JP5105492B2 - Mobile altitude measuring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an altitude measuring apparatus that accurately measures the altitude of a moving body using a measurement result from an atmospheric pressure sensor carried by the moving body and a measurement result from an atmospheric pressure sensor in the environment.

  A technique for measuring the altitude of a moving object is very important in order to more accurately grasp the position of a person in an environment where people act at different altitudes such as in a building.

  In general, GPS (Global Positioning System) is often used as an advanced measuring means. However, high-level measurement results using GPS and GPS-based extended technology are due to factors such as the spatial arrangement of observable GPS satellites and multipaths where GPS radio waves are reflected on buildings and reach the GPS receiver. In addition to being unstable, it is difficult to receive GPS radio waves in an indoor environment.

  A barometric altimeter using a barometric pressure sensor is a means that can measure altitude more stably without relying on GPS. In the barometric altimeter, the barometric pressure sensor measures the barometric pressure at the current position, and estimates the altitude from the barometric pressure and sea level pressure, temperature, humidity and other conditions using a height measurement formula. At that time, the standard atmospheric pressure and the value obtained from the weather map are set for the sea level pressure, but there is an error in the estimated altitude due to the difference between the atmospheric condition at the point where those atmospheric pressures were measured and the atmospheric condition at the current position. .

  As technologies related to these, Patent Literature 1 and Non-Patent Literatures 1 and 2 can be referred to. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the atmospheric pressure relative to the reference altitude at the current position is estimated from the atmospheric pressure measured at a plurality of positions, and the difference between the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric pressure from the atmospheric pressure sensor built in the portable terminal is used. The measurement processing for estimating the altitude at the current position is performed.

  This altitude estimation technology estimates the atmospheric pressure relative to the reference altitude suitable for the current position, so it can be expected that the altitude measurement will be highly accurate. However, the estimation error of the atmospheric pressure relative to the reference altitude at the current position and the sensor offset between each atmospheric pressure sensor It is difficult to realize such an accuracy that it is possible to estimate where a person is in an indoor environment due to the difference (barometric offset).

  In the technique described in Non-Patent Document 1, when the system operation starts, the atmospheric pressure relative to the altitude measured by GPS is measured using the GPS receiver and the atmospheric pressure sensor held by the moving object, The measured altitude from the GPS and the altitude estimated from the difference between the atmospheric pressure at the reference altitude and the atmospheric pressure from the atmospheric pressure sensor are integrated and estimated by the Kalman filter. It is not necessary to consider the atmospheric pressure offset because an external atmospheric pressure sensor is not used, but an error occurs in the estimated altitude when the atmospheric state changes.

  In the technique described in Non-Patent Document 2, the relative movement vector of each step during walking motion is estimated from the measurement data from the gyro sensor and acceleration sensor attached to the foot according to the principle of inertial navigation, The three-dimensional position including is estimated. A measurement error proportional to the moving distance occurs in the altitude estimated by such a measurement method, and thus means for correcting the error is separately required. As will be described later, the techniques described in Non-Patent Documents 3 to 8 are used as system elements constituting the mobile altitude measuring apparatus of the present invention.

JP 2008-241467 A

G. Schall, D. Wagner, G. Reitmayr, E. Taichmann, M. Wieser, D. Schmalstieg, and B. Hofmann-Wellenhof, "GlobalPose Estimation Using Multi-Sensor Fusion for Outdoor Augmented Reality", In. Proc. Int Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality 2009 (ISMAR'09), 2009. E. Foxlin, "Pedestrian Tracking with Shoe-Mounted Inertial Sensors", IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 38-46, 2005. Sakai, Kashimura, Niimi, "Altitude measurement error by barometric altimeter and its correction", Electronic Navigation Research Institute report, pp. 1-13, vol. 114, 2008. AD Koutsou, F. Seco, AR Jimenez, JO Roa, JL Ealo, C. Prieto, and J. Guevara, "Preliminary Localization Results With An RFID Based Indoor GuidingSystem", In Proc.IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent SignalProcessing, pp. 917 -922, 2007. Junichi Kakimoto, Jun Shionozaki, Takahiko Sueyoshi, Takashi Ami Yagi, "PlaceEngine: WiFi Location Information Infrastructure Based on Real World Collective Intelligence", Internet Conference 2006, pp. 95-104, 2006. Takayoshi Yamashita, Takashi Noda, Kosei Kosei, Masato Kawade, "Person Tracking by OnlineBoosting Using Real AdaBoost", Information Processing Society of Japan Research Report, 2007-CVIM-158, pp. 85-92, 2007. M. Kourogi and T. Kurata, "Personal positioning based on walking locomotion analysis withself-contained sensors and a wearable camera", In Proc. ISMAR2003, pp.103-112, 2003. Ryuhei Amame, Noriyuki Kanbara, Naokazu Yokoya, “Wearable Annotation Presentation System Using Infrared Beacons and Step Counting”, IEICE, Technical Research Report, IE2002-54, July 2002.

ここで、Ｔ_０：海面気温［Ｋ］、
Ｌ：気温減率［Ｋ／ｍ］
ｇ_０：海面での重力加速度
Ｍ：大気のモル質量［ｋｇ／ｍｏｌ］
Ｒ：気体定数［Ｊ／Ｋ／ｍｏｌ］
Ｐ_０：海面気圧［ｈＰａ］
である。
（式１）において気圧Ｐ［ｈＰａ］から高度Ｈ［ｍ］は以下の式で得られる（「非特許文献３」を参照）。 In altitude measurement using an atmospheric pressure sensor, the altitude is calculated from the difference between the atmospheric pressure (reference atmospheric pressure) at a certain standard altitude and the atmospheric pressure at the current position using an altitude measurement formula (Equation 1 and Equation 2). As the reference atmospheric pressure at this time, a sea level atmospheric pressure obtained from a weather map with a standard altitude of 0 m is used. In this case, there is a problem that as the distance between the current position and the point at which the reference atmospheric pressure is measured is longer, a difference in atmospheric conditions between the two points is likely to occur, and as a result, an error is likely to occur in the measured altitude.

Where T ₀ : sea surface temperature [K],
L: Temperature reduction rate [K / m]
g ₀ : Gravity acceleration at sea level
M: molar mass of the atmosphere [kg / mol]
R: Gas constant [J / K / mol]
P ₀ : Sea level pressure [hPa]
It is.
In (Formula 1), the altitude H [m] is obtained from the atmospheric pressure P [hPa] by the following formula (see “Non-Patent Document 3”).

（式２）は、現在の大気がＩＣＡＯ（Ｉｎｔｅｒｎａｔｉｏｎａｌ Ｃｉｖｉｌ Ａｖｉａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｒｇａｎｉｚａｔｉｏｎ）標準大気に従うと仮定し、任意の基準高度Ｈｒｅｆ［ｍ］とその高度における気圧Ｐｒｅｆ［ｈＰａ］（参照気圧）が得られるとき、高度Ｈ［ｍ］を与える式である。

(Equation 2) assumes that the current atmosphere follows an ICAO (International Civic Aviation Organization) standard atmosphere, and when an arbitrary reference altitude Href [m] and an atmospheric pressure Pref [hPa] (reference atmospheric pressure) at that altitude are obtained, This is an expression that gives an altitude H [m].

  As a method of reducing the difference in the atmospheric state between the current position and the reference atmospheric pressure measurement point, the technique of Patent Document 1 measures the atmospheric pressure at points where a plurality of altitudes are known, and based on the information on the current position and atmospheric pressure. Although the reference atmospheric pressure at the position is estimated, it is possible to estimate the floor where the person is in the indoor environment from the estimation error of the reference atmospheric pressure at the current position and the difference in the sensor offset between each atmospheric pressure sensor (atmospheric pressure offset) It is difficult to achieve such accuracy.

  In the method of Non-Patent Document 1 in which the altitude is measured by the difference between the atmospheric pressure measured by a single atmospheric pressure sensor and the atmospheric pressure at the reference altitude measured by GPS, the problem of the atmospheric pressure offset does not occur, but at the time of starting the system There is a problem that the measurement error increases when the atmospheric state changes from the measurement of the reference atmospheric pressure.

  As a method that does not rely on an atmospheric pressure sensor, there is a method of measuring a three-dimensional position by inertial navigation using a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor as described in Non-Patent Document 2, but the altitude estimated by such a measurement method is Since a measurement error proportional to the movement distance occurs, a means for correcting the error is required separately.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to use a measurement result from a pressure sensor carried in a moving body and a measurement result from a pressure sensor in the environment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile body altitude measuring apparatus that often measures the altitude of a mobile body.

  In order to achieve the above object, a mobile body altitude measuring apparatus according to the present invention includes a barometric pressure sensor (portable barometric pressure sensor) carried by a mobile body and a barometric pressure sensor installed at a known altitude outside the mobile body. This device measures altitude based on the measurement information from the (reference atmospheric pressure sensor), and includes an atmospheric pressure acquisition means between the portable atmospheric pressure sensor and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, and is corrected by the atmospheric pressure offset acquired by the atmospheric pressure offset acquisition means. Further, the altitude of the moving body is measured by the difference in atmospheric pressure from both atmospheric pressure sensors.

  As one aspect of the present invention, the mobile body altitude measurement apparatus of the present invention refers to a mobile body such as a positioning device carried by the mobile body, a camera or an RFID tag installed outside the mobile body. Provided in the mobile object when it is confirmed that the mobile object is in the vicinity of the reference pressure sensor and at the same altitude by the mobile object authentication means capable of detecting the presence in the vicinity of the pressure sensor and at the same altitude. By an information communication means such as a wireless network, the moving body acquires the atmospheric pressure measured by the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, and acquires the atmospheric pressure offset between the portable atmospheric pressure sensor and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor.

  Furthermore, after correcting the atmospheric pressure measured by the portable atmospheric pressure sensor using the acquired atmospheric pressure offset, the altitude is estimated using the atmospheric pressure difference between the corrected atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor. Thus, it is possible to perform altitude measurement with higher accuracy, focusing on only the change in the atmospheric pressure accompanying the movement of the moving body, without being affected by the atmospheric pressure offset inherent in each atmospheric pressure sensor or the atmospheric state change.

  In the mobile body altitude measuring apparatus of the present invention, when the altitude at which the reference atmospheric pressure sensor is installed and the atmospheric pressure measured by the reference atmospheric pressure sensor can be acquired by the information communication means provided in the mobile body, the mobile body Updates the altitude / barometric information of the reference barometric sensor, and estimates the altitude of the moving body from the altitude / barometric information and the barometric pressure measured by the portable barometric pressure sensor. If it cannot be acquired, the altitude of the moving object is estimated from the altitude / pressure information already recorded by the moving object and the atmospheric pressure measured by the portable barometric pressure sensor. As a result, even if the communication status of the information communication means deteriorates, it is possible to continuously estimate the altitude.

  In the mobile body altitude measuring apparatus of the present invention, the operation of the mobile body carrying a self-contained sensor module composed of a sensor group such as an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor is measured using the measurement information from the self-contained sensor module. If the moving object can be determined from the current position based on the motion information from the motion recognition means that is used to recognize that the moving body is moving on the horizontal ground or floor, the altitude change When information that indicates the low probability of occurrence is used for altitude estimation processing, and on the contrary, it can be determined that the moving body is operating in such a way that altitude changes such as climbing up and down stairs or getting into an elevator Uses information indicating that the occurrence probability of altitude change is high for altitude estimation processing.

  Thus, by using the information on the atmospheric pressure and the operating state of the moving body, the altitude of the moving body can be estimated stably and accurately.

  Furthermore, as another aspect of the present invention, in the mobile altitude measuring device of the present invention, if the altitude at which the mobile body can move, such as the altitude of each floor in the building, is known in advance, the altitude In the estimation process, altitude measurement is performed by an altitude estimation process limited to those previously known altitudes. Thereby, stable altitude estimation using the prior knowledge of the environment in which the moving body moves for altitude measurement becomes possible.

  As a specific configuration of the present invention, a mobile body altitude measuring device according to the present invention is measured by a portable barometric sensor that measures the atmospheric pressure around the mobile body and a reference barometric sensor installed outside the mobile body. Information communication means that receives the position information where the atmospheric pressure and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor are installed, and the reference atmospheric pressure installed outside the moving body by measuring the proximity state with the moving body based on the signal from the signal source From the information on the proximity state of the sensor, the mobile body authentication means for authenticating that the mobile body exists in the vicinity of the reference barometric pressure sensor and at the same altitude, and the mobile body is in the vicinity of the reference barometric pressure sensor and the same altitude by the mobile body authentication means Pressure offset acquisition means for acquiring the atmospheric pressure offset between the atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor and the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor. To correct the atmospheric pressure from the portable air pressure sensor and perform data processing for estimating the altitude of the moving body using the corrected atmospheric pressure from the portable air pressure sensor, the position of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, and the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor. And altitude estimation means.

  In this altitude measuring apparatus for a moving body, the reference atmospheric pressure, position, and atmospheric pressure are further recorded to record the position of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, and the atmospheric pressure offset between the portable atmospheric pressure sensor and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor. An offset storage device is provided, and the altitude estimation means uses the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device and the atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor when communication by the information communication means is not possible. And data processing for estimating the altitude of the moving object.

  The mobile body altitude measurement apparatus further includes motion recognition means for recognizing the motion of the mobile body, and the height estimation means is a motion whose motion type recognized by the motion recognition means causes a change in the height of the mobile body. If it is, it indicates that there is a high probability that a moving object exists at a high level where there is a facility corresponding to the action type based on prior knowledge of the environment, and that the probability that the moving object is moving on a horizontal plane in the environment is low. If the information and the action type recognized by the action recognition means are actions that do not cause a change in the height of the moving object, the probability that the moving object is moving on the horizontal plane in the environment is high based on prior knowledge of the environment. The mobile object is configured to perform data processing for estimating the altitude of the mobile object using information indicating that the probability that the mobile object exists other than the altitude at which the horizontal plane exists in the environment is low. It is characterized by that.

  In addition, in the altitude measuring apparatus for a mobile object, the altitude estimation means is configured to perform data processing for estimating the altitude of the mobile object only for discrete altitudes where a horizontal plane exists from prior knowledge of the environment. Features.

  According to the mobile body altitude measuring apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, when measuring the altitude of the mobile body based on the barometric pressure from the portable barometric pressure sensor and the reference barometric pressure sensor, the atmospheric pressure offset between the sensors and the atmosphere It is possible to reduce measurement errors caused by changes in the state of the object, and to measure altitude with high accuracy by using the operation information of the moving body and the prior knowledge of the environment.

It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the altitude measuring apparatus of the moving body by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the reference | standard atmospheric | air pressure currently recorded on the reference | standard atmospheric | air pressure / position / atmosphere offset storage device, and a communication condition. It is a block diagram which shows another structure of the altitude measuring apparatus of the moving body by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows another structure of the altitude measuring apparatus of the moving body by this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the altitude estimation using the motion type from the motion recognition means 411 and prior knowledge of the environment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the altitude estimation using the prior knowledge of an environment.

  Hereinafter, the form for implementing the altitude measuring apparatus of this invention is demonstrated concretely using drawing. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a mobile altitude measuring apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an altitude measuring device carried by a moving body. Reference numeral 102 denotes a portable barometric pressure sensor, 104 an altitude estimation unit, 106 an information communication unit, 107 a reference barometric pressure / position / barometric offset storage device, 108 a barometric pressure offset acquisition unit, and 109 a mobile object authentication unit. The altitude measuring device 101 is carried by the moving body, and the altitude of the place where the moving body is located is measured. Further, as an environment for altitude measurement of a mobile object in which the altitude measuring device 101 is carried, a signal generation that outputs a reference pressure sensor 103, an information communication means 105, and a signal that can be used as position information to the outside is generated. It is necessary that the source 123 is provided. The mobile altitude measuring device 101 here is included in the mobile body whose altitude is measured with respect to the system elements provided in the external environment, so that it will be easily understood below. Therefore, the altitude measuring device 101 will be described as the moving body 101.

  111 is information on the position including the pressure measured by the reference pressure sensor 103 and the altitude of the reference pressure sensor 103, 121 is information on the pressure and position of the reference pressure sensor 103 transmitted to the mobile body 101 by the information communication means 105. , 112 is information on the reference atmospheric pressure received by the information communication means 106 inside the mobile body 101, 113 is information on the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset, 114 is information on the altitude of the mobile body 101, and 115 is information on the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 102. , 116 is authentication information (true or false) obtained by the mobile body authentication means 109, 118 is information on the atmospheric pressure offset obtained by the atmospheric pressure offset acquisition means 108, 119 is information on the reference atmospheric pressure, 120 Is information on the atmospheric pressure measured by the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 102, 122 is position information of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103, 124 is It represents the signal No. source 123.

  In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 is disposed in an environment outside the moving body 101, and position information including its altitude is measured in advance. Then, the positional information and the measured atmospheric pressure information including the positional information are transmitted to the moving body 101 via the information communication unit 105.

  The moving body 101 records the atmospheric pressure and the position information from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 received by the information communication means 106 in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107. The reference pressure / position / pressure offset storage device 107 can record the pressure / position / pressure offset from one or more reference pressure sensors 103.

  The mobile body authentication unit 109 receives a signal (position information) that can be used as the positional information output from the signal generation source 123 by, for example, an RFID reader or a wireless signal receiver, and the mobile body 101 uses these signals. The function to measure the position of the. By arranging an active RFID tag, an access point of a wireless network, a signal generation source 123 such as an infrared / visible light signal generator as an environment outside such a moving body 101, those signal generation sources are arranged. A known position determination process is performed on the basis of the signal from, and the proximity state between the moving body 101 and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 is measured. Here, the proximity state means that it needs to be at the same altitude, but has a certain extent on the horizontal surface and exists in a range where it can be considered that the atmospheric state is the same. . For the measurement of the proximity state, methods such as Non-Patent Document 4, Non-Patent Document 5, and Non-Patent Document 8 are used. Detailed description here is omitted.

  Then, the mobile body authentication unit 109 uses the position information of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107 and the measured information on the proximity state of the mobile body 101 to use the mobile body 101. Are present in the vicinity of the reference barometric pressure sensors and at the same altitude. Here, the vicinity means a range in which the atmospheric state can be regarded as the same on a horizontal plane at the same altitude. For example, in an indoor environment, the same floor of the same building, and in an outdoor environment within a range of several tens of meters are considered to be in the vicinity because it can be determined that the atmospheric conditions are almost the same. If the mobile body authentication unit 109 determines that the mobile body 101 and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 exist in the vicinity and at the same altitude, the authentication information (true) for the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 is obtained as the atmospheric pressure offset acquisition unit 108. Send to. If the mobile body authentication unit 109 determines that the mobile body 101 and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 do not exist in the vicinity or at the same altitude, authentication information (false) is acquired for the reference atmospheric pressure sensor. Send to.

  The atmospheric pressure offset acquisition unit 108 acquires the atmospheric pressure offset based on the authentication information (true) from the moving body authentication unit 109. If the authentication information from the mobile body authentication means 109 is true, the atmospheric pressure offset acquisition means 108 sends the atmospheric pressure of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 and the mobile body from the reference atmospheric pressure / position / air pressure offset storage device 107 and the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 102. Acquire the atmospheric pressure in the vicinity. The atmospheric pressure obtained by subtracting the atmospheric pressure around the moving body from the atmospheric pressure of the acquired reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 is the atmospheric pressure offset. After obtaining the atmospheric pressure offset, the atmospheric pressure offset obtaining unit 108 records the obtained atmospheric pressure offset in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107.

  The altitude estimating means 104 acquires the atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107 and the atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 102 to obtain the portable atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 102 is corrected by adding an atmospheric pressure offset to the atmospheric pressure from the sensor 102, and from the atmospheric pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 102 and the atmospheric pressure of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 after the correction, The altitude of the moving body 101 is estimated using (Expression 2). Thereby, it is possible to perform altitude measurement with higher accuracy that is not affected by the atmospheric pressure offset inherent in the atmospheric pressure sensor or the change in the atmospheric state, and that focuses only on the atmospheric pressure change accompanying the movement of the moving body.

  Further, communication is always possible between the information communication means 106 provided in the mobile body 101 and the information communication means 105 provided outside the mobile body 101 (device provided with the reference atmospheric pressure sensor). In many cases, there is no guarantee, and information on the atmospheric pressure detected by the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 may not be sent to the mobile body 101 due to deterioration of the communication state. For example, when a wireless network is used as the information communication unit 105 and the wireless communication unit 106, the mobile unit 101 moves to a place where radio waves do not reach, so that the mobile unit 101 again enters the radio wave range. During this period, communication is interrupted. In order to cope with such a case, in the mobile altitude measuring apparatus according to the present invention, if communication is possible between the information communication means 105 and the information communication means 106, communication is performed at that time and the reference is made. The atmospheric pressure of the atmospheric pressure sensor 103 is recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107, and the altitude estimation means 104 always uses the latest reference atmospheric pressure in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107. Data processing for estimating the altitude of the moving object 101 can be performed.

  Next, the relationship between the communication state between the information communication unit 105 and the information communication unit 106 and the reference atmospheric pressure recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107 used for estimating the altitude of the moving body 101 Will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the communication state 202 between the information communication unit 105 and the information communication unit 106 and the reference atmospheric pressure recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107. In FIG. 2, 203 represents a time axis, and t0 to t4 represent times when the altitude estimation data processing of the moving object 101 was performed. 204 and 205 are recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 107 at each time, respectively. The reference atmospheric pressure and the communication state (possible or impossible) are indicated.

  When the altitude is estimated at the time t0, the communication state 202 is in a “possible” state, so the atmospheric pressure (reference atmospheric pressure t0) of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 at the time t0 is the reference atmospheric pressure / position / air pressure offset storage device. 107 and is used to estimate the altitude of the moving object 101. When the altitude is estimated from time t1 to time t3, the communication state 202 is “impossible”, so the pressure from the reference pressure sensor 103 from time t1 to time t3 is the reference pressure / position / pressure offset storage device. 107, the altitude of the moving body 101 is estimated using the reference pressure t0 which is the latest reference pressure from the reference pressures recorded in the reference pressure / position / pressure offset storage device 107 in the past. .

  When the altitude is estimated at time t4, the communication state 202 is in a “possible” state, so that the atmospheric pressure (reference atmospheric pressure t4) from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 103 at time t4 is stored as a reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset. It is recorded in the device 107 and used for the altitude estimation of the moving object 101. Thereby, even when the mobile body 101 moves to a place where communication between the information communication unit 105 and the information communication unit 106 is impossible, the altitude can be estimated continuously.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the mobile body altitude measuring apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes an altitude measuring device carried by a moving body. Similar to the description of the embodiment in FIG. On the other hand, the altitude measuring device 301 is described as the moving body 301 in order to facilitate understanding because it is included in the moving body whose altitude is measured.

  The moving body 301 includes a portable barometric pressure sensor 302, an altitude estimation unit 304, an information communication unit 306, a reference barometric pressure / position / barometric offset storage device 307, a barometric offset acquisition unit 308, and a signal generation source 309. Yes. Outside the moving body 301, the reference pressure sensor 303, the information communication means 305 that transmits the pressure from the reference pressure sensor 303 to the moving body 301, the moving body authentication means 310, and the authentication information from the moving body authentication means 310 to the moving body 301. An environment provided with information communication means 323 for transmitting (true or false) is provided.

  Reference numeral 311 represents atmospheric pressure / position information detected and output by the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 303, and reference numeral 321 represents atmospheric pressure / position information transmitted to the mobile body 301 by the information communication unit 305. Reference numeral 312 denotes atmospheric pressure / position information from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 303 received by the information communication unit 306. Reference numeral 313 represents barometric pressure / position / barometric offset information recorded in the reference barometric pressure / position / barometric offset storage device 307 and read out. Represents altitude information. Reference numeral 315 denotes information on the atmospheric pressure measured by the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 302. Reference numeral 316 denotes an ID-added signal transmitted from the signal generation source 309, 317 denotes authentication information output from the mobile unit authentication unit 310, and 318 denotes authentication information transmitted to the mobile unit 301 by the information communication unit 323. Yes. Reference numeral 319 represents information on the atmospheric pressure offset acquired by the atmospheric pressure offset acquisition unit 308, and reference numeral 320 represents information on the reference atmospheric pressure recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / air pressure offset storage device 307. Reference numeral 322 denotes authentication information from the mobile unit authentication unit 310 transmitted from the information communication unit 323 and received by the information communication unit 306.

  The difference between the configuration shown in FIG. 3 and the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is that the mobile body authentication means 310 for authenticating that the mobile body 301 is near the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 303 and at the same altitude is outside the mobile body 301. And the authentication information from the mobile body authentication means 310 provided outside are provided to the mobile body 301, the point that the signal generation source 309 is installed in the mobile body 301, and the mobile body 301. The information communication means 323 for transmitting is installed outside the moving body 301.

  In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3, the mobile body 301 includes a signal generation source 309 that outputs a signal that can be used as positional information such as an RFID tag, and the signal 316 from the signal generation source 309 is transmitted to an external environment. The mobile body authentication unit 310 measures the proximity state of the mobile body 301 by receiving the signal using a signal receiver such as an RFID reader included in the mobile body authentication unit 310 provided in the mobile body. As described above, the method according to Non-Patent Document 4, Non-Patent Document 5, and Non-Patent Document 8 can be used as this proximity state measurement method. This method is publicly known and will not be described in detail here.

  In addition, the mobile body authentication unit 310 provided in the external environment recognizes the mobile body 301 from images / videos obtained by a surveillance camera or the like, and determines internal parameters such as the camera angle of view and focal length, and the camera position and orientation. It is also possible to use a position determination system that measures the proximity state of the moving body 301 using the external parameters that are represented. Such a position determination system is known, and for example, the method of Non-Patent Document 6 can be used to recognize a moving object from an image / video.

  And the proximity | contact state of the mobile body 301 obtained by measurement and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 303 is discriminate | determined because the mobile body authentication means 310 acquires beforehand the position of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 303, and the mobile body 301 becomes reference atmospheric pressure. If it can be determined that the sensor 303 is near and at the same altitude, authentication information (true) is transmitted to the mobile unit 301 via the information communication unit 323.

  When the authentication information (true) from the mobile body authentication unit 310 is obtained via the information communication unit 323 and the information communication unit 306, the atmospheric pressure offset acquisition unit 308 includes the atmospheric pressure information detected by the portable barometric pressure sensor 302. The information on the atmospheric pressure offset is acquired from the information on the reference atmospheric pressure recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 307, and is updated and recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 307. In addition, the method for obtaining the atmospheric pressure offset, the method for recording the atmospheric pressure offset in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 307, the atmospheric pressure / atmospheric pressure offset from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 302, and the atmospheric pressure / position information of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor were used. The altitude estimation method of the moving body 301 is performed in the same manner as the configuration of FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing still another configuration of the mobile body altitude measuring apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, 401 is an altitude measuring device carried by a moving body, and the mobile altitude measuring device 401 here is a system element provided in an external environment, as in the description of the embodiment of FIG. On the other hand, the altitude measuring device 401 is described as the moving body 401 in order to facilitate understanding because it is included in the moving body whose altitude is measured.

  The mobile body (altitude measuring device) 401 of this embodiment includes a portable barometric pressure sensor 402, an altitude estimation means 404, an information communication means 406, a reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 407, an atmospheric pressure offset acquisition means 408, and a mobile body. An authentication unit 409 and an operation recognition unit 411 for recognizing the operation state of the mobile body 401 such as whether the mobile body 401 is moving or in a stopped state and outputting the operation state are provided. Outside the moving body 401, a reference atmospheric pressure sensor 403, an information communication unit 405 for transmitting the atmospheric pressure measured by the reference atmospheric pressure sensor to the moving body 401, and a signal generation source 410 are provided as an external environment.

  Reference numeral 412 represents atmospheric pressure / position information from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 403, and reference numeral 413 represents atmospheric pressure / position information transmitted to the moving body 401 by the information communication unit 405. Reference numeral 414 represents atmospheric pressure / position information received by the information communication unit 406, and reference numeral 415 represents reference atmospheric pressure / position / air pressure offset information read from the reference atmospheric pressure / position / air pressure offset storage device 407. Reference numeral 416 represents information on the altitude of the moving object 401 estimated by performing data processing by the altitude estimating means 404.

  Reference numerals 417 and 421 represent information on the atmospheric pressure measured by the portable pressure sensor, and reference numeral 418 represents authentication information (true or false) as a result of the authentication processing performed by the mobile body authentication unit 409. Reference numeral 419 is information on the atmospheric pressure offset, 420 is information on the reference atmospheric pressure, 422 is information on the position transmitted from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 403 recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 407, and 423 is from the signal generation source 410. It is a signal with ID being transmitted, and represents a signal that can be used as position information. Reference numeral 424 denotes operation type information representing the operation state of the moving object 401 recognized by the operation recognition unit 411.

  The configuration in FIG. 4 is obtained by adding the motion recognition unit 411 to the configuration in FIG. 1, and the altitude estimation unit 404 uses the information of the motion type 424 that is an output from the motion recognition unit 411 to accurately The configuration is modified to perform altitude estimation data processing, and the configuration and processing other than altitude estimation means 404 are the same as those in FIG.

  The motion recognition unit 411 recognizes the motion using a sensor that can acquire information necessary for measuring the posture and motion of the moving body such as an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor. In the mobile body altitude measuring apparatus (mobile body 401) of this embodiment of the present invention, whether the mobile body 401 moves on a horizontal plane, or goes up and down stairs, gets on and off elevators and escalators, etc. The motion recognition means 411 recognizes whether the motion is causing an altitude change and outputs the motion state. Therefore, the height estimation means 404 estimates the height according to the motion type of the motion state that is the recognition result. In this data processing, altitude estimation is performed more accurately. For the data processing for motion recognition in the motion recognition means 411, for example, a method as described in Non-Patent Document 7 can be used, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

  In the altitude estimation means 404, information on the atmospheric pressure measured by the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402, information on the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 407, and action recognition means Data processing for estimating the altitude of the moving body 401 is executed using the information on the motion type of the moving body recognized by 411 and the information on the prior knowledge of the environment. Here, prior knowledge information refers to 3D maps, altitude information corresponding to each floor in the building, and the like.

  The altitude estimation means 404 first adds the atmospheric pressure offset previously recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 407 to the atmospheric pressure information from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402, so that the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402. From the atmospheric pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure information from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402 and the atmospheric pressure information from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 403 using the height measurement formula (Formula 2). Data processing for estimating the altitude of 401 is executed. Then, the existence probability distribution of the moving object with the altitude as a random variable is calculated from the estimated altitude and the error distribution of the atmospheric pressure sensor measured in advance. Since the error distribution of the atmospheric pressure sensor can be regarded as a normal distribution, the expected value of the probability distribution is output as the altitude information of the moving object 401. However, in the above estimation method, the estimated altitude changes due to the measurement error of the atmospheric pressure sensor even when it remains on the horizontal plane. Therefore, data processing for estimating the altitude of the moving object 401 stably and accurately is executed by using the information of the action type from the action recognition unit 411 and the prior knowledge of the environment. This will be described in detail next.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining altitude estimation using the motion type and the prior knowledge of the environment from the motion recognition means 411. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 501 denotes a moving body, which carries the altitude measuring device described above. The moving body 501 includes a portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402 and moves on a horizontal plane 502 at an altitude H0. Reference numerals 502, 503, and 504 denote a first horizontal plane, a second horizontal plane, and a staircase with known altitudes given as prior knowledge of the environment, respectively. Reference numerals 506 and 505 represent the existence probability distribution of the moving object 501 with respect to the altitude.

  In FIG. 5, since the moving body 501 is moving on the horizontal plane, information indicating that the moving body 501 is moving on the horizontal plane is obtained from the movement recognition unit 411 as information on the movement type. That is, the probability that the moving body 501 is moving on the first horizontal plane 502 or the second horizontal plane 503 is high, but the probability that the moving body 501 is moving on the stairs 504 is low. Therefore, data processing is performed to increase the existence probability of the moving object 501 for the altitude corresponding to each horizontal plane in the environment and reduce the existence probability for other altitudes. Thus, the existence probability distribution 505 with less uncertainty is accurately expressed from the action type information from the action recognition means 411 and the existence probability distribution 506 of the moving object 501 when the prior knowledge of the environment is not used. Information can be estimated. Thereby, the expected value of the existence probability distribution 505 with less uncertainty becomes the altitude of the moving object 501.

  In addition, when the moving body 501 is moving on the stairs 504, information indicating that the motion is caused to change in altitude is obtained from the motion recognition unit 411 as the motion type information. It can be seen that the probability of moving on the stairs 504 is high, but the probability of moving on the first horizontal plane 502 or the second horizontal plane 503 is low. Therefore, data processing is performed to reduce the existence probability of the moving object 501 for the altitude corresponding to each horizontal plane in the environment and increase the existence probability for other altitudes. Accordingly, the existence probability distribution with less uncertainty can be estimated by using the action type and environment prior knowledge from the action type information from the action recognition unit 411.

  The estimation of the existence probability distribution is performed by, for example, using the altitude information as a state vector, the present existence probability distribution of the moving object 401, the atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402 after the atmospheric pressure offset correction, and the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 403. In the particle filter that is predicted from the difference between the motion recognition and the motion filter, it is possible to perform the data processing for increasing the likelihood of the sample at a specific altitude in the environment corresponding to the motion type information from the motion recognition unit 411.

  Moreover, in the mobile body altitude measuring apparatus according to the present invention, the altitude estimation of the mobile body 401 is performed more simply using the prior knowledge of the environment without using the motion recognition means 411, and the altitude estimation processing is stabilized. Can also be done.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining altitude estimation using prior knowledge of the environment. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 601 denotes a moving body, which carries the altitude measuring device described above. The moving body 601 includes a portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402 and moves on a horizontal plane 602 at an altitude H0. Reference numerals 602 and 603 denote a first horizontal plane and a second horizontal plane whose known altitudes are given as prior knowledge of the environment. Reference numeral 604 denotes an existence probability distribution of the moving body 601 with respect to the altitude, and reference numeral 605 (broken line) denotes an altitude given from prior knowledge of the environment in the existence probability distribution.

  In an indoor environment, in particular, the altitude in the middle of going up and down stairs or moving by an elevator escalator is often not important, and it is often important to stably obtain discrete altitudes on the floor. Therefore, the existence probability distribution of the moving body 601 is calculated from the difference between the atmospheric pressure information from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor 402 after the atmospheric pressure offset correction and the atmospheric pressure information from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor 403 and the error distribution of the atmospheric pressure sensor. Later, the existence probability corresponding to each discrete height in the environment is calculated. The altitude having the highest existence probability is set as the altitude at which the moving object 601 exists. This makes it possible to stably estimate the altitude of the moving object.

101 Altitude measurement device (moving body)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Portable pressure sensor 103 Reference pressure sensor 104 Altitude estimation means 105 Information communication means 106 Information communication means 107 Reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 108 Air pressure offset acquisition means 109 Mobile object authentication means 123 Signal generation source 301 Altitude measurement device ( Moving body)
302 Atmospheric pressure sensor 303 Reference atmospheric pressure sensor 304 Altitude estimation means 305 Information communication means 306 Information communication means 307 Reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 308 Atmospheric pressure offset acquisition means 309 Signal generation source 310 Mobile body authentication means 323 Communication information means 401 Advanced measuring device (moving body)
402 Air pressure sensor 403 Reference air pressure sensor 404 Altitude estimation means 405 Information communication means 406 Information communication means 407 Reference air pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device 408 Air pressure offset acquisition means 409 Mobile object authentication means 410 Signal generation source 411 Operation recognition means

Claims (4)

A portable barometric pressure sensor that measures the atmospheric pressure around a moving object;
Information communication means for receiving the atmospheric pressure measured by a reference atmospheric pressure sensor installed outside the moving body and the position information where the reference atmospheric pressure sensor is installed;
Based on the signal from the signal transmission source, the proximity state to the moving body is measured, and from the information regarding the proximity state of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor installed outside the moving body, the moving body is in the vicinity of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor and Mobile object authentication means for authenticating the existence at the same altitude;
When the mobile body authentication means can authenticate that the mobile body exists in the vicinity of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor and at the same altitude, an atmospheric pressure offset between the atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor and the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor Pressure offset acquisition means for acquiring
The atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor is corrected using the atmospheric pressure offset, and the movement is performed using the corrected atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor, the position of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, and the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor. An altitude estimation device for a moving body, comprising altitude estimation means for performing data processing for estimating the altitude of the body. The mobile body altitude measurement apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
A reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device for recording the position of the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, the atmospheric pressure from the reference atmospheric pressure sensor, and the atmospheric pressure offset between the portable atmospheric pressure sensor and the reference atmospheric pressure sensor;
The altitude estimation means includes
When communication by the information communication means is not possible, the altitude of the moving body is estimated using the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset recorded in the reference atmospheric pressure / position / atmospheric pressure offset storage device and the atmospheric pressure from the portable atmospheric pressure sensor. An altitude measuring apparatus for a moving object characterized by performing data processing. The mobile body altitude measurement apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
Comprising a motion recognition means for recognizing the motion of the mobile body;
The altitude estimation means includes
If the action type recognized by the action recognition unit is an action that causes an altitude change of the moving object, the moving object exists at a high altitude where a facility corresponding to the action type exists from prior knowledge of the environment. Information indicating that the probability that the moving object is moving on a horizontal plane in the environment is low, and that the action type recognized by the action recognition means does not cause a change in altitude of the moving object. In some cases, based on prior knowledge of the environment, it is highly probable that the moving object is moving on a horizontal plane in the environment, and the probability that the moving object exists at a level other than the altitude at which the horizontal plane in the environment exists is low. The mobile body altitude measuring apparatus is configured to perform data processing for estimating the altitude of the mobile body using information indicating the mobile body altitude estimation. In the altitude measuring device of the mobile object according to claim 1,
The altitude estimation means includes
An apparatus for measuring altitude of a moving body, which performs data processing for estimating the altitude of the moving body only for discrete altitudes where a horizontal plane exists from prior knowledge of the environment.

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