JP2024036175A - guidance system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a guidance system that can appropriately guide a person to be guided to a destination using an unmanned flying object.SOLUTION: A guidance system S comprises a plurality of unmanned flying objects 2 and a management device 5. The unmanned flying objects 2 include projection parts 24 which project light, or images, or both of them. The management device 5 determines a route for guiding a person to be guided P to a destination based on a position of the person to be guided P, the destination, and a facility map, and also determines an arrangement position of each of the unmanned flying objects 2 on the determined route. The plurality of unmanned flying objects 2 guide the person to be guided P by projecting guidance images D while hovering at the arrangement positions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a guidance system for guiding a person to be guided by an unmanned flying vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an unmanned flying vehicle is known that includes a projection unit that projects an image onto the ground. This unmanned flying vehicle is equipped with multiple propellers, a control unit that controls flight by the propellers, and a human sensor. When the human sensor detects a person, it projects images such as arrows and letters on the ground. do.

By the way, in a facility where transportation vehicles such as forklifts run, when guiding a person to the destination to pick up a specific item placed on a shelf, in order to avoid a collision between the person and the transportation vehicle, It is preferable to select and guide a predetermined passage from a plurality of passages. However, the above-mentioned unmanned flying vehicle merely indicates a direction, and no consideration is given to avoiding collisions between humans and guided vehicles. Furthermore, since the unmanned flying vehicle only presents information at a predetermined position, there is a risk that a person may proceed in the presented direction and then lose sight of the destination.

Patent No. 6239567

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a guidance system that can appropriately guide a person to be guided to a destination using an unmanned flying vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems, the guidance system according to the present invention,
A guidance system that guides a person to a destination within a facility,
Multiple unmanned aerial vehicles capable of hovering;
comprising a management device;
The unmanned aerial vehicle has a projection unit that projects light or an image or both,
The management device is
a storage unit that stores a facility map;
a route determining unit that determines a route for guiding the person to be guided to the destination based on the location of the person to be guided, the location of the destination, and the facility map;
a placement determining unit that determines the placement position of each unmanned flying vehicle on the determined route,
The plurality of unmanned flying objects are characterized in that they guide a person to be guided by projecting light, images, or both while hovering at the placement position.

The guidance system preferably includes:
A placement determining unit determines the placement positions of the plurality of unmanned flying objects so that the intervals therebetween are constant.

The guidance system preferably includes:
A placement determining unit determines the placement positions of the plurality of unmanned flying objects so that the heights thereof are constant.

The guidance system preferably includes:
Equipped with more automated guided vehicles,
The unmanned flying vehicle further includes a stop command unit that stops traveling of the automatic guided vehicle.

The guidance system preferably includes:
further comprising a person information acquisition unit that acquires person information of the person to be guided;
The route determining unit further determines the route based on the person information.

The guidance system preferably includes:
further comprising a person information acquisition unit that acquires person information of the person to be guided;
The management device further includes a projection control section,
The projection control section causes the projection section to project different colors of light or images based on the person information.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The management device further includes a projection control section,
The projection control unit causes the plurality of projection units to continuously blink and project images in a flowing manner.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The management device further includes a projection control section,
The projection control section causes the projection section to project different colors of light or images depending on the bending position, the destination position, and other positions on the route.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The management device further includes a projection control section,
The projection control unit stops the projection of the unmanned flying vehicle when it comes within a predetermined distance from the person to be guided.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The management device further includes a projection control section,
The placement determining unit determines the placement position so that the unmanned aerial vehicle is placed at the height of the position where the target object is placed,
The projection section is configured to be able to project downward and upward,
The projection control section causes the projection section to project the object upward when the height of the position where the target object is placed is below a predetermined height.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The unmanned air vehicle further has a speaker;
The management device further includes a voice control unit,
The audio control unit causes the speaker to notify either or both of the bending position and the destination position.

The guidance system preferably includes:
further comprising a person information acquisition unit that acquires person information of the person to be guided;
The unmanned aerial vehicle further has a speaker;
The management device further includes a voice control unit,
The audio control unit causes the speaker to output a predetermined audio based on the facility map and the acquired personal information.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The unmanned air vehicle further has a speaker;
The management device further includes a projection control section and an audio control section,
The voice control unit causes the speaker to notify either or both of the bending position and the destination position,
The projection control unit does not project onto the unmanned flying vehicle within a predetermined distance from the guided person;
The audio control unit provides notification through a speaker of the unmanned flying vehicle that does not project.

The guidance system preferably includes:
further comprising a noise canceling unit having an attenuated speaker and an angle changing unit that directs the attenuated speaker in the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
The attenuated speaker emits an audio signal toward the unmanned aerial vehicle that is in phase opposite to the noise emitted by the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The noise canceling section further includes a microphone,
The management device records the noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle collected by the microphone, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles, the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the distance between the microphone and the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the distance between the attenuation speaker and the unmanned aerial vehicle. , is the input data, and the output data is an audio signal with the opposite phase of the noise of the unmanned aircraft. When you input your body position, the distance between the microphone and the unmanned vehicle, and the distance between the attenuation speaker and the unmanned vehicle, it will generate an audio signal with an opposite phase to cancel out the noise of the unmanned vehicle. further comprising a neural network configured;
An attenuated speaker emits an audio signal generated by the neural net to the unmanned vehicle.

The guidance system preferably includes:
The noise canceling section further includes a directional microphone,
the angle changer is further configured to orient the microphone in a direction of the unmanned air vehicle;
The management device uses as input data the noise of the unmanned flying vehicle collected by the microphone, the distance between the unmanned flying vehicle and the microphone, and the distance between the unmanned flying vehicle and the attenuation speaker, and calculates the opposite phase of the noise of the unmanned flying vehicle. input the noise of the unmanned aircraft collected by the microphone, the distance between the unmanned aircraft and the microphone, and the distance between the unmanned aircraft and the attenuation speaker. further comprising a neural net configured to generate an out-of-phase audio signal to cancel noise of the unmanned air vehicle toward which the microphone is directed;
The attenuated speaker emits an audio signal generated by the neural net towards the unmanned vehicle.

The guidance system according to the present invention can appropriately guide a person to be guided to a destination.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows the guidance system shown in FIG. 1, with A being a side view and B being a plan view; FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the guidance system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. A shows an example of a light image projected from an unmanned air vehicle, and B shows an example of another light image projected from an unmanned air vehicle. 2A and 2B are side views illustrating another example of the height of the unmanned air vehicle shown in FIG. 2A. 2B is a side view showing yet another example of the height of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. 2A. FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a guidance system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the destination of the guided person P is a point where a predetermined object (object) W is placed. However, this is just an example; for example, the destination may be a specific area or room, and the guidance system S is configured to, for example, guide visitors of the facility to a specific area or room. You can leave it there. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the guided person P has a security card, and an RFID tag is attached to this security card. Information such as personal information and destination of the person P to be guided is written in the RFID tag in advance.

1 and 2 show a guidance system S according to an embodiment of the invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2A is a side view, and FIG. 2B is a plan view. In each figure, the X-axis and Y-axis indicate the horizontal direction, the Z-axis indicates the vertical direction, and the axes are orthogonal to each other. Moreover, FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the guidance system S.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the guidance system S includes a reader 1, a plurality of unmanned flying objects 2 (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d), an automatic guided vehicle 3, a management device 5, and a noise canceling device 5. It is equipped with part 6. Although nine unmanned aerial vehicles 2 are shown in FIG. 1, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles 2 according to the present invention is not limited to this. The object W of the guided person P according to the present embodiment is placed on the shelf R1. Hereinafter, the position where the object W is placed will be referred to as the "placement position", and the position in front of the placement position will be referred to as the "destination position".

<Reader>
The reader 1 includes a person information acquisition section 10, a destination acquisition section 11, and a position detection section 12. The reader 1 is placed at a plurality of predetermined positions within the facility. In this embodiment, the reader 1 is configured with an RFID reader. Further, the reader 1 is configured to be able to communicate with the management device 5.

The person information acquisition unit 10 acquires person information of the guidance target person P. The personal information of the person P to be guided may include, for example, the name, whether the person is in the facility, the security level of the person P to be guided, etc. The personal information acquisition unit 10 acquires personal information of the person to be guided P by reading the RFID tag. The acquired person information of the guidance target person P is transmitted to the management device 5. Although the personal information acquisition unit 10 is included in the reader 1, it is merely an example, and is configured separately from the RFID reader. Personal information of the person P to be guided may be acquired based on the information.

The destination acquisition unit 11 acquires information about the destination of the person P to be guided by reading the RFID tag of the person P to be guided. The destination information may be location information such as the coordinates of the destination, but may also be, for example, the product number or name of a specific item. The acquired destination information is transmitted to the management device 5. Although the destination acquisition unit 11 is included in the reader 1, it is merely an example, and is configured separately from the RFID reader. Destination information may be acquired based on the information.

The position detection unit 12 detects the position of the person P to be guided by reading the RFID tag of the person P to be guided using a known technique. Note that although the position detection unit 12 is included in the reader 1, it is merely an example, and is configured separately from the RFID reader. It may be configured as a device that detects the position of the person to be guided P based on the difference in strength and arrival time. The detected position of the guided person P is transmitted to the management device 5.

<Unmanned aerial vehicle>
The unmanned flying object 2 is a flying object called a drone, and has a main body, four propellers arranged on four sides of the main body, and a power unit (not shown) that rotates the propellers.

As shown in FIG. 3, the unmanned flying object 2 further includes a flight control section 22, a storage section 23, a projection section 24, a speaker 25, and a stop command section 26. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is configured to be able to communicate with the management device 5.

The flight control unit 22 detects the position of the unmanned flying vehicle 2 using known technology, controls the rotation of the propeller, and causes the unmanned flying vehicle 2 to fly to the placement position received from the management device 5 or hover at the placement position. or

The storage unit 23 stores guidance images for guiding the guidance target person P. As shown in FIG. 2B, the guidance image includes a first image D1 showing the direction to go straight, a second image D2 showing the turning position (corresponding to the "bending position" of the present invention) and the traveling direction, and the destination. and a third image D3 showing. Below, the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 may be collectively referred to as a guided image D.

The arrows in the first and second images D1 and D2 indicate the direction of travel, and the arrow in the third image D3 indicates the direction of the destination. The shapes, sizes, and colors of the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 are preferably different from each other, but for example, any one of the shapes, sizes, and colors may be different. The first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 according to the present embodiment are composed of circles of different colors and arrows of different colors arranged inside the circles.

For example, the storage unit 23 may store a plurality of colors of the guide image D for each security level. In this case, the security level may vary depending on whether the person is inside the facility or not. Thereby, those who are in the facility other than the guided person P can see the guided image D and recognize whether or not the person being guided is inside the facility.

The storage unit 23 further stores a first voice V1 for guiding the person P to be guided. The first voice V1 includes “○m”, “Turn left ahead”, “Ahead, destination”, “There is an obstacle ahead”, “Please be careful”, “〇〇 is prohibited from entering”, etc. including. Furthermore, the storage unit 23 stores a second voice V2 for stopping the automatic guided vehicle 3, which will be described later. The second voice V2 includes "Please stop" and the like.

In this embodiment, the projection unit 24 is configured by a projector. The projection unit 24 is disposed on the lower surface of the main body, and projects the guided image D downward, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A. The projected guidance image D is displayed on the floor, as shown in FIG. 2B. In this embodiment, the projection unit 24 projects the guidance image D directly below the unmanned flying vehicle 2.

The speaker 25 is arranged on the main body, and outputs the first sound V1 and the second sound V2 toward the guided person P and the automatic guided vehicle 3, respectively.

The stop command unit 26 receives the position of the automatic guided vehicle 3 from the management device 5, which will be described later, and issues a stop command to the automatic guided vehicle 3 that has entered within a predetermined distance of the unmanned flying object 2. In this embodiment, the stop command unit 26 causes the speaker 25 to output the second voice V2 saying "Please stop". However, this configuration of the stop command section 26 is just an example, and for example, the stop command section 26 directly transmits a stop signal for stopping the automatic guided vehicle 3 to the automatic guided vehicle 3 without going through the speaker 25. It may be configured as follows.

<Automated guided vehicle>
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the automatic guided vehicle 3 is a forklift automatic guided vehicle 3 that includes wheels, a vehicle body, and a fork disposed in front of the vehicle body. However, this configuration is just one example, and the automatic guided vehicle 3 of the present invention is not limited to this. The automatic guided vehicle 3 is configured to be able to communicate with the management device 5. The automatic guided vehicle 3 is configured to perform cargo handling work within the facility.

As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic guided vehicle 3 further includes a vehicle position detection section 30, a drive section 31, a control section 32, and a stop command reception section 33.

The vehicle position detection unit 30 detects the position of the automatic guided vehicle 3 and transmits the detected position of the automatic guided vehicle 3 to the management device 5.

The control unit 32 controls the drive unit 31 to rotate or stop the wheels.

In this embodiment, the stop command receiving section 33 has a microphone, and upon receiving the second voice V2 from the speaker 25, transmits a stop signal to the control section 32. When the control unit 32 receives the stop signal, the control unit 32 controls the drive unit 31 to stop the rotation of the wheels, thereby stopping the automatic guided vehicle 3 from traveling. When the stop command unit 26 is configured to transmit a stop signal without going through the speaker 25, the stop command receiving unit 33 is configured with a simple receiver and transmits the received stop signal to the control unit 32.

The automatic guided vehicle 3 is a forklift that operates autonomously and has only an unmanned mode, but this is just one example, and the automatic guided vehicle 3 according to the present invention is not limited to this forklift. The automatic guided vehicle 3 may be, for example, a forklift that can be used both manned and unmanned, and in this case, the automatic guided vehicle 3 has an unmanned mode in which it operates autonomously and a manned mode in which it operates in response to an operator's operation.

<Management device>
The management device 5 is, for example, a server computer, and includes storage means and calculation means (not shown). The storage means stores a program for causing the server computer to function as the management device 5 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the management device 5 includes a storage section 50, a route determination section 51, a placement determination section 52, a projection control section 53, an audio control section 54, and a neural network 55. .

The storage unit 50 stores a facility map, the positions of objects placed on the shelves R in the facility, and a cargo handling schedule related to the automatic guided vehicle 3. The facility map includes the location of the shelf R, the height of the shelf R, the location of the passageway, the location of obstacles, and area information for each security level. The facility map also stores the width of traffic routes. In this embodiment, the management device 5 manages a plurality of automatic guided vehicles 3, and the storage unit 50 stores a cargo handling schedule related to each automatic guided vehicle 3. Furthermore, the storage unit 50 may store the position information of the object and the product number and name of the object in association with each other. Furthermore, the storage unit 50 may store the name of the person P to be guided and the security level of the person P to be guided in association with each other.

The route determination unit 51 determines a route for the guided person P to the destination (hereinafter simply referred to as "route") based on the location of the guided person P, the location of the destination, and the facility map. . When the information acquired by the destination acquisition unit 11 is the product number or name of an object, the route determination unit 51 acquires the position of the destination by reading the position of the object corresponding to the product number or name from the storage unit 50. do.

For example, the route determining unit 51 determines the shortest route between the person P to be guided and the destination, or determines a confidential area within the facility based on whether or not the person P to be guided is inside the facility. The route may be determined so as not to pass through, or may be determined so as to avoid zones that are dangerous for outsiders.

Further, the route determining unit 51 determines a route so that the route of the guided person P and the travel routes of the plurality of automatic guided vehicles 3 do not overlap. For example, the route determination unit 51 determines a route by taking into consideration the times at which the plurality of automatic guided vehicles 3 travel, or updates the route in real time based on the current positions of the plurality of automatic guided vehicles 3. Good too.

The placement determining unit 52 determines the placement position of each unmanned flying vehicle 2 on the determined route. More specifically, the placement determining unit 52 places the unmanned flying object 2 at each bending position and destination position on the route, and also places the unmanned flying object 2 at other positions. Further, the arrangement determining unit 52 determines the arrangement positions so that the horizontal distance and hovering height H (hereinafter simply referred to as "height H") between the plurality of unmanned flying objects 2 are constant. The height H of the unmanned flying object 2 is preferably higher than the head position of the person P to be guided so as not to obstruct the forward view of the person P to be guided. The horizontal distance between the unmanned aerial vehicles 2 may be fixed, for example, between 1 m and 10 m. In this embodiment, the horizontal distance Q1 is set to 5 m.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the projection control unit 53 projects the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and Project D3. Thereby, the guidance system S can display the guidance images D on the floor at equal intervals with a predetermined distance Q2. Further, since the guidance system S fixes the distance Q2 at a predetermined distance, the person P to be guided can intuitively recognize the bending position and the distance to the destination based on the number of guidance images D. .

As shown in FIG. 2B, the projection control unit 53 projects the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 onto the projection unit 24 according to the straight position, bending position, and destination position on the route. let Since the colors of the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 are different from each other, the guidance system S can guide the person P to a straight position or a bent position depending on the color of the guidance image D displayed at each position. The position and the destination can be recognized respectively, and each position can be recognized more intuitively than the guidance image D that simply has a different shape. In this embodiment, since the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 corresponding to each position are stored in advance in the storage unit 23 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, the projection control unit 53 can control the straight forward position, The projection unit 24 of the unmanned flying vehicle 2 placed at the bending position and the destination is controlled to project the guidance image D corresponding to each position.

Furthermore, the projection control unit 53 may periodically blink the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 so as to flow in the running direction, and guide the guided person P by the flowing blinking effect. good. Alternatively, the projection control unit 53 may cause only the first image D1 to flow and blink while the second image D2 and third image D3 remain lit. Furthermore, the projection control unit 53 may cause only the second and third images D2 and D3 to blink. In this way, the projection control unit 53 causes the entire first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 to blink in a specific pattern, or causes the first, second, and third images D1, D2, and D3 to blink, respectively. By lighting or blinking in different patterns, the guided person P can intuitively recognize the direction of the route, each positional relationship, etc.

Furthermore, the projection control unit 53 establishes an image-free space Q3 at a position several meters in front of the guidance target person P, and does not project the image onto the unmanned flying object 2a above the image-free space Q3. This is to prevent the person P to be guided from concentrating his/her line of sight downward and from being unable to recognize what is ahead. That is, by providing the image-free space Q3, the projection control unit 53 directs the line of sight of the person P to be guided forward, thereby improving safety while walking. Note that as the guided person P moves, the imageless space Q3 also moves accordingly, so the projection control unit 53 further adjusts the projection of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 that is located above the imageless space Q3. make it stop.

Furthermore, the projection control unit 53 may change the color of the guide image D or change the blinking pattern of the guide image D based on the security level of the person P to be guided. Thereby, it is possible to indirectly notify people other than the guided person P that a person outside the facility has arrived.

The audio control unit 54 controls the speaker 25 of the unmanned flying object 2 placed above the imageless space Q3 to notify the person P to be guided of either or both of the bending position and the destination, as well as other information. let The first voice V1 to be notified may be, for example, "Turn left in 15 meters", "30 meters ahead, destination", "There is an obstacle ahead. Please be careful", etc. The first voice V1 includes "○m", "Turn left ahead", "Ahead, destination", "There is an obstacle ahead", "Please be careful", which are stored in the storage unit 23. It may be generated by appropriately combining the above. The guidance system S can make the person P to be guided more intuitively recognize the bending position, destination, etc. by the notification using the first voice V1.

Furthermore, the audio control unit 54 causes the speaker 25 to output a predetermined first audio V1 based on the facility map and the acquired personal information. For example, if the person to be guided P is outside the facility and the left side of the route is off-limits, the audio control unit 54 outputs the first audio V1 to the speaker 25 saying "Entry is off-limits on the left side". You may let them.

The neural network 55 calculates the noise of the unmanned flying vehicles 2 collected by the microphone 60, which will be described later, the number of unmanned flying vehicles 2, the position of the unmanned flying vehicle 2, and the distance between the microphone 60 and the unmanned flying vehicle 2. , the distance between the attenuated speaker 62 and the unmanned flying vehicle 2, which will be described later, are used as input data, and an audio signal having the opposite phase of the noise is used as output data. Then, the neural net 55 calculates the noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 collected by the microphone 60, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles 2, the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, the distance between the microphone 60 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and the attenuation. When the distance between the speaker 62 and the unmanned flying vehicle 2 is input, an audio signal with an opposite phase to eliminate noise is generated.

<Noise cancellation section>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2B, a plurality of noise canceling units 6 are arranged on the upper surface of the shelf R. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the plurality of noise canceling sections 6 includes a microphone 60, an angle changing section 61, and an attenuation speaker 62. The noise canceling unit 6 is configured to be able to communicate with the management device 5.

The microphone 60 is configured to collect noise from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The collected noise signal of the unmanned flying vehicle 2 is transmitted to the neural network 55.

The neural network 55 receives the received noise signal of the unmanned flying vehicle 2, the number of unmanned flying vehicles 2, the position of the unmanned flying vehicle 2, the distance between the microphone 60 and the unmanned flying vehicle 2, the attenuation speaker 62, and the unmanned flying vehicle. Based on the distance to the body 2, an opposite phase audio signal is generated to eliminate noise, and the generated audio signal is transmitted to the attenuation speaker 62.

The angle changing section 61 is made up of a member that changes the direction, such as a gimbal, and is connected to the damping speaker 62 . The angle changing unit 61 is configured to direct the damping speaker 62 in the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 . More specifically, the angle changing unit 61 directs the attenuation speaker 62 in the direction of the unmanned flying vehicle 2 that is the shortest distance from the attenuation speaker 62 . The angle changing unit 61 may be configured to direct one attenuation speaker 62 toward one unmanned flying object 2 .

The attenuation speaker 62 has directivity, and the angle of this directivity may be, for example, 5 degrees to 30 degrees or 5 degrees to 20 degrees. The attenuation speaker 62 emits the audio signal input from the neural network 55 to the unmanned aircraft 2. The attenuation speaker 62 is directed in the direction of the unmanned flying vehicle 2 by the angle changing unit 61, and has so-called superdirectivity, so that the noise of the unmanned flying vehicle 2 can be appropriately attenuated. Thereby, the first sound V1 emitted from the unmanned flying object 2a can be appropriately delivered to the person P to be guided.

With reference to FIG. 1, the role of each unmanned flying object 2 placed by the placement determining unit 52 will be explained again. The two unmanned flying objects 2a in front of the person to be guided P do not project the guidance image D and guide the person P to be guided by the first sound V1. The unmanned flying object 2b placed between the unmanned flying object 2a and the bending position and between the bending position and the destination projects the first image D1 and guides the person P to be guided. The unmanned flying objects 2c and 2d placed at the bending position and the destination, respectively, project the second and third images D2 and D3 to show the bending position and the destination, respectively, and guide the person P to be guided.

Thereby, the guidance system S can appropriately guide the person P to be guided to the destination, and can also make the person P to be guided intuitively recognize the distance, direction, etc. to the destination. Furthermore, the guidance system S arranges the unmanned flying objects 2 at fixed distances Q1, and thereby displays the guidance images D on the floor at fixed distances Q2, thereby improving the visibility of the guided person P. can. In addition, the guidance system S determines the route based on the cargo handling schedule of the automatic guided vehicle 3 and stops the automatic guided vehicle 3 before the route, so that the automatic guided vehicle 3 and the guided person P are Collision can be prevented.

Furthermore, the guidance system S eliminates the need for manned guidance, making it possible to compensate for the recent shortage of human resources and reduce personnel costs. Furthermore, according to the guidance system S, by not providing guidance by a man, it is effective as a countermeasure against infectious diseases and can also give a sense of security to the person to be guided P.

Although the guidance system S according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the guidance system according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the above embodiment may be modified as follows, or may be implemented in combination with the following modifications.

<Modified example>
(1) As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the guidance system S uses simple round light images D4, D5, D6 or arrow lights instead of the first, second and third images D1, D2, D3. The images D7, D8, and D9 may be projected onto the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 as the guidance images D. In this case, the guidance system S varies the size, color, and shape of the light image depending on the bending position, destination, and other positions on the route, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Good too. In FIGS. 4A and 4B, light images D4 and D7 indicate the running direction, light images D5 and D8 indicate the bending position and running direction, and light images D6 and D9 indicate the destination and placement position, respectively. It shows.

(2) The guidance system S may arrange the unmanned flying object 2 at the height of the mounting position, for example, as shown in FIG. 5A. In this case, the placement determining unit 52 determines the placement position so that the unmanned flying object 2 is placed at the height of the placement position. Alternatively, the guidance system S may arrange the unmanned flying object 2 along a straight line L connecting the height of the face of the person P to be guided and the height of the placement position, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B. In this case, the placement determining unit 52 determines the placement position so that the unmanned flying object 2 is placed at a height along the straight line L. By arranging the unmanned flying object 2 in this manner, the guidance system S allows the person to be guided P to intuitively recognize the height of the mounting position.

In addition, when the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is arranged in this way, the guidance image D is blocked by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 when the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is placed at a low position, and the guidance image D is directed to the guided person P. cannot be recognized. Therefore, the guidance system S is configured to be able to project the guidance image D downward and upward through the projection unit 24 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and when the height of the mounting position is below a predetermined height, the projection control unit 53 The guide image D may be projected toward the ceiling by controlling the unit 24, as shown in FIG. The predetermined height may be, for example, 0.5 m to 1 m. In this case, the guidance target person P recognizes the direction of the route, the bending position, and the destination from the guidance image D projected on the ceiling, and also recognizes the height of the mounting position from the height H of the unmanned flying object 2. be able to.

Furthermore, the guidance system S may set the distance of the no-image space Q3 to be longer when projecting toward the ceiling, in order to prevent the guidance target person P's line of sight from moving upward and becoming unable to recognize the front. good. In this case, for example, the projection control unit 53 further includes a line-of-sight recognition unit that recognizes the angle of the line of sight of the person P to be guided, and the projection control unit 53 adjusts the distance of the image-free space Q3 based on the angle of the line of sight of the person P to be guided. may be configured. The line of sight recognition unit includes a camera, and the camera may be placed, for example, on the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 or the shelf R. Furthermore, the projection control unit 53 determines the size of the light and/or the image, or the shape of the light and/or the image, depending on the projection target. That is, the projection control unit 53 may make the size and shape of the guided image D projected on the ceiling different from those when projected on the floor.

(3) The guidance system S may recognize the position of the person P to be guided using a camera installed within the facility or a camera installed on the unmanned flying vehicle 2. In this case, the guidance system S does not need to include the position detection section 12.

(4) The guidance system S configures the guidance image D, for example, only with the first image D1, and flashes the first image D1 projected at the bending position and the destination to give the guidance target person P the bending position and the destination. The destination may also be recognized. Furthermore, the guidance system S may configure the sound emitted by the speaker 25 using a buzzer, a chime, etc., and notify the person P to be guided of the bending position and the destination using the sound.

(5) The projection control unit 53 does not necessarily need to provide the no-image space Q3. In this case, the projection control section 53 stops the projection by the projection section 24 when the unmanned flying object 2 finishes its role and moves. Thereby, when the unmanned flying object 2 finishes its role and moves, the guidance system S can prevent guidance by other unmanned flying objects 2 from being inhibited and the guidance target person P from being confused.

(6) The microphone 60 may have directivity, and the angle changing unit 61 may be further configured to direct the microphone 60 in the direction of the unmanned flying vehicle 2. Then, the neural net 55 uses the noise of the unmanned flying vehicle 2 collected by the microphone 60, the distance between the unmanned flying vehicle 2 and the microphone 60, and the distance between the unmanned flying vehicle 2 and the attenuation speaker 62 as input data. , the noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 collected by the microphone 60, the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and the microphone 60, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. and the distance from the attenuating speaker 62 are input, the configuration may be configured to generate an opposite phase audio signal for canceling the noise of the unmanned aircraft 2 to which the microphone 60 is directed. Thereby, the damping speaker 62 reduces the noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 by emitting the audio signal generated by the neural network 55 toward the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 toward which the microphone 60 is directed. The directivity angle of the microphone 60 may be, for example, 5 degrees to 30 degrees or 5 degrees to 20 degrees. In the above embodiment, the neural network 55 generates an audio signal with an opposite phase to the noise of a plurality of unmanned flying vehicles 2, whereas in this modification, the neural net 55 generates an audio signal with an opposite phase to the noise of each unmanned flying vehicle 2. Since it is configured to generate an audio signal, a more appropriate muffling effect can be expected.

(7) The unmanned flying object 2 has a camera for recognizing a person other than the person to be guided When entering, the speaker 25 may output a voice saying "Please be careful." Thereby, it is possible to prevent a person from entering directly under the unmanned flying object 2, and to prevent the unmanned flying object 2 from falling on a person when the unmanned flying object 2 falls due to an accident.

(8) The automatic guided vehicle 3 has a camera and is configured to be able to recognize the guidance image D projected on the floor, and upon recognizing the guidance image, sends a stop signal to the stop command receiving unit. It may be configured so that Thereby, the transport system can prevent the automatic guided vehicle 3 from crossing the route, and can prevent a collision between the guided person P and the automatic guided vehicle 3.

1 Reader 10 Person information acquisition section 11 Destination acquisition section 12 Position detection section 2 Unmanned flying object 22 Flight control section 23 Storage section 24 Projection section 25 Speaker 26 Stop command section 3 Automatic guided vehicle 30 Vehicle position detection section 31 Drive section 32 Control unit 33 Stop command receiving unit 5 Management device 50 Storage unit 51 Route determining unit 52 Arrangement determining unit 53 Projection control unit 54 Audio control unit 55 Neural net 6 Noise canceling unit 60 Microphone 61 Angle changing unit 62 Attenuation speaker D1 First image D2 2nd image D3 3rd image H Hovering height L Straight line P Guided person Q1 Horizontal distance between unmanned aerial vehicles Q2 Distance between guided images Q3 Space without image R Shelf S Guidance system W Target V1 First voice V2 Second audio

Claims (16)

A guidance system that guides a person to a destination within a facility,
Multiple unmanned aerial vehicles capable of hovering;
comprising a management device;
The unmanned aerial vehicle is
It has a projection part that projects light or an image or both,
The management device includes:
a storage unit that stores a facility map;
a route determining unit that determines a route for guiding the guidance target person to the destination based on the location of the guidance target person, the location of the destination, and the facility map;
a placement determining unit that determines the placement position of each of the unmanned flying vehicles on the determined route;
A guidance system, wherein the plurality of unmanned flying objects project light or images or both while hovering at the arrangement position to guide the guidance target person. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement determining unit determines the arrangement positions so that the intervals between the plurality of unmanned flying objects are constant. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement determining unit determines the arrangement positions so that the heights of the plurality of unmanned flying objects are constant. Equipped with more automated guided vehicles,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the unmanned flying vehicle further includes a stop command unit that stops traveling of the automatic guided vehicle. further comprising a person information acquisition unit that acquires person information of the guidance target;
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the route determining unit further determines the route based on the person information. further comprising a person information acquisition unit that acquires person information of the guidance target;
The management device further includes a projection control section,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the projection control section causes the projection section to project different colors of light or images based on the person information. The management device further includes a projection control section,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the projection control unit causes the plurality of projection units to continuously flash and project images in a flowing manner. The management device further includes a projection control section,
The projection control unit causes the projection unit to project different colors of light or images depending on the bending position, the position of the destination, and other positions on the route, respectively. guidance system. The management device further includes a projection control section,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the projection control unit stops projection of the unmanned flying vehicle when it comes within a predetermined distance from the guidance target person. The management device further includes a projection control section,
The placement determining unit determines the placement position so that the unmanned flying vehicle is placed at a height of a position where a target object is placed,
The projection unit is configured to be able to project downward and upward,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the projection control section causes the projection section to project upward when the height of the position where the target object is placed is below a predetermined height. The unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a speaker,
The management device further includes a voice control unit,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the audio control unit causes a speaker to notify either or both of the bending position and the destination position. further comprising a person information acquisition unit that acquires person information of the guidance target;
The unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a speaker,
The management device further includes a voice control unit,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the audio control unit causes the speaker to output a predetermined audio based on the facility map and the acquired person information. The unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a speaker,
The management device further includes a projection control section and an audio control section,
The audio control unit causes the speaker to notify either or both of the bending position and the destination position,
The projection control unit does not project onto the unmanned flying vehicle within a predetermined distance from the guidance target person;
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the audio control unit provides notification through the speaker of the unmanned flying vehicle that does not project. further comprising a noise canceling unit having an attenuated speaker and an angle changing unit that directs the attenuated speaker in the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the attenuation speaker emits an audio signal to the unmanned aerial vehicle that is in phase opposite to the noise emitted by the unmanned aerial vehicle. The noise canceling section further includes a microphone,
The management device includes the noise of the unmanned flying vehicle collected by the microphone, the number of the unmanned flying vehicles, the position of the unmanned flying vehicle, the distance between the microphone and the unmanned flying vehicle, and the attenuation speaker. and the distance from the unmanned aerial vehicle as input data, and the output data is an audio signal with a phase opposite to the noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the microphone collects the sound of the unmanned aerial vehicle. When the noise, the number of unmanned flying vehicles, the position of the unmanned flying vehicle, the distance between the microphone and the unmanned flying vehicle, and the distance between the attenuation speaker and the unmanned flying vehicle are input, further comprising a neural net configured to generate an anti-phase audio signal to cancel noise of the unmanned air vehicle;
15. The guidance system of claim 14, wherein the attenuated speaker emits an audio signal generated by the neural net toward the unmanned air vehicle. The noise canceling unit further includes a directional microphone,
The angle changing unit is further configured to direct the microphone in the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
The management device uses as input data the noise of the unmanned flying vehicle collected by the microphone, the distance between the unmanned flying vehicle and the microphone, and the distance between the unmanned flying vehicle and the attenuation speaker, and The noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle collected by the microphone, the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the microphone, and the a distance between the unmanned air vehicle and the attenuated speaker; have,
15. The guidance system of claim 14, wherein the attenuated speaker emits an audio signal generated by the neural net toward the unmanned air vehicle.

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