JP2023057354A - Information processing device, determination method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of suitably outputting information related to an under-bridge passage of a ship.SOLUTION: A controller 13 of an information processing device 1 acquires a bridge height indicating the height corresponding to a distance from a riverside to a bridge under which a ship is scheduled to pass, and acquires the largest height of the ship being the height of the highest point of the ship. A controller 13 determines a bridge passage possible range indicating the range for enabling the ship to pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the largest height of the ship. The controller 13 outputs information related to the bridge passage possible range.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present disclosure relates to determination of whether a ship can pass under a bridge.

Conventional technology for estimating the self-position of a moving object by matching shape data of surrounding objects measured using a measuring device such as a laser scanner with map information in which the shapes of surrounding objects are stored in advance. It has been known. For example, in Patent Document 1, it is determined whether a detected object in voxels obtained by dividing a space according to a predetermined rule is a stationary object or a moving object, and matching between map information and measurement data is performed for voxels in which a stationary object exists. An autonomous mobile system is disclosed. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a scan matching method that performs self-position estimation by matching voxel data including the average vector and covariance matrix of stationary objects for each voxel with point cloud data output by the lidar. . Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes a control system for changing the attitude of a ship in an automatic docking device for automatically docking a ship so that the light emitted from the lidar is reflected by objects around the docking position and received by the lidar. It describes a method for doing

International publication WO2013/076829 International publication WO2018/221453 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-59403

When deciding on an operation route, it is common to select a route that allows safe passage through bridges based on tide level prediction information. However, it is necessary to confirm whether or not the ship can actually pass through the bridge before approaching the bridge, taking into account the possibility that the water level will be higher than the predicted tide level. Also, in this case, since the range in which a ship can pass under the bridge is limited depending on the shape of the bridge, it is necessary to accurately grasp the range in which the ship can pass before passing the bridge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above, and one of the main purposes thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of suitably outputting information on passage of a ship under a bridge. one.

The claimed invention is
a first acquiring means for acquiring a bridge height indicating a height corresponding to a riverbank distance from a riverbank through which a ship is scheduled to pass;
a second obtaining means for obtaining a height of the highest point of the ship, which is the height of the highest point of the ship;
Bridge passable range determination means for determining a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the ship's highest point height;
output control means for outputting information about the bridge passable range;
It is an information processing device having.

In addition, the invention described in the claims,
A computer-implemented control method comprising:
Acquire the bridge height that indicates the height according to the riverbank distance from the riverbank where the ship is scheduled to pass,
Acquiring the highest point height of the ship, which is the height of the highest point of the ship,
determining a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the ship's highest point height;
outputting information about the bridge passable range;
control method.

In addition, the invention described in the claims,
Acquire the bridge height that indicates the height according to the riverbank distance from the riverbank where the ship is scheduled to pass,
Acquiring the highest point height of the ship, which is the height of the highest point of the ship,
determining a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the ship's highest point height;
It is a program that causes a computer to execute a process of outputting information about the bridge passable range.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an operation support system; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an information processing device; FIG. It is the figure which represented the self-position which a self-position estimation part should estimate by a three-dimensional rectangular coordinate. An example of a schematic data structure of voxel data is shown. It is an example of the functional block of a self-position estimation part. FIG. 10 is a view of a ship passing through a bridge with a constant predicted interval regardless of the riverbank distance, observed from the rear. FIG. 10 is a view of a ship passing through a bridge whose predicted interval changes according to the riverbank distance, observed from behind. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of a method of determining a bridge passable range in consideration of the width of a ship; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing bridge heights of bridges in a two-dimensional coordinate system having predicted intervals and riverbank distances as axes; It is an example of the functional block of a bridge passage determination part. (A) is a top view around the ship when the ship is closer to the right bank than the right bank or the left bank. (B) It is a top view around the ship before passing a bridge. (A) is a top view around the ship when the ship is closer to the left bank than the right bank or the left bank. (B) It is a top view around the ship before passing a bridge. 3 shows a display screen of a display device; It is an example of the flowchart which an information processing apparatus performs.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the information processing device includes first acquiring means for acquiring a bridge height indicating a height corresponding to a riverbank distance from the riverbank of the bridge through which the vessel is scheduled to pass; a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge, based on the second acquisition means for acquiring the height of the highest point of the ship, which is the height of a point; and the height of the bridge and the height of the highest point of the ship. and an output control means for outputting information about the bridge passable range. According to this aspect, the information processing device can accurately determine the bridge passable range in which the ship can pass under the bridge, and output information regarding the bridge passable range.

In one aspect of the information processing apparatus, the bridge passable range determination means determines the predicted distance between the bridge and the ship based on the bridge height and the maximum height of the ship. Calculated for each distance, and based on the predicted interval, the bridge passable range is determined. According to this aspect, the information processing device can accurately determine the bridge passable range for a bridge such as an arch-shaped bridge whose height is different for each riverbank distance.

In another aspect of the information processing apparatus, the bridge passable range determining means determines the bridge passable range based on the predicted interval and the width of the ship. As a result, the information processing device can accurately determine the bridge passable range through which the ship can pass safely even when passing through an arch-shaped bridge with a sharp curve. In a preferred example, the bridge passable range determining means may determine, as the bridge passable range, a range obtained by reducing the range of the riverbank distance in which the predicted interval is equal to or greater than a threshold based on the lateral width.

In another aspect of the information processing apparatus, the first acquisition means acquires the bridge height based on voxel data representing the position of the bridge for each voxel that is a unit area. According to this aspect, the information processing device can preferably recognize the bridge height according to the riverbank distance.

In another aspect of the information processing device, the output control means calculates a distance from the riverbank to the ship based on measurement data output by a measurement device, and calculates the distance from the riverbank to the ship based on the bridge passable range. , to output information about the movement of the vessel. According to this aspect, the information processing device can accurately recognize whether or not the ship needs to move according to the bridge passable range, and can suitably output the information about the movement according to the recognition result.

In another aspect of the information processing device, the output control means supplies the information about the movement to a ship maneuvering control system, or causes a display device provided on the ship to display the information. According to this aspect, the information processing device can suitably supply the information necessary for the ship maneuvering control to the ship maneuvering control system or the operator that controls the maneuvering of the ship.

In another aspect of the information processing apparatus, the output control means causes a display device that displays a map of the vicinity of the position of the ship to display the bridge passable range on the map. According to this aspect, the information processing device can allow the operator or the like using the display device to accurately grasp the bridge passable range.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer-implemented control method, wherein a bridge height indicating a height corresponding to a riverbank distance from a riverbank of a bridge through which a ship is to pass is obtained; obtain the highest point height of the ship, which is the height of the highest point of the ship, and based on the bridge height and the highest point height of the ship, determine the bridge passable range indicating the range where the ship can pass under the bridge , to output information about the bridge passable range. By executing this control method, the computer can accurately determine the bridge passable range in which the ship can pass under the bridge and output information on the bridge passable range.

According to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a bridge height indicating a height corresponding to a riverbank distance from a riverbank of a bridge through which a ship is to pass is acquired, and the height of the highest point of the ship is obtained. obtaining a highest point height, determining a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the ship's highest point height, and providing information on the bridge passable range; It is a program that causes a computer to execute output processing. By executing this program, the computer can accurately determine whether or not the ship can safely pass under the bridge. Preferably, the program is stored in a storage medium.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, for the sake of convenience, a character with "^" or "-" above any symbol is represented as "A^" or " ^A- "("A" is any character).

(1) Outline of operation support system
1(A) to 1(C) are schematic configurations of an operation support system according to the present embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 1A shows a block configuration diagram of the operation support system, and FIG. FIG. 1C is a top view showing an example 90, and FIG. 1C is a view showing a visual range 90 of the ship and the rider 3 from behind. The navigation support system has an information processing device 1 that moves together with a vessel, which is a mobile object, and a sensor group 2 mounted on the vessel.

The information processing device 1 is electrically connected to the sensor group 2, and based on the outputs of various sensors included in the sensor group 2, the position of the ship provided with the information processing device 1 (also referred to as "self-position"). make an estimate. Then, the information processing device 1 performs operation support such as automatic operation control of the ship based on the estimation result of the self-position. In the present embodiment, as an example of operation support, the information processing device 1 performs a passage determination of a ship under a bridge that is scheduled to pass, and executes processing according to the determination result. Note that the operation support may include berthing support such as automatic berthing (berthing). The information processing device 1 may be a navigation device provided on a ship, or may be an electronic control device built into the ship.

The information processing device 1 also stores a map database (DB: DataBase) 10 including voxel data "VD". The voxel data VD is data in which position information of a stationary structure and the like are recorded for each voxel representing a cube (regular grid) that is the minimum unit of a three-dimensional space. The voxel data VD includes data representing the measured point cloud data of stationary structures in each voxel by normal distribution, and is used for scan matching using NDT (Normal Distributions Transform), as described later. The information processing device 1 estimates, for example, the plane position, height position, yaw angle, pitch angle, and roll angle of the ship by NDT scan matching. Unless otherwise specified, the self-position includes attitude angles such as the yaw angle of the ship.

The sensor group 2 includes various external sensors and internal sensors provided on the ship. In this embodiment, the sensor group 2 includes a lidar (Light Detection and Ranging, or Laser Illuminated Detection and Ranging) 3, a speed sensor 4 for detecting the speed of the ship, and a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 5. and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 6 for measuring the acceleration and angular velocity of the target mobile ship in three axial directions.

The lidar 3 exists in the external world by emitting a pulse laser to a predetermined angle range in the horizontal direction (see FIG. 1B) and a predetermined angle range in the vertical direction (see FIG. 1C). It is an external sensor that discretely measures the distance to an object and generates three-dimensional point cloud data indicating the position of the object. In the examples of FIGS. 1B and 1C, a rider directed toward the left side of the ship and a rider directed toward the right side of the ship are provided as the riders 3 on the ship, respectively. . The number of riders 3 installed on the ship is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more. The lidar 3 has an irradiation unit that irradiates laser light while changing the direction of irradiation, a light receiving unit that receives reflected light (scattered light) of the irradiated laser light, and outputs scan data based on the light receiving signal output by the light receiving unit. and an output. The data measured for each laser light irradiation direction (scanning position) is based on the irradiation direction corresponding to the laser light received by the light receiving unit and the response delay time of the laser light specified based on the light reception signal described above. generated based on Note that the lidar 3 is not limited to the above-described scan type lidar, and may be a flash type lidar that generates three-dimensional data by diffusing laser light into the field of view of a two-dimensional array sensor. The rider 3 is an example of a "measuring device" in the present invention. The speed sensor 4 may be, for example, a speedometer using Doppler or a speedometer using GNSS.

Note that the sensor group 2 may have a receiver that generates positioning results of GNSS other than GPS instead of the GPS receiver 5 .

(2) Configuration of information processing device
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 1. As shown in FIG. The information processing device 1 mainly has an interface 11 , a memory 12 and a controller 13 . These elements are interconnected via bus lines.

The interface 11 performs an interface operation related to data transmission/reception between the information processing apparatus 1 and an external apparatus. In this embodiment, the interface 11 acquires output data from each sensor of the sensor group 2 such as the lidar 3 , the speed sensor 4 , the GPS receiver 5 and the IMU 6 and supplies the output data to the controller 13 . In addition, the interface 11 supplies, for example, a signal relating to control of the ship generated by the controller 13 to each component of the ship that controls operation of the ship. For example, a ship consists of a drive source such as an engine or an electric motor, a screw that generates propulsion in the direction of travel based on the drive force of the drive source, and a thruster that generates propulsion in the lateral direction based on the drive force of the drive source. , and a rudder or the like, which is a mechanism for freely determining the direction of travel of the ship. During automatic operation such as automatic docking, the interface 11 supplies control signals generated by the controller 13 to these components. If the ship is provided with an electronic control device, the interface 11 supplies a control signal generated by the controller 13 to the electronic control device. The interface 11 may be a wireless interface such as a network adapter for wireless communication, or a hardware interface for connecting with an external device via a cable or the like.

Also, the interface 11 performs an interface operation with the display device 19 . The display device 19 is a display (including a head-up display, a projector, etc.) and displays information based on display signals supplied from the controller 13 . In addition to the display device 19, the interface 11 may perform interface operations with various peripheral devices such as an input device, a display device, and a sound output device.

The memory 12 is composed of various volatile and nonvolatile memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), hard disk drive, and flash memory. The memory 12 stores a program for the controller 13 to execute predetermined processing. Note that the program executed by the controller 13 may be stored in a storage medium other than the memory 12 .

The memory 12 also stores a map DB 10 including voxel data VD and highest point information IH.

In addition to the voxel data VD, the map DB 10 includes, for example, information on docking locations (including shores and piers) and information on waterways on which ships can move. Note that the map DB 10 may be stored in a storage device external to the information processing device 1 such as a hard disk connected to the information processing device 1 via the interface 11 . The above storage device may be a server device that communicates with the information processing device 1 . Also, the above storage device may be composed of a plurality of devices. Also, the map DB 10 may be updated periodically. In this case, for example, the controller 13 receives partial map information about the area to which the self-location belongs from the server device managing the map information via the interface 11 and reflects it in the map DB 10 .

The highest point information IH is information relating to the height of the highest point (highest point) of the ship in the ship coordinate system, which is a coordinate system based on the ship. For example, the highest point information IH represents the height (distance in the height direction) from the reference position of the ship (also referred to as the “vessel reference position”) to the highest point in the self-position estimation executed by the information processing device 1 . The ship reference position is, in other words, the representative position of the ship whose position is estimated in self-position estimation. The highest point information IH is generated based on a previous measurement result and stored in the memory 12 in advance.

In addition to the map DB 10, the memory 12 stores information necessary for processing executed by the information processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment. For example, the memory 12 stores information used for setting the downsampling size when downsampling point cloud data obtained when the lidar 3 scans for one cycle. In another example, the memory 12 stores operational route information relating to operational routes that ships should follow. In yet another example, memory 12 stores information relating to the breadth of a vessel. In addition, the memory 12 may store information relating to thresholds and the like used for various determinations.

The controller 13 includes one or more processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), and controls the entire information processing apparatus 1 . In this case, the controller 13 executes a program stored in the memory 12 or the like to perform processing related to self-position estimation, flight assistance, and the like.

Moreover, the controller 13 functionally includes a self-position estimation unit 15 , a bridge passage determination unit 16 , and an output control unit 17 . The controller 13 functions as a "first acquisition means", a "second acquisition means", a "bridge passable range determination means", an "output control means", and a computer or the like that executes a program.

The self-position estimation unit 15 performs NDT-based scan matching (NDT scan matching) based on the point cloud data based on the output of the rider 3 and the voxel data VD corresponding to the voxel to which the point cloud data belongs. Estimate self-location. Here, the point cloud data to be processed by the self-position estimation unit 15 may be the point cloud data generated by the rider 3, or the point cloud data obtained by down-sampling the point cloud data. good.

Based on the self-position estimation result by the self-position estimating unit 15, the voxel data VD, and the highest point information IH, the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines whether the ship is safe under the bridges on the operation route that the ship is scheduled to pass. A passable range (also called a “bridge passable range”) is determined. In general, when an arch-shaped bridge with a high center and low sides is on a navigation route, it is necessary to know which part of the river is passable. Taking the above into consideration, the bridge passage determining unit 16 determines the bridge passable range for each bridge on the flight route.

The output control unit 17 performs output control based on the bridge passable range determined by the bridge passage determination unit 16 . In this case, as an example of the first output control, the output control unit 17 calculates, based on the bridge passable range, the movement distance that the ship should move laterally in order to pass under the bridge that the ship will pass next. Send information about the distance traveled to the ship steering control system. The marine vessel maneuvering control system may be implemented by the controller 13 or may be implemented by an electronic control device that is provided on the vessel and performs data communication with the information processing device 1 . As an example of the second output control, the output control unit 17 generates a display signal and supplies the display signal to the display device 19, thereby displaying information such as the bridge passable range and the movement distance described above to the display device 19. display.

(3) NDT scan matching
Next, position estimation based on NDT scan matching performed by the self-position estimation unit 15 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the self-position to be estimated by the self-position estimator 15 in three-dimensional orthogonal coordinates. As shown in FIG. 3, the self-position defined on the three-dimensional orthogonal coordinates of xyz is represented by the coordinates "(x, y, z)", the ship's roll angle "φ", the pitch angle "θ", the yaw angle ( azimuth) is represented by "ψ". Here, the roll angle φ is the rotation angle about the traveling direction of the ship, the pitch angle θ is the elevation angle of the traveling direction of the ship with respect to the xy plane, and the yaw angle ψ is the angle between the traveling direction of the ship and the x-axis. defined as The coordinates (x, y, z) are, for example, absolute positions corresponding to a combination of latitude, longitude, and altitude, or world coordinates indicating a position with a predetermined point as the origin. Then, the self-position estimation unit 15 performs self-position estimation using these x, y, z, φ, θ, and ψ as estimation parameters.

Next, voxel data VD used for NDT scan matching will be described. The voxel data VD includes data representing measured point cloud data of stationary structures in each voxel by normal distribution.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a schematic data structure of voxel data VD. The voxel data VD includes parameter information for representing a point group in a voxel with a normal distribution. , the “mean vector” and the “covariance matrix”.

"Voxel ID" indicates identification information of each voxel. "Voxel coordinates" indicate absolute three-dimensional coordinates of a reference position such as the center position of each voxel. Each voxel is a cube obtained by dividing the space into a lattice, and the shape and size of each voxel are determined in advance. Therefore, the space of each voxel can be specified by the voxel coordinates. Voxel coordinates may be used as voxel IDs.

"Attribute information" indicates information about the attributes of the target voxel. For example, in this embodiment, the "attribute information" of a voxel corresponding to a bridge includes information indicating that it is a bridge portion. The "attribute information" of the voxel corresponding to the lower part of the girder of the bridge (that is, the bottom surface of the structure above the river) may further include information indicating the lower part of the girder.

"Average vector" and "covariance matrix" indicate the average vector and covariance matrix corresponding to the parameters when the point group in the target voxel is represented by a normal distribution. Note that the coordinates of any point 'i' within any voxel 'n' is
_Xn (i) = [ _xn (i), _yn (i), _zn (i)] ^T
and the number of point clouds in voxel n is “N _n ”, the mean vector “μ _n ” and covariance matrix “V _n ” at voxel n are respectively expressed by the following equations (1) and ( 2).

Next, an outline of NDT scan matching using voxel data VD will be described.

Scan matching by NDT assuming a ship is an estimated parameter whose elements are the amount of movement in a three-dimensional space (here xyz coordinates) and the direction of the ship
P=[ _tx , ty, _tz , t[ _phi ], t[ _theta ], t[ _psi ] _] ^T
is estimated. where “t _x ” is the amount of movement in the x direction, “t _y ” is the amount of movement in the y direction, “t _z ” is the amount of movement in the z direction, “t _φ ” is the roll angle, and “t _θ ” is the pitch. The angle "t _ψ " indicates the yaw angle.

Also, the coordinates of the point cloud data output by the rider 3 are
_XL (j)=[ _xn (j), _yn (j), _zn (j)] ^T
Then, the average value "L' _n " of X _L (j) is represented by the following equation (3).

そして、上述の推定パラメータＰを用い、平均値Ｌ´を公知の座標変換処理に基づき座標変換する。以後では、変換後の座標を「Ｌ_ｎ」とする。

Then, using the estimated parameter P described above, the average value L' is coordinate-transformed based on a known coordinate transformation process. Henceforth, let the coordinate after conversion be " _Ln ".

Then, the self-position estimation unit 15 searches for voxel data VD associated with the point cloud data transformed into the world coordinate system. Here, the world coordinate system is an absolute coordinate system adopted in the map DB 10 (including voxel data VD). At this time, the self-position estimation unit 15 may exclude the voxel data VD of voxels located below the water surface position (in the height direction) from the search target. As a result, the information processing apparatus 1 can omit unnecessary processing when associating the point cloud data with the voxels, and suppresses deterioration in position estimation accuracy due to an error in associating.

Then, the self-position estimation unit 15 uses the average vector μ _n and the covariance matrix V _n included in the searched voxel data VD to obtain an evaluation function value (also referred to as “individual evaluation function value”) relating to matching of voxel n. Calculate "E _n ".

In this case, the self-position estimation unit 15 calculates the individual evaluation function value E _n of the voxel n based on the following formula (4).

Then, the self-position estimation unit 15 obtains a comprehensive evaluation function value (also referred to as a “score value”) “E(k )” is calculated. The score value E is an index indicating the degree of matching.

その後、自己位置推定部１５は、ニュートン法などの任意の求根アルゴリズムによりスコア値Ｅ（ｋ）が最大となるとなる推定パラメータＰを算出する。そして、自己位置推定部１５は、時刻ｋにおいてデッドレコニングにより算出した位置（「ＤＲ位置」とも呼ぶ。）「Ｘ_ＤＲ（ｋ）」に対し、推定パラメータＰを適用することで、ＮＤＴスキャンマッチングに基づく自己位置（「ＮＤＴ位置」とも呼ぶ。）「Ｘ_ＮＤＴ（ｋ）」を算出する。そして、自己位置推定部１５は、ＮＤＴ位置Ｘ_ＮＤＴ（ｋ）を、現在の処理時刻ｋでの最終的な自己位置の推定結果（「推定自己位置」とも呼ぶ。）「Ｘ＾（ｋ）」とみなす。なお、ＤＲ位置やＮＤＴ位置には、位置だけでなく姿勢も含まれている。ここで、ＤＲ位置Ｘ_ＤＲ（ｋ）は、推定自己位置Ｘ＾（ｋ）の算出前の暫定的な自己位置に相当し、予測自己位置「Ｘ^－（ｋ）」とも表記する。この場合、ＮＤＴ位置Ｘ_ＮＤＴ（ｋ）は、以下の式（６）により表される。

After that, the self-position estimation unit 15 calculates the estimation parameter P that maximizes the score value E(k) by any root finding algorithm such as Newton's method. Then, the self-position estimation unit 15 applies the estimation parameter P to the position “X _DR (k)” calculated by dead reckoning at time k (also referred to as “DR position”). based self-position (also called “NDT position”) “X _NDT (k)” is calculated. Then, the self-position estimation unit 15 replaces the NDT position X _NDT (k) with the final self-position estimation result (also called “estimated self-position”) “X^(k)” at the current processing time k. Consider. Note that the DR position and NDT position include not only the position but also the orientation. Here, the DR position X _DR (k) corresponds to the provisional self-position before calculating the estimated self-position X̂(k), and is also written as predicted self-position “X ⁻ (k)”. In this case, the NDT position X _NDT (k) is represented by Equation (6) below.

FIG. 5 is an example of a functional block diagram of the self-position estimation unit 15. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 , the self-position estimation unit 15 has a dead reckoning unit 51 , a coordinate conversion unit 52 , a water surface reflection data removal unit 53 and an NDT position calculation unit 54 . In FIG. 5, the blocks through which data is exchanged are connected by arrows, but the flow of data between blocks is not limited to this. The same applies to other functional block diagrams to be described later.

The dead reckoning unit 51 calculates the DR position based on the signal output by the sensor group 2 . Specifically, the dead reckoning unit 51 uses the moving speed and angular speed of the ship based on the outputs of the speed sensor 4 and the IMU 6 to obtain the moving distance and bearing change from the previous time. Then, the dead reckoning unit 51 adds the movement distance and the azimuth change from the previous time to the estimated self position X̂(k−1) at time k−1, which is the processing time immediately before the current processing time k. Calculate the DR position X _DR (k) at time k. This DR position X _DR (k) is the self-position found at time k based on dead reckoning, and corresponds to the predicted self-position X ⁻ (k). Immediately after the start of self-position estimation, when the estimated self-position X^(k-1) at time k-1 does not exist, for example, the dead reckoning unit 51 receives the signal output from the GPS receiver 5. , determine the DR position X _DR (k).

The coordinate transformation unit 52 transforms the point cloud data based on the output of the rider 3 into the world coordinate system, which is the same coordinate system as the map DB 10 . In this case, the coordinate transformation unit 52 performs coordinate transformation of the point cloud data at time k, for example, based on the predicted self-position output by the dead reckoning unit 51 at time k. Note that processing for converting point cloud data in a coordinate system based on a lidar installed on a mobile body (ship in this embodiment) into the coordinate system of the mobile body, and conversion from the coordinate system of the mobile body to the world coordinate system Processing and the like are disclosed in, for example, International Publication WO2019/188745.

The water surface reflection data removal unit 53 removes data (also referred to as “water surface reflection data”) erroneously generated by the lidar 3 receiving light reflected on the water surface from the point cloud data supplied from the coordinate conversion unit 52. Remove. In this case, the water surface reflection data removal unit 53 points the data representing the position (that is, the position with the same or lower z-coordinate value) below the water surface position (including the same height, hereinafter the same) as the water surface reflection data. Remove from group data. For example, the water surface reflection data removal unit 53 removes the water surface position based on the z-coordinate value after coordinate conversion processing of the point cloud data output by the rider 3 when the ship is located at a position at least a predetermined distance from the shore. It is good to estimate. Then, the water surface reflection data removal unit 53 supplies point cloud data obtained by removing data below the water surface position from the point cloud data supplied from the coordinate conversion unit 52 to the NDT position calculation unit 54 .

The NDT position calculator 54 calculates the NDT position based on the point cloud data supplied from the water surface reflection data remover 53 . In this case, the NDT position calculation unit 54 collates the point cloud data in the world coordinate system supplied from the water surface reflection data removal unit 53 with the voxel data VD represented in the same world coordinate system to obtain the point cloud data. and voxels. Then, the NDT position calculation unit 54 calculates the individual evaluation function value based on the formula (4) for each voxel associated with the point cloud data, and the score value E(k) based on the formula (5) Estimated parameter P that maximizes is calculated. Then, the NDT position calculation unit 54 applies the estimated parameter P obtained at the time k to the DR position X _DR (k) output by the dead reckoning unit 51 based on the equation (6). to find the NDT position X _NDT (k) of . The NDT position calculator 54 outputs the NDT position X _NDT (k) as the estimated self-position X̂(k) at time k.

Henceforth, the height of a bridge is called "bridge height", and the height of the highest point of a ship is also called "ship highest point height." The bridge height represents the height of the bottom of the bridge above the river (that is, the height of the lower part of the girder). In addition, the "height" used in calculating the ship's highest point height and bridge height represents the height (e.g., altitude) in the world coordinate system used in the map DB 10. For example, the z-coordinate in the world coordinate system shall refer to a value. Also, the distance in the river width direction from the riverbank (either the riverbank on the right side of the ship or the riverbank on the left side of the ship) on which the piers of the bridge through which the ship should pass is present is also called the "bank distance".

(4) Determination of bridge passable range
Next, a method of determining the bridge passable range executed by the bridge passage determination unit 16 will be described. Schematically, the bridge passage determination unit 16 calculates the bridge height corresponding to the riverbank distance based on the voxel data VD, and determines the distance between the ship and the bridge under the bridge based on the bridge height and the maximum height of the ship. A predicted interval in the height direction (also referred to as a “predicted interval”) is calculated for each riverbank distance. Then, the bridge passage determining unit 16 determines the bridge passageable range based on the calculated predicted interval.

(4-1) Case Where Prediction Intervals Are Constant Regardless of Riverbank Distance First, a case where prediction intervals are constant regardless of riverbank distance will be described.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of a ship passing through the bridge 30 for which the predicted interval is constant regardless of the riverbank distance. In the example of FIG. 6, the ship is provided with two riders 3, and a position at the same height as the riders 3 is set as the ship reference position. In addition, the ship has a protrusion 33 that is the highest point of the ship. In addition, the bridge 30 has a girder lower part 32 that constitutes the bottom surface of the structure located above the river, and forms a girder space 31 through which a ship can pass. A dashed rectangular frame 35 indicates the position of each voxel in which the voxel data VD exists. In addition, line "L1" indicates a position that is the same height as the reference position (i.e., the point where the z-coordinate value in the world coordinate system is 0) for measuring heights such as the height of the bridge and the height of the ship's highest point, and line "L2". indicates a position that is at the same height as the vessel reference position. Further, line "L3" indicates a position that is flush with the highest point of the ship, and line "L4" indicates a position that is flush with the girder lower part 32 forming the bottom surface of the bridge 30 on the river. there is

In this case, as described below, the bridge passage determination unit 16 calculates the height or width corresponding to the arrows A1 to A5 in the order of the arrows A1 to A5, thereby determining the predicted interval used to determine whether or not the bridge can be passed. calculate.

First, the bridge passage determination unit 16 extracts the voxel data VD of voxels (see the rectangular frame 35) corresponding to the bridge on which passage is scheduled from the map DB 10, and calculates the bridge height (see the arrow A1) based on the extracted voxel data VD. do. In this case, the bridge passage determination unit 16, for example, refers to the attribute information included in the voxel data VD, and extracts the voxel data VD of the voxel corresponding to the bridge (or the lower part of the girder) existing on the river through which the ship passes. . Then, the bridge passage determination unit 16 calculates the bridge height based on, for example, the z-coordinate value of the average vector included in each extracted voxel data VD. Here, the girder lower part 32 forms a horizontal surface, and the bridge passage determination unit 16 calculates a constant bridge height regardless of the riverbank distance.

Next, the bridge passage determination unit 16 acquires the estimation result of the self-position estimation performed by the self-position estimation unit 15, and converts the z-coordinate indicated by the self-position estimation result to the height of the vessel reference position (corresponding to the arrow A2). height, hereinafter also referred to as “vessel reference height”). In FIG. 6, as an example, the vessel reference position is set at the same height as the rider 3 position.

Next, the bridge passage determination unit 16 refers to the highest point information IH from the memory 12 to specify the width in the height direction from the vessel reference position to the highest point (see arrow A3). Then, the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines the highest point height of the ship (see arrow A4) is calculated.

Then, the bridge passage determining unit 16 calculates the width obtained by subtracting the height of the ship's highest point from the bridge height as the predicted interval (see arrow A5).

After that, the bridge passage determining unit 16 determines a range of riverbank distances in which the calculated predicted interval is equal to or greater than a threshold value (also referred to as “predicted interval threshold value Th”) as the bridge passable range of the bridge 30 . In the example of FIG. 6, the bridge passage determination unit 16 regards the entire river width spanned by the bridge 30 as the bridge passageable range, and supplies information on the bridge passageable range to the output control unit 17 . Note that the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines the bridge passable range in consideration of the ship width, as described later in the section "(4-2) When the prediction interval changes according to the riverbank distance". You may In this case, the bridge passable range is set to a range whose both ends are shorter than the river width by 1/2 of the ship width.

Note that when the predicted interval is less than the predicted interval threshold value Th and there is no bridge passable range for the bridge 30 , the output control unit 17 determines that the bridge 30 cannot be passed by the ship. In this case, the output control unit 17 causes the display device 19 to display, for example, information prompting to turn back when the river is wide and there are no other ships, or information prompting to change the route.

Next, a supplementary explanation will be given of a method for determining the prediction interval threshold value Th. Here, as an example, a method of determining the prediction interval threshold Th based on the self-position estimation result by the self-position estimation unit 15 will be described. Note that the prediction interval threshold Th may be set to a fixed value stored in advance in the memory 12 or the like, instead of being determined based on the method described below.

The bridge passage determination unit 16 calculates the standard deviation “σ ₁ ” of the vessel reference height (z coordinate value) indicated by the plurality of self-position estimation results calculated by the self-position estimation unit 15 within the previous predetermined period. For example, when the self-position estimation is calculated at a cycle of 100 [ms], if the predetermined period is set to 5 [s], the standard deviation of the ship reference height calculation values for 50 times is σ ₁ . Here, the standard deviation _σ1 corresponds to the width indicated by the arrow A7 in FIG. 6 (that is, the half width of the arrow A6 centered on the line L2). Then, the bridge passage determination unit 16 multiplies the maximum value "σ ₁ (max)" of the plurality of standard deviations σ ₁ calculated at predetermined time intervals while changing the predetermined period by a predetermined coefficient "k". value is calculated as the prediction interval threshold Th. That is, the bridge passage determination unit 16 calculates the predicted interval threshold Th based on the following equation (7).
Th=k·σ ₁ (max) (7)

In this case, the coefficient k is, for example, set to a fixed value (eg, k=5) that provides a sufficient confidence interval.

Here, the effect of determining the prediction interval threshold value Th based on the self-position estimation result will be additionally explained. Variations in the height of the ship obtained as a result of self-position estimation are affected by errors in the point cloud data output by the lidar 3 and the swaying of the ship, but also by large wave heights. When the wave height is large, the vertical movement of the ship in the z direction also becomes large. In consideration of the above, the bridge passage determination unit 16 increases the predicted interval threshold Th as the standard deviation _σ1 increases based on Equation (7), thereby determining whether the predicted interval is a sufficient interval for safety. Accurate determination becomes possible.

(4-2) When the predicted interval changes according to the riverbank distance Next, how to calculate the predicted interval when passing through a bridge whose predicted interval changes according to the riverbank distance, such as a bridge with a sharp arch curve. A method for determining the bridge passable range will be explained.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of a ship passing through the bridge 30A whose predicted interval changes according to the riverbank distance. The bridge 30A has a girder lower part 32A formed in an arch shape, and forms a girder space 31A through which a ship can pass. A dashed rectangular frame 35A indicates the position of each voxel in which the voxel data VD exists. A line L5 indicates a position that is the same height as the highest point of the ship.

In this case, the bridge passage determination unit 16 extracts the voxel data VD of the voxel (see the rectangular frame 35A) corresponding to the bridge on which passage is planned from the map DB 10, and converts the z-coordinate value of the average vector included in the extracted voxel data VD into Based on this, the bridge height corresponding to the riverbank distance (bridge height relative to the riverbank distance) is calculated. Then, the bridge passage determination unit 16 calculates the maximum height of the ship by the method described in the section "(4-1) When the prediction interval is constant regardless of the riverbank distance", and calculates the maximum height of the ship and the riverbank distance. Calculate the predicted interval for each riverbank distance based on the bridge height according to Then, the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines that the range of riverbank distances in which the predicted interval is equal to or greater than the predicted interval threshold value Th is the bridge passable range.

If the curve of the arch of the girder lower portion 32A is steep, the ship's side portion may approach the bridge 30A even if the predicted interval is within the range of the predicted interval threshold value Th or more. In consideration of the above, it is preferable that the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines the bridge passage possible range in consideration of the width of the ship. Specifically, the bridge passage determining unit 16 determines a range obtained by reducing the range of riverbank distances in which the predicted interval is equal to or greater than the predicted interval threshold Th based on the width of the ship, as the bridge passable range.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of a method of determining a bridge passable range considering the width of a ship. Here, "Wr" in the figure indicates the distance from the right bank to the right end position _of the bridge passable range when the bridge passable range is determined without considering the width of the ship. This is the distance from the right bank to the right end of the bridge passable range when the bridge passable range is determined in consideration of the width of the bridge. "Ws" represents the width of the ship. The dashed line indicates the ship at the right end of the bridge pass range determined without considering the width of the ship. is indicated by Hereinafter, the bridge passable range indicates the range in the river width direction of the center position of the ship in which the ship can safely pass under the bridge.

Here, at the position of the ship indicated by the dashed line, although the predicted interval is equal to or greater than the predicted interval threshold Th, due to the sharp curve of the arch of the girder lower portion 32A, the ship's side portion is located at the girder lower portion 32A. in contact. In this way, when the bridge passable range is determined without considering the width of the ship, the ship's side portion may come close.

In consideration of the above, the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines a bridge passable range by reducing both sides of the range in which the predicted interval is equal to or greater than the predicted interval threshold value Th by half the width Ws of the ship. In other words, the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines a range obtained by shifting both ends of the range in which the predicted interval is equal to or greater than the predicted interval threshold value Th inward by Ws/2 in the river width direction as the bridge passable range. As a result, the distance _Wr2 from the right bank to the right end of the range of possible bridge passage determined by considering the width of the ship is the distance from the right bank to the right end of the range of possible bridge passage determined without considering the width of the ship. Ws/2 is longer than Wr.

In this case, even if the highest point of the ship exists on the starboard side (that is, the farthest right position) or the port side (that is, the farthest left position) of the ship, the bridge passage determination unit 16 determines that the predicted interval at the highest point of the ship is It is equal to or greater than the prediction interval threshold Th. Therefore, in this case, contact between the ship and the bridge can be favorably avoided, and contact between the bridge and the side of the ship can be reliably prevented regardless of the position of the highest point of the ship.

A supplementary description of the method of determining the bridge passable range in consideration of the width of the ship will be given with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the bridge height of the bridge 30A in a two-dimensional coordinate system whose axes are the predicted interval and the riverbank distance (here, the distance from the right bank). Since ships basically travel on the right side, the distance from the right bank is used as the river bank distance here. Here, plotted points "P1" to "P12" represent positions based on the average vector (including the z-coordinate value) of voxel data VD of voxels (rectangular frame 35A in FIG. 7) corresponding to bridge 30A. is a curve generated by interpolating the plotted points P1-P12. A plotted point P1 indicates the position of the pier on the right bank, and a plotted point P12 indicates the position of the pier on the left bank. "Wb" indicates the distance from the right bank to the left bank (that is, the width of the river).

First, the bridge passage determination unit 16 linearly interpolates the plot points P1 to P12 based on the position information of the voxel data VD of the voxels corresponding to the bridge 30A, thereby determining the position of the lower part of the bridge 30A (that is, the lower part of the girder 32A). generates a graph G1 continuously represented in the two-dimensional coordinate system of . The interpolation method is not limited to linear interpolation, and may be any interpolation method (for example, spline interpolation or polynomial approximation).

Then, the bridge passage determination unit 16 extracts a range in which the predicted interval is equal to or greater than the predicted interval threshold Th in the graph G1. Here, the bridge passage determination unit 16 extracts a range having the distance "Wr" from the right bank as the right end position and the distance "Wl" from the right bank as the left end. Then, using the ship width Ws, the bridge passage determination unit 16 sets the position at the distance "Wr ₂ " from the right bank as the right end position of the bridge passage possible range, and the position at the distance "Wl ₂ " from the right bank. Determine the bridge passable range with the left end position of the possible range. In this case, the distance Wr ₂ and the distance Wl ₂ are respectively represented by the following.
_Wr2 =Wr+Ws/2
Wl ₂ = Wl - Ws/2

The width "Wp" of the bridge passable range is expressed as follows.
Wp=Wl ₂ -Wr ₂

The output control unit 17 may also determine whether or not the ship can pass through the bridge based on the width Wp of the bridge passable range notified from the bridge passage determination unit 16 . For example, the output control unit 17 determines that the ship can pass through the bridge when the width Wp is two times or more the ship width Ws (that is, when “Wp≧2Ws” is established), and the width Wp If it is less than twice the width Ws (that is, if "Wp<2Ws" holds), it is determined that the ship cannot pass through the bridge 30A. Here, as an example, the width Wp being twice the line width Ws is used as a criterion for judging whether or not the bridge can be passed. good. When the output control unit 17 determines that the ship can pass through the bridge, the output control unit 17 performs output on the assumption that the ship will pass through the target bridge. A specific example of this output will be described in the section "(5) Processing of output control section ". On the other hand, if the output control unit 17 determines that the ship cannot pass through the bridge, for example, the output control unit 17 outputs information prompting a turnaround in a situation where the river is wide and there are no other ships, or information prompting a change of route. Display on the display device 19 .

(4-3) Functional Blocks FIG. 10 is an example of functional blocks of the bridge passage determination unit 16. As shown in FIG. The bridge passage determination unit 16 functionally includes a bridge height calculation unit 61, a ship highest point height calculation unit 62, a predicted interval calculation unit 63, a threshold value determination unit 64, and a bridge passable range determination unit 65. have.

The bridge height calculator 61 extracts voxel data VD of voxels corresponding to bridges on which traffic is planned from the map DB 10, and calculates the bridge height according to the river distance based on the extracted voxel data VD. In this case, the bridge height calculator 61 generates data continuously representing the relationship between the river distance and the bridge height by interpolation processing. The vessel highest point height calculation unit 62 calculates the vessel reference height indicated by the estimation result of the self-position estimation executed by the self-position estimation unit 15, and the width in the height direction from the vessel reference position indicated by the highest point information IH to the highest point. Calculate the maximum height of the ship based on

The prediction interval calculation unit 63 calculates a prediction interval corresponding to the river distance based on the bridge height corresponding to the river distance calculated by the bridge height calculation unit 61 and the ship highest point height calculated by the ship highest point height calculation unit 62. Calculate The threshold determination unit 64 determines a prediction interval threshold Th.

The bridge passable range determination unit 65 determines the bridge passable range for the target bridge based on the predicted interval corresponding to the river distance calculated by the predicted interval calculation unit 63 and the predicted interval threshold value Th determined by the threshold value determination unit 64. to decide. Then, the bridge passable range determination unit 65 supplies information on the determined bridge passable range to the output control unit 17 .

(5) Processing of the output control unit
Next, specific examples (first specific example, second specific example) of the processing of the output control unit 17 will be described.

In the first specific example, the output control unit 17 calculates the distance that the ship should move laterally before passing the target bridge based on the bridge passable range determined by the bridge passage determination unit 16, and controls the calculated distance. Notify the control system.

In this case, first, based on the point cloud data output by the rider 3, the output control unit 17 calculates the distance from the right bank or the left bank, which is closer to the hull, to the center of the hull (also referred to as "river bank/ship distance"). do.

FIG. 11A is a top view of the vicinity of the ship when the ship is closer to the right bank than the right bank or the left bank. Here, "Dr" represents the riverbank/ship distance from the right bank to the center of the ship. In this case, the output control unit 17 extracts data (also referred to as “riverbank measurement data”) with the riverbank as the point to be measured from the point cloud data output by the rider 3, and calculates the distance Dr from the riverbank measurement data. In this case, for example, the output control unit 17 detects the edge of the right bank by applying a known edge detection technique or the like to the point cloud data output by the rider 3 installed on the right side of the ship, and detects the edge of the right bank. and the center of the hull is calculated as the distance Dr. In this case, the output control unit 17 may perform the above-described edge detection and calculation of the distance Dr in a two-dimensional coordinate system in which the dimension in the height direction is reduced.

Next, the output control unit 17 compares the riverbank/vessel distance with the bridge passable range of the bridge to be passed next, and if it determines that the ship is not within the bridge passable range, the ship moves laterally ( A distance “Ty” to be moved in the river width direction) is calculated, and the calculated distance is notified to the ship maneuvering control system. In this case, the information notified to the marine vessel maneuvering control system (that is, the information regarding the distance Ty) is an example of "information regarding movement of the vessel".

FIG. 11(B) is a top view around the ship before passing over the bridge 30A. Here, the distance Wl ₂ and the distance Wr ₂ from the right bank calculated according to the example of FIG. 9 are clearly shown together with the distance Dr and the distance Ty.

In this example, since the distance Dr is shorter than the distance _Wr2 , the hull center is located on the right bank side of the right end position of the bridge passable range, and the ship is not within the bridge passable range. Therefore, the output control unit 17 notifies the ship maneuvering control system of the distance Ty (=Wr ₂ -Dr) that the ship should move to the left. As a result, the output control unit 17 can favorably assist the ship maneuvering control so that the ship exists within the bridge passable range when passing the bridge 30A.

The first specific example in which the ship is closer to the left bank than the right bank or the left bank will be continued.

FIG. 12(A) is a top view of the vicinity of the ship when the ship is closer to the left bank than the right bank or the left bank. Here, "Dl" represents the riverbank/ship distance from the center of the hull to the left bank. In this case, the output control unit 17 calculates the distance Dl based on the riverbank measurement data extracted from the point group data output by the rider 3 installed on the left side of the ship. Then, the output control unit 17 calculates the distance Dr (=Wb-Dl) to the right bank by subtracting the distance Dl from the river width Wb. Thus, when the ship is close to the left bank, the output control unit 17 may obtain the distance Dr by subtracting the distance Dl to the left bank from the river width Wb. Note that the river width Wb is stored in advance in the map DB 10, for example.

FIG. 12(B) is a top view around the ship before passing over the bridge 30A. Here, the distance Wl ₂ and the distance Wr ₂ from the right bank calculated according to the example of FIG. 9 are clearly shown together with the distance Dr.

In this example, the distance Dr is shorter than the distance Wl- ₂ and longer than the distance Wr- ₂ , so the hull center is within the bridge passable range. On the other hand, the difference between the distance Dr and the distance _Wl2 is only a distance corresponding to the margin amount "My". Therefore, in this case, the output control unit 17 transmits information regarding the margin amount My to the marine vessel maneuvering control system. In this way, preferably, when the margin amount in the river width direction of the ship with respect to the right end or the left end of the bridge passable range is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the output control unit 17 preferably provides information about the margin amount that is equal to or less than the threshold (right bank or (including information on which side of the left bank the vessel is close to) to the vessel steering control system. As a result, the output control unit 17 can suitably provide the ship maneuvering control system with the information necessary for the ship to safely pass the bridge.

In the second specific example, the output control unit 17 performs control to display the bridge passable range on the map. FIG. 13 shows the display screen of the display device 19 in the second specific example. In this example, the output control unit 17 causes the display device 19 to display the river map and the ship's position based on the self-position estimation result output by the self-position estimation unit 15 and the map DB 10 . At this time, the output control unit 17 superimposes a bridge passable area 95 representing the bridge passable range on the display area of the bridge to be passed next. In this case, the output control unit 17 highlights the bridge passable area 95 by coloring it in a conspicuous color. Note that the output control unit 17 may highlight the bridge passable area 95 by various methods such as bordering effect. As a result, the output control unit 17 can make the operator of the ship or the like clearly recognize the bridge passable range.

Further, the output control unit 17 moves the ship to the left side by "3 m" corresponding to the distance Ty because the center position of the ship deviates from the bridge passable range indicated by the bridge passable area 95 to the right bank side. A display object 96 prompting the user is displayed in red on the display device 19 . In addition, the output control unit 17 increases the size of the font and the arrow of the display object 96 as the distance Ty increases to express the importance of movement. The display object 96 is an example of "information on movement of the ship". Thus, when the ship is outside the bridge passable range, the output control unit 17 displays the direction of the rudder to be steered and the lateral movement distance so that the ship enters the bridge passable range. Further, even if the ship is within the bridge passable range, if the margin corresponding to the distance My is less than a predetermined threshold value, the output control unit 17 displays a small blue display object 96, for example. As a result, the output control unit 17 can suitably provide the ship's operator or the like with the ship maneuvering information necessary for passing through the bridge.

(6) Processing flow
FIG. 14 is an example of a flowchart executed by the information processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment. The information processing device 1 executes the processing of the flowchart, for example, for the bridge that the ship will pass next when there is a bridge that the ship is scheduled to pass while the ship is operating based on the operation route.

First, the bridge passage determining unit 16 calculates the bridge height according to the riverbank distance (that is, the bridge height for each riverbank distance) based on the voxel data VD of the voxels corresponding to the bridges to be passed (step S11). Next, the bridge passage determination unit 16 identifies the vessel reference height based on the estimation result of the self-position estimation performed by the self-position estimation unit 15 (step S12). Then, the bridge passage determining unit 16 calculates the highest point height of the ship based on the reference height of the ship specified in step S12 and the highest point information IH (step S13).

Then, the bridge passage determining unit 16 calculates a predicted interval for each riverbank distance based on the bridge height calculated in step S11 and the ship highest point height calculated in step S13 (step S14). Based on the predicted interval calculated in step S14, the bridge passage determining unit 16 determines the bridge passable range in consideration of the predicted interval threshold value Th and the width of the ship (step S15). Moreover, the bridge passage determination unit 16 may determine whether or not a vessel can pass through the target bridge.

Then, the output control unit 17 performs output based on the bridge passable range (step S16). In this case, the output control unit 17 transmits information indicating the direction and distance in which the ship should move to the ship maneuvering control system based on the first specific example described in the section "(5) Processing of the output control unit ". Alternatively, based on the second specific example, the display device 19 may display information about the bridge passable range and the like.

(7) Modification
The voxel data VD is not limited to a data structure including mean vectors and covariance matrices, as shown in FIG. For example, the voxel data VD may include the point cloud data used when calculating the mean vector and covariance matrix as they are.

Also, the self-position estimation method using the voxel data VD is not limited to NDT scan matching. For example, the information processing device 1 may perform self-position estimation by matching voxel data VD and point cloud data of the rider 3 based on ICP (Iterative Closest Point).

Further, the information processing device 1 does not have to perform high-precision position estimation such as NDT scan matching. In this case, the information processing device 1 may estimate the ship's position based on the information output by the GPS receiver 5 .

As described above, the controller 13 of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment acquires the bridge height indicating the height corresponding to the distance from the riverbank of the bridge through which the ship is scheduled to pass, and calculates the height of the highest point of the ship. Gets the maximum height of the vessel, which is Then, the controller 13 determines a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge, based on the bridge height and the height of the highest point of the ship. The controller 13 then outputs information about the bridge passable range. As a result, the information processing device 1 can accurately grasp the bridge passable range for the bridge through which the ship is scheduled to pass, and can suitably utilize it for the operation of the ship.

It should be noted that in the above-described embodiments, the programs can be stored using various types of non-transitory computer readable media and supplied to a computer such as a controller. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic storage media (e.g., flexible discs, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical storage media (e.g., magneto-optical discs), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R/W, semiconductor memory (eg, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (Random Access Memory)).

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the examples, the present invention is not limited to the above examples. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. That is, the present invention naturally includes various variations and modifications that a person skilled in the art can make according to the entire disclosure including the scope of claims and technical ideas. In addition, the disclosures of the cited patent documents and the like are incorporated herein by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 information processing device 2 sensor group 3 lidar 4 speed sensor 5 GPS receiver 6 IMU
10 Map database

Claims (11)

a first acquiring means for acquiring a bridge height indicating a height corresponding to a riverbank distance from a riverbank through which a ship is scheduled to pass;
a second obtaining means for obtaining a height of the highest point of the ship, which is the height of the highest point of the ship;
Bridge passable range determination means for determining a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the ship's highest point height;
output control means for outputting information about the bridge passable range;
and an information processing device. The bridge passable range determination means calculates a predicted interval, which is a predicted interval between the bridge and the ship, for each riverbank distance based on the bridge height and the highest point height of the ship, and calculates the predicted interval 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said bridge passable range is determined based on. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said bridge passable range determination means determines said bridge passable range based on said predicted interval and a lateral width of said vessel. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said bridge passable range determining means determines, as said bridge passable range, a range obtained by reducing said range of said riverbank distance in which said predicted interval is equal to or greater than said threshold based on said lateral width. . 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first acquisition means acquires said bridge height based on voxel data representing the position of said bridge for each voxel that is a unit area. The output control means calculates the distance from the river bank to the ship based on the measurement data output by the measuring device, and outputs information about the movement of the ship based on the distance and the bridge passable range. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the output control means supplies the information on the movement to a ship maneuvering control system that controls the maneuvering of the ship, or causes a display device provided on the ship to display the information. 8. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said output control means causes a display device that displays a map of the vicinity of said vessel to display said bridge passable range on said map. A computer-implemented control method comprising:
Acquire the bridge height that indicates the height according to the riverbank distance from the riverbank where the ship is scheduled to pass,
Acquiring the highest point height of the ship, which is the height of the highest point of the ship,
determining a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the ship's highest point height;
outputting information about the bridge passable range;
control method. Acquire the bridge height that indicates the height according to the riverbank distance from the riverbank where the ship is scheduled to pass,
Acquiring the highest point height of the ship, which is the height of the highest point of the ship,
determining a bridge passable range indicating a range through which the ship can pass under the bridge based on the bridge height and the ship's highest point height;
A program that causes a computer to execute a process of outputting information about the bridge passable range. A storage medium storing the program according to claim 10 .

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