JP2024046913A - Drone device, surveillance method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a drone device that automatically collects evidence of illegal collection when illegal collection is taking place and reports that illegal collection is taking place. [Solution] A drone device 1 has a monitoring target detection unit 21 that detects a moving object or person such as a ship that is a monitoring target, a tracking unit 23 that controls a drive unit 15 to track the monitoring target, an illegality determination unit 22 that determines whether collection by the monitoring target is illegal or not, and a reporting unit 24 that reports to the outside when the illegality determination unit 22 determines that it is illegal. The illegality determination unit 22 has a right determination unit 31 that determines whether the monitoring target has the right to collect or not, and a collection determination unit 32 that determines whether the monitoring target is collecting or not, and determines that it is illegal when the monitoring target does not have the right to collect and is collecting. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a drone device, a surveillance method, and a program.

Various surveillance systems have been proposed to monitor illegal collection, such as poaching, illegal fishing, and illegal excavation. These surveillance systems include systems that detect the illegal intrusion of vessels or individuals into areas where collection is prohibited, and if they determine that the intrusion is illegal, they report it to law enforcement agencies such as the Japan Coast Guard, and systems that use drones to photograph illegal collection.

For example, the invention described in Patent Document 1 describes a system in which images captured by an underwater camera are wirelessly transmitted to a repeater, and the images are then transferred from the repeater to an investigation center, allowing investigators to determine whether a suspicious person or vessel has entered a prohibited area and is behaving suspiciously.

JP 2021-176209 A

These conventional surveillance systems detect when a suspicious person enters a prohibited area, monitor the area, and report the incident to law enforcement agencies. However, whether or not collection is illegal is determined by someone at the investigation center; autonomous drone devices are not used to determine whether collection is illegal.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and the drone device, which is a surveillance device, autonomously determines whether illegal harvesting is occurring.

In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the drone device according to the present invention is a drone device that monitors unauthorized collection, and includes a monitoring target detection unit that detects the monitoring target, a tracking unit that controls the driving unit of the drone device so as to track the monitoring target, an illegality determination unit that determines whether the collection by the monitoring target is illegal, and a reporting unit that reports to a specified contact point if the illegality determination unit determines that the collection is illegal, and the illegality determination unit includes a right determination unit that determines whether the monitoring target has the right to collect, and a collection determination unit that determines whether the monitoring target is collecting, and the illegality determination unit determines that the collection is illegal if the monitoring target does not have the right to collect and is collecting.

The present invention can autonomously determine when illegal harvesting is occurring and report it to law enforcement, for example.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an underwater drone device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure for determining whether or not a fishing right exists.

[One embodiment]
An underwater drone device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Note that each of the embodiments described below shows a preferred specific example of the present invention. The numerical values, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of the components, processing order in the flow chart, etc. shown in the following embodiment are examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Also, each figure is not necessarily a strict illustration.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an underwater drone device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The underwater drone device 1 monitors illegal collection, such as poaching, illegal fishing, and illegal excavation, and notifies an external party if illegal collection occurs.

Figure 1 shows the functions related to monitoring illegal harvesting by the underwater drone device 1, and does not show the navigation drive mechanism or parts related to navigation control of the underwater drone device.

The underwater drone device 1 has a functional configuration for monitoring illegal collection, which includes a photographing unit 11, a sensor unit 12, a control unit 13, a memory unit 14, a drive unit 15, and a communication unit 16.

The photographing unit 11 is equipped with an underwater camera and a periscope camera that can photograph the water surface using a periscope. The periscope camera photographs events above the water surface, such as the ship above the water surface and people on the ship. The underwater camera photographs events below the water surface, such as parts of the ship below the water surface, people and tools below the water surface, and collected material. These two cameras may be infrared cameras or night vision cameras so that they can photograph at night.

The sensor unit 12 is a group of sensors that sense the surrounding environment underwater. These include acoustic sensors such as sonar and microphones, gyro sensors or acceleration sensors, water pressure sensors that detect depth, and geomagnetic sensors that detect direction, which are typically found in underwater drone devices. The sensor unit 12 can detect the presence of suspicious ships and people (e.g. divers), the distance to ships and people that are being monitored, etc.

Although not shown in the figure, the control unit 13 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory section (ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), non-volatile memory, etc.), hardware, and other elements. The control unit 13 performs various controls of the underwater drone device 1.

The control unit 13 executes a predetermined program stored in the memory unit 14 to function as a monitoring target detection unit 21, an illegality determination unit 22, a tracking unit 23, and a reporting unit 24. The control unit 13 may realize some or all of these functions by hardware.

The monitoring target detection unit 21 detects ships or people that enter the monitoring area as monitoring targets.

The illegality determination unit 22 determines whether the collection by the monitored subject is illegal. The illegality determination unit 22 has a right determination unit 31, a collection determination unit 32, and a collection action memory unit 33. The right determination unit 31 determines whether the monitored subject vessel has fishing rights when only vessels with fishing rights can operate in the monitored area. The collection determination unit 32 determines whether a vessel without fishing rights has collected marine products. The collection action memory unit 33 stores evidence that a vessel without fishing rights has collected marine products in the memory unit 14.

The tracking unit 23 controls the drive unit 15 so that the underwater drone device 1 tracks the monitoring target.

When the illegality determination unit 22 determines that the monitored subject has engaged in illegal harvesting, the reporting unit 24 reports this to a specified contact via the communication unit 16. For example, when monitoring poaching, a report is made to a monitoring center on land, which then reports to the Japan Coast Guard. When the Japan Coast Guard receives this report, it can arrest and detain the person engaging in poaching. It can also stop the poaching on the spot.

The memory unit 14 stores various types of information. The memory unit 14 stores a control program executed by the control unit 13. The memory unit 14 also has a rights information DB (database) 41 that stores the ship name, number, ship shape, identification number, etc. as information for determining whether the monitored ship has fishing rights, a collection action information DB (database) 42 that stores image data of tools and collected items related to poaching and data on their characteristics as information that can identify the collection action to determine whether the actions of the monitored ship or person are poaching, and an evidence memory unit 43 that stores video footage of poaching actions, tools, collected items, ships, people, etc. captured by the imaging unit 11 as evidence of poaching.

The drive unit 15 is composed of, for example, an engine, a battery, a motor, a propeller, etc., and the underwater drone device 1 navigates autonomously under the control of the control unit 13. In addition, the underwater drone device 1 navigates to track the monitored object under the control of the tracking unit 23.

The communication unit 16 communicates with the outside world.

[Description of illegal collection monitoring process by underwater drone device 1]
Next, the illegal harvesting monitoring process of the underwater drone device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 2. In this example, the harvesting of marine products by ships that do not have fishing rights is monitored as illegal harvesting.

In step S11, the monitoring target detection unit 21 of the control unit 13 starts detecting the monitoring target. For example, a no-fishing zone is set as a monitoring area, and the underwater drone device 1 is navigating the vicinity of the no-fishing zone. The monitoring target detection unit 21 starts capturing images using the image capture unit 11, and detects ships that have entered the monitoring area from the images captured by the image capture unit 11.

In step S12, the rights determination unit 31 of the illegality determination unit 22 waits until the monitoring target is detected by the monitoring target detection unit 21, and when the monitoring target is detected, in step S13, starts a rights determination process to determine whether or not the monitoring target has a fishing right. A specific example of the rights determination process to determine whether or not the monitoring target has a fishing right is described below.

(Fishing rights determination: Determination using identification signals)
An identification number is given to a vessel belonging to a fisherman's association to indicate that it has fishing rights, and if a rule is implemented requiring that an identification signal with that identification number be constantly transmitted, that identification signal can be used. The right determination unit 31 receives the identification signal via the communication unit 16, and determines whether or not the monitored subject has fishing rights by referring to the right information DB 41 in the storage unit 14. The right information DB 41 stores the identification numbers of vessels with fishing rights. That is, the communication unit 16 as an acquisition unit receives an identification signal including an identification number as information regarding the rights of the monitored subject, and the right determination unit 31 determines whether or not the received identification signal indicates an identification number indicating that a fishing right is held.

(Fishing rights determination: Determination based on the shape of the vessel)
Fishing permits are often specified in detail, including the amount of catch, the equipment to be used, and the type of fishing vessel to be used. Therefore, by looking at the type (shape) of the vessel, it is possible to determine whether a fishing vessel is licensed. Information on the shape of fishing vessels with fishing rights and the shape of vessels such as pleasure boats is stored in the right information DB 41, and the right determination unit 31 grasps the shape of the monitored object from the image of the monitored object taken by the photographing unit 11, and determines whether the monitored object has fishing rights from the shape. In other words, the photographing unit 11 as an acquisition unit takes an image of the shape of the vessel as information on the rights of the monitored object, and the right determination unit 31 determines whether the shape of the vessel indicates the shape of a vessel with fishing rights.

The shape of the ship can be determined from its shape above the water surface captured by a periscope camera, its shape below the water surface captured by an underwater camera, or the shape of the ship's bottom. This determination of the ship's shape may be made by referring to information about the ship's shape stored in the rights information DB41, or the ship's shape may be determined by deep learning.

(Fishing rights determination: Determination using the name of the vessel)
The names of vessels that have been granted fishing rights are registered, so the names of the vessels can be used. The names of vessels that have been granted fishing rights are stored in the rights information DB 41, and the rights determination unit 31 extracts the vessel name from the image of the monitored subject taken by the photographing unit 11 to determine whether or not the subject has fishing rights. The name of the vessel can also be identified from the number attached to the vessel or the bottom of the vessel. That is, the photographing unit 11, which serves as the acquisition unit, takes an image of the vessel's name as information regarding the rights of the monitored subject, and the rights determination unit 31 determines whether or not the name of the vessel indicates the name of a vessel that has fishing rights.

Since vessels may camouflage their names, if foreign language writing is found anywhere other than the vessel name, it can be determined that the vessel does not have fishing rights.

(Fishing rights determination: Determination using sailing schedules)
Marine products may also be collected for research or educational purposes. In such cases, for example, since a prior application has been made, "determination using the ship's name" can be used. In addition, if a sailing schedule is also registered, a ship sailing during that time period can be determined to be a ship that can collect marine products, that is, a ship that has fishing rights. That is, the communication unit 16 as an acquisition unit receives the sailing schedule as information regarding the rights of the monitored object, and the rights determination unit 31 determines whether or not the ship is a ship that can collect marine products.

(Fishing rights determination: Determination based on crew member's perception)
For example, if a specific person such as a wanted criminal can be recognized from the video, and if it is confirmed that such a person is on board, it can be determined that the ship does not have fishing rights. That is, the photographing unit 11 as an acquisition unit captures an image of the face of a crew member as information regarding the rights of the monitored subject, and the rights determination unit 31 determines whether or not the face of the crew member is the face of a crew member without fishing rights.

(Fishing rights determination: How to use each determination method)
It is also possible to use any one of the above-mentioned methods to determine whether or not the monitored subject has fishing rights. Moreover, they can be combined as shown in Fig. 3. In the example of Fig. 3, "determination using the identification signal" is performed in step S121, and if it is confirmed that the monitored subject has fishing rights based on the identification signal (determination of Yes), it is determined in step S125 that the monitored subject has fishing rights. On the other hand, if it is not confirmed that the monitored subject has fishing rights based on the identification signal (determination of No), "determination using the shape of the vessel" is performed in step S122.

If the "determination using the shape of the ship" confirms that the shape of the ship is the shape of a ship that has fishing rights (determination: Yes), then in step S125 it is determined that the monitored object has fishing rights. On the other hand, if the shape of the ship is not confirmed to be the shape of a ship that has fishing rights (determination: No), then in step S123 "determination using the name of the ship" is executed.

If the "determination using the vessel's name" confirms that the vessel's name is the name of a vessel that has fishing rights (determination: Yes), then in step S125 it is determined that the monitored vessel has fishing rights. On the other hand, if the vessel's name is not confirmed to be the name of a vessel that has fishing rights (determination: No), then in step S124 it is finally determined that the monitored vessel does not have fishing rights.

The above-mentioned method for determining whether a monitored subject has fishing rights is just one example, and other methods may also be used.

Returning to FIG. 2, if the rights determination unit 31 determines in step S14 that the monitored subject does not have fishing rights, the tracking unit 23 starts tracking the monitored subject with the underwater drone device 1 in step S15. A specific example of the tracking process of the monitored subject with the underwater drone device 1 is described below. If the rights determination unit 31 determines in step S14 that the monitored subject has fishing rights, the illegal harvesting monitoring process ends.

(Tracking: Tracking from outside the range of the fishfinder)
Ships that conduct illegal fishing are usually equipped with a fish finder. If the underwater drone device 1 enters the detection range of the fish finder, it will be discovered by the monitored object. Therefore, first, the detection range of the monitored object's fish finder is identified, and the tracking unit 23 tracks the monitored object so that the underwater drone device 1 does not enter the detection range.

The frequency of fish finders installed on pleasure boats, which are often used for illegal fishing, is often 50 kHz. The detection angle of 50 kHz is wider than that of higher frequencies (200 kHz), and is often around 50 degrees. If the underwater drone device 1 is located at a depth of 20 meters, the detection range of the fish finder is within a circle with a radius of 9.3 meters directly below the vessel. The tracking unit 23 tracks the monitored subject so that the underwater drone device 1 does not enter this detection range.

(Tracking: Tracking that is difficult for the crew to detect)
For example, the tracking unit 23 tracks the target being monitored by the underwater drone device 1 from a position that is difficult to be discovered by the crew of the target being monitored, as shown below.
- More than 120 degrees from the bow. (The area within 120 degrees from the bow is likely to be spotted by the crew, so tracking from outside this range)
- The blind spot of the crew member is identified based on the crew member's position on the deck, the direction of their face, etc. (Identify the direction of the blind spot and track from that direction)
・At the rear of the ship. (Because there is a screw at the rear of the ship, the possibility of fishing (the possibility of people being there) is low.)
- Locations in the direction where there are fewer crew members. (For example, the positions of crew members can be identified by taking pictures from the rear of the ship where there are fewer crew members by surfacing on the surface or using a periscope camera.)

(Tracking: How to use each tracking method)
You can track your target using any one of the above methods, or you can choose a method that meets all of your requirements.
In addition, when divers, as described below, are collecting samples, they may be detected by the navigational sounds of the underwater drone device 1, so when the drone approaches within a certain distance, the engine may be stopped to prevent the divers from being detected by the noise.

Returning to FIG. 2, in step S16, the collection determination unit 32 analyzes the images captured by the image capture unit 11 to determine the actions of people (divers) underwater on the vessel being tracked, the presence of tools used for collection, and the presence of collected items such as collected fish and coral, and starts a collection determination process to determine whether marine products are being collected, i.e., whether there is a possibility of illegal collection. This collection determination is made based on information that can identify the collection act, such as image data of tools related to poaching and collected items stored in the collection act information DB 42 of the memory unit 14, and data on their features.

(Collection Judgment)
In poaching, poaching equipment is used, and fish, coral, etc. are collected as the targets of poaching. Based on image data of poaching equipment and collected items and their characteristic data stored in the collection activity information DB 42 in the memory unit 14, a determination is made as to whether or not collection has taken place by recognizing the fishing gear or collected items shown below from the captured video.
- Whether or not specific equipment such as spiny lobster fishing, fishing rods, reels, nets, etc. - Whether or not fins are used - Whether or not lights are used under the water. (When fishing at night, the boat's lights are sometimes turned off to avoid being noticed, and fishing is done with a helmet light under the water.)

That is, the photographing unit 11, which acts as an acquisition unit, photographs the area around the ship and acquires images as information related to the rights of the monitored subject, and the collection determination unit 32 determines whether the images include images of the collected material or the tools used for collection.

In step S17, the illegality determination unit 22 determines whether or not illegal harvesting has occurred based on the determination result of the harvesting determination process in step S16. Specifically, if it is determined in the harvesting determination process that marine products have been harvested, it is determined that illegal harvesting has occurred.

If it is determined in step S17 that illegal collection has occurred, the collection act memory unit 33 stores the video captured by the image capture unit 11 in the evidence memory unit 43 of the memory unit 14 as evidence of illegal collection in step S18. The video stored in the evidence memory unit 43 can be transmitted externally as appropriate, and can be retrieved as evidence after the underwater drone device 1 is recovered. If the collection determination unit 32 determines in step S17 that illegal collection has not occurred, the illegal collection monitoring process ends.

Next, in step S19, the reporting unit 24 reports the illegal collection to the Japan Coast Guard, which is the specified contact point, via the communication unit 16.

In step S20, the control unit 13 waits until an instruction to end the illegal harvesting monitoring process is received, and ends the monitoring process when the instruction to end the monitoring process is received. For example, since a Japan Coast Guard vessel or staff member heads to the scene when an illegal harvesting report is received, the arrival of a Japan Coast Guard vessel or staff member can be detected, and the monitoring process can be ended when the arrival of a Japan Coast Guard vessel or staff member is detected. The process can also be ended upon receiving a notification to end monitoring from a Japan Coast Guard vessel or staff member.

<Examples of monitoring targets>
In the example of FIG. 2, a ship is used as the monitoring target, but a person can also be used as the monitoring target. Not only illegal collection on the sea or water, but also illegal collection on land can be monitored. For example, a flying drone device can be used to photograph moving objects such as vehicles, people, tools, and collected items, and it can be determined that the poaching is unauthorized, and the poaching can be photographed and evidence can be collected. Similarly, unauthorized excavation can be determined to be unauthorized excavation by photographing the act and collecting evidence by photographing the act. In addition, even if the device does not fly freely, a photographing device that can photograph moving objects and people and collect evidence of illegal collection can be used.

<Other examples of illegal collection judgement>
In the example of Fig. 2, illegal harvesting was determined when a vessel without fishing rights harvested fish, but it can also be determined that illegal harvesting is done without holding harvesting rights when a prescribed amount of marine products is harvested or when fishes smaller than a prescribed size are harvested, regardless of whether or not a fishing right is held. Harvesting during a time or period when harvesting is not permitted can also be determined as illegal harvesting. The photographing unit 11 recognizes the net and is controlled by the tracking unit 23 to photograph the inside of the net.

<How to report>
In the example of FIG. 2, the report is sent to the Japan Coast Guard via a land-based monitoring center, but it can also be sent to the Japan Coast Guard via another underwater drone device or a land-based flying drone device, which acts as a mother ship. Underwater ultrasonic or optical communication can also be used between the mother ship and the underwater drone device. It can also be sent directly to the Japan Coast Guard.

<Other examples of detection of monitored targets>
In the example of Figure 2, the monitored target detection unit 21 detects that a ship has entered the monitored area, but a drone device flying overhead detects a ship or person within the monitored area and notifies the underwater drone device 1, and the monitored target detection unit 21 can also become aware that a ship or person has entered the monitored area based on the notification.

[Summary of effects]
The drone device 1 that monitors for unauthorized harvesting comprises a monitored target detection unit 21 that detects the monitored target, a tracking unit 23 that controls the drive unit 15 of the drone device 1 to track the monitored target, an illegality determination unit 22 that determines whether the harvesting by the monitored target is illegal or not, and a reporting unit 24 that reports to a specified contact point if the illegality determination unit 22 determines that it is illegal, and the illegality determination unit 22 comprises a right determination unit 31 that determines whether the monitored target has the right to harvest, and a harvesting determination unit 32 that determines whether the monitored target is harvesting, and the illegality determination unit 22 determines that it is illegal if the monitored target does not have the right to harvest and is harvesting.
With this configuration, the underwater drone device 1 can autonomously determine whether the monitored subject is illegally harvesting or not, and when it determines that illegal harvesting has occurred, it can autonomously report it to an external law enforcement agency, etc. As a result, illegal harvesting can be detected more appropriately.

Furthermore, it is equipped with an imaging unit 11 or a communication unit 16 as an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the rights of the monitored subject, and the rights determination unit 31 determines whether the acquired information regarding the rights of the monitored subject includes information indicating the right to collect, and the collection determination unit 32 determines whether the acquired information regarding the rights of the monitored subject includes information indicating the items to be collected or the tools used for collection.
With this configuration, the underwater drone device 1 can determine the presence or absence of specified items from the captured footage and the presence of equipment, determining whether illegal collection has occurred, and reporting the result to the outside.

Furthermore, the tracking unit 23 of the underwater drone device 1 controls the drive unit so as to track from a range where the monitored object cannot be detected.
This configuration allows tracking to be carried out from a position that is less likely to be detected by the vessel being monitored, making it possible to more reliably collect evidence of illegal harvesting.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Underwater drone device 11 Photography unit 12 Sensor unit 13 Control unit 14 Memory unit 15 Driving unit 16 Communication unit 21 Surveillance target detection unit 22 Illegal determination unit 23 Tracking unit 24 Reporting unit 31 Right determination unit 32 Collection determination unit 33 Collection action memory unit 41 Right information DB
42 Collection activity information DB
43 Evidence storage unit

Claims (5)

A drone device for monitoring unauthorized harvesting,
a monitoring target detection unit that detects a monitoring target;
A tracking unit that controls a driving unit of the drone device so as to track the monitoring target;
an illegality determination unit that determines whether the collection by the monitoring target is illegal or not;
a reporting unit that reports to a predetermined contact point when the illegality determination unit determines that an illegality has occurred;
The illegality determination unit
a right determination unit that determines whether the monitoring target has a right to collect data;
A collection determination unit that determines whether the monitoring target is collecting data,
The drone device is characterized in that the illegality determination unit determines that the monitoring target is illegal when the monitoring target does not have the right to collect samples and is collecting samples. In the drone device according to claim 1 ,
An acquisition unit for acquiring information regarding the right to be monitored,
the right determination unit determines whether or not the information acquired by the acquisition unit is information indicating a right to collect;
A drone device in which the collection determination unit determines whether the information acquired by the acquisition unit is information indicating a collected item or an instrument used for collection. The drone device according to claim 1 or 2,
The tracking unit controls the driving unit so as to track the monitoring target from a range where the monitoring target is not detected.
A drone device characterized by: 1. A method for monitoring unauthorized harvesting by a drone device, comprising:
The monitoring target detection unit detects a monitoring target,
Controlling a driving unit of the drone device so that a tracking unit tracks the monitoring target;
an illegality determination unit determines whether the collection by the monitoring target is illegal or not;
A monitoring method in which a reporting unit reports to a predetermined contact point when the illegality determination unit determines that an illegality has occurred,
The illegality determination unit
a right determination unit that determines whether the monitoring target has a right to collect;
A collection determination unit determines whether the monitoring target is collecting data,
a monitoring method, characterized in that the illegality determination unit determines that the monitoring target is illegal when the monitoring target does not have the right to collect data and is collecting data. The drone's computer
A step of a monitoring target detection unit detecting a monitoring target;
Controlling a driving unit of the drone device so that a tracking unit tracks the monitoring target;
an illegality determination unit determining whether or not the collection by the monitoring target is illegal;
a step of a reporting unit reporting to a predetermined contact point when the illegality determination unit determines that the illegality is illegal;
The illegality determination unit,
a step of a right determination unit determining whether or not the monitoring target has a right to collect;
A step of a collection determination unit determining whether or not the monitoring target is collecting data;
and determining that the act of collecting is illegal if the subject of monitoring does not have the right to collect the data and is collecting the data.

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