JP2019076658A - Autonomous travel cleaner and extension area identification method - Google Patents

Abstract

To generate a map corresponding to a change of a cleaning area.SOLUTION: An autonomous travel cleaner 100 includes: a map generation unit 181 for generating a new map 201 with a position of a reference member 189 arranged in a cleaning area 180 as a reference position 202; an extension area determination unit 183 for determining that an extension area exists when the new map 201 spreads out of a cumulative map 301; and a notification unit 186 for notifying a user of extension information including information indicating that an extension area exists when the new map 201 is generated by an actual travel record in an automatic mode and also it is determined that an extension area exists.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous traveling cleaner that generates a map based on travel results for an area where an autonomous traveling cleaner autonomously travels and cleans, and an extended area identification method.

  In recent years, it has become possible to create a map of a traveling area based on the self-position estimation result during cleaning, and specify an area to be cleaned next time based on the map. (Patent Document 1).

  According to this document, while cleaning, odometry information and information from various sensors provided in the vacuum cleaner such as a camera and a distance measuring sensor are used to determine the relative position of oneself based on the movement of oneself and the positional relationship with the surroundings. There has been proposed an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner that estimates, determines where in the room it is, and creates a map that allows the user to freely select the cleaning area to be cleaned next based on the information.

  In addition, when a sensor that acquires external information such as a camera is not used, it is impossible to determine where on the map at the start of cleaning it is possible to wait while charging with a charging stand when not in use. It is also considered that the cleaning history is recorded starting from the charging stand using what is often done, and a map is generated based on the information (Patent Document 2).

JP, 2002-085305, A JP, 2006-110322, A

  However, when the closed door is opened, the carpet that could not be overcome is removed, the position of the charging stand changes significantly, or the environment in the cleaning area changes suddenly, the autonomous running cleaner It is impossible to know whether the environment in the cleaning area has suddenly changed or has been moved to another cleaning area.

  The present invention solves the above problems, and provides an autonomous traveling cleaner capable of generating a map corresponding to a change in a cleaning area based on a newly generated map of a traveling area, and an extended area identification method. It is an object.

  The autonomous running cleaner which is one of the present invention is an autonomous running cleaner which runs and cleanses autonomously, and has run a new map based on the position of the reference member installed in the cleaning area as the reference position Map generation unit that generates based on the extended area, and the expanded area that determines that there is an expanded area that is an area expanded from the cumulative map when the new map is out of the cumulative map on which the previously created map is accumulated When the determination unit, and the new map is generated by the traveling results in the automatic mode, and the extension area determination unit determines that the extension area is present, the extension information including information indicating that the extension area is present is And a notification unit for notifying a user.

  Another extended area identification method according to the present invention is an extended area identification method for an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner that travels and cleans autonomously, and the reference position of the reference member installed in the cleaning area is set as a reference position. The map generation unit generates the new map on the basis of the travel results, and the expanded map is an expanded area which is an area expanded from the cumulative map when the new map is out of the cumulative map on which the previously created map is accumulated. If the extension area determination unit determines that there is a presence of the extension area when the new map is generated by the travel results in the automatic mode and the extension area determination unit determines that the extension area exists, The notification unit notifies the user of the extended information including the information to be indicated.

  A map can be generated flexibly in response to changes in the cleaning area.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an appearance of an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing an appearance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional unit related to map creation of a control unit in Embodiment 1 together with a terminal device. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a cleaning area in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a new map created in the first embodiment. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a cumulative map in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a terminal device in Embodiment 1; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of an extended area identification method according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a new map created in the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram in which a new map and a cumulative map in Embodiment 2 are superimposed at a reference position.

  Next, an embodiment of the autonomous traveling cleaner in the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the following embodiment is only what showed an example of the autonomous running cleaner in this invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the wording of the claims with reference to the following embodiments, and is not limited to only the following embodiments. Therefore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in the independent claim showing the highest concept of the present invention are not necessarily required to achieve the object of the present invention, It is described as constituting a preferred embodiment.

  In addition, the drawings are schematic diagrams in which emphasis, omission, and adjustment of ratios are appropriately performed to show the present invention, and may differ from actual shapes, positional relationships, and ratios.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the appearance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the appearance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in these figures, the autonomous running cleaner 100 according to the first embodiment travels autonomously in the cleaning area 180 which is the target area for cleaning the floor surface etc. in the home, and exists in the cleaning area 180. It is a robot-type vacuum cleaner that sucks up the waste it contains.

  According to the first embodiment, the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 includes a body 120 on which various components are mounted, a drive unit 130 (see FIG. 2) for moving the body 120, and a cleaning area 180 (see FIG. 5). A cleaning unit 140 (see FIG. 2) for collecting existing dust, a suction unit 150 for suctioning the dust into the body 120, a control unit 170 for controlling the drive unit 130, the cleaning unit 140 and the suction unit 150; It has various sensors.

  The body 120 is a housing that accommodates the drive unit 130, the control unit 170, and the like, and is configured such that the upper portion is removable from the lower portion. A bumper which is displaceable with respect to the body 120 is attached to an outer peripheral portion of the body 120. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the body 120 is provided with a suction port 121 for sucking the dust into the inside of the body 120.

  The drive unit 130 causes the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 to travel based on an instruction from the control unit 170. In the first embodiment, one drive unit 130 is disposed on each of the left side and the right side with respect to the center in the width direction of the body 120 in a plan view. The number of drive units 130 is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more.

  The drive unit 130 has a wheel that travels on the cleaning surface, a travel motor that applies torque to the wheel, and a housing that accommodates the travel motor. Each wheel is accommodated in a recess formed in the lower surface of the body 120 and is rotatably attached to the body 120.

  The drive system of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 of the first embodiment is a facing two-wheel type having the caster 179 as an auxiliary wheel, and by independently controlling the rotation of the two wheels, going straight, receding, left rotating The autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can freely travel such as right rotation.

  The cleaning unit 140 is a unit for sucking in dust from the suction port 121, and includes a main brush disposed in the suction port 121, a brush drive motor for rotating the main brush, and the like.

  The suction unit 150 is disposed inside the body 120, and has a fan case and an electric fan disposed inside the fan case. The electric fan sucks the air inside the trash can unit 151 and discharges the air to the outside of the body 120 to suck the dirt from the suction port 121 and store the dirt in the trash can unit 151.

  The following sensors can be illustrated as various sensors with which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 is provided.

  The obstacle sensor 173 is a sensor that detects an obstacle present in front of the body 120. In the case of the first embodiment, an ultrasonic sensor is used as the obstacle sensor 173. The obstacle sensor 173 has a transmitting unit 171 disposed at the center in front of the body 120, and a receiving unit 172 arranged on both sides of the transmitting unit 171, and transmitted from the transmitting unit 171 and reflected by the obstacle When the receiving unit 172 receives the returned ultrasonic waves, the distance and the position of the obstacle can be detected.

  The distance measuring sensor 174 detects the distance between the body 120 and an object such as an obstacle present around the body 120. In the case of the first embodiment, the distance measuring sensor 174 is an infrared sensor having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and measures the distance based on the time until the infrared light reflected by the obstacle returns.

  Distance measuring sensors 174 are respectively disposed and arranged at the front top on the right side and the front top on the left side, and the distance measuring sensor 174 on the right side outputs light toward the right front of the body 120 and measures the left side. Distance sensor 174 outputs light toward the left front of body 120. With such a configuration, when the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 turns, the distance measurement sensor 174 detects the distance between the body 120 and the object closest to the contour of the body 120.

  The collision sensor (not shown) is a switch contact displacement sensor which is turned on as a bumper attached around the body 120 is pushed against the body 120 in contact with an obstacle.

  The camera 175 is a device for capturing an image of the entire circumference of the upper space of the body 120. The image captured by the camera 175 is processed by the image recognition processing unit, and the current position of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can be grasped from the position of the feature point in the image.

  The floor surface sensor 176 is disposed at a plurality of locations on the bottom surface of the body 120, and detects whether or not a floor surface as the cleaning area 180 exists. In the case of the first embodiment, the floor surface sensor 176 is an infrared sensor having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and when infrared light emitted from the light emitting portion returns, there is a floor surface and only light below the threshold is returned. If not, it is detected as no floor.

  The encoder is provided in the drive unit 130, and detects the rotation angle of each of a pair of wheels rotated by the traveling motor. The traveling amount, the turning angle, the speed, the acceleration, the angular velocity and the like of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can be calculated by the information from the encoder.

  The acceleration sensor detects the acceleration when the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 travels, and the angular velocity sensor detects the angular velocity when the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 turns. The information detected by the acceleration sensor and the angular velocity sensor is used as information for correcting an error caused by the idle rotation of the wheel.

  The dust amount sensor 177 includes, for example, a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and the light receiving element detects and outputs the amount of light emitted from the light emitting element. Based on the output information, the amount of light received is associated with the amount of dust. Specifically, it is determined that the amount of dust decreases as the amount of light decreases, and dust amount information indicating that is generated.

  The obstacle sensor 173, the distance measurement sensor 174, the collision sensor, the camera 175, the floor surface sensor 176, the encoder, and the dust amount sensor 177 described above are examples, and the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 does not have all the sensors. I do not mind. Further, the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 may be provided with a sensor different from the above.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing each functional unit of the control unit of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the control unit 170 of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 controls the drive unit 130 to cause the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 to autonomously travel and execute cleaning, and from various sensors during autonomous traveling. A unit that generates a map of a travel area from travel results based on the obtained information, and generates a map generation unit 181, a storage device 200, a map comparison unit 182, an extended area determination unit 183, and a dust amount statistics unit 184 , And a notification unit 186. In the case of the present embodiment, the control unit 170 of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 further includes a movement information acquisition unit 185 and a map processing unit 187.

  The map generation unit 181 is a processing unit that generates a map using travel performance which is a set of self positions at a plurality of points during cleaning obtained by a self position estimation technique based on information from various sensors.

  The map generation unit 181 generates a new map 201 (see FIG. 6) using the position of the reference member 189 installed in the cleaning area 180 shown in FIG. 5 as a reference position based on the travel results. Here, the cleaning area 180 is an area where the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can travel, and generally approximates the shape of the floor of a room. In addition, the cleaning area 180 may change significantly, for example, when the previously closed partition is released, when the door 199 is opened, and when the sofa and the table are removed. In addition, the position of the chair may be changed, the position of the trash can may be changed, and the cleaning area 180 may change frequently and frequently.

  The reference member 189 is a device serving as a reference position when the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 travels autonomously, and is disposed in the cleaning area 180. Although the reference member 189 is not particularly limited, for example, a charging stand that supplies power to the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 to charge a battery provided in the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 may be the reference member 189.

  The traveling record is, for example, the locus of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 from when the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 starts traveling with the reference member 189 as a starting point based on the traveling program to when cleaning is finished assuming that the entire cleaning area 180 has been cleaned. is there.

  In addition, the reference member 189 may have a characteristic part extracted from an image captured by a camera or the like included in the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 as the reference member 189.

  The map generation unit 181 generates, as a new map 201, an information indicating the outline of the area actually traveled based on the travel results and the reference position 202 which is the position where the reference member 189 is disposed, and generates the new map 201 Are stored in the storage device 200. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, when there is an island region that can not be run within the cleaning area 180, a new map 201 including information indicating the outline of the island region and the position thereof is generated.

  In the case of the first embodiment, the new map 201 generated by the map generation unit 181 is realized as, for example, two-dimensional array data. For example, the traveling result is divided into quadrilaterals of a predetermined size such as 10 cm by 10 cm, and each quadrangle is regarded as an element area of the array constituting the new map 201, and is stored as array data. Although the specific data format is not particularly limited, the values of each element area are, for example, the floor probability 204 and the cumulative floor probability 304. In the case of the present embodiment, information on the amount of dust based on the dust amount sensor 177 is held as additional information.

  The map comparison unit 182 superimposes the new map 201 on the accumulated map 301 (see FIG. 7) in which the maps generated by the map generation unit 181 in the past are made consistent with the reference position 202 which is the position of the reference member 189. It is a processing part which extracts a portion which does not overlap and overlaps as a difference area.

  A processing unit that determines, among the difference areas extracted by the map comparison unit 182, the difference area that is not present in the cumulative map 301, that is, the area expanded from the cumulative map 301 as the extension area It is. In the case of the present embodiment, the area which is the area of the difference area is the first threshold (for example, 1 m × 1 m) or more and is expanded is used as the expansion area. This makes it possible to exclude the case where the trash can is moved.

  The dust amount statistics unit 184 is obtained from the dust amount sensor 177 in each of the element areas where the positions coincide, when one element obtained by dividing the new map 201 and the cumulative map 301 in the vertical and horizontal directions at the same position is used as an element area. It is a processing unit that statistically processes the received dust amount information. Specifically, for example, in each element area, the dust amount statistics unit 184 adds 1 to the cumulative number indicating the number of new maps 201 used for updating so far, and the love amount information that is new to the accumulated dust amount information And the quotient obtained by dividing the sum by the cumulative number, that is, the average value of the dust amount information.

  Although the processing method of the dust amount statistics unit 184 is different for the extension area determined by the extension area determination unit 183, this will be described later.

  When the new map 201 is generated by the map generation unit 181 based on the travel results in the automatic mode, and the extended area determination unit 183 determines that the extended area exists, the notification area 186 indicates that the extended area exists. Is a processing unit that notifies the user of extended information including information indicating.

  The automatic mode is a mode in which the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 is caused to travel autonomously to clean the cleaning area 180 as widely as possible, starting from the reference member 189. The automatic mode is different from the designation mode in which only the designated range designated based on the cumulative map 301 or the like is autonomously cleaned.

  In the present embodiment, when the above condition is satisfied, the notification unit 186 causes the terminal device 400 (see FIG. 4) possessed by the user to display the image of the new map 201 as the extended information. Further, the notification unit 186 also notifies extended information in which dust information indicating the amount of dust in each element area is superimposed on image information indicating the new map 201. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the portion with a large amount of dust is displayed in dark color.

  The movement information acquisition unit 185 is a processing unit that acquires movement information that is information indicating whether or not the reference member 189 from the user who has confirmed the extended information has moved. In the case of the present embodiment, the movement information acquisition unit 185 causes the terminal device 400 possessed by the user to display a screen inquiring whether the reference member 189, that is, the charging stand has been largely moved, and the user selects Response is obtained as movement information.

  When the movement information acquired by the movement information acquisition unit 185 indicates that the reference member 189 has moved significantly, the map processing unit 187 generates a portion corresponding to the extension area as another map and indicates that the movement is not performed. In this case, it is a processing unit that generates a new map including the extension area. When the portion corresponding to the extended area is generated as another map, the entire new map is treated as a single history map without being associated with the cumulative map 301. In addition, the dust amount statistics unit 184 does not statistically process the acquired dust amount information.

  In the case of the present embodiment, since the reference member 189 is not moved and the door 199 leading to the next room is in the open state, the map processing unit 187 generates the new map 201 generated by the map generation unit 181. Is added to the cumulative map 301.

  The control unit 170 includes the storage device 200 that holds the cumulative map 301 in which the maps generated before the new map 201 is generated by the map generation unit 181 are accumulated. In addition, in the cumulative map 301 stored in the storage device 200, a cumulative floor probability 304 indicating whether each coordinate point of the travel area is a floor is associated with the probability. Although the type of the storage device 200 is not particularly limited, for example, a hard disk, a flash memory, etc. can be exemplified.

  In addition, in the case other than the automatic mode, the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 may hold the new map 201 generated by the map generation unit 181 based on the traveling results as a history map. In this case, when the extension area determination unit 183 determines that the extension area is present in the new map 201, there is a high possibility that the reference member 189 has been moved, and the history map is not associated with the accumulation map 301. The dust amount statistics unit 184 preferably does not statistically process the acquired dust amount information.

Second Embodiment
Next, the extension area identification method will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  The user cleans the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 in the automatic mode (S501). After cleaning, the map generation unit 181 of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 generates a new map 201 with the position of the reference member 189 installed in the cleaning area as the reference position 202 based on the traveling results (S502). FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the new map 201 generated by the map generation unit 181. As shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, the user of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 moves the charging stand, which is the reference member 189, to the opposite room separated by the door 199 and cleans the autonomous traveling with the door 199 closed. It is assumed that the machine 100 is being cleaned in the automatic mode. The autonomous traveling cleaner 100 also acquires dust amount information from the dust amount sensor 177 during cleaning, and associates the dust amount information with the new map 201 for each element area.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the map comparison unit 182 matches the reference position 202, superimposes the cumulative map 301 and the new map 201 generated by the map generation unit 181, and extracts a non-overlapping portion as a difference area. (S503).

  The extension area determination unit 183 determines whether the extension area is present based on whether the difference area protruding from the cumulative map 301 satisfies a predetermined condition such as a predetermined area or more (S504). . When the difference area does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the new map 201 is added to the accumulation map 301 and the accumulation processing is performed (S505: No). In this case, dust amount information may be statistically processed for each element area.

  When it is determined that the difference area satisfies the predetermined condition and there is an extended area extending from the accumulation map 301 (S504: Exist), the notification unit 186 includes an extension indicating that the extended area is present. The information is notified to the user (S506). Although the notification method is not particularly limited, for example, transmitting an image indicating the new map 201 as extended information to the terminal device 400 in which the wireless communication is established in advance with the autonomous traveling cleaner 100. The user may be notified of the presence of the extended area by

  The user who confirms the extended information notified by the terminal device 400 transmits, using the terminal device 400 or the like, movement information which is information indicating whether or not the charging stand as the reference member 189 has been moved. The movement information acquisition unit 185 of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 acquires the movement information transmitted by the user (S507).

  When the information acquired by the movement information acquisition unit 185 indicates that the reference member 189 is not moved (S508: none), the map processing unit 187 generates a new map 201 in which the extension area is added to the cumulative map 301. (S509). On the other hand, when the information acquired by the movement information acquisition unit 185 indicates that the reference member 189 has been moved (S508: Yes), a portion corresponding to the extended area is generated as a separate map (S510). Next, the respective results are stored in the storage device 200 (S511), and the process ends.

  According to the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 of the first and second embodiments and the extension area identification method using the autonomous traveling cleaner 100, the movement of the reference member 189 which can not be grasped by the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can be It is possible to confirm the presence or absence of the movement of the reference member 189 by generating predictions based on the presence of the extended area different from the cumulative map 301 and confirming to the user, and generating an appropriate map based on each condition .

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, another embodiment realized by arbitrarily combining the components described in the present specification and excluding some of the components may be used as an embodiment of the present invention. Further, modifications obtained by applying various modifications to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention, that is, the meaning indicated by the language described in the claims, are also included in the present invention. Be

  For example, among the configurations described in the first and second embodiments, other than the map generation unit 181 may be on a computer (computer) connected to the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 such as a server via a network. . In this case, it can be considered as a cleaner system provided with the autonomous traveling cleaner 100. At this time, the new map 201 generated by the map generation unit 181 is transmitted to the computer through the network, and the cumulative map 301 stored by the computer is updated. Furthermore, the user may check the cleaning result on the terminal device 400 such as a smartphone based on the cumulative map 301 received from the computer, or specify an area to be cleaned by the autonomous traveling cleaner 100.

  In addition, although the user outputs movement information based on the input means of the terminal device 400, the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 is provided with input means, and the user uses the input means of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 to move information. You may enter.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for so-called robot cleaning which autonomously travels and cleans in a home, a factory, a large-scale facility, and the like.

100 autonomous traveling cleaner 120 body 121 suction port 130 drive unit 140 cleaning unit 150 suction unit 151 box unit 170 control unit 171 transmission unit 172 reception unit 173 obstacle sensor 174 distance measurement sensor 175 camera 176 floor surface sensor 177 dust amount sensor 179 Caster 180 cleaning area 181 map generation unit 182 map comparison unit 183 extended area determination unit 184 dust amount statistics unit 185 movement information acquisition unit 186 notification unit 187 map processing unit 189 reference member 199 door 200 storage device 201 new map 202 reference position 204 floor Area probability 301 Cumulative map 304 Cumulative floor probability 400 Terminal device

Claims (6)

It is an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner that travels and cleans autonomously,
A map generation unit that generates a new map based on the travel results with the position of the reference member installed in the cleaning area as the reference position;
An extended area determination unit that determines that there is an extended area, which is an area extended from the cumulative map, when the new map is out of the cumulative map in which the previously created map is accumulated;
When the new map is generated by the traveling results in the automatic mode, and when the extension area determination unit determines that the extension area exists, the user is notified of extension information including information indicating that the extension area exists. An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner provided with a reporting unit. A movement information acquisition unit for acquiring movement information which is information indicating whether or not the reference member has been moved from the user who confirmed the extended information;
Map processing that generates a new map in which the extension area is added to the cumulative map, when it indicates that the movement information has moved, generates a part corresponding to the extension area as a separate map, and indicates that it has not moved The autonomous running cleaner according to claim 1, comprising: When one element obtained by dividing the new map into a plurality of elements is used as an element area, a dust amount sensor is provided to measure the amount of dust in each element area,
The autonomous running cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the notification unit notifies extended information in which dust information indicating the dust amount of each element area is superimposed on at least image information indicating a new map. A dust amount statistics unit is provided that calculates the amount of statistical dust obtained by statistically processing the amount of dust in each element area based on the actual travel results including past travel results,
The autonomous running cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the notification unit reports accumulated information obtained by superimposing the statistical dust amount of each element area on the image information indicating the accumulated map. It is an extended area identification method in an autonomous running vacuum cleaner which runs and cleanses autonomously,
The map generation unit generates a new map with the position of the reference member installed in the cleaning area as the reference position, based on the travel results,
When the new map is out of the accumulated map in which the previously created map is accumulated, the expanded area determination unit determines that there is an expanded area which is an area expanded from the accumulated map,
The notification unit uses extension information including information indicating that the extension area is present when the new map is generated by the travel results in the automatic mode and the extension area determination unit determines that the extension area is present. Extension area identification method to notify the person. The movement information acquisition unit acquires movement information which is information indicating whether or not the reference member has been moved from the user who confirmed the extended information,
When the movement information indicates movement, the map processing unit generates the portion corresponding to the extended area as a separate map, and when indicating that the movement is not moved, a new map obtained by adding the expanded area to the cumulative map is used. The extended area identification method according to claim 5, comprising: generating a map processing unit.