. 4, for example, for the data in the fourth row of the object management information 1032, no value is stored in the item “sensor tag ID”. In addition, the value of the “object name” item is “table 1”, the value of the “coordinate value” item is “(25, 30)”, and the value of the “attribute value” item is “central large table”. is there. In this data, an object in which the sensor tag 20 is not installed and an object whose “object name” is “table 1” is located at a coordinate represented by a coordinate value “(25, 30)”. It represents having an “attribute value” (attribute information) indicating that it is a “central large table”.

  When a value is stored in the item “sensor tag ID” as in the data from the first line to the third line of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4, the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID is assigned is installed. The detected object is an object to be tracked by the tracking object finding device 10. On the other hand, when no value is stored in the item “sensor tag ID” as in the data on the fourth line of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4, the object indicated by the “object name” of the data is the sensor tag. Reference numeral 20 denotes an object that is not installed, and is an object that is not a target to be tracked by the tracking object discovery device 10.

  For data corresponding to an object to be tracked by the tracking object discovery device 10 (data from the first line to the third line of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4), “sensor tag ID” and “object name” The values of the three items “attribute value” are stored in advance. The value of the item “coordinate value” is updated by the environmental structure management unit 107 every time it is detected that the object has moved. Whether or not a value is stored in the item “attribute value” is arbitrary.

  For data corresponding to an object that is not a target to be tracked by the tracking object discovery device 10 (data in the fourth row of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4), “object name”, “coordinate value”, The values of the three items “attribute value” are stored in advance. Note that the value of the “sensor tag ID” item is not stored, and whether or not the value is stored in the “attribute value” item is arbitrary.

(Identification of moved object and position)
Hereinafter, the specification of the moved object and the position of the moved object after the movement by the tracking object discovery device 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the identification of the moved object and the position by the tracking object discovery device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 5A shows the positions (coordinates) of objects (for example, the object obj1, object obj2, and object obj3) that actually exist in the space spc1 shown in FIG. 1, and the position of the tracking object finding device 10 as the origin. It is represented on a two-dimensional coordinate plane. In order to simplify the description, a coordinate plane composed of an x-axis and a y-axis will be described as an example here, but a three-dimensional coordinate space composed of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis may be used.

  In FIG. 5B, the distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to each object existing in the space spc1 is measured by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10, and the position (coordinates) is measured by the environment map creating unit 102. Is represented on a coordinate plane with the position of the tracking object finding device 10 as the origin. A portion indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5B represents a range in which light emitted from the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0.

  FIG. 5C shows the measurement of the distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to each object existing in the space spc1 by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 again after the object obj2 moves to the position of the coordinate crd1. The object whose position (coordinates) is specified by the environment map creation unit 102 is represented on a coordinate plane with the position of the tracking object finding device 10 as the origin. Similar to FIG. 5B, the part indicated by the broken line in FIG. 5C represents the range in which the light irradiated by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0. Is.

  The object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object discovery device 10 analyzes that a certain object has moved by analyzing the difference between the environment map created before the object moves and the environment map created after the object moves. Can be recognized. Specifically, the object tracking unit 106 uses coordinates where the object exists in the environment map created before the object moves but does not exist in the environment map created after the object moves. Recognize the coordinates of the movement source of the object. In addition, the object tracking unit 106 uses the coordinates where the object exists in the environment map created after the object moves, but the object tracking unit 106 moves the object in the environment map created before the object moves. Recognize the original coordinates.

The object tracking unit 106 displays a time stamp corresponding to a time zone between the time when the environment map created before the object moves and the time when the environment map created after the object moves. The indicated data is extracted from the acceleration information 1033 of the storage unit 103, and the sensor tag ID associated with the extracted time stamp is acquired. Accordingly, the object tracking unit 106 can infer the sensor tag ID installed on the object moved from the movement source coordinate to the movement destination coordinate based on the acquired sensor tag ID.
The object tracking unit 106 outputs information indicating the sensor tag ID estimated in the above and the coordinates of the movement destination to the environment structure management unit 107.

The environment structure management unit 107 uses the coordinate value associated with the sensor tag ID input from the object tracking unit 106 in the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103 as the movement destination input from the object tracking unit 106. Update with the coordinates of.
The environment structure management unit 107 refers to the object name associated with the sensor tag ID input from the object tracking unit 106 in the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103, thereby identifying the object name of the moved object. Can be recognized.

  In the above description, the object tracking unit 106 estimates which object has moved by acquiring the sensor tag ID from the acceleration information 1033. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the object tracking unit 106 calculates the estimated moving distance of the object corresponding to the sensor tag ID based on the transition of the acceleration value for each sensor tag ID included in the acceleration information 1033, the calculated estimated moving distance, and the above The moved object may be specified by comparing the distance between the movement source coordinate and the movement destination coordinate in the environmental map.

  Note that a gyroscope may be mounted on the sensor tag 20, and the object tracking unit 106 may identify the moved object using information indicating the posture, angular velocity, and the like of the object measured by the gyroscope. By using information measured by a plurality of types of sensors, the object tracking unit 106 can identify the moved object with higher accuracy.

  The tracking object discovery device 10 according to the present embodiment detects the movement of the object using the acceleration value acquired by the acceleration sensor, but is acquired by other sensors that can detect the movement of the object. It may be configured to detect the movement of the object based on the information. For example, the sensor tag 20 may be configured to include an atmospheric pressure sensor and detect an altitude change in the position of the object based on a change in atmospheric pressure acquired by the atmospheric pressure sensor.

(Operation of tracking object detection device)
Hereinafter, an outline of the operation of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing of this flowchart starts when the tracking object discovery device 10 starts tracking an object in the space spc1.

(Step S001) The distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object discovery device 10 includes the tracking object discovery device 10 and a plurality of objects (for example, the object obj1, the object obj2, and the object obj3) in the environment (for example, the space spc1). Measure each distance. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S002.

(Step S002) Based on the distance measured by the distance measuring sensor 101, the environment map creating unit 102 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 identifies the positions of a plurality of objects and creates an environment map. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S003.

(Step S003) The environment map creation unit 102 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 stores map information 1031 based on the created environment map in the storage unit 103. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S004.

(Step S004) The acceleration information acquisition unit 104 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 identifies the information transmitted from the sensor tag 20 indicating the acceleration of the object (indicating that the object has moved) and the sensor tag 20 (and the object). Acceleration information 1033 associated with the information is received via the communication network 30. The acceleration information writing unit 105 writes the acceleration information 1033 received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 into the storage unit 103. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S005.

(Step S005) The distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 and the tracking object finding device 10 and a plurality of objects (for example, the object obj1, the object obj2, and the object obj3) in the environment (for example, the space spc1). Measure each distance. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S006.

(Step S006) The environment map creation unit 102 of the tracking object finding device 10 identifies the positions of a plurality of objects based on the distance measured by the distance measuring sensor 101, and creates an environment map. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S007.

(Step S007) The environment map creating unit 102 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 stores map information 1031 based on the created environment map in the storage unit 103. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S008.

(Step S008) The object tracking unit 106 of the tracked object finding apparatus 10 includes the environment map created by the environment map creating unit 102 before the object moves and the environment map created by the environment map creating unit 102 after the object moves. And the difference is extracted. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S009.

(Step S009) The object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object discovery device 10 identifies the moved object based on the information indicating the difference between the environmental maps extracted in step S007 and the acceleration information 1033, and the identified object Specify the position after moving. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S010.

(Step S010) When the tracked object finding device 10 finishes tracking an object in the space spc1, the process of this flowchart is finished. Otherwise, the process returns to step S004.

(Identification of object and position when multiple objects move)
Hereinafter, the identification of the moved object and the position of the moved object after the movement when the plurality of objects move by the tracking object finding device 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating identification of a moved object and a position by the tracking object discovery device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 7A, after the object obj1 and the object obj2 move, the distance sensor 101 of the tracking object discovery device 10 measures the distance from the tracking object discovery device 10 to each object existing in the space spc1. An object whose position (coordinates) is specified by the environment map creation unit 102 is represented on a coordinate plane with the position of the tracking object finding device 10 as the origin. A portion indicated by a broken line in FIG. 7A represents a range in which light irradiated by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0.

  The coordinates where the object obj1 and the object obj2 shown in FIG. 7A are displayed represent the positions of the respective objects in the environment map created before the object obj1 and the object obj2 move. In addition, coordinates crd11 and coordinates crd12 indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 7A represent the positions of the objects in the environment map created after the objects obj1 and obj2 move. That is, FIG. 7A shows a state in which two objects are estimated to have moved to the coordinates crd11 or the coordinates crd12, respectively.

  When a plurality of objects move, the object tracking unit 106 can identify each of the plurality of moved objects by identifying the object whose acceleration is detected with reference to the acceleration information 1033. It is impossible to specify to which position each object has moved.

  In FIG. 7B, after the object obj1 moves again, the distance sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 measures the distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to each object existing in the space spc1, and the environment map The object whose position (coordinates) is specified by the creating unit 102 is represented on a coordinate plane with the position of the tracking object finding device 10 as the origin. Similar to FIG. 7A, the portion indicated by the broken line in FIG. 7B represents the range in which the light irradiated by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0. It is.

  The coordinates crd11 and the coordinates crd12 indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 7B represent the positions of the respective objects in the environment map created before the object obj1 moves again. In addition, coordinates crd13 and coordinates crd12 indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 7B represent the positions of the respective objects in the environment map created after the object obj1 has moved again. Therefore, the coordinate crd12 is a coordinate measured when the object exists in both the environment map created before the object obj1 moves again and the environment map created after the object obj1 moves again. That is, FIG. 7B shows a state where it is estimated that only one object has moved.

  At the time of the movement of the object in FIG. 7A, the acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103 includes information indicating the sensor tag ID given to the sensor tag 20 installed in each of the objects obj1 and obj2. Therefore, the object tracking unit 106 can detect that the object obj1 and the object obj2 have moved. However, it cannot be recognized which of the objects obj1 and obj2 has moved to the coordinates crd11 or the coordinates crd12.

  7B, the acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103 includes only information indicating the sensor tag ID given to the sensor tag 20 installed in the object obj1. Therefore, it is possible to detect that the object obj1 has moved. Accordingly, the object tracking unit 106 moves the object obj1 to the coordinate crd11 when the object in FIG. 7A moves, and then moves from the coordinate crd11 to the coordinate crd13 when the object in FIG. 7B moves. Further, it can be estimated that the robot has moved. Accordingly, the object tracking unit 106 can infer that the object obj2 has moved to the coordinate crd12 when the object in FIG.

  As described above, when the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 acquires the acceleration information 1033 for a plurality of objects, the object tracking unit 106 moves the environment map created before the plurality of objects move and the plurality of objects. The plurality of moved objects are identified and identified based on information indicating a plurality of differences from the created environment map and information obtained by analyzing the acceleration information 1033 of the plurality of objects in time series. The position after the movement of a plurality of objects is specified.

(Identification of environment when there are multiple similar environments)
Hereinafter, identification of an environment when there are a plurality of similar environments by the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the specification of the environment by the tracking object discovery device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 8A shows an environment map in environment A, and FIG. 8B shows an environment map in environment B, which is an environment different from environment A. FIG. 8C shows an environment where the tracking object finding apparatus 10 is actually located. The tracking object finding device 10 is located in either environment A or environment B, but it does not recognize in advance which environment it is located in.

The tracking object discovery device 10 stores an environment map of environment A and an environment map of environment B in the storage unit 103, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 8, environment A and environment B are environments in which the arrangement of objects is similar. For example, in an environment such as an office in a building, the floor layout of each floor may be similar to this.
The tracking object finding device 10 stores acceleration information 1033 in the environment A and acceleration information 1033 in the environment B in the storage unit 103, respectively.

The tracking object discovery device 10 is located in either environment A or environment B, but if it does not recognize which environment it is located, its own tracking object discovery device 10 is located. Move any object (measuring object) present in the environment. For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, the tracking object finding apparatus 10 moves obj8 to the position of the coordinate crd21. Then, the acceleration information 1033 in the environment where the tracking object finding device 10 is actually located is updated. As a result, the object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object discovery device 10 determines which environment (environment A or environment B) the environment in which the tracking object discovery device 10 is located is. Can be identified.
The tracking object discovery device 10 does not move an arbitrary object (measurement object) by itself, but based on, for example, a third party such as a user moving an arbitrary object (measurement object), The object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object discovery device 10 may specify which environment the environment where the tracking object discovery device 10 is located is.

  As described above, the object tracking unit 106 acquires its own tracking object among a plurality of environments indicated by the plurality of environment maps stored in the storage unit 103 based on the acquisition of the acceleration information 1033 for the specific object. The environment in which the discovery device 10 exists is specified.

(Dialogue control by dialogue part)
Hereinafter, dialogue control of dialogue with the user by the dialogue unit 108 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 will be described.
The tracking object discovery device 10 can receive an inquiry from the user, for example, an inquiry about the position of a specific object in the space spc1, and present an answer to the inquiry to the user.

  For example, the user makes an inquiry to the tracking object finding device 10 (for example, a robot) as “Where is the remote control?”. Then, the microphone included in the dialogue input / output unit 1081 of the tracking object finding device 10 acquires the voice based on the inquiry from the user and converts it into a voice signal. The dialogue input / output unit 1081 outputs the converted audio signal to the dialogue control unit 1082.

  The dialogue control unit 1082 analyzes the audio signal input from the dialogue input / output unit 1081 and recognizes the content requested by the user. When the dialog control unit 1082 recognizes that the inquiry from the user is the content for inquiring the position of the “remote control”, the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103 via the environmental structure management unit 107, for example, Reference is made to the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the coordinate value of “remote control” is “(25, 36)”. In the object management information 1032 illustrated in FIG. 4, “(25, 30)” is stored as a coordinate value indicating the vicinity of the coordinate value. Then, the dialogue control unit 1082 acquires “table 1” which is the value of the object name item corresponding to this coordinate value.

  The dialogue control unit 1082 generates a response sentence “near table 1” based on the information indicating “table 1” acquired above. Then, the dialogue control unit 1082 converts the response sentence into a voice signal and outputs it to the dialogue input / output unit 1081. The dialogue input / output unit 1081 outputs a voice through a speaker included in the dialogue control unit 1082 based on the voice signal input from the dialogue control unit 1082.

  As described above, when the tracking object discovery device 10 according to the present embodiment receives an inquiry about the position of a specific object, the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 does not present data indicating the coordinate value of the object as it is, but the user does not present the object. It is possible to present to the user “a mark (for example, a thing in the vicinity of the object)” for discovery. Thereby, the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 can make a user discover a specific object more easily.

  In addition, as the “marker” described above, a static object (not moving) or a large object such as a table may be used. In addition, as the “marking object” described above, the “part of the object (for example, the object A) on which the sensor tag 20 is most moved” is used. A response sentence such as “near the place where the object A is often placed” can be presented to the user.

  Note that the “marker” may be set together with the creation of the environment map by the environment map creation unit 102 and registered in the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103.

  In the above example, the tracking object discovery device 10 performs dialogue with the user by voice using a microphone, a speaker, or the like provided in the dialogue unit 108. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the tracking object finding device 10 may be configured to perform a dialogue with the user by input / output using a touch panel type liquid crystal display or the like provided in the dialogue unit 108.

  In the above example, the dialogue unit 108 responds to the user with text, but is not limited thereto. For example, a camera mounted on the distance measuring sensor 101 captures an object that the user is looking for, or the above “marker”, and the dialog unit 108 presents the captured image to the user. May be.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, but the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described one, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there.

  In addition, you may make it implement | achieve part or all of the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 in embodiment mentioned above with a computer. In that case, the program for realizing the control function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read by the computer system and executed.

  Here, the “computer system” is a computer system built in the tracking object finding apparatus 10 and includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system.

  Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” is a medium that dynamically holds a program for a short time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, In this case, a volatile memory inside a computer system that serves as a server or a client may be included that holds a program for a certain period of time. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  Further, the tracking object finding device 10 in the above-described embodiment may be realized as an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each functional block of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 may be individually made into a processor, or a part or all of them may be integrated into a processor. Further, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, when an integrated circuit technology that replaces LSI appears due to the advancement of semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit based on the technology may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tracking object discovery system, 10 ... Tracking object discovery apparatus, 20 ... Sensor tag, 30 ... Communication network, 101 ... Distance measuring sensor, 102 ... Environmental map creation part, 103 ... Storage unit 104 ... Acceleration information acquisition unit 105 ... Acceleration information writing unit 106 ... Object tracking unit 107 ... Environmental structure management unit 108 ... Interaction unit 1031 ... Map information, 1032 ... Object management information, 1033 ... Acceleration information, 1081 ... Dialog input / output unit, 1082 ... Dialog control unit

Claims (8)

A distance measuring sensor that measures the distance to each of a plurality of objects in the environment;
An environment map creation unit that creates an environment map based on each of the distances to the plurality of objects measured by the distance sensor;
A map information storage unit for storing the environmental map created by the environmental map creation unit;
An object movement information acquisition unit that acquires object movement information indicating that the object has moved;
The moved object is identified based on the information indicating the difference between the environment map created before the object moves and the environment map created after the object moves, and the object movement information. An object tracking unit that identifies a position of the identified object after movement;
A tracking object finding device comprising: The tracking object finding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object movement information acquisition unit acquires the object movement information based on acceleration information measured by an acceleration sensor mounted on the object. When the object movement information acquisition unit acquires object movement information for a plurality of the objects,
The object tracking unit includes information indicating a plurality of differences between the environment map created before the plurality of objects move and the environment map created after the plurality of objects moved, A plurality of moved objects are identified on the basis of information obtained by analyzing the object movement information of the objects in time series, and the moved positions of the identified objects are respectively identified. The tracking object finding device according to claim 1 or 2. Based on the fact that the object tracking unit has acquired object movement information about the specific object, the object tracking unit among the plurality of environments indicated by the plurality of environment maps stored in the map information storage unit The tracking object discovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the environment in which the discovery device exists is specified. 5. An object management information storage unit that stores object management information that associates identification information that identifies the object, attribute information that represents the position of the object, and characteristics of the object. The tracking object discovery device according to any one of the above. The tracking object discovery apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: an interactive unit that receives an input of information indicating an inquiry from a user and outputs information indicating a response to the user based on the object management information. A method for finding a tracking object using a computer,
A ranging step in which the distance measuring sensor measures the distance to each of a plurality of objects in the environment;
An environment map creating step for creating an environment map based on the distances to the plurality of objects measured by the distance sensor;
A map information storage step for storing the environmental map created by the environmental map creation unit;
An object movement information acquisition unit that acquires object movement information indicating that the object has moved; and
The object tracking unit moves based on the information indicating the difference between the environment map created before the object moves and the environment map created after the object moves, and the object movement information. An object tracking step of identifying the object and identifying a position of the identified object after movement;
The tracking object discovery method characterized by having. On the computer,
A ranging step for measuring the distance to each of a plurality of objects in the environment;
An environmental map creating step for creating an environmental map based on the distances to the plurality of objects measured in the ranging step;
A map information storing step for storing the environmental map created in the environmental map creating step;
An object movement information acquisition step of acquiring object movement information indicating that the object has moved;
The moved object is identified based on the information indicating the difference between the environment map created before the object moves and the environment map created after the object moves, and the object movement information. And an object tracking step for identifying the moved position of the identified object;
A program for running

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