JP3515749B2 - Moving object position detecting method and device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moving body position detecting method and device for detecting the position of an automated guided vehicle or the like in a factory, and particularly to a factory where noise is generated by using an image pickup device such as a CCD camera. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for detecting the position of a moving body, which is capable of detecting the position of the moving body with high accuracy even inside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a position detecting method for detecting the position of a moving body such as an automated guided vehicle traveling in a factory, 1) a moving body is equipped with a transmitter for transmitting a radio wave of a predetermined frequency, A plurality of base stations that receive the radio waves transmitted from this transmitter are installed inside, and the position of the moving body is detected based on the direction of arrival of the radio waves at these base stations. 2) A data carrier is installed under the aisle in the factory. Buried,
There is known a method of detecting the position of the moving body by reading the ID of the data carrier.

[0003]

However, in the method of 1) above, when there is an object that reflects radio waves in the factory, the radio waves emitted from the moving body are reflected by this object, and the position of the moving body is thereby reflected. There is a problem that will be erroneously detected.

In the method 2), it may be difficult to receive a weak signal from the data carrier in a factory where much noise is generated. In this case as well, the position of the moving body is accurately detected. It is not possible.

Therefore, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for detecting the position of a moving body, which is capable of detecting the position of the moving body with high accuracy even in a place where much noise is generated, such as in a factory. To aim.

[0006]

A moving body position detecting method according to the present invention is a moving body position detecting method for detecting the position of a moving body moving on a floor in a building. While attaching a marker to the moving body,
An image pickup means attached to the ceiling of the building for picking up the marker attached to the moving body is provided, and the position of the image of the marker is obtained by analyzing the image picked up by the image pickup means, and the obtained position is obtained. The position of the moving body is detected based on the above.

Here, the building is, for example, a building such as a factory, and has a floor composed of a two-dimensional plane having a sufficient area for a moving body to move. In addition, the moving body is, for example,
It is an automated guided vehicle or the like, and the imaging means is, for example, C
This is a CD (Chage Coupled Device) camera, and in the present invention, the position of the moving body such as the automatic guided vehicle in the building is detected based on the image captured by the image capturing means such as the CCD camera.

The marker attached to the moving body is one which can be imaged by an image pickup means attached to the ceiling of the building, and includes, for example, one which emits light by itself.

The analysis of the image picked up by the image pickup means is, for example, that the image of the marker is stored in advance, and the image pickup means is obtained by pattern matching between the stored image of the marker and the image picked up by the image pickup means. The image of the marker is extracted from the captured image, the center coordinates of the extracted image of the marker are obtained, and the position of the moving body is detected based on the obtained center coordinate of the image of the marker.

With this structure, the position of the moving body is optically detected, so that the position of the moving body can be detected with high accuracy even in a factory where a lot of noise is generated.

The marker has a shape for identifying the moving body, and the moving body is identified based on the shape of the marker.

That is, a plurality of moving bodies can be identified and their positions can be detected by changing the shape of the marker for each moving body.

Further, the marker has an asymmetric shape, and the moving direction of the moving body is identified based on the asymmetric shape of the marker.

That is, the moving direction of the moving body can be determined by forming the shape of the marker asymmetrically before and after the moving body.

Further, the moving body position detecting method of the present invention is the moving body position detecting method for detecting the position of a moving body moving on a floor in a building, wherein the moving body moving on the floor in the building is marked with a marker. The position of the image of the marker is attached to the ceiling of the building and is provided with a plurality of image pickup means that partially overlap the image pickup ranges, and the images picked up by the plurality of image pickup means are analyzed. Is obtained, and the position of the moving body is detected based on the obtained position.

With such a configuration, it is possible to detect the position of the moving body that moves in a wide range even if the image pickup range of each image pickup means is narrow.

The position detecting device for a moving body according to the present invention is a position detecting device for a moving body which detects the position of a moving body moving on a floor in a building, which is mounted on the ceiling of the building and is on the floor of the building. An image pickup means for picking up a surface, a storage means for storing in advance an image of a marker attached to the moving body, a pattern of an image picked up by the image pickup means and an image of the marker stored in the storage means Image processing means for extracting the image of the marker from the imaged image of the imaging means by matching and detecting the position of the moving body based on the coordinate position of the extracted image of the marker. .

The marker has a shape for identifying the moving body, and the image processing means identifies the moving body based on the shape of the marker.

Further, the marker has an asymmetric shape, and the image processing means identifies the moving direction of the moving body based on the asymmetric shape of the marker.

Further, the marker is characterized by comprising a marker slit plate having slits and a light source for irradiating the marker slit plate. An infrared LED or the like can be used as this light source.

Further, the position detecting device for a moving body of the present invention is a position detecting device for a moving body for detecting the position of a moving body moving on a floor in a building, which is attached to the ceiling of the building and has an imaging range of 1 A plurality of image pickup means that overlap with each other, a storage means that stores in advance an image of the marker attached to the moving body, an imaged image picked up by the image pickup means, and an image of the marker stored in the storage means Image processing means for extracting the image of the marker from the imaged image of the imaging means by pattern matching and detecting the position of the moving body based on the coordinate position of the extracted image of the marker. To do.

Further, the position detecting device for a moving body according to the present invention is arranged between a plurality of sensor devices mounted on the ceiling of a building and the plurality of sensor devices, and is provided between the plurality of sensor devices. a communicable center device <br/> provided in said plurality of sensor devices includes an imaging means for imaging each floor of the building at a predetermined imaging range, the building
Image of a marker attached to a moving body that moves on the floor of
An image of the marker is extracted from a captured image of the image capturing unit by pattern matching between a storage unit that stores an image, a captured image captured by the image capturing unit, and an image of the marker stored in the storage unit; Image processing means for detecting the position of the moving body based on the coordinate position of the extracted image of the marker, and transmission means for transmitting the position information detected by the image processing means to the center device. 2 of the plurality of sensor devices adjacent to each other are provided.
Between two sensor devices, the imaging area of both imaging devices
Partially overlap, the center device has a receiving means for receiving the position information transmitted by the transmitting means, and a display means for displaying the position of the moving body based on the position information received by the receiving means. And attached to the moving body
The pattern data of the existing marker is used for the above center device.
Sent to the above-mentioned sensor device from
The pattern data of the marker
The data is stored in the storage means as a data .

Here, the marker has a shape for identifying the type of the moving body, the image processing means identifies the type of the moving body based on the shape of the marker, and the transmitting means for the transmitting means. The identification information of the identified moving body is transmitted to the center device together with the position information, and the display means displays the type of the moving body together with the position of the moving body.

Further, the marker has an asymmetrical shape, the image processing means identifies the moving direction of the moving body based on the asymmetrical shape of the marker, and the transmitting means determines the moving body of the identified moving body. The moving direction information is transmitted to the center device together with the position information, and the display means displays the moving direction together with the position of the moving body.

Further, the moving body position detecting apparatus of the present invention is a moving body position detecting apparatus for detecting the position of a moving body moving on a floor in a building, wherein a plurality of sensor devices mounted on the ceiling of the building. And a center device that is disposed remotely from the plurality of sensor devices and is capable of communicating with the plurality of sensor devices, wherein the sensor device covers the floor of the building within a predetermined imaging range. The center device includes a plurality of image pickup means for picking up images and overlapping the image pickup ranges partially, and a transmitting means for transmitting the image data picked up by the image pickup means to the center device. Receiving means for receiving the transmitted image data,
A storage unit that stores in advance image data of the marker attached to the moving body, and image capturing by the image capturing unit by pattern matching between the image data received by the receiving unit and the image data of the marker stored in the storage unit An image processing unit that extracts the image of the marker from the image and detects position information of the moving body based on the coordinate position of the extracted image of the marker; and the movement based on the position information detected by the image processing unit. Display means for displaying the position of the body.

Here, the marker has a shape for identifying the type of the moving body, the image processing means identifies the type of the moving body based on the shape of the marker, and the display means for the display means. The type of the identified moving body is displayed together with the position of the moving body.

Further, the marker has an asymmetric shape, the image processing means identifies the moving direction of the moving body based on the asymmetric shape of the marker, and the display means, together with the position of the moving body, displays the moving direction. The moving direction of the identified moving body is displayed.

The transmitting means compresses the image data and transmits it to the center device, and the image processing means restores the compressed image data and then restores the restored image data and the storing means. The image of the marker is extracted from the image picked up by the image pickup means by pattern matching with the image data of the marker stored in, and the positional information of the moving body is detected based on the coordinate position of the image of the extracted marker. It is characterized by

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a position detecting method and apparatus for a moving body according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a position detecting device for a moving body according to the present invention.

The position detecting device for a moving body shown in FIG. 1 is used for a moving body 20 such as an automated guided vehicle that moves on a floor in a building such as a factory.
The marker 30 is attached to the upper surface of the moving body 20 that moves on the floor in a building such as a factory, and the marker 30 attached to the moving body 20 is attached to the ceiling of the building such as a factory. Take an image with the CCD camera 11,
The position of the moving body 20 in the building is detected by analyzing the captured image obtained by the CCD camera 11.

The CCD camera 11 is built in the position detecting sensor device 10 attached to the ceiling of this building,
This position detection sensor device 10 includes a CCD camera 11,
Image memory 12, CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1
3, a flash memory 14, and a network I / F (network interface) 15 are provided.

Here, the CCD camera 11 is set to a predetermined viewing angle, and is attached to the moving body 20 by picking up an image of its floor surface from the ceiling of a building such as a factory as described above. The image including the marker 30 is acquired.

The image data acquired by the CCD camera 11 is temporarily stored in the image memory 12.

In the flash memory 14, the marker 3 attached to the moving body 20 whose position is to be detected.
Image data corresponding to the image of 0 is stored in advance.

When the image data corresponding to the image acquired by the CCD camera 11 is stored in the image memory 12, the CPU 13 reads the image data and refers to the image data of the marker 30 stored in the flash memory 14. Then, by pattern matching, the CCD camera 11
It is checked whether the image of the marker 30 of the moving body 20 that is the position detection target is included in the images acquired by.

Here, when the image of the marker 30 of the moving body 20 which is the position detection target is not included in the images acquired by the CCD camera 11, the CCD camera 11 is used.
This process is terminated assuming that the moving body 20 which is the position detection target does not exist within the field of view, that is, within the imaging range of the CCD camera 11.

However, if the image acquired by the CCD camera 11 by the pattern matching by the CPU 13 includes the image of the marker 30 of the moving body 20 which is the position detection target, the image acquired by the CCD camera 11 is detected. The coordinates of the center position of the image of the marker 30 of the moving body 20 extracted by the pattern matching in
The coordinates are detected as the position of the moving body 20.

Here, the coordinates of the center position of the image of the marker 30 of the moving body 20 may be the coordinates fixed at the arrangement position of the CCD camera 11, or the coordinates fixed at the arrangement position of the CCD camera 11. The coordinates may be converted to the absolute position in the building.

The position information indicating the position of the moving body 20 obtained by the CPU 13 is the network I /
It is transmitted to a center device (not shown) via F15.

The center device receives the position information transmitted from the position detection sensor device and displays the position of the moving body 20 in the building on the display device based on the position information.

Here, for the display on the display device, for example, the movable area of the movable body 20 of this building is displayed in advance on the display device, and the movable body 2 is placed on this movable area.
It is performed by overlapping and displaying the position of 0.

If the position information sent from the sensor device 10 is the information indicating the coordinates fixed at the position where the CCD camera 11 is arranged, the center device converts these coordinates into absolute coordinates concerning the movable area. To display on the display device.

In the above description, the case where one position detecting sensor device 10 is installed on the ceiling of a building such as a factory has been described, but this one position detecting sensor device 1
When the image of the entire movable area of the moving body 20 cannot be acquired at 0, a plurality of position detection sensor devices 10-1 to 10-5 are arranged as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an image pickup area of each of the position detection sensor devices 10-1 to 10-5 when five position detection sensor devices 10-1 to 10-5 are arranged on the ceiling of a building such as a factory. It is shown. The configuration of each of the position detection sensor devices 10-1 to 10-5 shown in FIG.
It is similar to the position detection sensor device 10 shown in FIG. However, the position detection sensor devices 10-1 to 10- shown in FIG.
5, each position detection sensor device 10-1 to 10
Each of them is connected in series by a signal line 10a for transmitting the captured image of -5 to the center device.

As shown in FIG. 2, the five position detection sensor devices 10-1 to 10-5 are arranged so that their image pickup areas partially overlap with each other in adjacent image pickup areas. It is configured such that an image of the entire movable area of the moving body 20 of this building can be captured without causing a blind spot.

That is, the first position detecting sensor device 1
The image pickup area 0-1 is the second position detection sensor device 1
0-2 partly overlaps with the imaging area, and similarly, the imaging area of the second position detection sensor device 10-2 partially overlaps with the imaging area of the third position detection sensor device 10-3. The imaging area of the third position detection sensor device 10-3 partially overlaps the imaging area of the fourth position detection sensor device 10-4, and thus the fourth position detection sensor device 10-4.
The imaging area of the fifth position detection sensor device 10-5
Five position detection sensor devices 10-1 to 10-5 are arranged on the ceiling of this building so as to partially overlap the image pickup area.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the marker 30 attached to the moving body 20 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 (a) is a top view thereof, and FIG. 3 (b) is a side view thereof.

The marker 30 shown in FIG. 3 includes a light source 31.
Is used to generate light by itself, and a marker slit plate 32 having a slit 32a as shown in FIG.
Is provided.

In this case, the CCD camera 11 shown in FIG.
Then, the marker slit plate 3 as shown in FIG.
The image of the slit 32a of 2 will be acquired.

Here, the slits 32a of the marker slit plate 32 are formed in a vertically asymmetrical shape as shown in FIG. 3 (a). Here, for example, this marker slit plate 32 is shown in FIG. If it is attached to the moving body 20 so that the direction indicated by the arrow A in (a) coincides with the traveling direction of the moving body 20, C of the position detection sensor device 10 shown in FIG.
The traveling direction of the moving body 20 can be recognized by the pattern matching processing of the PU 13.

Further, considering the case where a plurality of moving bodies move in this building, if the shape of the slit 32a formed on the marker slit plate 32 is changed for each moving body, the slit 32a By identifying the shape by the pattern matching process of the CPU 13 of the position detection sensor device 10 shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to identify each of the plurality of moving bodies and their types.

In this case, the position detecting sensor device 10 shown in FIG. 1 or the position detecting sensor device 1 shown in FIG.
If the moving direction information indicating the traveling direction of the moving body 20 and the identification information for identifying the moving body are transmitted from 0-1 to 10-5 in addition to the position information, the position of the moving body 20 in the center device is transmitted. In addition, the moving direction and the type can be displayed in a distinguishable manner.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the position detecting operation of the position detecting sensor device 10 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, first, image data is acquired by the CCD camera 11 (step 401), and the acquired image data is stored in the image memory 12 (step 40).
2).

Next, the image data stored in the image memory 12 is read out, and the image data and the flash memory 1 are read.
The pattern matching process with the image data of the marker 30 stored in FIG.

By this pattern matching processing, whether there is a matching pattern, that is,
It is checked whether or not the moving body 20 to be detected is detected (step 404).

If it is determined that the moving body 20 to be detected is detected (YES in step 404), the center position coordinate of the marker 30 is detected based on the image data of the matched marker 30 (step 40).
5).

The center position coordinates of the marker 30 detected by the processing of this step becomes the position information of the moving body 20 to be detected.

At this time, if the direction of the marker 30 is detected, the moving direction information indicating the moving direction of the moving body 20 can be detected, and the identification information for identifying the moving body 20 can be obtained based on the shape of the marker 30. it can.

In this way, the position information detected in step 405 is transmitted to the center device together with its moving direction information and identification information, and this processing ends.

If there is no matching pattern in step 404 (N in step 404)
O), the process is finished as it is.

The process of the flow chart shown in FIG. 4 is repeated in the position detection cycle of the moving body 20.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a format configuration of information transmitted between the position detection sensor device and the center device shown in FIG. 1 or 2.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the transmission format of the position information transmitted from the position detection sensor device shown in FIG. 1 or 2 to the center device.

The transmission format of the position information transmitted from the position detection sensor device to the center device is shown in FIG.
"Sensor ID", "marker I"
D ”,“ marker direction ”,“ X coordinate ”,“ Y coordinate ”.

Here, the "sensor ID" is information for identifying the position detection sensor device that has transmitted this position information. The “marker ID” is identification information of the marker, and the moving body 20 can be identified by the “marker ID”.

The "marker direction" indicates the direction of the marker, and the "marker direction" can identify the moving direction of the moving body.

Further, "X coordinate" and "Y coordinate" are the position of the moving body, that is, "X coordinate" and "Y" at which the moving body is located.
"Coordinates".

FIG. 5B shows information transmitted from the center device to the position detection sensor device shown in FIG. 1 or 2.

The information shown in FIG. 5B is composed of "sensor ID", "marker ID", and "pattern data".

Here, the "pattern data" indicates the pattern of the marker attached to the moving body 20 which is the position detection target, and the "sensor ID" is the position detection sensor of the destination of this "pattern data". The “marker ID”, which is an ID for identifying the device, is an ID for identifying this “pattern data”.

That is, by transmitting the information shown in FIG. 5B from the center device, it is possible to specify the moving body whose position is to be detected. The "pattern data" sent as the information shown in FIG. 5B is stored in the flash memory 14 shown in FIG. 1 as the marker image data of the moving body 20 which is the position detection target.

In the above embodiment, the position detecting sensor device side detects the position information and moving direction of the moving body, and transmits the detected position information and moving direction of the moving body to the center device. , But C
The image data acquired by the CD camera may be directly transmitted to the center device, and the position information and the moving direction of the moving body may be detected on the side of the center device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the position detecting device for a moving body according to the present invention, which is constructed as described above.

That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, in the plurality of position detecting sensor devices 100, the CCD
Only the image data is acquired by the camera, the image data acquired by the CCD camera is compressed and transmitted to the center device 50, and the position information and the moving direction of the moving body are detected.
Performed on the side of the center device 50.

With such a configuration, the position detection sensor device 100 is only required to transmit the image data acquired by the position detection sensor device 100 to the center device 50. It can be simplified and inexpensively constructed.

In this case, the center device 50 uses the network I / F for communicating with the position detection sensor device 100.
(Network Interface) 51, Network I
The compressed image data received via the / F51 is restored and stored in the image memory 53, and the image data stored in the image memory 53 and the marker image storage unit 54 are also stored.
2. A CPU 52 that detects the positional information and the moving direction of the moving body by performing pattern matching with the stored marker image data, and a display unit 55 that displays the position and the moving direction of the moving body based on the processing result of the CPU 52. Consists of

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a format configuration of information transmitted from the position detection sensor device 100 to the center device 50 when the configuration of FIG. 6 is adopted.

In FIG. 7, this information is "sensor-I
D ”and“ image data ”. Here, the “image data” is the compressed image data acquired by the CCD camera, and the “sensor-ID” is the position detection sensor device 1 of the sender of the “image data”.
This is information for identifying 00.

[0081]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In detecting the position of a moving body that detects the position of a moving body that moves on the floor in a building, a marker is attached to the moving body that moves on the floor in the building, and the marker is attached to the ceiling of the building and is attached to the moving body. An image pickup means for picking up the imaged marker, the position of the image of the marker is obtained by analyzing the imaged image picked up by the image pickup means, and the position of the moving body is detected based on the obtained position. Therefore, there is an effect that the position of the moving body can be detected with high accuracy even in a factory where much noise is generated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a position detecting device for a moving body according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of each imaging area when a plurality of position detection sensor devices are used.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a marker attached to the moving body shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a position detecting operation of the position detecting sensor device shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing an example of a format configuration of information transmitted between the position detection sensor device shown in FIG. 1 or 2 and a center device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of a position detecting device for a moving body according to the present invention.

7 is a diagram showing an example of a format configuration of information transmitted from the position detection sensor device shown in FIG. 6 to a center device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Position Detection Sensor Device 10-1 to 10-5 Position Detection Sensor Device 11 CCD Camera 12 Image Memory 13 CPU 14 Flash Memory 15 Network I / F (Network Interface) 20 Moving Object 30 Marker 31 Light Source 32 Slit Plate 32a for Marker Slit 50 Center Device 51 Network I / F (Network Interface) 52 CPU 53 Image Memory 54 Marker Image Storage Unit 55 Display Unit 100 Position Detection Sensor Device

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-11-248422 (JP, A) JP-A-10-63335 (JP, A) JP-A-9-144496 (JP, A) JP-A-63-5205 (JP , A) JP 9-145309 (JP, A) JP 62-212709 (JP, A) JP 4-209013 (JP, A) JP 6-233308 (JP, A) JP 10-11137 (JP, A) JP-A-11-11683 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01B 11 / 00-11 / 30

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of sensors mounted on a ceiling of a building.
Server device and the plurality of sensor devices, which are remote from each other.
Equipped with a center device that can communicate with the sensor device
However, the plurality of sensor devices are located on the floor of the building.
An image pickup means for picking up an image in a fixed image pickup range and a marker attached to a moving body moving on the floor of the building.
The storage means for storing the image of the car, the captured image captured by the image capturing means, and the storage means are stored in the storage means.
For pattern matching with the image of the above marker
From the imaged image of the image capturing means, the image of the marker is
Extracted and based on the coordinate position of the image of the extracted marker.
Based on the image processing means for detecting the position of the moving body and the position information detected by the image processing means,
And transmitting means for transmitting the data to the device, and the two sensor devices adjacent to each other among the plurality of sensor devices.
The image pickup areas of both image pickup means are partially
Overlap, the center device receives the position information transmitted by the transmitting means.
Means and the movement based on the position information received by the receiving means.
A display means for displaying the position of the body, and the pattern pattern of the marker attached to the moving body.
Data from the center device to the sensor device.
Together with this transmitted marker pattern data
Stored in the storage means as image data of the marker
A position detecting device for a moving body, characterized in that: 2. The marker has a shape for identifying the type of the moving body, and the image processing means identifies the type of the moving body based on the shape of the marker.
Then, the transmitting means uses the identification information of the identified moving body as the position information.
In particular, the display means displays the type of the mobile body together with the position of the mobile body.
The position detecting device for a moving body according to claim 1, which is a characteristic. 3. The marker has an asymmetrical shape, and the image processing means moves the moving body based on the asymmetrical shape of the marker.
Direction, and the transmitting means uses the identified moving direction information of the moving body as the position information.
With the center device, and the display means displays the moving direction of the moving body together with the position of the moving body.
The position detecting device for a moving body according to claim 1 .