JP4214075B2 - 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 have been proposed 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. 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.

  Further, 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 to detect the detection target, and when the detection target moves over a wide range, If the sensor is outside the specific area where the detector or transmitter is installed, the detection target cannot be detected and the approximate position of the detection target can be grasped, but the detection target is based on the detector or transmitter. There is 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.
In particular, in communication between a detection target and a detection device, if there is a reflected wave on a wall surface or an obstacle of a building and such a reflected wave is received, there is a possibility that correct detection may not be performed.
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 this detection target detection system is set in advance around the detection device with the light reception means for receiving the light signal emitted from the detection device and the light signal received by the light reception means as a reference. A light state determination unit that generates light state data as a result of the determination, and a light signal emitted from the detection device is received, the light state data is included. A reception report signal generation unit that generates a reception report signal and a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the reception report signal to the detection device are configured.
The detection device of the detection target detection system includes a reception unit that receives the reception report signal transmitted from the detection tag transmission unit, a light emission unit that emits an optical signal toward the search area, a reception unit, and a light emission unit. When the reception means receives the reception report signal, the control means for controlling the operation of the means, and the detection target based on the light emission direction of the optical signal emitted from the light emission means and the light state data included in the reception report signal And a target position judging means for judging the direction in which there is.
Then, when the intensity of the optical signal received by the optical receiving unit is equal to or greater than the direct light reception recognition threshold, the optical state determining unit determines that the optical signal is direct light within the search area, and the optical receiving unit receives the light. If the intensity of the optical signal is smaller than the direct light reception recognition threshold, it is determined that the optical signal is not direct light within the search area.

  In this detection target detection system, if the light state data included in the reception report signal received by the reception means is only data indicating that the light received by the light reception means is not direct light within the search area, the target The position determination means preferably determines that the detection target does not exist in the search area.

Further, the detection target detection system includes a map information database that stores map information of an area in which the detection device is movable, and the light reception means receives the light state data included in the reception report signal received by the reception means. When the optical signal includes data indicating that it is direct light within the search area, the target position determination means includes the map information, the emission direction of the optical signal emitted from the light emission means, and the light included in the reception report signal. It is preferable to determine the direction in which the detection target exists based on the state data.

The detection device includes radio wave transmission means for transmitting radio waves toward the peripheral area of the detection device, and the detection tag includes radio wave reception means for receiving radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmission means, and controls the detection device. The means controls the operation of the radio wave transmitting means, and the reception report signal generating means of the detection tag receives the radio wave transmitted from the detection device and receives the optical signal emitted from the detection device, and the light state Preferably, a reception report signal including data is generated.
Further, it is preferable that the target position determination unit obtains a distance from the detection device to the detection target based on the strength of the reception report signal when the reception unit receives the reception report signal.

  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. At the same time, the optical signal emitted from each light emitting means includes an identifier signal for identifying each light emitting means, and the reception report signal generating means generates a reception report signal including the identifier, and the target position determining means. Refers to the identifier, identifies the light emitting means that has emitted the optical signal received by the light receiving means, and at least the search area corresponding to the identified light emitting means, and the light state data included in the reception report signal, It is preferable to determine the direction in which the detection target exists based on the above.

  Further, it is preferable that 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 means to each search area.

In the detection target detection system according to the present invention, an optical signal is emitted toward a preset search area around the detection device with reference to the detection devices constituting the detection target detection system. When the detection tag provided in the detection target receives the optical signal 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. The
The detection tag generates light state data that is a result of determining whether or not the optical signal received by the light receiving means is direct light within the search area, and transmits the light state data to the detection device. Therefore, the detection apparatus can distinguish between the case where the light is direct light within the search area and the case where the light is not reflected (when reflected light or light from outside the search area) using the light state data. When the optical signal is direct light within the search range, the light emission direction of the optical signal emitted from the light emitting means can be the direction in which the detection target exists.
In addition, the detection device can obtain the distance from the detection device to the detection target based on the intensity of the received reception report signal, and can detect that the detection target exists around the detection device. In such a case, since the distance and direction can be specified, the positional relationship between the detection target and the detection device can be known.
Furthermore, the map information database is provided, and the map information is used for the determination of the position of the detection target, thereby making the determination of the position of the detection target more accurate.

(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, it is determined 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 determined.

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, as necessary, personal identification as to who the detection target D is is performed.
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 to the robot R. Here, the necessary information corresponds to the detected name of the detection target D, map information around the robot R, and the like, and these pieces of information are stored in a storage unit (provided in the management computer 3). (Not shown).
In the present invention, the management computer 3 includes a map information database 3a (see FIG. 2) in which map information of an area where the robot R can move is databased. The map information is, for example, a floor plan in a company building guided by the robot R, and includes position information such as walls, stairs, and rooms. It also includes position information such as desks, chairs, partitions, etc. installed in the building. Such map information is obtained by operating the management computer 3 or operating the terminal 5 via the robot dedicated network 2 and the network 4. Can be updated.
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 By determining the distance from R to the detection target D and determining the direction in which the detection target D exists based on the light emission direction of the light received by the detection target D and the light state data included in the reception report signal, The detection target D is detected and the position of the detection target D is determined.

  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.
Further, in order to detect the direction of the robot R, a gyro sensor SR1 is provided.

[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 is output to the control unit 40, used to determine the behavior of the robot R, and transmitted from the control unit 40 to the management computer 3 via the wireless communication unit 60. The

[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 reception report signal transmitted from is sent to the control unit 40.
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 determines the position of the detection target D, and includes a signal generation unit 81a and a target position determination 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 signal generation unit 81a 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 search signal generated for the light emitting unit LED1 is the 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 target position determination unit 81b of the data processing unit 81 determines 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 target position determination unit 81b will be described in detail later together with the processing in the decoding unit 84 and the electric field strength detection unit 85 included in the control unit 80.

(Encryption unit 82)
The encryption unit 82 encrypts the input signal and outputs it. The encryption unit 82 encrypts the search signal input from the data processing unit 81. 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 similarly encrypts the direction check signal input from the signal generation unit 81a. 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 check signals are input to the encryption unit 82 from the signal generating unit 81a.
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 LED4, light emitting unit LED7, light emitting unit LED2, light emitting unit LED5, light emitting unit LED8, light emitting unit LED3, and light emitting unit LED6 are emitted in the order of 0.5 seconds. In this case, the time division unit 83 transmits the encryption direction inspection signal at intervals of 0.5 seconds, the modulation unit of the light emitting unit LED1, the modulation unit of the light emitting unit LED4, the modulation unit of the light emitting unit LED7, the modulation unit of the light emitting unit LED2, and the light emission. The light output unit LED5, the light emitting unit LED8, the light emitting unit LED3, the light emitting unit LED6, and the light emitting unit LED6 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. These encrypted direction inspection signals are output in advance in the signal generator 81a.
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 4 (a), 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 this embodiment, in order to determine 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, to θb. Is set.

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 this embodiment, each region (first region) on the front side of the robot R is narrowed 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 target D in the region (the third region to the third region) can be determined and 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. (See FIG. 4 (a)). 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, with reference to FIG. 5, in the case of the present embodiment, the first area (indicated by reference numeral 1 in the figure), the fourth area (indicated by reference numeral 4 in the figure), and the seventh area (in FIG. 5). Middle, indicated by reference numeral 7), second area (indicated by reference numeral 2 in the figure), fifth area (indicated by reference numeral 5 in the figure), eighth area (indicated by reference numeral 8 in the figure), third area The time division unit 83 transmits the encryption direction inspection signal so that the infrared light is irradiated in the order of (indicated by reference numeral 3 in the figure) and the sixth region (indicated by reference numeral 6 in the figure). The order and timing of output toward the modulation unit 91 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, the position of the adult breast height Y and the position of the child breast height Z at the position away from the robot R by X is infrared. It is set so as to be surely irradiated with light. At this time, the angle range in the height direction irradiated with infrared light from each light emitting unit is set to φ, so that the above setting is satisfied. Yes.

(Radio wave transmission / reception means 90)
Referring to FIG. 3, the radio wave transmission / reception means 90 transmits a radio wave toward the peripheral region of the robot R and receives a reception report signal transmitted from the detection target D 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 signal generation unit 81a via the encryption unit 82 with a predetermined modulation method to obtain a modulation signal, Wireless transmission is performed via the transmission / reception antenna 93.
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 this embodiment, the reception report signal will be described in detail later, but since the light state data, the light emitting unit ID, the robot ID, and the tag ID are included at least, the decoding unit 84 The data is output to the data processing unit 81.
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.

(Target position determination means 81b)
The target position determination unit 81b of the control unit 40 determines 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 when the radio wave transmission / reception means 90 receives the modulation signal transmitted from the detection tag T of the detection target D. Further, the target position determination unit 81b refers to the light emitting unit ID included in the reception report signal, identifies the light emitting unit from which the light received by the detection target D is emitted, and determines the light emitting unit of the identified light emitting unit. The position of the detection target D is determined based on the light emission direction and the light state data included in the reception report signal.

  In the case of the present embodiment, first, the target position determination 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 target position determination unit 81b starts determining 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.

Therefore, the target position determining 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 to which area the detection target D that has transmitted the reception report signal is. Get information (area information) that indicates whether you are in
For example, when the electric field strength α input from the electric field strength 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 target position determination unit 81b Information indicating area 3 (area information) is acquired.

  Furthermore, the target position determination 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 of the light emission units 100 of the robot R is. Whether the light emitted from the light emitting unit is received is specified, and information (direction information) indicating the light emitting 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.

Accordingly, the target position determining unit 81b 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 searched in advance. It is confirmed which region of the region (first region to eighth region) is irradiated. Then, the target position determination unit 81b acquires information (direction information) indicating the confirmed search area.
In FIG. 7, the end of each search area originally overlaps with the end of the adjacent search area (see FIG. 4A), but in FIG. The overlapping part is omitted. The same applies to FIG.

  Then, the target position determination unit 81b generates information (position information) indicating the position of the detection target D based on the light state data and the map information data in addition to the acquired area information and direction information.

With respect to this position information, a case where there is no obstacle around the robot R and the detection target D and direct light is received will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 corresponds to the display of FIG. 6 and FIG. The case where the light state data and the map information data are used will be described in detail later.
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 D 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 determined and specified.

Then, the target position determination unit 81b outputs the position information to the control unit 40 of the robot R together with the tag ID 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 ID to the management computer 3. Thereby, the management computer 3 refers to the storage means (not shown) based on the tag ID, and identifies the detection target D (person) wearing the detection tag T with the tag ID attached thereto. 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 D (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 the radio wave transmitted from the robot R and the irradiated light, and transmits a reception report signal indicating that they 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, an optical state determination unit 160, a reception report signal generation unit 170, and a storage unit 180. The

(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 170 described later, and transmits the modulation signal wirelessly to the robot R It is.
The radio wave transmission / reception unit 140 includes a transmission / reception antenna 141, a demodulation unit 142, and a modulation unit 143.

  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 generation means 170.

  The modulation unit 143 modulates the encrypted reception report signal (encrypted reception report signal) input from the encryption unit 173 of the reception report signal generation unit 170, which will be described later, and generates a modulation signal. Are transmitted wirelessly via the transmission / reception antenna 141.

(Optical receiver 150)
The light receiving unit 150 receives (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 acquired encryption direction check signal is output to the reception report signal generation means 170.

(Light state determination means 160)
The light state determination unit 160 determines whether the infrared light received by the light reception unit 150 is direct light or reflected light, and generates light state data that is the determination result.
The light state detection unit 160 includes a light intensity detection unit 161, a light state determination unit 162, and a light state data generation unit 163.

The light intensity detection unit 161 obtains the intensity of the modulation signal when the light receiving unit 151 receives the modulation signal transmitted from the robot R.
Specifically, the light intensity detection unit 161 detects the strength of the encryption direction check signal input from the light demodulation unit 152 of the light receiving unit 150 and outputs this strength to the light state determination unit 162.

  The light state determination unit 162 determines whether the modulation signal is direct light or reflected light based on the intensity of the modulation signal detected by the light intensity detection unit 161.

Here, the infrared light determination method will be described. Infrared light transmission output (intensity) in the light emitting section (see FIG. 3) is TP, output infrared light propagation loss PL, output infrared light reflection loss is RL, and detection tag T is infrared. If the light reception sensitivity (the intensity of the received infrared light) is RP, the reception sensitivity RP is obtained by the following equation.
RP = TP-(PL + RL)
Here, the direct light reception recognition threshold is set to Rack,
RP ≧ Rack
When the relationship is satisfied, it is determined that the infrared light received by the detection tag T is direct light within the search area.
The reception sensitivity of direct light when the distance between the robot R and the detection tag T is the maximum searchable distance (distance to the outermost side of the area 3 (see FIG. 8) in this embodiment) is set as the threshold Rack. be able to. When it is smaller than the threshold value Rack, it is determined that the received infrared light is reflected light or light from outside the search area.

  The light state data generation unit 163 generates light state data based on the determination result in the light state determination unit 162. That is, when the reception sensitivity RP is equal to or greater than the direct light reception recognition threshold Rack, light state data D1 indicating that the received infrared light is direct light within the search area is generated. When the reception sensitivity RP is less than the direct light reception recognition threshold Rack, light state data D2 indicating that the received infrared light is reflected light or light from outside the search area is generated.

  Here, the light reception state according to the positional relationship between the robot R and the detection target D will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a light reception state in the detection target detection system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 10A, the robot R and the detection target D are sufficiently separated from each other, and the detection tag T does not receive both the direct light L1 and the reflected light L2 of the infrared light emitted from the robot R. Shows the case.
In such a case, since the detection target D exists outside the search range of the robot R, the robot R does not detect the detection target D.

10B, the robot R and the detection target D are closer to each other than FIG. 10A, and the detection tag T receives the direct light L1 from the infrared light emitted from the robot R. The case where the reflected light L2 reflected by the wall W1 is not received is shown.
Since the infrared light from each light emitting unit is time-division transmission, a reception error due to simultaneous reception of a plurality of infrared lights is prevented. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 10B, a plurality of infrared lights are received at close times that are not simultaneous.
In such a case, the reception report signal including the light state data D1 is generated for the direct light L1 and is transmitted to the robot R. Therefore, the robot R is detected in the search area direction corresponding to the light emitting unit that emits the direct light L1. It can be determined that D is present.

In FIG. 10C, the robot R and the detection target D are sufficiently close to each other, and the detection tag T receives both the direct light L1 and the reflected light L2 among the infrared light emitted from the robot R. Shows the case.
In such a case, the reception report signal including the light state data D1 is generated for the direct light L1 and is transmitted to the robot R. Therefore, the robot R is detected in the search area direction corresponding to the light emitting unit that emits the direct light L1. It can be determined that D is present. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent erroneously determining that the detection target D is in the direction L3 assumed that the reflected light L2 travels straight. Whether or not to generate a reception report signal including the light state data D2 with respect to the reflected light L2 is arbitrary.

In FIG. 10D, the robot R and the detection target D are sufficiently close to each other, the detection tag T receives the reflected light L2 of the infrared light emitted from the robot R, and the wall W1 is an obstacle. In this case, the direct light L1 is not received.
In such a case, the reception report signal including the light state data D2 is generated and transmitted to the robot R with respect to the reflected light L2, so that the robot R is detected in the search area direction corresponding to the light emitting unit that emitted the reflected light L2. It can be determined that there is no D. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent erroneously determining that the detection target D is in the direction L3 assumed that the reflected light L2 travels straight.

(Reception report signal generation means 170)
As shown in FIG. 9, when the reception signal generating unit 170 receives the search signal transmitted from the robot R by the radio wave transmission / reception unit 140, the reception report signal generating unit 170 transmits the reception signal from the robot R according to the reception report request signal included in the search signal. A signal (reception report signal) indicating that the search signal has been received is generated.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the reception report signal generation means 170 includes a decryption unit 171, a data processing unit 172, and an encryption unit 173.

The decryption unit 171 obtains a signal by decrypting the input encrypted signal.
The decryption unit 171 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 171 outputs the acquired search signal and direction check signal to the data processing unit 172 at the subsequent stage.

The data processing unit 172 generates a reception report signal.
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.
Further, the direction inspection signal includes a robot ID that is an identifier for identifying the robot that has transmitted the direction inspection signal, and a light emitting unit ID for identifying the light emitting unit that has transmitted the direction inspection signal.

Therefore, when the search signal is input, the data processing unit 172 changes the optical receiving means 150 of the detection tag T from the standby state to the activated state according to the reception report request signal included in the search signal.
When a direction inspection signal is input after the light receiving unit 150 is activated until a predetermined time elapses, the data processing unit 172 includes the robot ID included in the direction inspection signal and the inspection signal. The robot ID is compared.

When the two robot IDs match, the data processing unit 172 refers to the storage unit 180 and acquires a unique identification number (tag ID) assigned to the detection tag T.
Subsequently, the data processing unit 172 includes a light report including a light state data, a tag ID, a robot ID included in the search signal, and a light emitting unit ID included in the direction inspection signal. A signal is generated, and the generated reception report signal is output to the encryption unit 173.

On the other hand, after the light receiving means 150 of the detection tag T is activated, the direction inspection signal is not input even after a predetermined time has elapsed, or the robot ID and the direction inspection signal included in the search signal are included. If the robot ID is different, the data processing unit 172 generates a reception report signal further including a light emission request signal, and outputs the generated reception report signal to the encryption unit 173.
Here, the light emission request signal is a signal for instructing the robot R, which is a detection device, to emit infrared light.

The encryption unit 173 encrypts the input reception report signal using a predetermined method, for example, an encryption algorithm, to obtain an encrypted reception report signal, and then outputs the encrypted reception report signal to the radio wave transmission / reception means 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.

  Next, processing performed in the detection target detection system A will be described with reference to the block diagrams shown in FIGS. 3 and 9 and the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining processing performed by the robot R. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining processing performed on the detection tag T provided on the detection target D.

First, the detection preparation stage in the detection target detection system A will be described by taking as an example a case where the detection target detection system A is applied to detection of company visitors.
A company visitor receives the detection tag T at the reception, for example, and information (name, visit destination department signature, etc.) of the visitor is input from the terminal 5 provided at the reception.
Then, the information input at the terminal 5 is registered in a storage unit (not shown) of the management computer 3 connected to the terminal 5 via the network 4.
After the input at the terminal 5 is completed, the visitor wears the detection tag T and starts moving toward the visited place.

(Robot R movement)
First, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 11, steps S <b> 1 to S <b> 2 among the processes performed by 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.

The signal generation unit 81a generates a search signal including the robot ID and the reception report request signal, and transmits a direction inspection signal emitted as an infrared signal from each light emitting unit of the light emitting unit 100. It produces | generates separately for every light emission part.
Here, the direction inspection signal includes a robot ID and a light emitting unit ID that identifies a 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 outputs the encrypted search signal 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 (step S1).

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 LED8) of the light emitting unit 100. Then, the encryption direction inspection signal prepared for each light emitting unit (LED1 to LED8) is output to the modulation unit of the corresponding light emitting unit (LED1 to LED8) with the determined light emission order and light emission timing.

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 S2).
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.

  Here, the description of the robot R is interrupted, and the operation of the detection tag T will be described.

(Operation on detection tag T side)
Here, the description of the robot R is interrupted, and the processing performed on the detection tag T provided on the detection target D will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When receiving the radio wave (modulated signal) transmitted from the robot R received via the transmitting / receiving antenna 141 (step S21, Yes), the demodulator 142 of the radio wave transmitting / receiving unit 140 demodulates and encrypts the received modulated signal. As a search signal, the encrypted search signal is output to reception report signal generation means 170 described later.

  The decryption unit 171 of the reception report signal generation unit 170 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 172.

  The data processing unit 172 of the reception report signal generation unit 170 changes the optical reception unit 150 of the detection tag T from the standby state to the activated state in accordance with the reception report request signal included in the search signal (step S22).

When the infrared signal irradiated from the robot R is received by the light receiving unit 151 of the light receiving unit 150 (step S23, Yes) until the predetermined time elapses after the activation state, the light receiving unit 150 The optical demodulator 152 demodulates the received infrared signal to obtain an encryption direction inspection signal. Then, the acquired encryption direction check signal is output to the reception report signal generation means 170.
Then, the decryption unit 171 of the reception report signal generation unit 170 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 172.

  On the other hand, the light intensity detection unit 161 of the light state determination unit 160 detects the strength of the encryption direction inspection signal input from the light demodulation unit 152 of the light reception unit 150, and sends this intensity to the light state determination unit 162. Output.

The light state determination unit 162 compares the intensity input from the light intensity detection unit 161 with the threshold value Rack (step S24). If the intensity is greater than or equal to the threshold Rack, it is determined that the received infrared signal is direct light within the search area, and the light state data generation unit 163 generates light state data D1 (step S25). If the intensity is less than the threshold Rack, it is determined that the received infrared signal is reflected light or light from outside the search area, and the light state data generation unit 13 generates light state data D2 (step S26). Such determination is performed on all received infrared signals.
When the determination for all the received infrared signals is completed (step S28, Yes), the data processing unit 172 includes the robot ID included in the search signal (radio wave) and the robot ID included in the direction inspection signal (infrared light). And the signals including the same robot ID are associated with each other (step S29). By associating signals in this way, it is possible to cope with a case where transmission / reception is performed with a plurality of robots R.

  Then, the data processing unit 172 generates a reception report signal with respect to those in which both robot IDs match. First, the data processing unit 172 refers to the storage unit 180 and acquires a unique identification number (tag ID) assigned to the detection tag T.

  Subsequently, the data processing unit 172 includes a light report including a light state data, a tag ID, a robot ID included in the search signal, and a light emitting unit ID included in the direction inspection signal. A signal is generated (step S30).

Here, when only one infrared signal corresponding to one robot ID is received, a reception report signal for the infrared signal is generated.
In addition, when a plurality of infrared signals corresponding to one robot ID are received and it is determined that one of them is direct light, a reception report signal is generated for the infrared signal that is direct light.
In addition, when a plurality of infrared signals corresponding to one robot ID are received and it is determined that all of them are reflected light or light from outside the search area, reception of the infrared signal received at the earliest time is received. Generate a report signal.
The reception report signal generation method is not limited to the reception report signal generation method described above, and reception report signals for all received infrared signals may be generated.

  Then, the data processing unit 172 randomly determines the transmission slot of the reception report signal (step S31). The reason why the transmission slot is determined at random is to efficiently perform transmission / reception when transmission / reception is performed with a plurality of robots R. The modulation unit 143 of the radio wave transmission / reception means 140 generates a modulation signal by modulating the encrypted reception report signal (encrypted reception report signal) input from the encryption unit 173, and transmits the modulation signal to the transmission / reception antenna. 141, wirelessly transmitted (step S32).

  On the other hand, after the optical receiver 150 of the detection tag T is activated, a direction inspection signal is not input from the optical receiver 150 even after a predetermined time has passed, or the robot ID and direction included in the search signal When the robot ID included in the inspection signal is different, the data processing unit 172 of the reception report signal generating unit 170 generates a reception report signal further including a light emission request signal, and the generated reception report signal is encrypted. To 173. The modulation unit 143 of the radio wave transmission / reception means 140 generates a modulation signal by modulating the encrypted reception report signal (encrypted reception report signal) input from the encryption unit 173, and transmits the modulation signal to the transmission / reception antenna. 141 to transmit wirelessly.

(Robot R movement)
Returning to FIGS. 3 and 11, the description of the processing performed by the robot R is resumed.
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 S3, 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 target position determination unit 81b of the data processing unit 81 refers to the distance table stored in the storage unit 110 on the basis of the electric field intensity input from the electric field intensity detection unit 85, and detects the reception tag signal. Information (area information) indicating in which area T is located is acquired.

Furthermore, the target position determination 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 transmits the reception report signal. Information (direction information) indicating which light emitting unit of the robot R has received infrared light emitted from the detection tag T is acquired.
Then, the target position determination unit 81b determines the state of the light (infrared signal) received by the detection tag T based on the light state data included in the reception report signal (step S4).

  When the reception report signal includes the light state data D1, the target position determination unit 81b determines that the received report signal is direct light within the search area, and determines from the map information database 3a of the management computer 3 about the current position of the robot R. Download map information. Further, the target position determination unit 81b acquires the orientation information of the robot R from the gyro sensor SR1. The direction information of the robot R is combined with the map information (step S5). In this way, information on where and in what direction the robot R is present on the map information is generated.

  The target position determination means 81b uses the map information in which the orientation information of the robot R is combined, and determines whether or not there is a wall within a predetermined distance d in the direction of the search area of the light emitting unit ID irradiated with the direct light. Judgment is made (step S6). When there is a wall (step S6, Yes), it is determined that it is actually reflected light, and when there is no wall (step S6, No), it is determined that it is direct light.

  The reason why the wall position is determined in this way is that when the robot R and the wall position are close, the intensity of the reflected light becomes equal to or greater than the threshold Rack and it may be determined that the light is direct light. Further, when the robot R and the wall are close to each other, it is unlikely that the detection target D exists between them, and it is considered that some error has occurred. In this way, it is possible to perform more accurate detection because it is determined not only on the detection tag T side but also on the robot R whether or not it is direct light. Note that the set value of the predetermined distance d can be changed as appropriate.

  If it is determined in step S6 that the light is direct light, the position of the detection target D is specified from the area information and the direction information, and position information indicating the specified position is generated.

  Then, the control unit 80 of the robot R outputs the position information indicating the specified position and the tag ID acquired from the reception report signal to the control unit 40 of the robot R.

  The control unit 40 of the robot R transmits the tag ID to the management computer 3. Thereby, the management computer 3 refers to the storage means (not shown) based on the tag ID, and identifies the detection target D (person) wearing the detection tag T with the tag ID attached thereto. At the same time, a necessary operation command and the like are output to the robot R together with information on the specified detection target D (person).

  Then, the robot R turns to the direction of the search area of the received issuer ID based on the command from the management computer 3 (step S7), and based on the received tag ID, “(name of subject)” A predetermined operation is performed (step S8).

  Further, when the light received by the detection tag T in step S4 or step S6 is reflected light or light from outside the search area, the direction that the detection target D does not exist in the search area of the received light emitting unit ID. Generate information. If it is determined that no light is received, direction information indicating that the direction could not be specified is generated. Then, position information is generated from the area information and the direction information. This position information indicates a state in which the direction is not specified, and thus the detection target D exists within a certain distance range but does not know which direction. The control unit 80 of the target detection unit 70 outputs position information indicating the specified position and a tag ID acquired from the reception report signal to the control unit 40 of the robot R.

When such position information is input to the control unit 40, the robot R moves the head R1 and performs an operation such as searching around for a person (step S9). By this operation, the robot R is notified that the robot R is searching for people.
Then, similarly to step S8, the robot R speaks “Where is (subject name)” based on the received tag ID, and informs the surroundings that it is searching for the detection target D.

  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 S3 described above (step S3, No), The standby state is maintained until reception.

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 provided on a detection target D. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the light reception condition in the detection target detection system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart for describing processing performed by a robot R. 10 is a flowchart for explaining processing performed on the detection tag T side provided for the detection target D.

Explanation of symbols

A Detection target detection system C Camera D Detection target R Robot (detection device)
T detection tag 1 base station 2 robot dedicated network 3 management computer 3a map information database 4 network 5 terminal 10 image processing unit 20 audio processing unit 30 image transmission unit 40 control unit 50 autonomous movement control unit 60 wireless communication unit 70 target detection Unit 80 Control means 81b Target position determination means 90 Radio wave transmission / reception means 100 Light emission means 110 Storage means 140 Radio wave transmission / reception means 150 Optical reception means 160 Optical state determination means 170 Reception report signal generation means 180 Storage means

Claims (8)

A detection target detection system that detects whether a detection target exists around a detection device using a detection tag provided on the detection target,
The detection tag is
A light receiving means for receiving a light signal emitted from the detection device;
It is determined whether or not the optical signal received by the light receiving means is direct light within a search area set in advance around the detection device with reference to the detection device, and the optical state data as a result of the determination is determined. Light state determination means to generate;
A reception report signal generating means for generating a reception report signal including the light state data when receiving an optical signal emitted from the detection device;
Transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the reception report signal to the detection device,
The detection device is:
Receiving means for receiving a reception report signal transmitted from the transmitting means of the detection tag;
A light emitting means for irradiating an optical signal toward the search area;
Control means for controlling operations of the receiving means and the light emitting means;
When the reception means receives the reception report signal, the direction in which the detection target exists is determined based on the light emission direction of the optical signal emitted from the light emission means and the light state data included in the reception report signal. A target position judging means for judging ,
The light state determination means determines that the light signal is direct light within the search area when the intensity of the light signal received by the light reception means is equal to or greater than a direct light reception recognition threshold, and the light reception means When the intensity of the optical signal received by is less than the direct light reception recognition threshold, it is determined that the optical signal is not direct light within the search area . When the optical state data included in the reception report signal received by the reception unit is only data indicating that the optical signal received by the optical reception unit is not direct light within the search area,
The detection target detection system according to claim 1, wherein the target position determination unit determines that the detection target does not exist in the search area. A map information database in which map information of an area where the detection device is movable is databased,
Light status data the receiving unit is included in the received report signal received is when the light receiving means includes data indicating that the optical signal received is the direct light of the search region is
The target position determination means determines the direction in which the detection target exists based on the map information, the light emission direction of the light signal emitted from the light emission means, and the light state data included in the reception report signal. The detection target detection system according to claim 1, wherein: The detection device includes a radio wave transmission means for transmitting a radio wave toward a peripheral region of the detection device,
The detection tag includes radio wave receiving means for receiving radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting means,
The control means of the detection device controls the operation of the radio wave transmission means,
The reception report signal generating means of the detection tag receives a radio wave transmitted from the detection device and receives an optical signal emitted from the detection device, and receives a reception report signal including the light state data. It generates, The detection target detection system as described in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The target position determination unit, when the reception unit receives the reception report signal, further determines a distance from the detection device to the detection target based on the strength of the reception report signal. The detection target detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   6. The detection object detection system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of search areas are set, and the detection apparatus is surrounded by the plurality of search areas. The light emitting means are prepared one by one for each of the search areas, and the optical signal emitted by each light emitting means includes an identifier signal that identifies each light emitting means,
The reception report signal generating means generates a reception report signal including the identifier;
The target position determining means refers to the identifier, specifies a light emitting means that has irradiated the optical signal received by the light receiving means, and at least a search area corresponding to the specified light emitting means, and the reception report The detection target detection system according to claim 6, wherein a direction in which the detection target exists is determined based on light state data included in the signal.   The control means sequentially irradiates all search areas so that adjacent search areas are not continuously irradiated when the light emitting means emits an optical signal to each search area. The detection target detection system according to claim 6 or 7.

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