JP2018171696A - Guiding device, guiding method, guiding system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guiding device and the like that can select a desired target and appropriately provide guidance information to a selected target.SOLUTION: A guiding device selects a candidate having a preset attribute as an object person to which guidance information should be provided, from candidates present around own device 1 or multiple candidates. Then, the guiding device provides predetermined guidance information corresponding to the preset attribute to the selected object person.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a guidance device, a guidance method, a guidance system, and a program.

In recent years, communication robots that interact with people have been developed.
Patent Document 1 discloses a robot that detects the degree of congestion around a communication robot and performs communication behavior according to the detection result. According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the robot can perform a work on a person according to the surrounding congestion situation.

JP 2006-263873 A

  Like the communication robot disclosed in Patent Document 1, the use of robots that perform communication behaviors according to the surrounding situation is expected to increase, and functions mounted on the robot are being studied.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a guide device that can select a desired target and provide guidance information to the selected target. It is to provide.

  A guidance device according to an aspect of the present invention is a guidance device that provides guidance information to a target person, a selection unit that selects a target person from one or a plurality of candidates, and guidance information that is selected by the selection part. And an information providing unit for providing the information.

  A guidance method according to an aspect of the present invention is a guidance method using a guidance device that provides guidance information to a target person, and the guidance device selects a target person from one or more candidates and selects the target person. Guidance information is provided.

  The guidance system which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention WHEREIN: In the guidance system which provides guidance information to a subject, the selection part which selects a subject from one or several candidates, and guidance information to the subject selected by the said selection part And an information providing unit for providing the information.

  A guidance system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of guidance devices that have an imaging unit and provide guidance information to a target person, and communication devices that can communicate with the plurality of guidance devices. A candidate group detection unit that detects a candidate group including a plurality of candidates around each of the guidance devices based on images captured by the imaging units of the guidance devices; and the candidate group detection When the unit detects the candidate group, a selection unit that selects a target person from the candidate group, and when the selection unit selects the target person, predetermined guidance information is provided to the guide device that has captured the image. And the guide device includes an information providing unit that provides the predetermined guide information received from the communication device.

  A program according to an aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a process of providing guidance information to a target. The computer selects a target from one or a plurality of candidates and selects the target. A process of providing guidance information to a person.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a desired target can be selected, and guidance information can be efficiently provided by providing guidance information to an appropriately selected target.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the external appearance of the guidance apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the guide apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the function implement | achieved by the control part. It is explanatory drawing of the process which a control part performs. It is explanatory drawing of the process which a control part performs. It is a block diagram which shows the function implement | achieved by the control part. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the selection process of the target which a guidance apparatus performs. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the guidance process of the target which a guidance apparatus performs. It is a schematic diagram which shows the external appearance of the guide apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the guidance apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the selection process of the target which the guidance apparatus of Embodiment 2 performs. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of installation of the guidance apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the central apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the guidance apparatus of Embodiment 3 and a central apparatus perform. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the guidance system which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the guidance device which concerns on Embodiment 4. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the guidance apparatus and guidance apparatus of Embodiment 4 perform. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of the guidance system which concerns on Embodiment 5. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a display screen of the guidance information which the guidance apparatus of Embodiment 5 provides. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of target selection processing performed by the guidance device and the communication device according to the fifth embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the totaling apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 7. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by a counting device according to the seventh embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the memory content of total DB.

  Hereinafter, the guidance device and the like of the present disclosure will be specifically described based on the drawings illustrating the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an appearance of a guide device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the guide device according to the first embodiment.
The guide device 1 of this embodiment is a robot capable of automatic traveling, for example. In the guide device 1, for example, a head part 1a is connected to a cylindrical body part 1b, and the head part 1a is rotated with respect to the body part 1b about the vertical direction by a swing mechanism 18 described later. In addition, it is configured so as to rotate at an appropriate angle in the vertical direction with respect to the horizontal plane.

An operation panel 12 is provided at a position above the body portion 1b, and the display surface side of the operation panel 12 is set as the front side of the guide device 1. A moving direction camera 14 is provided on the front side of the body portion 1b, and a target camera 15 and a speaker 16 are provided on the front side of the head portion 1a. The guide device 1 can turn the target camera 15 and the speaker 16 in an arbitrary direction by rotating the head portion 1 a by the swing mechanism 18.
In addition, a plurality of tires 17a are provided on the bottom surface of the body portion 1b, and the guide device 1 is configured to automatically travel by rotating the tire 17a by a moving mechanism 17 described later. The guide device 1 travels (runs) with the front direction as the travel direction.

  The guide device 1 of the present embodiment is installed in any booth, for example, in an exhibition or event venue where a plurality of booths are provided on one floor, and the booth is moved as a base (predetermined position) A target that matches the customer of this booth is selected, and the selected target is guided to the booth. In addition, the guidance device 1 is installed in any store in a commercial facility such as a shopping mall where a plurality of stores are open on one floor, and is adapted to customers of this store while moving from this store as a base. The target to be selected is selected, and the selected target is guided to the store. Hereinafter, an exhibition, an event venue, and a commercial facility where the guidance device 1 is installed are referred to as a floor where the guidance device 1 is installed.

  The guide device 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 11, an operation panel 12, a wireless communication unit 13, a traveling direction camera 14, a target camera 15, a speaker 16, a moving mechanism 17, a swing mechanism 18, and the like. Each part is connected to each other via a bus.

The control unit 10 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The control unit 10 performs various control processes performed by the guidance device 1 by appropriately executing a control program stored in the storage unit 11.
The storage unit 11 includes a flash memory, a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the like. The storage unit 11 stores in advance a control program (for example, a target selection program 11a and a guidance processing program 11b) executed by the control unit 10 and various data (for example, a guidance information database 11c). The storage unit 11 stores in advance information on the floor map of the floor on which the guide device 1 is installed and position information on a base (a predetermined position set in advance) on the floor map. Furthermore, the storage unit 11 temporarily stores data generated when the control unit 10 executes the control program.

  In the guidance information database 11c (hereinafter referred to as guidance information DB 11c), the attributes of the person (target) to be a customer at the base where the guidance apparatus 1 is installed and the guidance information to be provided to the target are associated and registered. Has been. Target attributes include, for example, sex, age group, and the like. Moreover, the attribute registered in guidance information DB11c may be not only the attribute for every target but the attribute of the group containing a some person. The group attributes include, for example, a lover, a family, a group of boys and girls, a group of girls and girls. For guidance information, the target may be interested in the base, such as information about the campaign or event held at the base (predetermined location), the time of the campaign, the time, a menu for a limited time, etc., the location of the base, etc. Information. The guidance information includes display data for displaying the guidance information on the operation panel 12 and voice data for outputting the guidance information from the speaker 16 by voice. The stored contents of the guidance information DB 11c are registered in advance when the guidance device 1 is used.

The operation panel 12 is a touch panel in which an operation unit and a display unit are integrated. The operation unit receives an operation input by the user and sends a control signal corresponding to the operation content to the control unit 10. The display unit includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and the like, and displays information to be notified to the user, information necessary for the operation, and the like according to an instruction from the control unit 10. Note that the operation unit and the display unit may be provided separately without using the operation panel 12.
The wireless communication unit 13 is an interface for performing wireless communication such as a wireless local area network (LAN), and performs wireless communication with an external device configured to be able to perform wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 13 may be configured to connect to an external network such as the Internet via a wireless LAN.

  The traveling direction camera 14 captures the traveling direction of the guide device 1 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 10 and acquires a captured image (image data) in the traveling direction. The advancing direction camera 14 sends the acquired captured image (image data) to the storage unit 11 and stores it in the storage unit 11. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the advancing direction camera 14 is disposed below the operation panel 12 of the body portion 1b. However, the disposition position is not limited as long as the advancing direction of the guide device 1 can be imaged. The captured image captured by the advancing direction camera 14 is used to detect the presence or absence of an obstacle when the guide device 1 travels automatically.

  The target camera 15 captures the surroundings of the guide device 1 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 10 and acquires a captured image (image data) of the surroundings. The target camera 15 sends the acquired captured image (image data) to the storage unit 11 and stores it in the storage unit 11. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the target camera 15 is disposed at the center of the front side of the head portion 1a. Since the head portion 1 a is rotated with respect to the body portion 1 b by the swing mechanism 18, the target camera 15 can image a wide range on the front side of the guide device 1. When the head portion 1a is configured to be able to rotate 360 degrees with respect to the body portion 1b, the target camera 15 can also image the back side of the guide device 1. The captured image captured by the target camera 15 is used when the guidance device 1 selects a target person (target) that provides guidance information, and is used when tracking the selected target.

  The speaker 16 outputs the content (message) according to the instruction from the control unit 10 by voice. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the speaker 16 is disposed below the target camera 15 in the head portion 1 a, but the position of the speaker 16 is limited as long as the sound reaches a person on the front side of the guide device 1. Not.

The moving mechanism 17 includes a plurality of tires 17a and a motor (not shown) for rotating the tires 17a. The moving mechanism 17 rotates each tire 17a by driving each motor with a motor driving amount in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 10, and advances and changes the direction of the guide device 1.
The moving mechanism 17 includes, for example, two tires 17a disposed on the front side in the traveling direction of the guide device 1, two tires 17a disposed on the rear side, and motors for rotating the respective tires 17a. . The motor may be, for example, only a motor for rotating the two front tires 17a, or may be only a motor for rotating the two rear tires 17a. The number and arrangement positions of the tires 17a and the number of motors may be any configuration as long as the guide device 1 can travel and change directions by the moving mechanism 17.

  The head swing mechanism 18 includes a motor 18a for rotating the head portion 1a with respect to the body portion 1b. The head swing mechanism 18 rotates the head portion 1 a by the rotation amount according to the instruction from the control unit 10 by driving the motor 18 a with the motor drive amount according to the instruction from the control unit 10.

Next, functions realized by the control unit 10 of the guide device 1 executing the target selection program 11a will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functions realized by the control unit 10, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams of processing performed by the control unit 10.
When the control unit 10 of the guide device 1 executes the target selection program 11a stored in the storage unit 11, the traveling direction imaging unit 21, the obstacle detecting unit 22, the traveling direction specifying unit 23, the moving mechanism driving unit 24, Each function of the swing mechanism driving unit 25, the candidate imaging unit 26, the candidate detecting unit 27, the attribute determining unit 28, the target selecting unit 29, and the information providing unit 30 is realized. In the present embodiment, the above-described functions are realized by the control unit 10 executing the target selection program 11a. However, some of the above-described functions may be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit.

The traveling direction imaging unit (moving direction imaging unit) 21 causes the traveling direction camera 14 to perform an imaging process, and acquires a captured image in the traveling direction (front direction, moving direction) of the guide device 1.
The obstacle detection unit 22 detects whether there is an obstacle that hinders the travel (travel) of the guide device 1 in the travel direction of the guide device 1 based on the captured image acquired by the travel direction imaging unit 21. The obstacle detection unit 22 determines, for example, whether there is an obstacle on the floor surface in the traveling direction of the guide device 1 and whether there is an obstacle that may come into contact when the guide device 1 travels. To do.

The traveling direction identification unit 23 identifies the traveling direction of the guidance device 1 based on the detection result of the obstacle detection unit 22. For example, the advancing direction specific | specification part 23 determines a front direction as a advancing direction, when an obstruction is not detected in the front direction of the guidance apparatus 1. FIG. Further, when an obstacle is detected in the front direction of the guidance device 1, the traveling direction specifying unit 23 determines a direction (path) to avoid the detected obstacle as the traveling direction. Further, the traveling direction identification unit 23 identifies the traveling direction of the guidance device 1 based on the detection result of the candidate detection unit 27 described later or the target selection result by the target selection unit 29.
The movement mechanism drive unit 24 causes the movement mechanism 17 to drive each tire 17 a and advances (moves) the guide device 1 in the traveling direction specified by the traveling direction specifying unit 23.

  By the traveling direction imaging unit 21, the obstacle detecting unit 22, the traveling direction specifying unit 23, and the moving mechanism drive 24, the guide device 1 can perform automatic traveling while avoiding the obstacle. In addition, the guidance apparatus 1 of this embodiment selects a target, moving from the base in a floor. Accordingly, the control unit 10 of the guide device 1 moves by the moving mechanism 17 and, based on the information on the floor map stored in the storage unit 11, the moving direction and the moving amount, the own device 1 on the floor map. The present position may be detected.

  In addition, by previously setting a location (position) where the guide device 1 selects a target on the floor, the guide device 1 can select a target at the set location. Furthermore, a range in which the guide device 1 can move may be set in advance. For example, when the range in which the guidance device 1 can move is set as an area within a predetermined distance from the base, the guidance device 1 can be controlled so as not to be too far from the base. In addition, when a plurality of guide devices 1 are installed at one base, the floor may be divided so that areas where each guide device 1 selects a target do not overlap. In this case, since each guide device 1 selects a target in each region, efficiency is good.

The head swing mechanism drive unit 25 causes the head swing mechanism 18 to drive the motor 18a to rotate the head portion 1a relative to the body portion 1b. Thereby, the imaging direction of the target camera 15 is changed. In the following, the rotation of the head portion 1a with respect to the body portion 1b may be referred to as a swinging motion.
The candidate imaging unit 26 causes the target camera 15 to perform imaging processing, and acquires a captured image around the guidance device 1 in a state (direction) in which the head portion 1a is swung by the swing mechanism driving unit 25. .

  The candidate detection unit 27 detects whether or not there is a person (target candidate) around the guidance device 1 based on the captured image acquired by the candidate imaging unit 26. For example, the candidate detection unit 27 determines whether a candidate (person) is included in the captured image by the template matching technique. Specifically, a template indicating an image of a general person's face or whole body is stored in the storage unit 11 in advance, and the candidate detection unit 27 detects when a region matching the template is detected from the captured image. The selected area is extracted as a candidate area. For example, in the captured image shown in FIG. 4A, areas A1, A2, and A3 surrounded by broken lines are detected as candidate areas.

  The candidate detection unit 27 includes a candidate group detection unit 27a. The candidate group detection unit 27a includes a candidate group (people crowd) having a plurality of people (candidates) around the guidance device 1 based on the captured image acquired by the candidate imaging unit 26. Whether or not is detected. For example, the candidate group detection unit 27a determines whether or not a plurality of (for example, four or more) candidates (persons) are included in the captured image acquired by the candidate imaging unit 26 using the template matching technique. . For example, in the captured image shown in FIG. 4B, a region A surrounded by a broken line is detected as a candidate group region. In addition, the candidate group detection part 27a is good also as a structure which detects presence of a candidate group, for example using an infrared sensor.

  When the candidate group detection unit 27a detects the candidate group, for example, the candidate imaging unit 26 performs a zoom-in process to enlarge the subject and perform the imaging process again. And the candidate detection part 27 detects again whether the candidate is contained in the captured image which the candidate imaging part 26 acquired anew. As a result, when there are a plurality of candidates (candidate groups) at positions away from the guidance device 1, each candidate area in the captured image may be too small. By detecting the candidate area based on the enlarged captured image, the candidate area in the captured image can be reliably detected. Therefore, the candidate areas A1 to A3 in the captured image can be detected by enlarging the candidate group area A illustrated in FIG. 4B and acquiring the captured image as illustrated in FIG. 4A.

  In addition, when the candidate group detection unit 27a detects a candidate group in the captured image, the candidate imaging unit not only performs zoom-in processing by the candidate imaging unit 26 but also moves the guide device 1 by the moving mechanism 17. 26 and the candidate area detection process by the candidate detection unit 27 may be performed. That is, the traveling direction specifying unit 23 determines the traveling direction of the guidance device 1 to be a direction approaching the candidate group detected by the candidate group detecting unit 27 a, and the moving mechanism driving unit 24 drives the moving mechanism 17. Thus, the guide device 1 is advanced in the traveling direction specified by the traveling direction specifying unit 23. Thereby, a captured image can be acquired at a position close to the detected candidate group, and a candidate detection process can be performed based on such a captured image.

  Further, if the candidate group detection unit 27a cannot detect the candidate group in the captured image, the candidate group detection unit 27a moves the guide device 1 by the movement mechanism 17 and changes the imaging direction of the target camera 15 by the swing mechanism 18 while performing the change of the imaging direction of the target camera 15. An imaging process by the person imaging unit 26, a candidate group area detection process by the candidate group detection unit 27a, and a candidate area detection process by the candidate detection unit 27 may be performed. That is, when the candidate detection unit 27 cannot detect the candidate area in the captured image, the swing mechanism driving unit 25 changes the imaging direction of the target camera 15 by the swinging motion of the head portion 1 a by the swing mechanism 18. The traveling direction specifying unit 23 determines the traveling direction of the guide device 1 in a different direction. Then, the moving mechanism driving unit 24 drives the moving mechanism 17 to advance the guide device 1 in the traveling direction specified by the traveling direction specifying unit 23. Thereby, a candidate's detection process can be performed based on the captured image newly acquired.

The attribute determination unit 28 determines the attribute of the candidate detected by the candidate detection unit 27.
For example, a template used when the candidate detection unit 27 detects a candidate (candidate area) is stored in the storage unit 11 in association with the attributes of a person including sex, age group, and the like. Therefore, when the candidate detection unit 27 detects a candidate area in the captured image, the attribute determination unit 28 stores an attribute corresponding to the template used when the candidate detection unit 27 detects the candidate area. 11 and is set as the attribute of this candidate. Note that when the candidate detection unit 27 detects a plurality of candidate areas in the captured image, the attribute determination unit 28 determines an attribute corresponding to each of the detected candidates.

  When the attribute determination unit 28 determines the attributes of each of the plurality of candidates, the attribute determination unit 28 may determine the attributes of the candidate group based on the number of candidates and the attributes of each candidate. For example, when the candidate detection unit 27 detects two candidates and the attribute determination unit 28 determines the attributes of each candidate as a teenage male and a teenage female, the attribute determination unit 28 further The attribute as a group of these two candidates is determined as a lover. Further, when the candidate detection unit 27 detects three candidates, and the attribute determination unit 28 determines the attributes of each candidate as a male in their 40s, a female in their 40s, and a male in their teens, attribute determination The unit 28 further determines the attribute of the group of the three candidates as a family.

Note that the attribute determination unit 28 may determine the attribute of the candidate based on the image information of the candidate's clothing area detected by the candidate detection unit 27. For example, by storing the representative color and average luminance in the clothing region in association with each gender and age group, the attribute determination unit 28 can be based on the representative color and average luminance in the candidate clothing region. Candidate's gender and age group can be determined.
When the guidance device 1 has a sound collection unit such as a microphone, the candidate detection unit 27 detects whether there is a candidate around the guidance device 1 based on the voice collected by the sound collection unit. May be. In this case, the attribute determination unit 28 may determine the attribute of the candidate detected by the candidate detection unit 27 based on the sound collected by the sound collection unit. For example, the sex and age group of the candidate can be determined based on the level of the voice.

  Based on the determination result by the attribute determination unit 28 and the registered content of the guidance information DB 11c, the target selection unit 29 selects the candidate detected by the candidate detection unit 27 from the candidate at the base where the guidance device 1 is installed. Select a suitable target. Specifically, the target selection unit 29 determines whether or not the candidate attribute determined by the attribute determination unit 28 is registered in the guidance information DB 11c. When the attribute of the candidate is registered in the guidance information DB 11c, the target selection unit 29 selects the candidate detected by the candidate detection unit 27 as a target.

  When the target selecting unit 29 selects a target, the traveling direction specifying unit 23 determines a direction approaching the selected target, and specifies the determined direction as the traveling direction of the guide device 1. Then, the moving mechanism driving unit 24 drives the moving mechanism 17 to advance the guiding device 1 in the moving direction specified by the moving direction specifying unit 23, thereby bringing the guiding device 1 closer to the selected target.

  The information providing unit 30 provides guidance information regarding the base to the target selected by the target selecting unit 29. Specifically, the information providing unit 30 reads guidance information corresponding to the target attribute selected by the target selection unit 29 from the guidance information DB 11c. The guidance information includes display data and audio data. The information providing unit 30 displays the display data included in the guidance information on the operation panel 12 and outputs the audio data from the speaker 16 as audio. The guidance information may be either display data displayed on the operation panel 12 or audio data output from the speaker 16 as audio.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of guidance information (display data) displayed on the operation panel 12. As shown in FIG. 5A, the display data includes the name of the company (or store name) that operates the base, notification of events held at the base, and the like. In addition, the display data may include address information for accessing the guidance information of the base via a network such as the Internet, and such address information includes a QR code as shown in FIG. (Registered trademark) may be displayed.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, on the display screen based on the display data, for example, a message asking whether or not guidance to the base is desired is displayed, and the target guides to the base. “Wanted” button and “Don't want” button which are operated to answer whether or not the user wants to be displayed are also displayed. Note that a message asking whether or not guidance to the base is desired may be output by voice from the speaker 16, and the answer from the target is voice recognition of the utterance of the target collected by a microphone (not shown). You may make it acquire by doing.
When an answer indicating that guidance to the base is desired is acquired from the target, for example, when the “desired” button in the display screen shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is operated, the control unit 10 stores The guidance processing program 11b stored in the unit 11 is executed.

Next, functions realized by the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 executing the guidance processing program 11b will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating functions realized by the control unit 10.
When the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 executes the guidance processing program 11b stored in the storage unit 11, the traveling direction imaging unit 41, the obstacle detection unit 42, the traveling direction specifying unit 43, the moving mechanism driving unit 44, Each function of the target imaging unit 45, the target tracking unit 46, the swing mechanism driving unit 47, and the information providing unit 48 is realized. Note that some of these functions may be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit.

The traveling direction imaging unit 41, the obstacle detecting unit 42, the traveling direction specifying unit 43, and the moving mechanism driving unit 44 are the traveling direction imaging unit 21 and the obstacle realized by the control unit 10 executing the target selection program 11a. The same processing as that of the detection unit 22, the traveling direction specifying unit 23, and the moving mechanism driving unit 24 is performed.
The traveling direction identification unit 43 identifies the traveling direction for returning to the base, and is based on the direction (route) from the current position of the guidance device 1 to the base and the detection result of the obstacle detection unit 42. Thus, the traveling direction of the guiding device 1 is specified. The control unit 10 of the guide device 1 detects the current position of the device 1 on the floor map while moving by the moving mechanism 17. Therefore, the traveling direction identification unit 43 identifies the route from the current position of the device 1 to the base, and is the traveling direction along the identified route, and the traveling direction that avoids the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 42. Is identified. In addition, the advancing direction specific | specification part 43 specifies the advancing direction of the guidance apparatus 1 not only based on the detection result of the obstruction detection part 42 but the tracking result of the target tracking part 46 mentioned later.

The target imaging unit (subject imaging unit) 45 causes the target camera 15 to perform imaging processing, and acquires a captured image of the target selected by the target selection unit 29.
The target tracking unit 46 performs tracking processing of the target selected by the target selection unit 29 in the captured images acquired by the target imaging unit 45 at predetermined time intervals. Specifically, when a target is selected, the target selection unit 29 extracts image information of the selected target and stores it in the storage unit 11. For example, image information of the target face area, image information of the target clothing area, or image information of the whole body of the target is extracted, and the extracted image information is stored in the storage unit 11 as a tracking template. Then, the target tracking unit (determination unit) 46 determines that the target has been successfully tracked when a region matching the tracking template is detected from the captured images sequentially acquired by the target imaging unit 45. If the tracking of the target is successful, the target tracking unit 46 extracts image information of the detected region (that is, a region that matches the tracking template), updates the extracted image information to the tracking template, and stores the storage unit 11. To remember. The target tracking unit 46 determines that the target tracking has failed when the region matching the tracking template cannot be detected from the captured images sequentially acquired by the target imaging unit 45.

  The head swing mechanism drive unit 47 causes the head swing mechanism 18 to drive the motor 18 a based on the tracking result of the target tracking unit 46, thereby swinging the head portion 1 a, and the imaging direction of the target camera 15. Adjust (change). When the target tracking unit 46 succeeds in tracking the target, the swing mechanism driving unit 47 controls the swing mechanism 18 so that the imaging position of the target being tracked is near the center of the captured image. The imaging direction of the camera 15 is adjusted. When the target tracking unit 46 fails to track the target, the swing mechanism driving unit 47, for example, controls the swing mechanism 18 to greatly change the imaging direction of the target camera 15. Then, the target imaging unit 45 acquires a captured image in the changed imaging direction, and the target tracking unit 46 fails to track by searching for a region that matches the tracking template from the newly acquired captured image. You may make it look for a target.

  The information providing unit 48 provides guidance information to the target being tracked, that is, the target being guided to the base. For example, the guidance information stored in the guidance information DB 11c includes guidance information used when guiding the selected target to the base, and the information providing unit 48 corresponds to the attribute of the target being tracked. Among the guide information, the guide information to be provided during guidance is read from the guide information DB 11c. Here, since the guidance device 1 and the target are likely to be moving, the guidance information is preferably voice data. Therefore, the information providing unit 48 outputs the guidance information (voice data) read from the guidance information DB 11c by voice from the speaker 16.

When the guide device 1 includes a projector, the information providing unit 48 may be configured to display guidance such as an arrow indicating the traveling direction on the floor surface in the traveling direction of the target, for example.
Further, the communication device 1 has a sound collecting unit such as a microphone, analyzes a voice collected by the sound collecting unit, and communicates with a person by outputting a response according to the analyzed content from the speaker 16. In this case, the information providing unit 48 may be configured to make a response (conversation) based on information acquired from conversation with the target as well as guidance information according to the attribute of the target.

  With each function described above, the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 operates as a guidance unit that guides (guides) the selected target to the base while performing automatic traveling while avoiding obstacles.

Next, processing performed by the guidance device 1 will be described based on a flowchart. In addition, the guidance apparatus 1 performs the process which selects a target, moving from a base, and when selecting a target, performs the process which guides (guides) the selected target to a base.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of target selection processing performed by the guidance device 1. The following processing is executed by the control unit 10 in accordance with a control program including the target selection program 11a stored in the storage unit 11 of the guidance device 1.

  The control unit 10 of the guiding device 1 images the traveling direction of the guiding device 1 with the traveling direction camera 14 (S1), and performs an obstacle detection process in the traveling direction based on the acquired captured image (S2). And the control part 10 specifies the advancing direction of the guidance apparatus 1 based on the result of an obstacle detection process (S3), and moves the guiding apparatus 1 to the specified advancing direction by controlling the moving mechanism 17. (S4).

  On the other hand, the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 images the surroundings of the guidance device 1 with the target camera 15 (S5), and based on the acquired captured image, a candidate (person) detection process around the guidance device 1 (S6). In addition, the control part 10 performs the detection process of the candidate group in the circumference | surroundings of the guidance apparatus 1 based on a captured image, and performs the detection process of each candidate based on the detected candidate group.

  The control unit 10 determines whether or not a candidate has been detected (S7). If it is determined that no candidate has been detected (S7: NO), the process returns to step S1. And the control part 10 moves the guidance apparatus 1 by performing the process of step S1-S4, and based on the captured image obtained by imaging at the moved place by performing the process of step S5, S6. To detect candidates. The control unit 10 repeats the processes of steps S1 to S7 until the candidate is detected, and performs the imaging process by the target camera 15 and the candidate detection process while moving the guide device 1. In addition to this, the control unit 10 performs the zoom-in process in the target camera 15 or the imaging process by the target camera 15 and the candidate detection process while changing the imaging direction of the target camera 15 by the swing mechanism 18. The structure to perform may be sufficient.

If it is determined in step S7 that a candidate has been detected (S7: YES), the control unit 10 determines the attribute of the detected candidate (S8). For example, the control unit 10 determines an attribute for each detected candidate and an attribute as a group of candidates.
Next, based on the attribute determined in step S8 and the registered content of the guidance information DB 11c, the control unit 10 has a target that matches the customer at the base where the guidance device 1 is installed among the detected candidates. It is determined whether or not to perform (S9). When it is determined that the target does not exist (S9: NO), the control unit 10 returns to the process of step S1 and performs the processes of steps S1 to S9 again.

When it is determined that the target exists (S9: YES), the control unit 10 selects the detected candidate as the target (S10). Here, the control unit 10 extracts, for example, image information of the face area of the selected target, and stores it in the storage unit 11 as a tracking template.
Next, the control unit 10 moves the guide device 1 near the selected target (S11). Specifically, the control unit 10 determines the direction approaching the target based on the captured image of the selected target, and specifies the determined direction as the traveling direction of the guide device 1. And the control part 10 moves the guide apparatus 1 to the vicinity of a target by moving the guide apparatus 1 to the specified advancing direction with the moving mechanism 17. FIG.

  After moving close to the target, the control unit 10 reads the guidance information corresponding to the selected target attribute from the guidance information DB 11c (S12), provides the read guidance information (S13), and ends the process. Thereby, since the guidance apparatus 1 displays guidance information in the vicinity of a target or outputs a voice, it can provide guidance information to a desired target.

In the process described above, the processes in steps S1 to S4 and the processes in steps S5 to S10 may be executed in the same order or may be executed simultaneously. That is, the guide device 1 may perform the process of moving (running) while avoiding obstacles in the traveling direction and the process of selecting a target from the captured image obtained by imaging. However, they may be performed at the same time.
Through the processing described above, the guidance device 1 of the present embodiment can appropriately select a target having a preset attribute, and can provide guidance information to a desired target that has been appropriately selected.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of target guidance processing performed by the guidance device 1. The following processing is executed by the control unit 10 in accordance with a control program including the guidance processing program 11b stored in the storage unit 11 of the guidance device 1. For example, when a response indicating that guidance to the base is desired is obtained from the target, such as when the “desired” button in the display screen shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is operated, The control unit 10 executes target guidance processing.

  First, the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 determines a route from the current position of the device 1 to the base (S21). For example, the control unit 10 determines a route from the current position to the base based on the floor map information, the base position information, and the current position of the device 1. The route may be the shortest route from the current position to the base, or may be a route that passes through a place to be introduced to the target. Alternatively, the route from each position on the floor map to the base may be stored in the storage unit 11 in advance, and the control unit 10 may read the route corresponding to the current position from the storage unit 11.

  Next, the control unit 10 captures the traveling direction of the guide device 1 with the traveling direction camera 14 (S22), and performs obstacle detection processing in the traveling direction based on the acquired captured image (S23). And the control part 10 specifies the advancing direction of the guidance apparatus 1 based on the path | route determined by step S21, and the result of an obstacle detection process (S24), and specifies by controlling the moving mechanism 17. The guide device 1 is moved in the traveling direction (S25).

On the other hand, the control unit 10 of the guide device 1 images the target selected in step S10 in FIG. 7 with the target camera 15 (S26), and performs target tracking processing based on the acquired captured image (S26). S27). The control unit 10 performs target tracking processing using the tracking template stored in the storage unit 11 when a target is selected.
The control unit 10 determines whether or not the target has been successfully tracked (S28), and when it is determined that the tracking has been successful (S28: YES), the guide information to be provided to the target being tracked is the guide information. It is read from the DB 11c and provided (S29). Thereby, the guidance device 1 can confirm that the target being guided to the base is attached, and can prevent the target from escaping by providing the guidance information.

  When it is determined that the target tracking has failed (S28: NO), the control unit 10 stores failure information indicating that the target guidance has failed in the storage unit 11 (S31), and ends the process. The failure information is, for example, a failure count counter, and the control unit 10 adds 1 to the counter count. The failure information includes the tracking template used for the target tracking process, the guidance information provided to the target before the guidance fails, the guidance information provision order (guidance procedure), and the guidance until the guidance fails. The guidance route (guidance procedure) and the like may be included. When the guidance information provided to the target and the provision order of the guidance information are included in the failure information, the control unit 10 selects the target and then provides the provided guidance information every time the guidance information is provided to the target. At the same time, it may be stored in the storage unit 11.

  In the guidance device 1 that is guiding the target, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the base based on the current position of the device 1 on the floor map and the position information of the base (S30). For example, when the current position of the own device 1 matches the position of the base, the control unit 10 determines that it has arrived at the base. When determining that it has not arrived at the base (S30: NO), the control unit 10 returns to the process of step S22. And the control part 10 moves the guidance apparatus 1 toward a base by performing the process of step S22-S25, and is guidance of the target succeeded by performing the process of step S26-S29? And provide guidance information to the target.

  When it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the base (S30: YES), the control unit 10 stores success information indicating that the target has been successfully guided in the storage unit 11 (S32), and ends the process. The success information is, for example, a success counter, and the control unit 10 adds 1 to the counter number. In addition, the success information includes the tracking template used for the target tracking process, the guidance information provided to the target until the guidance is successful, the guidance information provision order (guidance procedure), and the guidance until the guidance is successful. The guidance route (guidance procedure) and the like may be included. When the guidance information provided to the target and the provision order of the guidance information are included in the success information, the control unit 10 selects the target and then provides the guidance information provided every time the guidance information is provided to the target. At the same time, it may be stored in the storage unit 11.

  In the process described above, the processes in steps S22 to S25 and the processes in steps S26 to S29 may be executed in the same order or may be executed simultaneously. That is, the guidance device 1 performs in any order the process of moving toward the base while avoiding obstacles in the traveling direction and the process of tracking the target based on the captured image obtained by imaging. It may be performed simultaneously.

  Through the processing described above, the guidance device 1 of the present embodiment can guide to the base while confirming whether or not the selected target is attached. Further, when the guidance device 1 succeeds or fails in guidance to the base, the guidance device 1 stores guidance result information (success information or failure information) indicating that fact in the storage unit (guidance result storage unit) 11. Therefore, the guidance device 1 can manage the number of targets that have been guided to the base (the number of successes) and the number of targets that have failed to be guided (the number of failures).

  In step S30 in the above-described processing, the control unit 10 determines that it has arrived at the base when, for example, the current position of the own apparatus 1 matches the position of the base. In addition to this, for example, a template image of the face area of the person in charge at the base (for example, a store clerk) is stored in advance. Then, the control unit 10 performs target tracking processing on the captured image of the target being guided and search processing for a person in charge based on the template image of the person in charge at the site. When it is detected that the conversation has started, it may be determined that it has arrived at the base.

  Further, the person in charge at the base or the target being guided may input the termination of guidance and the success or failure of guidance via the operation panel 12. For example, an end button, a success button, and a failure button are displayed on the operation panel 12 for the operation of the person in charge at the site. Then, the person in contact with the target being guided determines whether or not the guidance by the guidance device 1 is completed from the conversation with the target, and whether or not the guidance is successful, and operates the button according to the determination result. To do. Thereby, the control part 10 can acquire via the operation panel 12 that it arrived at the base (guidance | terminus was completed) and the guidance was successful or failed. Further, an end button and an evaluation button for inputting an evaluation as to whether or not the guidance by the guidance device 1 is useful are displayed on the operation panel 12 for operation of the target being guided. Then, the target being guided operates the end button when guidance by the guidance device 1 is no longer necessary, and operates the evaluation button corresponding to the evaluation for guidance by the guidance device 1. Thereby, the control part 10 can acquire via the operation panel 12 that it arrived at the base (guidance | terminus was completed) and evaluation with respect to guidance.

In the present embodiment described above, the obstacle in the traveling direction is detected based on the captured image obtained by capturing with the camera 14 for traveling direction. For example, the obstacle is detected using an infrared sensor. It is good also as a structure.
Moreover, in this embodiment mentioned above, when the guidance apparatus 1 succeeds in the guidance to a target base or fails, it is good also as a structure which the control part 10 performs the target selection program 11a again. In this case, since the control unit 10 starts the next target selection process when the guidance is completed, the guide device 1 can efficiently select the target and guide to the base.

(Embodiment 2)
A modified example of the guide device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. The guide device 1 according to the first embodiment described above performs a process of selecting a target while moving from the base, and a process of guiding the selected target to the base. On the other hand, the guide device of Embodiment 2 does not include a moving mechanism, and only performs a process of selecting a target.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an appearance of the guide device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the guide device according to the second embodiment.
The guide device 5 of this embodiment is a digital signage, for example, and is used by being installed on a floor surface or a wall surface. FIG. 9A shows an example of the guide device 5 installed on the floor surface, and FIG. 9B shows an example of the guide device 5 installed on the wall surface. The guide device 5 of the present embodiment has an operation panel 52, and a camera 54 and a speaker 55 are provided on the display surface side of the operation panel 12.

  The guidance device 5 of the present embodiment is installed as a guidance device for at least one booth or store at an appropriate location in a facility such as an exhibition, an event venue, or a shopping mall, for example, and is suitable for customers of this booth or store. Select a target. And the guidance apparatus 5 provides guidance information to the selected target. In addition, in the facility where the guidance device 5 of the present embodiment is installed, by installing the guidance device 5 in a plurality of places such as a place where there is a lot of traffic and a place where people are crowded, target selection and guidance information are provided at each place. Can be provided. The facility where the guidance device 5 is installed is not limited to a facility having one floor, and may be a facility having a plurality of floors. Hereinafter, a booth or a store that uses the guide device 5 to select a target is referred to as a base of the guide device 5.

The guide device 5 of this embodiment includes a control unit 50, a storage unit 51, an operation panel 52, a communication unit 53, a camera 54, a speaker 55, and the like, and these units are connected to each other via a bus.
The control unit 50 includes a processor such as a CPU or MPU. The control unit 50 performs various control processes performed by the guidance device 5 by appropriately executing a control program stored in the storage unit 51.

The storage unit 51 includes a flash memory, a hard disk, an SSD, and the like. The storage unit 51 stores in advance a control program (for example, a target selection program 51a) executed by the control unit 50 and various data (for example, a guidance information database 51b). The storage unit 51 temporarily stores data generated when the control unit 50 executes the control program.
In the guide information database 51b (hereinafter referred to as guide information DB 51b), as in the guide information DB 11c of the first embodiment described above, the target attribute to be a customer at the base is associated with the guide information to be provided to the target. It is registered. The guidance device 5 of the present embodiment can be configured to select targets for a plurality of bases, and the guidance information DB 51b includes target attributes and guidance information for each base in association with the base information. It is registered.

The operation panel 52 is a touch panel in which an operation unit and a display unit are integrated. The operation unit receives an operation input by the user and sends a control signal corresponding to the operation content to the control unit 50. The display unit includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and the like, and displays information to be notified to the user, information necessary for operation, and the like according to an instruction from the control unit 50. Note that the operation unit and the display unit may be provided separately without using the operation panel 52.
The communication unit 53 is an interface for connecting to a network such as a LAN or the Internet, and performs communication with an external device connectable to the network. The communication unit 53 may be configured to perform wired communication via a communication line or may be configured to perform wireless communication.

The camera 54 images the surroundings of the guidance device 5 according to an instruction from the control unit 50 to acquire a surrounding captured image (image data), and stores the acquired captured image in the storage unit 51. In the guide device 5 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the camera 54 images the display surface side of the operation panel 52. The captured image captured by the camera 54 is used when the guidance device 5 selects a target at each site.
The speaker 55 outputs the content (message) in accordance with the instruction from the control unit 50 by voice. In the guidance device 5 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the speaker 55 is disposed on the display surface side of the operation panel 52. However, the speaker 55 may be at a position where sound can reach a person on the display surface side of the operation panel 52. For example, the arrangement position is not limited.

  The target selection program 51a according to the present embodiment is similar to the target selection program 11a according to the first embodiment described above. However, since the guide device 5 according to the present embodiment does not include the moving mechanism and the swing mechanism, both of them are slightly different. Different. Specifically, in the guidance device 5 of the present embodiment, when the control unit 50 executes the target selection program 51a, among the functions shown in FIG. 3, the candidate imaging unit 26, the candidate detection unit 27, and the attribute determination unit 28, each function of the target selection unit 29 and the information providing unit 30 is realized. Since the processes performed by the functions of the candidate imaging unit 26, the candidate detection unit 27, the attribute determination unit 28, the target selection unit 29, and the information providing unit 30 have been described in the first embodiment, they are omitted here. Note that the candidate imaging unit 26 according to the second embodiment causes the camera 54 to perform imaging processing, and acquires a captured image around the guidance device 5 (the display surface side of the operation panel 52). In addition, the target selection unit 29 and the information providing unit 30 of the second embodiment perform each process based on the guidance information DB 51 b stored in the storage unit 51.

  Next, processing performed by the guidance device 5 of the present embodiment will be described based on a flowchart. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of target selection processing performed by the guidance device 5 according to the second embodiment. The following processing is executed by the control unit 50 in accordance with a control program including the target selection program 51a stored in the storage unit 51 of the guidance device 5.

  The control unit 50 of the guide device 5 images the periphery of the guide device 5 with the camera 54 (S41), and performs a process of detecting candidates (people) around the guide device 5 based on the acquired captured image (S42). ). The control unit 50 performs a candidate group detection process around the guidance device 5 based on the captured image, and performs a detection process for each candidate based on the detected candidate group. The control unit 50 determines whether or not a candidate has been detected (S43). If it is determined that a candidate has been detected (S43: YES), it determines the attribute of the detected candidate (S44). Here, for example, the control unit 50 determines the attribute for each detected candidate and the attribute as a group of candidates.

Next, based on the attribute determined in step S44 and the registered content of the guidance information DB 51b, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the detected candidate has a target that matches the customer at any base. Judgment is made (S45). In addition, since the guidance apparatus 5 of this embodiment selects the target of several bases, the control part 50 each determines whether each detected candidate corresponds to the target of one or several bases. .
When it is determined in step S43 that no candidate is detected (S43: NO), or when it is determined in step S45 that no target exists (S45: NO), the control unit 50 returns to the process of step S41. . The control unit 50 repeats the processes in steps S41 to S45 until the target is detected, and performs the imaging process by the camera 54, the candidate detection process, and the target detection process.

  When it is determined that the target exists (S45: YES), the control unit 50 selects the detected candidate as the target (S46). And the control part 50 reads the guidance information corresponding to the attribute of the selected target from guidance information DB51b (S47), provides the read guidance information (S48), and complete | finishes a process. As a result, the guidance device 5 displays guidance information or outputs sound when a target is detected (selected) in the vicinity (near the own device 5), so that guidance information can be provided to nearby targets.

  In the present embodiment described above, a directional speaker may be used as the speaker 55. In this case, the voice of the guidance information can be delivered to the detected target pinpoint. Therefore, even when the guide device 5 does not include a moving mechanism, it is possible to reliably provide guide information to a desired target.

(Embodiment 3)
A modification of the above-described second embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, a guide system including a plurality of guide devices that are digital signage, for example, and a central device that performs target selection processing performed by the guide device 5 of Embodiment 2 described above will be described. That is, in this embodiment, the target selection program is not installed in each guide device, but is installed in the central device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an installation example of the guidance device according to the third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the floor is divided into a plurality of areas, and guide devices 5a are installed in each area, and each guide device 5a acquires a captured image of each area. FIG. 12 shows an example in which five guide devices 5a are installed on the floor where the first to fifteenth booths are installed. Each guide device 5 a has a direction indicated by an arrow in the drawing as a display direction of the operation panel 52, that is, an imaging direction of the camera 54.
Each of the guide devices 5a of this embodiment has the same configuration as the guide device 5 of Embodiment 2 except that the target selection program 51a and the guide information DB 51b are not stored in the storage unit 51. About the same structure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the central device 9 according to the third embodiment. The central device 9 of this embodiment is a personal computer, a server computer, etc., for example. The central device 9 may be installed in the base or may not be installed in the base.
The central device 9 includes a control unit 90, a storage unit 91, a communication unit 92, and the like, and these units are connected to each other via a bus. The central device 9 may further include a display unit and an operation unit.

The control unit 90 includes a processor such as a CPU or MPU. The control unit 90 performs various control processes performed by the central device 9 by appropriately executing a control program stored in the storage unit 91.
The storage unit 91 includes a flash memory, a hard disk, an SSD, and the like. The storage unit 91 stores in advance a control program (for example, a target selection program 91a) executed by the control unit 90 and various data (for example, a guidance information database 91b). The storage unit 91 temporarily stores data generated when the control unit 90 executes the control program.

  The communication unit 92 is an interface for connecting to a network N such as a LAN or the Internet, and performs communication with an external device connectable to the network N. The communication unit 92 may be configured to perform wired communication via a communication line or may be configured to perform wireless communication. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 92 communicates with each guide device 5a via the network N.

  The central device 9 of the present embodiment realizes the same function as the guide device 5 of the second embodiment and executes the same processing when the control unit 90 executes the target selection program 91a. In this embodiment, each guide device 5a transmits the captured image acquired by the camera 54 to the central device 9 via the network N, and the central device 9 receives the captured image received from each guide device 5a. Based on the target selection process. When the central device 9 selects a target, the central device 9 reads guidance information to be provided to the selected target from the guidance information database 91b (hereinafter referred to as guidance information DB 91b), and transmits the captured image via the network N. To the guide device 5a. The guide device 5a provides the guide information to the target in the vicinity of the device 5a by displaying the guide information received from the central device 9 on the operation panel 52, for example.

  Next, processing performed by the guidance device 5a and the central device 9 in the guidance system of the present embodiment will be described based on a flowchart. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by the guide device 5a and the central device 9 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 14, the process performed by each guide device 5a is shown on the left side, and the process performed by the central device 9 is shown on the right side.

  In the guidance system of this embodiment, the control part 50 of each guidance apparatus 5a images the circumference | surroundings of the guidance apparatus 5a with the camera 54 (S91), and transmits the acquired captured image to the central apparatus 9 with the communication part 53. (S92). When a captured image is acquired from any of the guide devices 5a, the control unit 90 of the central device 9 performs the same processing as the processing of steps S42 to S46 in FIG. A target at any base located around the guide device 5a that is the transmission source of the image is detected (S93 to S97). If the control unit 90 of the central device 9 determines that the candidate cannot be detected in step S94 (S94: NO), or if it is determined that the target does not exist in step S96 (S96: NO), the process ends. To do.

  When the target of any of the bases is selected, the control unit 90 of the central device 9 reads the guide information regarding the base corresponding to the selected target attribute from the guide information DB 91b (S98). And the control part 90 transmits the read guidance information to the guidance apparatus 5a of the transmission source of a captured image by the communication part (transmission part) 92 (S99). The control unit 50 of the guide device 5a provides the guide information received from the central device 9 by displaying it on the operation panel 52, for example (S100), and ends the process.

With the above-described processing, when there is a target around the guidance device 5a, the guidance information can be displayed or output by the guidance device 5a, so that the guidance information can be provided to the target in the vicinity of the guidance device 5a. In the floor map shown in FIG. 12, an example is shown in which the guide device 5 a arranged at the lower left position displays the guide information acquired from the central device 9.
In the present embodiment, since the central device 9 performs target selection processing based on the captured image acquired by the camera 54 of each guide device 5a, the processing burden on the guide device 5a can be reduced.

(Embodiment 4)
A modification of the above-described second embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, a guidance system including the above-described guidance device 5 according to the second embodiment and a guidance device 6 that guides a target selected by the guidance device 5 to a base will be described.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a guidance system according to the fourth embodiment. The guidance system of the present embodiment includes a plurality of guidance devices 5 and a guidance device 6, and each device is configured to be able to communicate with each other via a network N. A plurality of guidance devices 6 may be provided. Since the guide device 5 of this embodiment is the same as the guide device 5 of Embodiment 2 described above, the description thereof is omitted. The guidance device 6 according to the present embodiment has, for example, the same external appearance as the guidance device 1 according to the first embodiment, and has a slightly different internal configuration from the guidance device 1 according to the first embodiment.

  In the guidance system of the present embodiment, the guidance device 5 is installed at appropriate locations in facilities such as exhibitions, event venues, and shopping malls, as in the second embodiment. And the guidance apparatus 5 performs the process which selects the target suitable for the customer of the booth registered previously or a shop (base). Similarly to the guidance device 1 of the first embodiment, the guidance device 6 is installed at a pre-registered base, and when the guidance device 5 selects a target for the base, the guidance device 6 performs processing for guiding the selected target to the base. Do.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the guidance device 6 according to the fourth embodiment. The guidance device 6 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the guidance device 1 of the first embodiment, except that the target selection program is not stored in the storage unit 61. Specifically, the guidance device 6 includes a control unit 60, a storage unit 61, an operation panel 62, a wireless communication unit 63, a traveling direction camera 64, a target camera 65, a speaker 66, a moving mechanism 67, a swing mechanism 68, and the like. These parts are connected to each other via a bus. The storage unit 61 stores a guidance processing program 61a as a control program to be executed by the control unit 60. As various data, the guidance information having the same registration contents as the guidance information DB 11c of the first embodiment described above. A database 61b (hereinafter referred to as guidance information DB 61b) is stored. The storage unit 61 of the guidance device 6 stores in advance the floor map information of the floor on which the guidance device 6 is installed and the location information of the base on the floor map, as in the guidance device 1 of the first embodiment. Has been. Since other parts are the same as those of the guide device 1 of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In the guide device 5 of the present embodiment, when the control unit 50 executes the target selection program 51a, the same function as the guide device 5 of the second embodiment is realized and the same processing is executed. The guidance device 6 according to the present embodiment realizes the same function as that realized by the guidance device 1 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 when the control unit 60 executes the guidance processing program 61a.

  Next, processing performed by the guidance device 5 and the guidance device 6 in the guidance system of the present embodiment will be described based on a flowchart. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processes performed by the guidance device 5 and the guidance device 6 according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 17, the process performed by the guide device 5 is shown on the left side, and the process performed by the guidance device 6 is shown on the right side. In each process shown in FIG. 17, the same process as the process performed by the guidance device 5 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the guidance system of this embodiment, the control part 50 of the guidance apparatus 5 performs the process similar to step S41-S46 in FIG. 11, and detects the target of one of the bases around the own apparatus 5. FIG. When the control unit 50 of the guide device 5 selects a target at any base, the control device 50 notifies the guidance device 6 that the target has been selected (S51). In the case where a plurality of guidance devices 6 are provided, the control unit 50 notifies the guidance device 6 that is closest to the device 5, for example. When each of the guide devices 5 and each of the guidance devices 6 are associated with each other, the control unit 50 notifies the guidance device 6 associated with the own device 5. When each of the bases and each of the guidance devices 6 are associated with each other, the control unit 50 notifies the guidance device 6 associated with the base to which the selected target is to be guided. Further, the content notified by the guidance device 5 to the guidance device 6 includes information indicating the own device 5 (the guidance device 5 having selected the target), information indicating the installation location of the own device 5, and the attributes of the selected target. Also good. Further, the guide device 5 may notify the guidance device 6 of the image information of the selected target. The target image information may be, for example, target face area, clothing area, or whole body image information.

  The control unit 60 of the guidance device 6 receives the notification that the target has been selected from the guidance device 5 (S52), and moves the guidance device 6 near the target selected by the guidance device 5 based on the notification content (S52). S53). Specifically, the control unit 60 specifies the installation location of the guide device 5 based on the notification content, determines the direction approaching the guide device 5 as the travel direction, and guides the guide device in the determined travel direction by the moving mechanism 67. By moving 6, the guide device 6 is moved closer to the guide device 5. Since the target selected by the guide device 5 exists in the vicinity of the guide device 5, as described above, the guide device 6 moves closer to the guide device 5 that selected the target, thereby bringing the target closer to the selected target. Can move. For example, when the installation position of each guidance device 5 on the area map is stored in advance in the storage unit 61 of the guidance device 6, the guidance device 5 sends information indicating the set position of the own device 5 to the guidance device 6. There is no need to notify the guidance device 6 of the identification information of the device 5 itself. In this case, the guidance device 6 can specify the installation position of the guidance device 5 that is the notification source based on the identification information notified from the guidance device 5 and the installation position of each guidance device 5 on the area map. Also, when the target image information is notified from the guide device 5, the guidance device 6 performs detection processing based on the target image information on the captured image acquired by the target camera 65, for example, to thereby select the target. A specific configuration can be adopted. In this case, the guidance device 6 can take over the target selected by the guide device 5.

After moving near the target, the control unit 60 of the guidance device 6 reads the guidance information corresponding to the attribute of the target notified from the guidance device 5 from the guidance information DB 61b (S54), and provides the read guidance information ( S55), the process is terminated. Thereby, since the guidance device 6 capable of automatic traveling can display or output the guidance information near the target selected by the guidance device 5, the guidance information can be provided to a desired target.
In addition, when the guidance device 6 is configured to perform the target selection process similarly to the guide device 1 of the first embodiment, the guidance device 6 may be configured to perform the target selection process after moving near the target. In this case, the guidance device 6 can reliably grasp the target selected by the guide device 5.

  In the present embodiment described above, the guidance device 5 may provide guidance information to the selected target in the same manner as in the second embodiment when a target at any base is selected. In this case, since the guidance device 5 can provide guidance information to the target after the guidance device 5 selects the target and before the guidance device 6 moves near the target, the target can be secured. it can.

In the present embodiment described above, the guidance device 6 performs the same processing as the processing shown in FIG. 8 by causing the control unit 60 to execute the guidance processing program 61 a stored in the storage unit 61, and the guidance device 5. The target selected by can be guided to the base.
Also in the present embodiment, when the guidance device 6 succeeds or fails in guidance to each base, the guidance device 6 stores guidance result information (success information or failure information) indicating that in the storage unit 61, The number of targets that can be guided to the base (success number) and the number of targets that have failed to be guided (failure number) can be managed.

In the above-described embodiment, when the guide device 5 performs only the target selection process, the guide device 5 may be configured without the operation panel 52 and the speaker 55. Further, a camera may be installed instead of the guide device 5 and a captured image acquired by the camera may be sent to a computer in which the target selection program 51a is installed. In this case, the computer can perform target selection processing around each camera based on the image captured by each camera.
Further, the configuration of the third embodiment may be applied to the present embodiment described above. Specifically, the central device 9 is connected to the network N, the guide device 5 transmits the captured image acquired by the camera 54 to the central device 9 via the network N, and the central device 9 acquires the image acquired from the guide device 5. A configuration for performing a target selection process based on an image may be used. In this case, the central device 9 may notify the guidance device 6 that the target has been selected.

(Embodiment 5)
A modified example of the guide device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. The above-described guidance device 1 according to the first embodiment is configured to provide guidance information stored in advance in the storage unit 11 (guidance information DB 11c) to a selected target. On the other hand, the guidance device according to the fifth embodiment provides guidance information stored in advance in the device itself, and performs processing for obtaining and providing guidance information from a communication device installed at a base. Therefore, Embodiment 5 demonstrates the guidance system containing the guidance apparatus 1 of Embodiment 1 mentioned above and the communication apparatus installed in the base, for example. Hereinafter, the guide device of the fifth embodiment will be described as a modification of the guide device 1 of the first embodiment. However, the configuration of the fifth embodiment can be applied to the guide devices 5 of the second to fourth embodiments.

  FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the guidance system according to the fifth embodiment. The guidance system of this embodiment includes at least one guidance device 1 and a communication device 7, and each device is configured to be able to communicate with each other. The guide device 1 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the guide device 1 of the first embodiment described above, and further includes a sound collection unit 19. The description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is omitted. The sound collection unit 19 includes a microphone 19 a and the like, collects sound data via the microphone 19 a, and sends the obtained sound data to the control unit 10.

The communication apparatus 7 of this embodiment is a personal computer, a smart phone, a tablet terminal etc., for example. The communication device 7 is installed in a base, for example, and is operated by a person (person in charge or store clerk) in the base.
The communication device 7 includes a control unit 70, a storage unit 71, a display unit 72, an operation unit 73, a communication unit 74, an operator camera 75, a sound collection unit 76, a speaker 77, and the like. It is connected to the.

The control unit 70 includes a processor such as a CPU or MPU. The control unit 70 performs various control processes performed by the guidance device 7 by appropriately executing a control program stored in the storage unit 71.
The storage unit 71 includes a flash memory, a hard disk, an SSD, and the like. The storage unit 71 stores a control program executed by the control unit 70 and various data in advance. The storage unit 71 temporarily stores data generated when the control unit 70 executes the control program.

The display unit 72 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and the like, and displays various information according to instructions from the control unit 70.
The operation unit 73 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., receives an operation input by the user, and sends a control signal corresponding to the operation content to the control unit 70.
The display unit 72 and the operation unit 73 may be a touch panel configured as an integral unit.

  The communication unit 74 is an interface for connecting to a network such as a LAN or the Internet, and performs communication with an external device connectable to the network. The communication unit 74 may be configured to perform wired communication via a communication line or may be configured to perform wireless communication. In the communication device 7 of the present embodiment, for example, the communication unit 74 communicates with the guidance device 1 via a network, but the communication device 7 and the guidance device 1 may be configured to communicate directly.

In accordance with an instruction from the control unit 70, the operator camera 75 captures a person who operates at the base (hereinafter referred to as an operator) or the state of the base and acquires a captured image (image data) of the operator or the base. To do. The operator camera 75 sends the acquired captured image (image data) to the storage unit 71 and stores it in the storage unit 71.
The sound collection unit 76 includes a microphone 76 a and the like, collects audio data via the microphone 76 a, and sends the obtained audio data to the control unit 70.
The speaker 77 outputs the content (message) in accordance with the instruction from the control unit 70 by voice.

  In the guide device 1 of the present embodiment, the control unit 10 executes the target selection program 11a, thereby realizing the same function as the guide device 1 of the first embodiment and executing the same processing. In the guidance device 1 of the present embodiment, the information providing unit 30 realized by the control unit 10 includes not only the guidance information stored in the guidance information DB 11c as guidance information provided to the selected target, but also the base. Provide conversations with operators.

  FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display screen example of guidance information provided by the guidance device 1 according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19A, the guidance information (display data) provided by the guidance device 1 of the present embodiment includes, for example, a conversation with the operator at the base in addition to the guidance information shown in FIG. A message asking whether or not it is desired is displayed, and a “desired” button and an “unwanted” button operated to answer whether or not a conversation with the operator is desired are also displayed. Note that a message asking whether or not the conversation with the operator is desired may be output by voice from the speaker 16, and the answer from the target is obtained by voice recognition of the utterance of the target collected by the sound collection unit 19. You may make it acquire.

  When an answer indicating that a conversation with the operator is desired is acquired from the target, the control unit 10 of the guide device 1 according to the present embodiment makes a communication request to the communication device 7, and when there is a response from the communication device 7, the communication device Communication with 7 is started. The display screen shown in FIG. 19B shows a state in which the guidance device 1 has started a videophone call with the communication device 7, and the selected target is connected to the site via the guidance device 1 and the communication device 7. Talk to the operator.

  Next, processing performed by the guidance device 1 and the communication device 7 in the guidance system of the present embodiment will be described based on a flowchart. FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of target selection processing performed by the guidance device 1 and the communication device 7 according to the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 20, the process performed by the guidance device 1 is shown on the left side, and the process performed by the communication device 7 is shown on the right side. In the guidance system of the present embodiment, the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 performs the same processing as steps S1 to S13 in FIG. 7, and therefore only the processing after step S13 will be described. In FIG. 20, the illustration of the processing of steps S1 to S12 is omitted.

In step S <b> 13, the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 displays a display screen shown in FIG. 19A on the operation panel 12 as guidance information provided to the target.
The control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 determines whether or not communication with the communication device 7 has been requested according to whether or not an answer indicating that a conversation with the operator is desired has been acquired from the target (S61). If it is determined that communication is not requested (S61: NO), the control unit 10 continues to provide guidance information stored in the guidance information DB 11c (S13).

When it is determined that communication is requested (S61: YES), the control unit 10 makes a communication request to the communication device 7 (S62). The control unit 70 of the communication device 7 receives a communication request from the guide device 1 (S63), and responds if communication is possible (S64).
When there is a response from the communication device 7, the control unit 10 of the guide device 1 starts communication with the communication device 7 (S65).

  Here, the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 transmits the target captured image acquired by the target camera 15 and the target voice collected by the sound collecting unit 19 from the wireless communication unit 13 to the communication device 7. . The control unit 70 of the communication device 7 transmits the captured image of the operator acquired by the operator camera 75 and the operator's voice collected by the sound collection unit 76 from the communication unit 74 to the guide device 1. The control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 displays the operator's captured image received from the communication device 7 on the operation panel 12 and outputs the operator's voice from the speaker 16. The control unit 70 of the communication device 7 displays the captured image of the target received from the guidance device 1 on the display unit 72 and outputs the target sound from the speaker 77. Thereby, the target selected with the guidance apparatus 1 can talk with the operator in a base. Therefore, when some trouble occurs in the guidance by the guidance device 1, the selected target can be further secured by being able to converse with the operator at the base. When the operator captures the inside of the site with the operator camera 75, the communication device 7 can transmit the captured image within the site to the guide device 1 and provide it to the target.

  In the present embodiment described above, as guidance information provided to the target by the guidance device 1, for example, various guidance stored in the storage unit 71 of the communication device 7 in addition to the conversation with the operator using the communication device 7. It can also be set as the structure which provides information to a target via the guidance apparatus 1. FIG. In this case, the guidance device 1 requests guidance information from the communication device 7, displays the guidance information received from the communication device 7 on the operation panel 12, and provides it to the target by outputting sound from the speaker 16.

(Embodiment 6)
In the above-described guidance device 1 according to the first embodiment, when the control unit 10 executes the guidance processing program 11b to perform guidance processing to the target base, the guidance result indicating whether the guidance has succeeded or failed as the guidance result. Information (success information and failure information) is stored in the storage unit 11. Based on such information, the effect of guidance (solicitation) to the base by the guide device 1 can be measured. Further, based on the effect of the guidance device 1, the usage fee (for example, rental fee) of the guidance device 1 can be determined.

  Therefore, the guide device 1 having such a configuration may be configured to perform processing for determining the usage fee of the own device 1 based on information indicating the guidance result accumulated in the storage unit 11. For example, the control unit 10 of the guidance device 1 counts the number of successful guidances (success number) and the number of failed guidances (failure number). For example, after the operation for one day or one week is finished, A usage fee is calculated based on the success rate and displayed on the operation panel 12, for example. Specifically, by setting a fee for each success number and success rate in advance, the control unit 10 can specify a fee corresponding to the success number and success rate of the own device 1.

  Further, the guidance device 1 stores a tracking template (target face area, clothing area, or whole body image information) used for target tracking processing in the storage unit 11. Therefore, the guidance device 1 transmits the tracking template to, for example, a communication device installed at the base when the target tracking template is acquired. And a communication apparatus performs the target search process based on a tracking template with respect to the captured image acquired with the camera which images the inside of a base. Thereby, it can be judged whether the target selected by the guidance apparatus 1 has come to the base. Therefore, even if the target fails to be guided to the base by the guidance device 1, it can be determined that the guidance (suggestion) is successful when the target itself comes to the base.

  The configuration of the present embodiment described above can also be applied to the guide device 6 of the fourth embodiment and the guide device 1 of the fifth embodiment.

(Embodiment 7)
The above-described guidance device 1 according to the sixth embodiment is configured to determine the usage fee for the device 1 based on the guidance result information stored in the device 1. In the seventh embodiment, a guidance system that includes a plurality of the guidance devices 1 according to the first embodiment described above, and in which the aggregation device counts the guidance result information accumulated in each guidance device 1 will be described.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the internal configuration of the aggregation device according to the seventh embodiment. The counting device 8 may be installed in the base, or may be installed in the base operating company. The counting device 8 is configured to be able to communicate with a plurality of guide devices 1. Since the guide device 1 of this embodiment is the same as the guide device 1 of Embodiment 1 described above, the description thereof is omitted.
The tabulation device 8 of this embodiment is a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or the like, for example. The aggregation device 8 includes a control unit 80, a storage unit 81, a display unit 82, an operation unit 83, a communication unit 84, and the like, and these units are connected to each other via a bus.

The control unit 80 includes a processor such as a CPU or MPU. The control unit 80 performs various control processes performed by the counting device 8 by appropriately executing the control program stored in the storage unit 81.
The storage unit 81 includes a flash memory, a hard disk, an SSD, and the like. The storage unit 81 stores in advance a control program (for example, a totalization processing program 81a) executed by the control unit 80, various data, and the like. Further, the storage unit 81 temporarily stores data (for example, the total database 81b) generated when the control unit 80 executes the control program.

The display unit 82 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and the like, and displays various types of information according to instructions from the control unit 80.
The operation unit 83 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., receives an operation input by the user, and sends a control signal corresponding to the operation content to the control unit 80.
The display unit 82 and the operation unit 83 may be a touch panel configured as an integral unit.
The communication unit 84 is an interface for connecting to a network such as a LAN or the Internet, and performs communication with an external device connectable to the network. The communication unit 84 may be configured to perform wired communication via a communication line or may be configured to perform wireless communication.

  In the guidance system of the present embodiment, each guidance device 1 guides the target for each selected target, the tracking template used for the target tracking process, guidance information provided to the target, the order in which guidance information is provided (guidance procedure), and the target. The guidance result information including the guidance route (guidance procedure), the success or failure of the guidance, and the like is stored in the storage unit 11. The guidance information provided to the target includes not only guidance information provided before the start of guidance but also guidance information provided during guidance.

  Next, processing performed by the counting device 8 of the present embodiment will be described based on a flowchart. FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by the aggregation device 8 according to the seventh embodiment. The following processing is executed by the control unit 80 in accordance with a control program including a totaling processing program 81a stored in the storage unit 81 of the totaling device 8.

  The control unit 80 of the totaling device 8 determines whether or not the timing for totaling the guidance result information stored in the storage unit 11 of each guide device 1 has arrived (S71), and determines that it has not arrived. If so (S71: NO), it waits until it arrives. For example, a predetermined time of the day or a predetermined time of a predetermined day of the week is set as the aggregation timing, and the control unit 80 determines whether the aggregation timing is based on whether the predetermined time has arrived. Determine whether it has arrived.

When it is determined that the counting timing has arrived (S71: YES), the control unit 80 collects the guidance result information accumulated in the storage unit 11 from each of the guide devices 1 via the network (S72). The control unit 80 stores the collected guidance result information in a total database (hereinafter referred to as a total DB) 81b of the storage unit 81.
FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing the contents stored in the summary DB 81b. The summary DB 81b stores the guidance procedure, guidance procedure, and success / failure of guidance obtained from each guidance information 1 in association with guidance device information for identifying each guidance device 1. The guidance procedure includes guidance information provided to each target and the provision order thereof, and the guidance procedure includes a guidance route for guiding each target, guidance information provided during guidance, and a provision order thereof. Yes.

  After storing the guidance result information collected from each guide device 1 in the summary DB 81b, the control unit 80 of the counting device 8 counts the number of successful guides and the number of failures for each guide device 1, and counts the success. A success rate is calculated based on the number and the number of failures (S73). In addition, when the number of successes and the number of failures are included in the guidance result information collected from each guide device 1, the control unit 80 may calculate the success rate based on the number of successes and the number of failures acquired from the guide device 1.

  Next, the control part 80 determines the guidance procedure and guidance procedure with a high success rate based on the success rate in each guidance apparatus 1 (S74). For example, in the guidance device 1 with the highest success rate calculated in step S73, the control unit 80 calculates a success rate for each guidance procedure and guidance procedure, and determines a guidance procedure and guidance procedure with the highest success rate. In addition, depending on the arrangement | positioning condition of the some guidance apparatus 1, the case where the different guidance apparatus 1 performs the same guidance procedure and guidance procedure can be considered. In this case, for example, the control unit 80 does not calculate the success rate for each guidance device 1, but calculates the success rate for each of the same guidance procedure and guidance procedure in all the guidance devices 1, and the success rate is the highest. High guidance and guidance procedures may be determined.

The control unit 80 transmits the determined guidance procedure and guidance procedure to each guidance device 1 (S75), and ends the process. Each guidance device 1 stores the guidance procedure and the guidance procedure received from the totalization device 8 in the storage unit 11, and then sets a procedure for selecting a target and guiding to a base.
In the configuration in which a plurality of guide devices 1 are used to select a target and guide to a base by the processing described above, the counting device 8 unifies the guide procedure and guide procedure performed by each guide device 1 and the success or failure thereof. Can manage. Moreover, since the guidance procedure and the process of the guidance procedure with the highest success rate of guidance to the base can be executed by all the guidance devices 1, the possibility that the target can be guided to the base can be increased.

  In the processing described above, like the guidance device 1 of the sixth embodiment, the control unit 80 of the counting device 8 uses each guidance device 1 based on the number of successes and the success rate by each guidance device 1 calculated in step S73. A fee (rental fee) may be determined. In this case, the usage fee of each guide device 1 can be managed by the counting device 8.

In the guide device 1 of each embodiment described above, the guidance device 6 of Embodiment 4, the totalization device 8 of Embodiment 7, and the like, the captured image acquired by the target camera 15 and the tracking template (captured image) used for target tracking processing are used. ), Data that may contain personal information, such as data on the content of conversations with the target, may be stored (accumulated) in the storage unit. In the case of such a configuration, each data may be temporarily stored depending on the setting, and may be deleted from the storage unit when the power of each device is turned off.
Further, in the target selection process performed by the guidance devices 1 and 5 of each embodiment described above, a candidate group (group of people) having a plurality of people (candidates) is selected as a target, and the selected group of people is selected. Alternatively, guidance information may be provided. When a plurality of groups of people are detected, the group (group) with the largest number of people may be selected as a target.

  The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and should not be considered as restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined not by the above-mentioned meaning but by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1,5 Guide device 7 Communication device 9 Central device (communication device)
10 control unit 11 storage unit (guidance result storage unit)
12 Operation panel 13 Wireless communication unit (communication unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Advancing direction camera 15 Target camera 17 Movement mechanism 21 Advancing direction imaging part (moving direction imaging part)
22 Obstacle detection unit 27 Candidate detection unit 28 Attribute determination unit 29 Target selection unit (selection unit)
30 Information providing unit 45 Target imaging unit (target person imaging unit)
46 Target Tracking Unit (Judgment Unit)
54 Camera (imaging part)
92 Communication unit (transmission unit)
27a Candidate group detection unit

Claims (19)

In a guidance device that provides guidance information to a target person,
A selection unit for selecting a target person from one or more candidates;
An information providing unit that provides guidance information to a target person selected by the selection unit. A storage unit for storing information on the attributes of the target person to be selected;
An attribute determination unit for determining the attribute of the candidate,
The selecting unit selects a candidate whose candidate attribute determined by the attribute determining unit matches an attribute stored in the storage unit as a target person,
The guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit provides guidance information according to an attribute of the subject selected by the selection unit. A moving mechanism that moves from a predetermined position;
A candidate group detection unit that detects a candidate group including a plurality of candidates while moving by the moving mechanism;
When the candidate group detection unit detects the candidate group, the selection unit moves to the vicinity of the candidate group by the moving mechanism, selects the target person from the candidate group,
The guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit provides guidance information regarding the predetermined position to a target person selected by the selection unit.   The guide device according to claim 3, wherein the moving mechanism moves within a predetermined range from the predetermined position set in advance. A moving direction imaging unit that images the moving direction of the moving mechanism;
The guidance device according to claim 3, further comprising: an obstacle detection unit that detects presence or absence of an obstacle in the movement direction based on an image captured by the movement direction imaging unit. A communication unit capable of communicating with a predetermined communication device;
The guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information providing unit provides information received by the communication unit from the predetermined communication device.   The guide device according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit displays address information for providing the guide information via a network on a display device.   The guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a guide unit that guides the subject selected by the selection unit to a predetermined position while moving by a moving mechanism. A subject imaging unit that images the subject guided by the guidance unit;
And a determination unit that determines whether or not the guidance of the subject is successful based on whether or not the subject is included in an image captured by the subject imaging unit. 8. The guidance device according to 8.   The guidance device according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising a guidance result storage unit that stores guidance result information indicating whether or not the guidance unit has succeeded in guiding to the predetermined position.   The guidance device according to claim 10, wherein the guidance result storage unit stores the guidance result information in association with a guidance information provision procedure by the information provision unit and a guidance procedure by the guidance unit.   The guidance device according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising a fee determination unit that determines a usage fee according to the guidance result information stored in the guidance result storage unit.   When the guidance unit fails to guide to the predetermined position, and when the guidance unit guides the subject to the predetermined position, the selection unit restarts the selection of the subject. The guide device according to any one of claims 8 to 12.   The guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the selection unit selects a candidate group including a plurality of candidates as the target person. A guidance method by a guidance device that provides guidance information to a target person,
The guiding device is
Select a target from one or more candidates,
A guidance method characterized by providing guidance information to a selected target person. In a guidance system that provides guidance information to the target person,
A selection unit for selecting a target person from one or more candidates;
An information providing unit that provides guidance information to a target person selected by the selection unit. A plurality of guidance devices having an imaging unit and providing guidance information to a target person; and a communication device capable of communicating with the plurality of guidance devices;
The communication device
A candidate group detection unit that detects a candidate group including a plurality of candidates around each of the guidance devices based on images captured by the imaging units of the guidance devices;
When the candidate group detection unit detects the candidate group, a selection unit that selects a target person from the candidate group;
A transmission unit that transmits predetermined guide information to the guide device that has captured the image when the selection unit selects the target person;
The guide system includes an information providing unit that provides the predetermined guide information received from the communication device. A guidance system comprising a plurality of guidance devices according to claim 11,
A storage device that acquires and stores guidance result information, guidance information provision procedures and guidance procedures stored in the guidance result storage unit from each of a plurality of guidance devices;
A specifying unit for specifying a guidance information providing procedure and a guidance procedure corresponding to guidance result information having a high success rate among the guidance result information stored in the storage device;
A guidance system comprising: a procedure instruction unit that instructs the plurality of guidance devices to execute a guidance information provision procedure and a guidance procedure identified by the identification unit. In a program for causing a computer to execute processing for providing guidance information to a target person,
In the computer,
Select a target from one or more candidates,
A program characterized by causing processing to provide guidance information to a selected target person.

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