JP4174448B2 - Detection target detection system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a detection target detection system that detects the presence / absence of a detection target and the position of the detection target.
More specifically, it is confirmed whether or not a detection target exists in a peripheral area of a certain detection device, and when the detection target is confirmed, in which direction the detection target is based on the detection device, And it is related with the detection target detection system which detects how far away it exists.

In recent years, many devices and methods for detecting whether or not a detection target exists in a specific area and where the detection target is located in the specific area when the detection target exists are proposed. ing.
As this type of conventional technology, there are those described in Patent Documents 1 to 3.

  In the case of the invention described in Patent Document 1, the presence or absence of a detection target is confirmed by whether or not the infrared radiation radiated from the detection target is detected by an infrared sensor (human sensor).

  In the case of the invention described in Patent Document 2, the detection target is detected by a plurality of detectors installed in a specific area, and the position of the detector that detects the detection target is set as the detection target position.

In the case of the invention described in Patent Document 3, electric field strengths of radio waves transmitted from a plurality of transmitters installed in a specific area and a transmitter included in a detection target are obtained, respectively. The position of the detection target is detected based on the intensity.
JP 2002-307338 A (paragraph 0060, FIG. 5) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-91678 (paragraph 0037, FIG. 1) JP 2002-98749 A (paragraph 0007, FIG. 2)

  However, in the case of the invention described in Patent Document 1, the presence of the detection target cannot be detected unless the detection target is located within the detection range of the human sensor. Therefore, there is a problem that the detection target cannot be detected when the detection target is located outside the detection range of the human sensor.

  In the case of the inventions described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, it is necessary to provide a plurality of detectors and transmitters in order to detect the detection target, and when the detection target moves over a wide range, However, if the sensor is outside the specific area where the detector or transmitter is installed, the detection target cannot be detected, and the approximate location of the detection target can be grasped, but the detection target is based on the detector or transmitter. There is also a problem that it is impossible to know in which direction and how far away.

In particular, if the location where the detection device is used to detect the detection target is constantly changing, such as when the detection target is a moving object, or when the detection device itself is also a moving object, multiple detections are made. Since a device and a transmitter cannot be prepared in advance, the inventions described in these Patent Documents 1 to 3 lack effectiveness.
Furthermore, the transmitter provided in the detection target in order to detect the detection target has to be constantly turned on, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of power saving.
Therefore, there has been a demand for a system that detects the presence / absence of a detection target and the position of the detection target without causing such a problem.

The present invention relates to a detection target detection system that detects whether or not a detection target exists around a detection device by using a detection tag provided on the detection target.
The detection tag of the detection target detection system includes a radio wave receiving unit that receives a radio wave transmitted from the detection device, a light receiving unit that receives an optical signal emitted from the detection device, and a first after receiving the radio wave. If the optical signal emitted from the detection device is further received before the predetermined time elapses, a reception report signal generation unit that generates a reception report signal and a light reception unit and a reception report signal when a radio wave is received. The generation unit includes an activation control unit that changes the stop state to the activated state, and a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits a reception report signal to the detection device.
The detection device of the detection target detection system includes a radio wave transmission unit that transmits a radio wave toward a peripheral region of the detection device, a reception unit that receives a reception report signal transmitted from the transmission unit of the detection tag, A light emitting unit, a radio wave transmitting unit, and a receiving unit, which are preset around the detection device with reference to the detection device, each having a plurality of light emitting units that respectively emit light signals toward a plurality of search areas surrounding the detection device. And a control means for controlling the operation of the light emitting means and a receiving means for obtaining the distance from the detection device to the detection target based on the intensity of the received report signal when the receiving means receives the reception report signal, and for the light emission of the light emitting means And a target position specifying unit that sets the light emission direction of the optical signal emitted from the unit as the direction in which the detection target exists.

In this detection target detection system, the reception report signal generation means generates a reception report signal including a light emission request signal when the optical signal is not received even after the first predetermined time has elapsed after receiving the radio wave, The control means preferably causes the light emitting unit of the light emitting means to emit light when the receiving means receives the reception report signal including the light emission request signal.

  In this detection target detection system, the activation control unit receives the radio reception unit and the reception unit when the radio wave transmitted from the detection device is not newly received after the second predetermined time has elapsed after wirelessly transmitting the reception report signal. It is preferable to change the report generation means from the activated state to the deactivated state.

Further, in this detection target detection system, a plurality of search areas are set, the detection devices are surrounded by the plurality of search areas, and one light emitting means is prepared for each of the search areas. In addition, the optical signal emitted by each light emitting means includes information on an identifier for identifying each light emitting means, and the reception report signal generating means generates a reception report signal including the information on the identifier, and The position specifying means refers to the information of the identifier, specifies the light emitting part of the light emitting means that has irradiated the optical signal received by the light receiving means, and detects the search area corresponding to the light emitting part of the specified light emitting means. The direction in which the target exists is preferable.

Further, it is preferable that the control means sequentially irradiates all search areas so that adjacent search areas are not continuously irradiated when light is emitted from the light emitting unit of the light emitting means to each search area.

  Furthermore, the detection device is a mobile robot that operates based on a command signal transmitted from an external terminal, and the external terminal includes a tag identification number unique to the detection tag provided in the detection target. The reception report signal generation means for the detection tag generates a reception report signal report signal including the tag identification number, and the control means of the detection device is included in the reception report signal received by the reception means. Information indicating the tag identification number is transmitted to the external terminal, and the external terminal acquires information on the detection target based on the tag identification number, and transmits the information on the detection target and the command signal for the mobile robot to the mobile robot. It is preferable to transmit to

In the detection target detection system according to the present invention, a radio wave is transmitted toward the peripheral area of the detection device constituting the detection target detection system, and the detection target is set in advance around the detection device as a reference. Is irradiated with light. When the detection tag provided for the detection target receives radio waves and light transmitted from the detection device, a reception report signal is generated in the detection tag, and the generated reception report signal is wirelessly transmitted to the detection device. Is done.
Accordingly, the detection device obtains the distance from the detection device to the detection target based on the intensity of the received reception report signal, and sets the light emission direction of the light emitted from the light emitting unit of the light emitting means as the direction in which the detection target exists. As a result, it can be detected that a detection target exists around the detection device, and the positional relationship between the detected detection target and the detection device can be known.

  Further, in this detection target detection system, when a detection tag provided on the detection target receives a radio wave transmitted toward the peripheral area of the detection device, the detection tag light reception means and the reception report signal generation means From the stopped state to the activated state. If the radio wave transmitted from the detection device is not received for a certain period, the light receiving means and the reception report signal generating means are changed from the activated state to the deactivated state. Therefore, power consumption of the detection tag can be suppressed.

  In particular, when the detection device is a mobile robot that operates based on a command signal transmitted from a base station, and this mobile robot detects whether a detection target exists while moving, the detection tag side Then, since it will be in an active state only when the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the mobile robot (detection device) is received, the power consumption of the detection tag can be suppressed. As a result, the continuous operation time of the detection tag can be extended. This means that the time during which the mobile robot can detect the detection target is extended, and as a result, the freedom of movement of the mobile robot is improved.

(Configuration of detection target detection system A)
First, the overall configuration of the detection target detection system A according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a detection target detection system A according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The detection target detection system A confirms whether or not a detection target D, for example, a person wearing a detection tag T is detected in the peripheral region of the robot R as a detection device, and when the detection target D is detected. In this case, the detection target D is specified in which direction and how far away from the robot R, that is, the position of the detection target D is specified.

As shown in FIG. 1, the detection target detection system A includes a robot R, a base station 1 connected to the robot R by wireless communication, and a management station connected to the base station 1 via a robot dedicated network 2. The computer 3 includes a terminal 5 connected to the management computer 3 via a network 4 and a detection tag T included in the detection target D.
Here, in the present embodiment, the person wearing the detection tag T is defined as the detection target D.

In this detection target detection system A, the robot R detects whether there is a detection target D, for example, a person wearing a detection tag T in the peripheral area of the robot R, and the detected position of the detection target D is detected. , And personal identification as to who the detection object D is, if necessary.
The management computer 3 performs various controls such as movement and speech of the robot R via the base station 1 and the robot dedicated network 2 and provides necessary information (data) to the robot R. Here, the necessary information corresponds to the name of the detected detection target D, a map around the robot R, and the like, and these pieces of information are stored in the management computer 3 (see FIG. (Not shown).
The management computer 3 corresponds to an external terminal when viewed from the robot R.
The robot dedicated network 2 connects the base station 1, the management computer 3, and the network 4, and is realized by a LAN or the like.
The terminal 5 is connected to the management computer 3 via the network 4, and information about the detection tag T and a person wearing the detection tag T (detection) are stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the management computer 3. Information related to the object D) is registered, or the registered information is corrected.
The detection tag T corresponds to, for example, an IC tag.

  Hereinafter, the configurations of the robot R and the detection target D will be described in detail.

[Robot R]
The robot R which is a detection device of the detection target detection system A according to the present invention is an autonomously moving biped robot.

The robot R transmits radio waves to a surrounding area of the robot R and irradiates light toward a search area set around the robot R with the robot R as a reference.
When a signal (reception report signal) indicating that both radio waves and light emitted from the robot R have been received is returned from the detection target D (detection tag T), the electric field strength of the reception report signal indicates that the robot While obtaining the distance from R to the detection target D and regarding the emission direction of the light received by the detection target D as the direction in which the detection target D exists, the detection of the detection target D and the specification of the position of the detection target D can be performed. Is what you do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the robot R has a head portion R1, an arm portion R2, and a leg portion R3, and the head portion R1, the arm portion R2, and the leg portion R3 are driven by actuators to move autonomously. The bipedal walking is controlled by the control unit 50 (see FIG. 2). Details of the biped walking are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-62760.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the robot R.
As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the above-mentioned head R1, arm R2, and leg R3, the robot R includes cameras C and C, a speaker S, a microphone MC, an image processing unit 10, an audio processing unit 20, and an image. It has the transmission part 30, the control part 40, the autonomous movement control part 50, the radio | wireless communication part 60, and the object detection part 70.
Furthermore, in order to detect the position of the robot R, it has a gyro sensor SR1 and a GPS receiver SR2.

[camera]
The cameras C and C are capable of capturing video as digital data. For example, a color CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera is used. The cameras C and C are arranged side by side in parallel on the left and right, and the captured images are output to the image processing unit 10 and the image transmission unit 30. The cameras C and C, the speaker S, and the microphone MC are all disposed inside the head R1.

[Image processing unit]
The image processing unit 10 is a part for recognizing surrounding obstacles and persons in order to process images taken by the cameras C and C and grasp the situation around the robot R from the taken images. The image processing unit 10 includes a stereo processing unit 11a, a moving body extraction unit 11b, and a face recognition unit 11c.
The stereo processing unit 11a performs pattern matching on the basis of one of the two images taken by the left and right cameras C and C, calculates the parallax of each corresponding pixel in the left and right images, and generates a parallax image. The generated parallax image and the original image are output to the moving object extraction unit 11b. This parallax represents the distance from the robot R to the photographed object.

The moving body extraction unit 11b extracts a moving body in the photographed image based on the data output from the stereo processing unit 11a. The reason why the moving object (moving body) is extracted is to recognize the person by estimating that the moving object is a person.
In order to extract the moving object, the moving object extraction unit 11b stores images of several past frames (frames), compares the newest frame (image) with the past frames (images), and Pattern matching is performed, the movement amount of each pixel is calculated, and a movement amount image is generated. Then, from the parallax image and the movement amount image, when there is a pixel with a large movement amount within a predetermined distance range from the cameras C and C, it is estimated that there is a person at that position, and only the predetermined distance range A moving body is extracted as a parallax image, and an image of the moving body is output to the face recognition unit 11c.

The face recognition unit 11c extracts a skin color portion from the extracted moving body, and recognizes the face position from the size, shape, and the like. Similarly, the position of the hand is also recognized from the skin color area, size, shape, and the like.
The position of the recognized face is output to the control unit 40 and the wireless communication unit 60 as information when the robot R moves and to communicate with the person. To the management computer 3.

[Audio processor]
The voice processing unit 20 includes a voice synthesis unit 21a and a voice recognition unit 21b.
The voice synthesizer 21a is a part that generates voice data from the character information and outputs the voice to the speaker S based on the utterance action command determined and output by the control unit 40. For the generation of the voice data, the correspondence between the character information stored in advance and the voice data is used.
The voice recognition unit 21b receives voice data from the microphone MC, generates character information from the voice data based on the correspondence between the voice data stored in advance and the character information, and outputs the character information to the control unit 40. .

  The image transmission unit 30 is a part that outputs the image data input from the cameras C and C via the wireless communication unit 60 to the management computer 3.

[Independent movement control unit]
The autonomous movement control unit 50 includes a head control unit 51a, an arm control unit 51b, and a leg control unit 51c.
The head control unit 51a drives the head R1 according to an instruction from the control unit 40, the arm control unit 51b drives the arm R2 according to the instruction from the control unit 40, and the leg control unit 51c includes the control unit 40. The leg portion R3 is driven according to the instruction.
Further, the data detected by the gyro sensor SR1 and the GPS receiver SR2 is output to the control unit 40, used to determine the behavior of the robot R, and managed from the control unit 40 via the wireless communication unit 60. Is transmitted to the computer 3.

[Wireless communication part]
The wireless communication unit 60 is a communication device that transmits and receives data to and from the management computer 3. The wireless communication unit 60 includes a public line communication device 61a and a wireless communication device 61b.
The public line communication device 61a is a wireless communication means using a public line such as a mobile phone line or a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) line. On the other hand, the wireless communication device 61b is a wireless communication unit using short-range wireless communication such as a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE802.11b standard.
The wireless communication unit 60 performs data communication with the management computer 3 by selecting the public line communication device 61 a or the wireless communication device 61 b in accordance with a connection request from the management computer 3.

[Target detection unit]
The target detection unit 70 detects whether or not the detection target D including the detection tag T exists around the robot R, and specifies the position of the detection target D when the presence of the detection target D is detected. To do.
As shown in FIG. 3, the target detection unit 70 includes a control unit 80, a radio wave transmission / reception unit 90, a light emitting unit 100, and a storage unit 110.

(Control means 80)
The control unit 80 generates a search signal wirelessly transmitted from the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90 to be described later, and a direction inspection signal output as infrared light from the light emission unit 100 to be described later, and detects the detection tag T that has received the search signal. The position of the detection target D is specified based on the reception report signal transmitted from.
Here, the search signal is a signal for detecting whether or not the detection target D exists around the robot R, and the direction inspection signal is the direction in which the detection target D is located with respect to the robot R. It is a signal for detecting whether to do.
The reception report signal is a signal indicating that the detection tag T has received at least the search signal.

  The control unit 80 includes a data processing unit 81, an encryption unit 82, a time division unit 83, a decryption unit 84, and an electric field strength detection unit 85.

  The data processing unit 81 generates a search signal and a direction inspection signal and specifies the position of the detection target D, and includes a signal generation unit 81a and a position specifying unit 81b.

(Signal generator 81a)
The signal generation unit 81a of the data processing unit 81 refers to the storage unit 110 every predetermined time or whenever a signal (transmission command signal) for instructing transmission of radio waves is input from the control unit 40 of the robot R. Thus, an identification number (hereinafter referred to as robot ID) unique to the robot R provided with the target detection unit 70 is acquired.
Then, the signal generation unit 81a generates a search signal including the robot ID and the reception report request signal.
Here, the reception report request signal requests the detection target D (detection tag T) that has received the search signal to generate a signal (reception report signal) indicating that the search signal has been received. Signal.

Furthermore, when generating the search signal, the signal generating unit 81a also generates a direction inspection signal emitted as an infrared signal from the light emitting unit 100 described later.
The direction inspection signal is generated individually for all of the light emitting units (LED1 to LED8) provided in the light emitting means 100, and the robot ID and the identifier (light emitting unit ID) for identifying the light emitting unit described above. It is comprised including.
This direction check signal is also generated when a light emission request signal is included in the reception report signal input from the decoding unit 84 described later.

In the present embodiment, since a total of eight light emitting units are provided, the data processing unit 81 generates a total of eight direction inspection signals composed of the robot ID and the light emitting unit ID.
For example, when the robot ID is “02” and the light emitting unit IDs of the light emitting units (LED1 to LED8) are “L1 to L8”, the direction inspection signal generated for the light emitting unit LED1 is robot ID = “02”. And the direction inspection signal generated for the light emitting unit LED2 includes the robot ID = “02” and the light emitting unit ID = “L2”.

Then, the signal generation unit 81a outputs the direction inspection signal and the search signal described above to the encryption unit 82.
The position specifying unit 81b of the data processing unit 81 specifies the position of the detection target D based on the reception report signal transmitted from the detection tag T that has received the search signal. The processing performed by the position specifying unit 81b will be described in detail later together with the processing in the decoding unit 84 and the electric field strength detecting unit 85 included in the control unit 80.

(Encryption unit 82)
The encryption unit 82 encrypts the input signal and then outputs it. Then, the encryption unit 82 outputs a search signal (encrypted search signal) obtained by encrypting the search signal to the radio wave transmission / reception means 90 described later.
As a result, the encrypted search signal is modulated and then wirelessly transmitted from the radio wave transmitting / receiving means 90.

  On the other hand, the encryption unit 82 encrypts the direction check signal input from the data processing unit 81 in the same manner. Then, the encryption unit 82 outputs the direction inspection signal (encrypted direction inspection signal) obtained by encrypting the direction inspection signal to the time division unit 83 described later.

In the case of the present embodiment, one direction inspection signal is generated for each light emitting unit of the light emitting means 100 in the data processing unit 81 described above.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, since the light emitting means 100 is provided with a total of eight light emitting units, a total of eight direction inspection signals are input from the data processing unit 81 to the encryption unit 82.
As a result, a total of eight encryption direction inspection signals are generated in the encryption unit 82 and output to the time division unit 83.

(Time division unit 83)
The time division part 83 sets the light emission order and light emission timing of each light emission part (LED1-LED8) of the light emission means 100. FIG.
Specifically, when the encryption direction inspection signal is input from the encryption unit 82, the time division unit 83 determines the light emission order and the light emission timing of each light emitting unit (LED1 to LED8), and the determined light emission order and The encryption direction inspection signal is output to the light emitting means 100 at the light emission timing.

  For example, the light emitting units LED1, light emitting unit LED5, light emitting unit LED2, light emitting unit LED6, light emitting unit LED3, light emitting unit LED7, light emitting unit LED4, and light emitting unit LED8 are caused to emit light at 0.5 second intervals in this order. In this case, the time division unit 83 generates the light emitting unit LED1, the light emitting unit LED5, the light emitting unit LED2, the light emitting unit LED2, the light emitting unit LED6, the light emitting unit LED6, and the light emitting unit LED1 at 0.5 second intervals. The light output unit LED3, the light emitting unit LED7, the light emitting unit LED4, the light emitting unit LED8, and the light emitting unit LED8 are output in this order.

In the case of the present embodiment, a total of eight encryption direction inspection signals are input to the time division unit 83. In the data processing unit 81, the light emitting unit to be output of these encryption direction inspection signals is determined in advance.
Therefore, when the encrypted direction inspection signal is input, the time division unit 83 confirms the light emitting unit ID included in the encrypted direction inspection signal and directs it to the modulation unit adjacent to the light emitting unit specified by the light emitting unit ID. Thus, the encryption direction check signal is output in the determined order and timing.
For example, when the light emitting unit IDs of the light emitting units (LED1 to LED8) are defined by “L1 to L8”, the time division unit 83 sends the encryption direction inspection signal having the light emitting unit ID “L1” to the light emitting unit LED1. Is output to the modulation unit adjacent to the light emitting unit LED2, and the encryption direction inspection signal whose light emitting unit ID is “L2” is output to the modulation unit adjacent to the light emitting unit LED2.

(Light emitting means 100)
The light emitting means 100 emits light toward a search area set in advance around the robot R with the robot R as a reference.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the light emitting means 100 includes a plurality of light emitting units (LED1 to LED8) and a modulation unit provided corresponding to each light emitting unit. .

The modulation unit modulates the encryption direction check signal input from the time division unit 83 with a predetermined modulation method to obtain a modulated signal.
The light emitting unit emits the modulation signal as an infrared signal (infrared light) toward a predetermined search area.

  In the present embodiment, in order to specify the position of the detection target D, the area around the robot R is divided into a plurality of search areas (see FIG. 4A). One light emitting diode is prepared for each search area as a light emitting unit that emits infrared light toward the search area.

Specifically, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 4A, a total of eight search areas (first to eighth areas) are set around the robot R in the entire circumferential direction, that is, in the 360 degree direction. Yes.
In other words, a plurality of fan-shaped search areas (first to eighth areas) are set around the robot R so as to surround the robot R, and the robot R is an area surrounded by these fan-shaped search areas. It is located at the center of.

  Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 4A, the head of the robot R has a total of eight light emitting units along the outer periphery so that infrared light can be irradiated toward each search area. Are provided for the corresponding search areas.

Further, as apparent from FIG. 4A, the search area (first area to third area) on the front side of the robot R is narrower than the other search areas (fourth area to eighth area). Is set to
Specifically, for the first region to the third region, the range in the width direction of the infrared light emitted from the light emitting diode is set to θa, and for the third region to the eighth region, about θb. Is set to

The search area is set in this way when the robot R detects the detection target D and performs an operation of directing the face in the direction of the detection target D (this is referred to as the direction of the line of sight). This is to solve the problem that the detection target D may feel that the line of sight of the robot R is not facing the user when the deviation from the position of the detection target D occurs.
Here, as a method of solving this problem, a method of increasing the number of search areas can be considered. However, it is not always necessary to increase the number of search areas around the entire circumference, and by increasing the search area only in the front so that the position of the front side can be specified in detail, the robot R can move in the direction in which the detection target D is located. The direction of the line of sight can be turned. In addition, by doing this, the number of light emitting units can be reduced.

Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, each region (first region) on the front side of the robot R is reduced by narrowing the infrared light irradiation range of each region (first region to third region) on the front side of the robot R. The position of the detection object D in the first region to the third region) can be specified more accurately.
As a result, when the detection target D is a person and the person's face is imaged by the cameras C and C of the robot R, the position of the detection target D on the front side of the robot R is more accurately specified, and the robot Since it can be reflected in the movement control of R and the adjustment of the angle of view of the cameras C and C, the cameras C and C of the robot R can be properly positioned in front of the face of the person who is the detection target D. .

Further, in the present embodiment, in order to minimize the blind area of the search area, that is, the search area, adjacent search areas are set to overlap each other at the end in the width direction. (FIG. 4A). For this reason, when infrared light is irradiated simultaneously or continuously to adjacent search areas, interference may occur in the overlapping areas of the search areas.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the encryption direction check is performed in the time division unit 83 of the control unit 80 so that interference due to continuous irradiation of infrared light to adjacent search areas does not occur. The order and timing of signal output are adjusted.

  Here, for convenience of explanation, a case where a total of six search areas are prepared will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 5, in the case of the present embodiment, the first area (indicated by reference numeral 1 in the figure). 5) (indicated by reference numeral 5 in the figure), second area (indicated by reference numeral 2 in the figure), fourth area (indicated by reference numeral 4 in the figure), sixth area (indicated by reference numeral in the figure) 6), and the time division unit 83 directs the encryption direction inspection signal to the modulation unit so that infrared light is irradiated in the order of the third region (indicated by reference numeral 3 in the figure). The order and timing of output are adjusted.

  In the present embodiment, the range in the height direction irradiated with infrared light is the average distance (interpersonal distance) X between a child and an adult when a person and a person face each other. It is set in a range where presence can be detected.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4B, at a position X away from the robot R, the position of the adult chest height Y and the position of the child chest height Z are infrared light. In this case, the angle range in the height direction in which the infrared light is irradiated from each light emitting unit is set to φ to satisfy the above setting. .

(Radio wave transmission / reception means 90)
Referring to FIG. 3, radio wave transmission / reception means 90 transmits a radio wave toward the peripheral region of robot R and receives a reception report signal transmitted from a detection target that has received the radio wave.

The radio wave transmission / reception means 90 includes a modulation unit 91, a demodulation unit 92, and a transmission / reception antenna 93.
The modulation unit 91 modulates the search signal (actually the encrypted search signal) input from the data processing unit 81 into a modulation signal by a predetermined modulation method, and then wirelessly transmits the modulation signal via the transmission / reception antenna 93. To be sent.
Further, the demodulator 92 receives the modulated signal wirelessly transmitted from the detection tag T of the detection target D via the transmission / reception antenna 93, and receives the received report signal (actually, the encrypted signal) by demodulating the received modulated signal. Acquisition report signal).
The demodulator 92 outputs the acquired reception report signal to the decoder 84 and the electric field strength detector 85 of the control means 80.

(Decoding unit 84)
The decryption unit 84 decrypts the encrypted reception report signal, which is an encrypted reception report signal, acquires the reception report signal, and outputs the acquired reception report signal to the data processing unit 81.

In the case of the present embodiment, the reception report signal will be described in detail later. However, since at least the light emitting unit ID, the robot ID, and the tag identification number are included, the decoding unit 84 uses these as the data processing unit. 81 is output.
If the light emission request signal is included in the reception report signal, this light emission request signal is also output to the data processing unit 81.

(Electric field strength detector 85)
The electric field intensity detection unit 85 obtains the intensity of the modulation signal when the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90 receives the modulation signal transmitted from the detection tag T of the detection target D.
Specifically, the electric field strength detection unit 85 detects the power of the encrypted reception report signal input from the demodulation unit 92 of the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90, obtains the average value of the detected power as the electric field strength, The obtained electric field strength is output to the data processing unit 81.

(Position specifying part 81b)
The position specifying unit 81b of the data processing unit 81 specifies the position of the detection target D.
Specifically, the distance from the robot R to the detection target D is obtained from the electric field intensity of the modulation signal transmitted from the detection tag T of the detection target D by the radio wave transmission / reception means 90. Further, the position specifying unit 81b refers to the light emitting unit ID included in the reception report signal, specifies from which light emitting unit the light received by the detection target D is emitted, and emits light from the specified light emitting unit. The direction, that is, the direction of the search area corresponding to the light emitting unit is regarded as the direction in which the detection target D exists, and the position of the detection target D is specified.

  In the case of the present embodiment, first, the position specifying unit 81b acquires the robot ID from the reception report signal input from the decoding unit 84. Then, the acquired robot ID is compared with the robot ID stored in the storage unit 110. When the robot IDs match, the position specifying unit 81b starts specifying the position of the detection target D.

In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the peripheral area of the robot R is divided into four areas according to the distance from the robot R. That is, areas 1, 2, 3, and 4 are defined in order of increasing distance from the robot R.
Each area and the electric field strength are associated in advance with reference to the magnitude of the electric field strength, and a table (distance table) indicating the association is stored in the storage unit 110.

Accordingly, the position specifying unit 81b refers to the distance table stored in the storage unit 110 based on the electric field strength input from the electric field strength detecting unit 85, and in which area the detection target that has transmitted the reception report signal is located. Information (area information) is acquired.
For example, when the electric field intensity α input from the electric field intensity detection unit 85 is a value between a threshold value β and γ that define the area 3 (β is a lower limit, γ is an upper limit), the position specifying unit 81b 3 (area information) is acquired.
In the case of the present embodiment, the reach range of the modulation signal wirelessly transmitted from the detection tag T is set to be approximately within the inner range including the area 3. Therefore, when the detection target D having the detection tag T does not exist inside the area 3, the robot R cannot detect the presence of the detection target D.

  Further, the position specifying unit 81b refers to the light emitting unit ID included in the reception report signal input from the decoding unit 84, and the detection target D that has transmitted the reception report signal determines which light emission unit 100 of the robot R emits light. It is specified whether the light emitted from the unit has been received, and information (direction information) indicating the emission direction of the specified light emitting unit is acquired.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a total of eight search areas (first to eighth areas) are set in the peripheral area of the robot R with reference to the robot R.
The storage means 110 stores a table (direction table) indicating in which search area (first area to eighth area) each light emitting unit is installed.

Therefore, the data processing unit 81 refers to the direction table stored in the storage unit 110 based on the light emitting unit ID, and the infrared light emitted from the light emitting unit having the light emitting unit ID is set in a preset search area. Which region is irradiated among (first region to eighth region) is confirmed. Then, the data processing unit 81 acquires information indicating the confirmed search area as information (direction information) indicating the direction in which the detection target D exists.
In FIG. 7, the end of each search area originally overlaps with the end of the adjacent search area (see FIG. 4A). In FIG. The overlapping part is omitted. The same applies to FIG.

  And the position specific | specification part 81b produces | generates the information (position information) which shows the position of the detection target D from the acquired area information and direction information.

This position information will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 corresponds to the display of FIG. 6 and FIG.
Here, when the area information indicates “area 3” and the direction information indicates “second area”, the data processing unit 81 is a range in which “area 3” and “second area” overlap around the robot R. (A range indicated by reference sign P1 in the figure) is regarded as a position where the detection target exists, and information (position information) indicating this range is generated.

  Thereby, the positional relationship between the robot R and the detection target D is specified from the intensity of the reception report signal received by the robot R and the light emitting unit ID included in the reception report signal. In other words, in which direction and how far away the detection target D exists with respect to the robot R, that is, the position of the detection target D is specified.

Then, the position specifying unit 81b outputs the position information to the control unit 40 of the robot R together with the tag identification number included in the reception report signal input from the decoding unit 84.
Thereby, the control unit 40 of the robot R controls the autonomous movement control unit 50 to move the robot R to the front of the detection target D, or when the detection target D is a person, the elevation angle and direction of the camera C Can be corrected and the face of the detection target D can be imaged.

  When the light emission request signal is included in the reception report signal, the signal generation unit 81a generates a direction check signal and outputs it to the encryption unit 82. Thereby, an infrared signal is emitted from each light emitting part of the light emitting means 100.

Further, the control unit 40 of the robot R transmits the tag identification number to the management computer 3. Thereby, the management computer 3 refers to the storage means (not shown) based on the tag identification number, and identifies the detection target (person) wearing the detection tag with the tag identification number. At the same time, a necessary operation command and the like are transmitted to the robot R together with information on the specified detection target (person).
Accordingly, the control unit 40 of the robot R controls each unit of the robot R according to the operation command and the like.

[Detection tag]
The detection tag receives a radio wave transmitted from the robot R and an optical signal emitted from the robot R, and transmits a reception report signal indicating that these signals have been received to the robot R.
In the present embodiment, since the person to whom the detection tag T is attached is the detection target D, the radio wave transmitted from the robot R and the irradiated light are received by the detection tag T. Therefore, the detection tag T will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 9, the detection tag T includes a radio wave transmission / reception unit 140, an optical reception unit 150, a reception report signal generation unit 160, and a storage unit 170.
The optical receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160 of the detection tag T are activated from a stopped state when the radio wave transmitting / receiving means 140 receives a radio wave transmitted from the robot R in order to reduce power consumption. When the radio wave transmitted from the robot R is not received for a certain period, the active state is changed to the stopped state.

(Radio wave transmission / reception means 140)
The radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 receives the modulation signal wirelessly transmitted from the robot R, modulates the reception report signal generated by the reception report signal generation unit 160 described later, and transmits the modulation signal wirelessly to the robot R It is.
Further, the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 controls activation / deactivation of the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160.
The radio wave transmission / reception means 140 includes a transmission / reception antenna 141, a demodulation unit 142, a modulation unit 143, and an activation control unit 144.

The demodulator 142 demodulates the modulated signal transmitted from the robot R and received via the transmission / reception antenna 141, acquires a search signal (actually, an encrypted search signal), and describes the acquired search signal later. This is output to the reception report signal generating means 160.
Further, the demodulator 142 outputs a signal (received signal) indicating that the modulated signal has been received to the activation controller 144 prior to demodulating the received modulated signal.

  The modulation unit 143 modulates the encrypted reception report signal (encrypted reception report signal) input from the encryption unit 163 of the reception report signal generation unit 160, which will be described later, and generates a modulation signal. Are transmitted wirelessly via the transmission / reception antenna 141.

  The activation control unit 144 generates a control signal for controlling switching of activation / stop of an optical reception unit 150 and a reception report signal generation unit 160 described later.

Specifically, when the modulation signal transmitted from the robot R is received by the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 and the reception signal is input from the demodulation unit 142, the activation control unit 144 receives the optical reception unit 150 and generates a reception report signal. An activation command signal for activating the unit 160 is generated, and the generated activation command signal is output to the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160.
The activation control unit 144 generates and generates a stop command signal for stopping the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160 when a time-out signal is input from the reception report signal generation unit 160 described later. The stop command signal is output to the optical receiver 150 and the reception report signal generator 160.

  Thus, in the case of the detection tag T of the present embodiment, the optical receiver 150 and the reception report signal generator 160 are started / stopped by the start command signal and the stop command signal. This is to suppress the power consumption of the entire detection tag T by activating the reception report signal generating means 160 only when necessary.

(Optical receiver 150)
The light receiving unit 150 receives infrared light emitted from the robot R.
The light receiving unit 150 includes a light receiving unit 151 and an optical demodulating unit 152.
The light receiving unit 151 directly receives infrared light (infrared signal) emitted from the robot R. The optical demodulator 152 demodulates the infrared signal received by the light receiver 151 to obtain a direction inspection signal (actually, an encrypted direction inspection signal).

  Specifically, when the light receiving unit 151 receives the infrared light emitted from the robot R by the light receiving unit 151, the light receiving unit 150 demodulates the received infrared signal in the light demodulating unit 152 to obtain an encryption direction inspection signal. . Then, the obtained encryption direction check signal is output to the reception report signal generation means 160.

In the case of this embodiment, in order to suppress the power consumption of the detection tag T provided with the light receiving means 150, the light receiving means 150 is set so as to be appropriately switched between the stopped state and the activated state. ing.
Specifically, when an activation command signal is input from the activation control unit 144, the light receiving unit 150 is changed from a stopped state to an activated state. Thereby, the light receiving means 150 can receive the infrared signal emitted from the robot R by the light receiving unit 151.
Further, when a stop command signal is input from the start control unit 144, the light receiving means 150 is changed from the start state to the stop state. Thereby, even if the infrared signal irradiated from the robot R reaches the light receiving unit 151, the light receiving unit 150 cannot receive light at the light receiving unit 151.

(Reception report signal generation means 160)
The reception report signal generation means 160 has received the search signal transmitted from the robot R according to the reception report request signal included in the search signal when the radio wave transmission / reception means 140 receives the search signal transmitted from the robot R. Is generated (reception report signal).
Then, the reception report signal generation unit 160 requests the activation control unit 144 to generate a stop command signal for changing the reception report signal generation unit 160 and the optical reception unit 150 from the activated state to the deactivated state.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the reception report signal generation means 160 includes a decryption unit 161, a data processing unit 162, and an encryption unit 163.

The decryption unit 161 decrypts the input encrypted signal and acquires the signal.
The decryption unit 161 decrypts the encrypted search signal input from the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 and the encrypted direction check signal input from the optical reception unit 150 to obtain the search signal and the direction check signal. . Then, the decoding unit 161 outputs the acquired search signal and direction check signal to the data processing unit 162 at the subsequent stage.

  The data processing unit 162 receives the search signal and the direction check signal input from the decoding unit 161, generates a reception report signal, and after generating the reception report signal, a second predetermined time has elapsed. When a new signal (search signal, direction check signal) is not input, a signal (timeout signal) requesting the start control unit 144 to generate a stop command signal is generated.

Here, in the case of the present embodiment, the search signal includes a robot ID that is an identifier for identifying the robot R that has transmitted the search signal, and a reception report that instructs the detection target D that has received the radio wave to perform predetermined processing. And a request signal.
The direction inspection signal includes a robot ID that is an identifier that identifies the robot R that has transmitted the direction inspection signal, and a light emitting unit ID that identifies the light emitting unit that has transmitted the direction inspection signal.

Therefore, when a direction check signal is further input to the data processing unit 162 after the search signal is input to the data processing unit 162 and before the first predetermined time elapses, the data processing unit 162 The robot ID included in the inspection signal is compared with the robot ID included in the search signal.
Here, the first predetermined time is a search signal wirelessly transmitted from the radio wave transmission / reception means 90 (see FIG. 3) of the robot R, and an infrared signal irradiated last from the light emission means 100 of the robot R. The time is determined in consideration of the time difference.

When the two robot IDs match, the data processing unit 162 refers to the storage unit 170 and acquires a unique identification number (tag identification number) assigned to the detection tag T.
Subsequently, the data processing unit 162 generates a reception report signal including the tag identification number, the robot ID included in the search signal, and the light emitting unit ID included in the direction inspection signal. The generated reception report signal is output to the encryption unit 163.

On the other hand, after the search signal is input to the data processing unit 162, the direction check signal is not input even after the first predetermined time has elapsed, or the robot ID and the direction check signal included in the search signal are included. If the robot ID is different, the data processing unit 162 generates a reception report signal further including a light emission request signal, and outputs the generated reception report signal to the encryption unit 163.
Here, the light emission request signal is a signal for instructing the robot R, which is a detection device, to emit infrared light.

In addition, after generating the reception report signal, the data processing unit 162 generates a time-out signal when a new search signal is not newly input to the data processing unit 162 even after the second predetermined time has elapsed. The time-out signal is output to the activation control unit 144.
Here, the time-out signal is a signal that requests the activation control unit 144 to generate a stop command signal, and the stop command signal causes the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit to start from the startup state as described above. This is a signal for making a stop state.

  The time-out signal is generated when the robot R does not need to specify the position of the detection target D having the detection tag T, and activates the light receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160. This is to stop the power consumption of the detection tag T from the stop state.

Specifically, in the case of the present embodiment, a radio wave (search signal) is transmitted from the radio wave transmission / reception means 90 of the robot R at every predetermined time interval T1, and the reach distance of this radio wave is approximately within the area 3 It is set to become the area of.
Therefore, when the detection tag T cannot receive the radio wave transmitted from the robot R, the detection target D including the detection tag T is located in the area 4 in FIG. Is not an area (area 1 to area 3) to be identified. Therefore, until a new radio wave is received at the detection tag T, that is, until the detection target D with the detection tag T mounted in the area from the area 1 to the area 3, the optical reception means 150 and the reception report signal are received. The generation unit 160 is changed from the activated state to the stopped state.

In the case of the present embodiment, the data processing unit 162 of the detection tag T receives a new search signal before the second predetermined time elapses after the reception report signal is generated by the reception report signal generation means 160. When it is not input to the reception report signal generation means 160, it is considered that the detection target D does not exist in the area from the area 1 to the area 3, and a timeout signal is generated.
Here, the second predetermined time is preferably a time equal to or longer than a period (predetermined time interval T1) at which radio waves are transmitted from the robot R.

  Here, in the case of the present embodiment, as a time to be compared with the second predetermined time, 1) after the reception report signal is generated in the reception report signal generation means 160, a new test signal is received by the reception report signal generation means 160. 2) After the reception report signal is wirelessly transmitted from the detection tag T, the radio wave (search signal) wirelessly transmitted from the robot R is received by the radio wave transmission / reception means 140. It is substantially the same as the time until new reception.

The encryption unit 163 encrypts the received reception report signal to obtain an encrypted reception report signal, and then outputs the encrypted reception report signal to the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140.
As a result, the encrypted reception report signal is modulated by the modulation unit 143 of the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 and then wirelessly transmitted via the transmission / reception antenna 141.

Note that the reception report signal generation means 160 is also in a stopped state and an activation state in order to suppress the power consumption of the detection tag T provided with the reception report signal generation means 160, similarly to the optical reception means 150 described above. It is set so that it can be appropriately switched between.
Specifically, when an activation command signal is input from the activation control unit 144, the reception report signal generation unit 160 is changed from a stopped state to an activated state.
Further, when a stop command signal is input from the start control unit 144, the reception report signal generating means 160 is changed from the start state to the stop state. As a result, the reception report signal generation means 160 cannot generate a reception report signal based on the search signal wirelessly transmitted from the robot R and the infrared signal irradiated from the robot R.

  Next, referring to the block diagrams shown in FIGS. 3 and 9 and the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the processing performed in the target detection unit 70 and the detection tag T included in the detection target detection system A will be described. explain.

(Operation of the object detection unit 70)
First, with reference to FIG. 10, the process performed by the target detection unit 70 of the robot R will be described.

  The signal generation unit 81a of the control unit 80 refers to the storage unit 110 at predetermined time intervals, and acquires an identification number (robot ID) unique to the robot R provided with the target detection unit 70 (step S1). .

Then, the signal generation unit 81a generates a search signal including the robot ID and the reception report request signal (step S2), and the direction of irradiation as an infrared signal from each light emitting unit of the light emitting unit 100 An inspection signal is individually generated for each light emitting unit (step S3).
Here, the direction inspection signal includes the robot ID acquired in step S1 and the light emitting unit ID that identifies the light emitting unit to which the direction inspection signal is transmitted.

  The encryption unit 82 of the control unit 80 encrypts the search signal generated by the signal generation unit 81 a and then outputs it to the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90. As a result, the radio wave transmitting / receiving means 90 modulates the encrypted search signal (encrypted search signal) by a predetermined modulation method into a modulated signal, and then wirelessly transmits the modulated signal via the transmission / reception antenna 93 (step S4).

Further, the encryption unit 82 of the control unit 80 encrypts the direction check signal generated by the signal generation unit 81 a and then outputs it to the time division unit 83.
When the encrypted direction inspection signal (encrypted direction inspection signal) is input, the time division unit 83 of the control unit 80 determines the light emission order and the light emission timing of each light emitting unit (LED1 to LED6) of the light emitting unit 100. (Step S5), the encryption direction inspection signal prepared for each light emitting unit (LED1 to LED6) is output to the modulation unit of the corresponding light emitting unit (LED1 to LED6) with the determined light emission order and light emission timing ( Step S6).

The modulation unit provided in each light emitting unit of the light emitting unit 100 modulates the input encryption direction inspection signal by a predetermined modulation method to obtain an infrared signal having a predetermined wavelength. And the said infrared signal is irradiated toward the corresponding search area from the light emission part adjacent to a modulation | alteration part (step S7).
Thereby, infrared light is irradiated to each search area provided around the robot R in the order and timing determined by the time division unit 83.

  When the detection tag T receives the search signal (modulation signal) transmitted from the transmission / reception antenna 93 of the radio wave transmission / reception means 90, the detection tag T generates a reception report signal (modulation signal) and wirelessly transmits it.

When the demodulation unit 92 of the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90 receives the reception report signal (modulation signal) wirelessly transmitted from the detection tag T via the transmission / reception antenna (step S8, Yes), the demodulation unit 92 demodulates the modulation signal. An encrypted reception report signal (encrypted reception report signal) is acquired.
Then, the demodulation unit 92 outputs the acquired encrypted reception report signal to the decryption unit 84 and the electric field strength detection unit 85 of the control unit 80.

  The decryption unit 84 of the control unit 80 decrypts the encrypted reception report signal, acquires the reception report signal, and outputs the acquired reception report signal to the data processing unit 81.

  The electric field strength detection unit 85 of the control unit 80 detects the power of the encrypted reception report signal input from the demodulation unit 92 of the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90, and obtains the detected average power as the electric field strength. The electric field strength is output to the data processing unit 81.

  The position specifying unit 81b of the data processing unit 81 refers to the distance table stored in the storage unit 110 based on the electric field intensity input from the electric field intensity detecting unit 85, and detects the detection tag T that has transmitted the reception report signal. Is obtained information (area information) indicating in which area (step S9).

Furthermore, the position specifying unit 81b refers to the direction table stored in the storage unit 110 based on the light emitting unit ID included in the reception report signal input from the decoding unit 84, and detects that the reception report signal has been transmitted. Information (direction information) indicating from which light emitting unit of the robot R the infrared light emitted by the tag T is received (step S10).
And the position specific | specification part 81b specifies the position of the detection target D from area information and direction information, and produces | generates the positional information which shows the specified position (step S11).

  Note that the demodulation unit 92 of the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90 does not receive the reception report signal (modulation signal) wirelessly transmitted from the detection tag T in Step S8 described above (Step S8, No), The stop state is maintained until reception.

(Operation on detection tag T side)
Next, with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. 9 and the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, processing performed on the detection tag T side that is the detection target D will be described.

When the demodulator 142 of the radio wave transmission / reception means 140 receives the radio wave (modulation signal) transmitted from the robot R via the transmission / reception antenna 141 (step S20, Yes), it activates a reception signal indicating that the modulation signal has been received. In addition to outputting to the control unit 144, the received modulated signal is demodulated into an encrypted search signal, and the encrypted search signal is output to the reception report signal generating means 160 described later.
At this time, when the reception signal is input from the demodulation unit 142, the activation control unit 144 of the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 generates an activation command signal, and the generated activation command signal is transmitted to the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160. And the optical receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160 of the detection tag T are changed from the stopped state to the activated state (step S21).

  The decryption unit 161 of the reception report signal generation unit 160 decrypts the encrypted search signal input from the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 and acquires the search signal. Then, the acquired search signal is output to the data processing unit 162.

After the search signal is input to the data processing unit 162 of the reception report signal generation unit 160, the infrared signal emitted from the robot R is received by the light reception unit 150 until the first predetermined time elapses. When the light is received by the unit 151 (step S22, Yes), the light demodulator 152 of the light receiving means 150 demodulates the received infrared signal to obtain an encryption direction check signal. Then, the obtained encryption direction check signal is output to the reception report signal generation means 160.
Then, the decryption unit 161 of the reception report signal generation unit 160 decrypts the encrypted direction check signal input from the optical reception unit 150 and acquires the direction check signal. Then, the acquired direction inspection signal is output to the data processing unit 162.

  The data processing unit 162 compares the robot ID included in the direction inspection signal with the robot ID included in the search signal (step S23).

  If the two robot IDs match (step S23, Yes), the data processing unit 162 refers to the storage unit 170 and acquires a unique identification number (tag identification number) assigned to the detection tag T. To do.

  Subsequently, the data processing unit 162 generates a reception report signal including the tag identification number, the robot ID included in the search signal, and the light emitting unit ID included in the direction inspection signal. (Step S24), the generated reception report signal is output to the encryption unit 163.

  The modulation unit 143 of the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 modulates the encrypted reception report signal (encrypted reception report signal) input from the encryption unit 163 to generate a modulation signal, and transmits the modulation signal to the transmission / reception antenna. 141, wirelessly transmitted (step S26).

  If the radio wave transmitted from the robot R is further received by the radio wave transmission / reception means 140 after the reception report signal is wirelessly transmitted and before the second predetermined time elapses (step S27, Yes), step S22 To S26 are repeated.

  On the other hand, if the radio wave transmitted from the robot R is not further received by the radio wave transmission / reception means 140 after the reception report signal is wirelessly transmitted and before the second predetermined time has elapsed (No in step S27). The activation control unit 144 receives the timeout signal input from the data processing unit 162, generates a stop command signal, outputs the generated stop command signal to the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160, The optical receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160 of the detection tag T are changed from the activated state to the deactivated state (step S28).

If the direction check signal is not input to the data processing unit 162 even after the first predetermined time has elapsed after the optical receiving means 150 is activated in step S21 (No in step S22), or the predetermined time Although the direction inspection signal is input to the data processing unit 162 before the time elapses, the robot ID included in the direction inspection signal does not match the robot ID included in the search signal previously input to the data processing unit 162. In the case (No at Step S23), the data processing unit 162 generates a reception report signal including the light emission request signal (Step S29).
The generated reception report signal is encrypted by the encryption unit 163 and then output to the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140.
The encrypted reception report signal is converted into a modulation signal by the modulation unit 143 of the radio wave transmission / reception means 140, and then wirelessly transmitted via the transmission / reception antenna 141 (step S30).

  When the radio wave transmitted from the robot R is not further received by the radio wave transmission / reception means 140 after the reception report signal including the light emission request signal is wirelessly transmitted and before the second predetermined time elapses (step) S27, No), the activation control unit 144 receives the timeout signal input from the data processing unit 162, generates a stop command signal, and sends the generated stop command signal to the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160. Then, the optical receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160 of the detection tag T are changed from the activated state to the deactivated state (step S28).

Thereby, the light receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160 of the detection tag T are activated when the radio wave transmitting / receiving means 140 receives a radio wave transmitted from the robot R, that is, when necessary. If not needed, it is put into a stopped state.
Therefore, the power consumption of the detection tag T can be suppressed, and the drive time of the detection tag T can be extended.

  Finally, regarding the exchange of signals performed between the robot R included in the detection target detection system A according to the present invention and the detection tag T, the block diagrams shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, and FIGS. This will be described with reference to the sequence chart shown in FIG.

(Example when reception report signal generating means generates a reception report signal not including a light emission request signal)
First, referring to FIG. 15, a radio wave (search signal) is wirelessly transmitted from radio wave transmission / reception means 90 of robot R (S100), and subsequently, a search corresponding to an infrared signal from each light emitting unit of light emission means 100 of robot R is performed. The area is irradiated (S101).
When the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 of the detection tag T receives the radio wave (search signal) wirelessly transmitted from the robot R, the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160 of the detection tag T are activated (S102). ).
After the light receiving unit 150 and the reception report signal generating unit 160 of the detection tag T are activated, the infrared signal emitted from the robot R is received by the light receiving unit 150 before the first predetermined time elapses. Then, a reception report signal is generated (S103), and after predetermined processing, wirelessly transmitted to the robot R (S104).
When the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90 of the robot R receives the reception report signal transmitted wirelessly, the data processing unit 81 of the robot specifies the position of the detection tag T that generated the reception report signal (S105).

The robot R transmits a radio wave (search signal) wirelessly (S100), and when a predetermined time interval T1 elapses, the robot R transmits the radio wave (search signal) wirelessly (S106) and irradiates the corresponding search area with an infrared signal. (S107).
When the detection tag T receives a radio wave (search signal) newly transmitted from the robot R after wirelessly transmitting the reception report signal (S104) and before the second predetermined time has elapsed, the detection tag T Infrared rays irradiated from the robot R before the first predetermined time elapses after the activation state of the T light receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160 is maintained and a radio wave (search signal) is received. When the signal is received by the optical receiving means 150, a reception report signal is generated again (S108). The generated reception report signal is wirelessly transmitted to the robot R after predetermined processing (S109). When the reception report signal transmitted wirelessly is received by the robot R, the position of the detection tag T that generated the reception report signal is specified again (S110).

  In the case of the present embodiment, the robot R repeatedly transmits radio waves (search signals) and infrared signals at predetermined time intervals T1, so that the detection tag T wirelessly transmits the reception report signal and then the second As long as the radio wave newly transmitted from the robot R is received before the predetermined time elapses and the infrared signal irradiated from the robot R is received before the first predetermined time elapses from the radio wave, the reception report is received. The signal generation and the wireless transmission are repeated. Then, the robot R receives the reception report signal and repeats specifying the position of the detection tag T.

However, referring to FIG. 13, after the radio transmission of the reception report signal (S104), if the radio wave newly transmitted from the robot R is not received even after the second predetermined time has elapsed, the detection tag T Puts the optical receiver 150 and the reception report signal generator 160 in a stopped state (S111).
The stopped state is maintained until the radio wave transmitted from the robot R is received again.

(Example when reception report signal generating means generates reception report signal including light emission request signal)
First, referring to FIG. 14, a radio wave (search signal) is wirelessly transmitted from radio wave transmitting / receiving means 90 of robot R (S200), and then an infrared signal corresponding to each light emitting unit of light emitting means 100 of robot R is searched. The area is irradiated (S201).
When the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 of the detection tag T receives the radio wave (search signal) wirelessly transmitted from the robot R, the optical reception unit 150 and the reception report signal generation unit 160 of the detection tag T are activated (S202). ).
After the light receiving unit 150 and the reception report signal generating unit 160 of the detection tag T are activated, the infrared signal emitted from the robot R is not received by the light receiving unit 150 even after the first predetermined time has elapsed. In this case, a reception report signal including a light emission request signal is generated (S203), and after predetermined processing, wirelessly transmitted to the robot R (S204).
When the radio wave transmission / reception means 90 of the robot R receives the reception report signal including the light emission request signal, the robot data processing unit 81 generates a direction inspection signal. The direction inspection signal is converted into an infrared signal after predetermined processing. A predetermined search area is irradiated (S206).

The detection tag T wirelessly transmits a reception report signal including a light emission request signal (S204), and then receives the infrared signal newly transmitted from the robot R, generates a reception report signal (S207), and performs predetermined processing. After that, wireless transmission is performed toward the robot R (S208).
When the radio wave transmission / reception unit 90 of the robot R receives the wirelessly received reception report signal, the robot data processing unit 81 specifies the position of the detection tag T that generated the reception report signal (S209).

  Since the robot R wirelessly transmits a radio wave (search signal) at every predetermined time interval T1 (S210), the processing from S101 to S110 (see FIG. 12 (a)), or after S203, depending on the situation below. The process is repeated.

However, referring to FIG. 15, the detection tag T is newly transmitted from the robot R after wirelessly transmitting the reception report signal including the light emission request signal (S204) and before the second predetermined time has elapsed. When the received infrared signal is not received and the radio wave (search signal) wirelessly transmitted from the robot R is not received, the light receiving means 150 and the reception report signal generating means 160 of the detection tag T are stopped ( S211).
The stopped state is maintained until the radio wave transmitted from the robot R is received again.
As a result, power consumption in the detection tag T is suppressed.

As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.
In addition, since the detection target detection system according to the present invention can know the positional relationship between the detection target and the detection device, it can be applied to various moving bodies such as automobiles, for example, a traffic control system. .

1 is a system configuration diagram of a detection target detection system A according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram of a robot R. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a target detection unit 70 of a robot R. FIG. (A) is explanatory drawing explaining the search area set around the robot R. FIG. (B) is a figure explaining the irradiation range of the height direction of the infrared rays irradiated from the light emission part of the light emission means 100. FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the light emission order of the light emission part provided in the robot. It is explanatory drawing explaining the method to acquire the information (area information) which shows in which area the detection target D exists in order to obtain | require the separation distance of the robot R and the detection target D based on electric field strength. It is explanatory drawing explaining the method to acquire the information (direction information) which shows in which direction a detection target exists in order to obtain | require in which direction the detection target D exists in reference to the robot R. It is explanatory drawing explaining the method to identify the position of the detection target D from the acquired area information and direction information. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a detection tag T that is a detection target D. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for describing processing performed by a target detection unit 70 of a robot R. It is a flowchart explaining the process performed by the detection tag T side which is the detection target D. FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining the exchange of signals performed between a robot R included in a detection target detection system A and a detection tag T. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining the exchange of signals performed between a robot R included in a detection target detection system A and a detection tag T. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining the exchange of signals performed between a robot R included in a detection target detection system A and a detection tag T. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining the exchange of signals performed between a robot R included in a detection target detection system A and a detection tag T.

Explanation of symbols

A detection target detection system C camera D detection target R robot T detection tag 70 target detection unit 80 control means 90 radio wave transmission / reception means 100 light emission means 110 storage means 140 radio wave transmission / reception means 150 light reception means 160 reception report signal generation means 170 storage means

Claims (7)

A detection target detection system that detects whether or not the detection target exists around a detection device using a detection tag provided on the detection target,
The detection tag is
Radio wave receiving means for receiving radio waves transmitted from the detection device;
A light receiving means for receiving a light signal emitted from the detection device;
A reception report signal generating means for generating a reception report signal when the optical signal emitted from the detection device is received before the first predetermined time has elapsed after receiving the radio wave;
An activation control unit that, when receiving the radio wave, activates the optical reception unit and the reception report signal generation unit from a stopped state;
Transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the reception report signal to the detection device,
The detection device is:
Radio wave transmission means for transmitting radio waves toward the peripheral area of the detection device;
Receiving means for receiving a reception report signal transmitted from the transmitting means of the detection tag;
A light-emitting means that has a plurality of light- emitting units that respectively irradiate optical signals toward a plurality of search areas surrounding the detection device, which are set in advance around the detection device with respect to the detection device ;
Control means for controlling operations of the radio wave transmitting means, the receiving means, and the light emitting means;
When the reception means receives the reception report signal, the distance from the detection device to the detection target is obtained based on the intensity of the reception report signal, and the light emitted from the light emitting unit of the light emission means And a target position specifying unit that sets a direction in which the detection target is present. The reception report signal generating means includes
If the optical signal is not received even after the first predetermined time has elapsed after receiving the radio wave, a reception report signal including a light emission request signal is generated,
2. The detection target detection system according to claim 1, wherein when the receiving unit receives a reception report signal including the light emission request signal, the control unit causes the light signal to be emitted from the light emitting unit.   If the activation control means does not newly receive a radio wave transmitted from the detection device after a second predetermined time has elapsed after wirelessly transmitting the reception report signal, the activation control means and the reception report generation The detection target detection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the means is changed from a start state to a stop state. The light emitting means includes an identifier for identifying each of the light emitting units included in the optical signal emitted by each light emitting unit prepared for each of the search areas.
The reception report signal generating means generates a reception report signal including information on the identifier,
The target position specifying means refers to the information of the identifier, specifies the light emitting part of the light emitting means that has irradiated the light received by the light receiving means, and searches corresponding to the light emitting part of the specified light emitting means. The detection target detection system according to claim 1 , wherein an area is a direction in which the detection target exists. The control means sequentially irradiates all search areas so that adjacent search areas are not continuously irradiated when light signals are emitted from the light emitting unit of the light emitting means to the search areas. detection target detection system of claim 1 or claim 4, characterized. The detection object detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the detection device is a mobile robot that operates based on a command signal transmitted from an external terminal. In the external terminal, information related to the detection target is stored in association with a tag identification number unique to the detection tag provided in the detection target,
The reception report signal generation means of the detection tag generates a reception report signal report signal including the tag identification number,
The control unit of the detection device transmits information indicating the tag identification number included in the reception report signal received by the reception unit to the external terminal,
The external terminal acquires information related to the detection target based on the tag identification number, and transmits the information related to the detection target and the command signal for the mobile robot to the mobile robot. The detection target detection system according to claim 6 .

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