JP2019203770A - Positioning device and method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To accurately measure the position of a moving body while suppressing the cost of the moving body.SOLUTION: A positioning device (1) comprises: first acquisition means (12) for acquiring moving body position information from a target moving body (2) having beacon reception means and/or GPS reception means; selection means (14) for selecting two or more cameras, from among a plurality of cameras, that are imaging the target moving body, on the basis of camera position information that pertains to the position of each of a plurality of cameras (30) installed at mutually different positions and the moving body position information; second acquisition means (13) for acquiring video information imaged by each of the two or more cameras; and measurement means (16) for (i) measuring the distance to the target moving body from each of the two or more cameras on the basis of the position of each of the two or more cameras based on the camera position information and the video information, (ii) measuring the position of the target moving body on the basis of the distance and the physical relationship between the two or more cameras based on the camera position information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning apparatus and method for measuring the position of a moving body such as a self-propelled robot, and a technical field of a computer program.

  As a device of this type, for example, when a marker is reflected in a ceiling image of a building imaged by a camera mounted on a guidance robot, the marker position information of the marker is acquired and self-position information is estimated. An apparatus has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). Alternatively, by creating a map of the surrounding environment of the robot based on feature information obtained by calculating and tracking an ORB (Oriented Fast and Rotated Brief) feature point of an indoor ceiling imaged by a camera mounted on the robot, An apparatus for estimating the self-position has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). Alternatively, the current position of the robot is obtained by autonomous navigation, and for example, a radio wave signal, an optical signal or a sound wave signal including base station information transmitted from a base station installed on the wall surface of the building is received and the current position is corrected. An apparatus has been proposed (see Patent Document 3). In addition, Patent Documents 4 to 8 are cited as technical documents related to the present invention.

JP 2017-21570 A JP 2017-224280 A JP 2017-1117094 A JP2015-16549A JP 2017-49694 A JP 2017-182692 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-157464 JP 2007-229814 A

  The background art described above has a technical problem that the cost of a mobile object such as a self-propelled robot becomes relatively high.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, for example, and provides a positioning apparatus and method, and a computer program capable of accurately measuring the position of the moving body while suppressing the cost of the moving body. The task is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the positioning apparatus according to the present invention is a signal received by a target mobile unit having at least one of a beacon receiving unit and a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit by the at least one unit. Camera position information that is information relating to the position of each of a plurality of cameras arranged at mutually different positions, and first acquisition means for acquiring mobile object position information that is information relating to the position of the target moving object specified from Selection means for selecting two or more cameras that are imaging the target moving body from the plurality of cameras based on the moving body position information, and video information captured by each of the two or more cameras. Second acquisition means for acquiring; (i) the position of each of the two or more cameras based on the camera position information; and the video information; And (ii) based on the distance and the positional relationship between the two or more cameras based on the camera position information, and measuring the distance from each of the two or more cameras to the target moving body, Measuring means for measuring the position of the target moving body.

  The “moving body position information” does not have to indicate the position of the target moving body itself, and may be, for example, identification information related to the beacon transmission apparatus or a position of the beacon transmission apparatus obtained from the identification information.

  “Moving body position information” is used to select a camera capable of capturing an image of the target moving body. Here, the range in which a signal transmitted from one beacon transmission device can be received varies depending on, for example, the number of beacon transmission devices installed and output, the situation of the space where the beacon transmission device is installed, etc. It is relatively narrow, such as meters to a few dozen meters. If it is found that the target moving body exists within a range in which a signal from one beacon transmission device can be received, it is possible to select a camera that can image the target moving body (because the camera is several tens of times). This is because the target moving body can be imaged in a recognizable manner over a range of meters). Therefore, in the positioning device, the identification information related to the beacon transmission device and the position of the beacon transmission device obtained from the identification information can also be handled as “moving body position information”.

  Since the existing technology can be applied to the method of measuring the distance from the camera to the target moving body based on the position of the camera that captures the target moving body and the video information, detailed description thereof is omitted. . Similarly, a method for measuring the position of a target moving body based on the distance from each of the two or more cameras capturing the target moving body to the target moving body and the positional relationship between the two or more cameras. Since the existing technology (for example, triangulation etc.) is applicable, the detailed description is omitted.

  Note that the accuracy of the position of the target moving body measured based on the distance from each of the two or more cameras capturing the target moving body to the target moving body and the positional relationship between the two or more cameras is as follows: It is better than the accuracy of the position of the target moving body specified from the signal received by the beacon receiving means or the GPS receiving means.

  In the positioning device, the target moving body does not need to have a device capable of measuring the position of the target moving body with relatively high accuracy. Beacon receiving means and GPS receiving means are available at a relatively low cost. In addition, the information processing load on the target moving body can be reduced compared to the comparative example in which the target moving body obtains its own position. For this reason, the performance of the processor or the like included in the target moving body can be suppressed. Therefore, according to the positioning device, the position of the target moving body can be measured with high accuracy while suppressing the cost of the target moving body.

  In one mode of the positioning device, the first acquisition unit acquires activity information that is information related to a moving direction of the target moving body from the target moving body, and the positioning device is configured to acquire the activity information based on the activity information. A specifying means for specifying the target moving body from video information is provided. According to this aspect, the target moving body can be identified relatively easily from the video information. In addition, since the existing technique can be applied to the method for obtaining the moving direction of the object shown in the video information, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the positioning method of the present invention provides the target specified from the signal received by the at least one means from the target moving body having at least one of the beacon receiving means and the GPS receiving means. A first acquisition step of acquiring mobile body position information that is information related to the position of the mobile body, camera position information that is information related to the position of each of a plurality of cameras arranged at different positions, and the mobile body position A selection step of selecting two or more cameras imaging the target moving body from the plurality of cameras based on the information, and a second acquisition step of acquiring video information captured by each of the two or more cameras And (i) from each of the two or more cameras to the target moving body based on the position of each of the two or more cameras based on the camera position information and the video information. Provided the distance measured, and (ii) the distance, based on the positional relationship between the two or more cameras mutually based on the camera position information, and a measurement step of measuring a position of the target moving object.

  According to the positioning method, similarly to the positioning device of the present invention described above, the position of the target moving body can be accurately measured while suppressing the cost of the target moving body. In this positioning method, various aspects similar to the various aspects related to the positioning device of the present invention described above can be adopted.

  In order to solve the above problems, a computer program according to the present invention receives a computer mounted on a positioning device from a target mobile body having at least one of a beacon receiving unit and a GPS receiving unit by the at least one unit. Information relating to the position of each of a plurality of cameras arranged at different positions from the first obtaining means for obtaining the moving body position information, which is information relating to the position of the target moving body identified from the signal obtained. Based on the camera position information and the moving body position information, the selecting means for selecting two or more cameras that are capturing the target moving body from the plurality of cameras, and each of the two or more cameras. Second acquisition means for acquiring video information; (i) based on the position of each of the two or more cameras based on the camera position information and the video information. Measuring the distance from each of the two or more cameras to the target moving body, and (ii) based on the distance and the positional relationship between the two or more cameras based on the camera position information. It functions as a measuring means for measuring the position of the moving body.

  According to the computer program, the computer program is stored from a recording medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), or a DVD-ROM (DVD Read Only Memory) that stores the computer program. If the computer provided in the positioning device is read and executed, or if the computer program is downloaded after being transmitted via the communication means, the positioning device of the present invention described above can be made relatively easy. realizable. Thereby, like the positioning device of the present invention described above, it is possible to accurately measure the position of the target moving body while suppressing the cost of the target moving body. The computer program can also adopt various aspects similar to the various aspects related to the positioning device of the present invention described above.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing demonstrated below.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the positioning apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the concept of the positioning which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the positioning process which concerns on embodiment.

  An embodiment according to a positioning device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

(Constitution)
The configuration of the positioning device according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a positioning device according to an embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, the positioning device 1 includes a communication unit 11, an information acquisition unit 12, a video acquisition unit 13, a selection unit 14, a specification unit 15, a position measurement unit 16, and a database 17. The robot 2 targeted by the positioning device 1 includes a communication unit 21, a receiving unit 22, a control unit 23, and a memory 24. The robot 2 according to the present embodiment is a self-propelled robot. In the present embodiment, the robot 2 is present at a position where it can be imaged by two or more cameras among a plurality of cameras 30a, 30b, 30c,... (Hereinafter referred to as “multiple cameras 30” as appropriate). And

  The communication units 11 and 21 are configured to be able to communicate with each other. The communication units 11 and 21 are not limited to direct communication, and may perform communication via other devices such as an access point. The information acquisition unit 12 acquires information related to the robot 2 via the communication unit 11 (details will be described later). The video acquisition unit 13 acquires video information output from each of the plurality of cameras 30a, 30b, 30c,. The database 17 stores camera position information indicating, for example, the installation positions and the imageable areas of the plurality of cameras 30a, 30b, 30c,. The selection unit 14, the specification unit 15, and the position measurement unit 16 will be described later.

  Note that the video acquisition unit 13 may acquire video information directly from each of the plurality of cameras 30, or may acquire video information via, for example, a network (that is, at least a part of the plurality of cameras 30). May be configured as a network camera). The plurality of cameras 30 are typically monocular cameras, but are not limited thereto.

  The receiving unit 22 is configured to receive at least one of a signal transmitted from a beacon transmitting device (not shown) and a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite (not shown). The control unit 23 performs overall control of the robot 2. In particular, the control unit 23 generates robot position information related to the position of the robot 2 from the signal received by the receiving unit 22. The memory 24 stores, for example, an automatic operation program related to the robot 2.

(Outline of positioning)
Next, an outline of positioning according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the concept of positioning according to the embodiment. Here, the positioning of the robot 2 existing indoors where the beacon transmission device 3 is installed is taken as an example. The dotted lines in FIG. 2 indicate the imageable areas of the cameras 30a, 30b, and 30c.

  The signal transmitted from the beacon transmission device 3 (hereinafter referred to as “beacon signal” as appropriate) includes at least identification information for specifying the beacon transmission device 3. The beacon signal may include information indicating the installation position of the beacon transmission device 3. Or the information which shows the installation position of the beacon transmission apparatus 3 may be acquired from the server (not shown) which exists on a network based on the identification information contained in a beacon signal.

  The control unit 23 of the robot 2 generates robot position information from information (that is, identification information or the like) included in the beacon signal received by the receiving unit 22. Here, the robot position information is not limited to information indicating the position of the robot 2 itself, but may be, for example, identification information related to the beacon transmission device 3, information indicating the installation position of the beacon transmission device 3, or the like.

  The information acquisition unit 11 of the positioning device 1 acquires robot position information from the robot 2 via the communication unit 11. Based on the robot position information and the camera position information stored in the database 17, the selection unit 14 selects two or more cameras that capture an area where the robot 2 exists from the plurality of cameras 30. Here, it is assumed that the cameras 30a and 30b are selected. Note that the camera position information referred to when selecting the two or more cameras is not limited to information indicating the position of the camera as long as the camera imaging the robot 2 can be selected from the information. For example, it may be information related to the position of the camera, such as information indicating an imageable area of each camera.

  The information acquisition unit 11 further includes advance activity information that is information related to the movement direction of the robot 2 (see the solid arrow in FIG. 2) predicted from the robot 2 via the communication unit 11, for example, from an automatic operation program of the robot 2. To get. The specifying unit 15 specifies the robot 2 from video information captured by the cameras 30a and 30b based on the robot position information and the pre-activity information.

  The position measurement unit 16 acquires detailed position information of each of the cameras 30a and 30b. The detailed position information is included in the camera position information stored in the database 17, and may be acquired from the camera position information or may be acquired from each of the plurality of cameras 30. In addition to the installation position (for example, coordinates) of the camera, the detailed position information includes, for example, information related to the optical system of the camera (for example, the optical axis direction), the distance between the camera and the floor, and the like. That is, the detailed position information includes information for measuring the position of the robot 2 from video information described later.

  The position measurement unit 16 measures the distance d1 from the camera 30a to the robot 2 from the detailed position information of the camera 30a and the video information captured by the camera 30a. Similarly, the position measurement unit 16 measures the distance d2 from the camera 30b to the robot 2 from the detailed position information of the camera 30b and the video information captured by the camera 30b.

  The position measuring unit 16 measures the position of the robot 2 based on the positional relationship between the cameras 30a and 30b based on the detailed position information of each of the cameras 30a and 30b and the distances d1 and d2, for example.

  In addition, since the existing technique can be applied to the measuring method of the distances d1 and d2, detailed description thereof is omitted. Similarly, since the existing technology can be applied to the positional relationship between the cameras 30a and 30b and the method of measuring the position of the robot 2 based on the distances d1 and d2, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Here, an example in which the position of the robot 2 existing indoors is measured by the positioning device 1 is described, but the positioning device 1 can also measure the position of the robot 2 existing outdoors. When the robot 2 is present outdoors, the robot position information may be generated based on a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite (that is, a GPS signal) instead of a beacon signal.

(Positioning process)
Next, the positioning process performed by the positioning device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the information acquisition unit 12 of the positioning device 1 acquires the pre-activity information from the robot 2 (that is, the positioning target robot) via the communication unit 11 (step S101). In parallel with or in parallel with the processing of step S101, the information acquisition unit 12 acquires robot position information from the robot 2 via the communication unit 11 (step S102).

  Next, based on the robot position information and the camera position information stored in the database 17, the selecting unit 14 captures an area where the robot 2 is present from a plurality of cameras 30 (two or more cameras ( That is, the camera used for positioning of the robot 2 is selected (step S103).

  The video acquisition unit 13 acquires video information captured by each of the two or more selected cameras (step S104). Subsequently, the specifying unit 15 specifies the robot 2 from the acquired video information based on the robot position information and the prior activity information (step S105).

  Next, the position measurement unit 16 acquires detailed position information of each of the selected two or more cameras. Then, the position measurement unit 16 measures the distance from each camera to the robot 2 from the detailed position information and the video information (step S106). Subsequently, the position measurement unit 16 measures the position of the robot 2 based on the distance measured in the process of step S106 and the positional relationship between the two or more selected cameras based on the detailed position information. (Step S107).

  The position measuring unit 16 displays the position of the robot 2 measured in the process of step S107 on, for example, a map displayed on a display (not shown) (that is, a map showing the vicinity of the current position of the robot 2). For example, the result of the positioning process is output (step S108). As a result, for example, the user can relatively easily check whether or not the behavior of the robot 2 operating according to the automatic driving program or the like is as expected.

  Note that the position measurement unit 16 may transmit the position of the robot 2 measured in the process of step S107 to the robot 2 or another device via the communication unit 11 as the output process of step S108.

(Technical effect)
In this embodiment, in order to specify where the positioning target robot 2 exists (that is, to select a camera that can image the robot 2), information indicating the approximate position of the robot 2 ( The above-mentioned “robot position information”) only needs to be obtained from the robot 2, and the robot 2 does not have to have a relatively high-precision positioning means. Information indicating the approximate position of the robot 2 can be acquired by receiving at least one of a beacon signal and a GPS signal by the receiving unit 22. A beacon receiver and a GPS receiver as an example of the receiving unit 22 are available at a relatively low cost.

  In the positioning device 1, the robot is based on the video information of two or more cameras that are imaging the positioning target robot 2 among the plurality of cameras 30 and the positional relationship between the two or more cameras. Two positions are measured. The accuracy of the distance between the camera that captured the video information and the robot 2 obtained from the video information is relatively high. Also, the positional relationship between the cameras is determined with relatively high accuracy. For this reason, it can be said that the accuracy of the position of the robot 2 measured by the positioning device 1 is relatively high.

  Therefore, according to the positioning device 1, the position of the robot 2 can be measured with relatively high accuracy while suppressing the cost of the robot 2. The cost reduction effect of the robot 2 by the positioning device 1 increases as the number of positioning target robots 2 increases. Even if the presence range of the robot 2 is expanded due to an increase in the number of positioning target robots 2, it is cheaper to add more cameras than providing each robot 2 with relatively high-precision positioning means.

  In addition, in the positioning device 1, image information captured by each camera based on the prior activity information of the positioning target robot 2 (that is, information related to the moving direction of the robot 2 predicted from an automatic driving program or the like). Thus, the robot 2 is identified. For this reason, according to the positioning device 1, erroneous recognition of the positioning target robot 2 can be suppressed.

  The “robot 2”, “information acquisition unit 12”, “video acquisition unit 13”, “selection unit 14”, “specification unit 15”, and “position measurement unit 16” according to the embodiment are respectively included in the present invention. This is an example of the “target moving body”, “first acquisition unit”, “second acquisition unit”, “selection unit”, “specification unit”, and “measurement unit”. The “robot position information” according to the embodiment is an example of the “moving body position information” according to the present invention. “Camera position information” and “detailed position information” according to the embodiment are examples of “camera position information” according to the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. A method and a computer program are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Positioning device, 2 ... Robot, 3 ... Beacon transmission device 11, 21 ... Communication part, 12 ... Information acquisition part, 13 ... Image | video acquisition part, 14 ... Selection part, 15 ... Identification part, 16 ... Position measurement part, 17 ... Database, 22 ... Receiver, 23 ... Controller, 24 ... Memory, 30, 30a, 30b, 30c ... Camera

Claims (4)

Acquisition of moving body position information, which is information relating to the position of the target moving body specified from the signal received by the at least one means, from the target moving body having at least one of beacon receiving means and GPS receiving means. First acquisition means for
Two or more images of the target moving body are captured from the plurality of cameras based on the camera position information, which is information relating to the positions of the plurality of cameras arranged at different positions, and the moving body position information. A selection means for selecting a camera,
Second acquisition means for acquiring video information captured by each of the two or more cameras;
(I) measuring a distance from each of the two or more cameras to the target moving body based on the position of each of the two or more cameras based on the camera position information and the video information; and (ii) the distance Measuring means for measuring the position of the target moving body based on the positional relationship between the two or more cameras based on the camera position information;
A positioning device comprising: The first acquisition means acquires activity information that is information related to a moving direction of the target moving body from the target moving body,
The positioning device according to claim 1, further comprising a specifying unit that specifies the target moving body from the video information based on the activity information. Acquisition of moving body position information, which is information relating to the position of the target moving body specified from the signal received by the at least one means, from the target moving body having at least one of beacon receiving means and GPS receiving means. A first acquisition step,
Two or more images of the target moving body are captured from the plurality of cameras based on the camera position information, which is information relating to the positions of the plurality of cameras arranged at different positions, and the moving body position information. A selection process for selecting a camera of
A second acquisition step of acquiring video information captured by each of the two or more cameras;
(I) measuring a distance from each of the two or more cameras to the target moving body based on the position of each of the two or more cameras based on the camera position information and the video information; and (ii) the distance And a measuring step for measuring the position of the target moving body based on the positional relationship between the two or more cameras based on the camera position information;
A positioning device comprising: The computer installed in the positioning device
Acquisition of mobile body position information, which is information relating to the position of the target mobile body identified from the signal received by the at least one means, from the target mobile body having at least one of a beacon receiving means and a GPS receiving means. First acquisition means for
Two or more images of the target moving body are captured from the plurality of cameras based on the camera position information, which is information relating to the positions of the plurality of cameras arranged at different positions, and the moving body position information. A selection means for selecting a camera,
Second acquisition means for acquiring video information captured by each of the two or more cameras;
(I) measuring a distance from each of the two or more cameras to the target moving body based on the position of each of the two or more cameras based on the camera position information and the video information; and (ii) the distance Measuring means for measuring the position of the target moving body based on the positional relationship between the two or more cameras based on the camera position information;
A computer program that functions as a computer program.

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