JP5450703B2 - Method and apparatus for determining a spatial area in which a target is located - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, position relates to the field of location information relates to a method and equipment for determining the spatial area located target is characterized in particular spatial area.

Location information is basic context information that can be used to identify the geographical relationship between the user and the environment, thereby enabling a deeper understanding of the user's behavior.
In recent years, methods and systems for providing location information have received more and more attention. In particular, those and systems that provide location information are even more needed for indoor and urban environments.

Currently, there is an increasing demand for real-time, accurate location tracking in a wide variety of applications, such as offices, medical institutions, mines, subways, smart buildings, or hotels.
In many applications based on location information, it is often necessary to divide the space into multiple areas called spatial areas or spatial grids to determine which spatial area in the space the target is located in. Become.
For example, in the information recommendation use of the product shelf, it can be assumed that the products on the shelf are respectively located in the space areas corresponding to the products. Then, when the target enters the spatial area (for example, when the target approaches a certain product), it is necessary to determine which spatial area the target enters based on the model of the spatial area. As a result, it is possible to recommend information about products corresponding to the spatial area to the customer.

Pattern classification (second edition), Chapter 10, pages 517-599 O. Duder, P.A. E. Heart, D.H. G. Stoke, ISBN: 0-471-05669-3 (Pattern Classification (Second Edition), Chapter 10, pp. 517-599, R.O. Duda, P. E. Hart, and D. G. Stork, ISBN: 0-471-05669-3)

So far, several methods have been proposed for characterizing a spatial area and determining whether a target is located within a spatial area.
However, these methods according to the related art have some limitations. For example, the modeling of a spatial area or the process of characterizing a spatial area is too complicated and too expensive. Furthermore, accuracy is very low because it is difficult to efficiently and quickly distinguish neighboring spatial areas.

  Thus, there is a particular need in the art for technical solutions that can conveniently, quickly and accurately characterize a spatial area and determine the spatial area where a target is located.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a technical solution for characterizing a spatial area in space.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a technical solution for determining in which spatial area of the space the target is located.

A first method according to the present invention is a method by an apparatus for determining a spatial area where a target is located, in which an acquisition unit acquires a series of position points in the spatial area, and an extraction unit includes a series of An extraction step for extracting a key point position point characterizing the spatial area from the position point , wherein the extraction step calculates a distance between the position point in the series of position points and a predetermined key point position point. And an averaging step for calculating an average of the position parameters of the position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point, and comparing the average value with the position parameter of each predetermined key point position point and calculating a difference between them. A comparison step to be acquired, the position of the predetermined key point position point is determined based on the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point, and the extraction step But based on the proximity principle, the location points, including a grouping step of grouping each predetermined keypoint location points, characterized in that.
A second method according to the present invention is a method by an apparatus for determining a spatial area where a target is located, wherein an acquisition means acquires a series of position points in the spatial area, and an extraction means includes a series of An extraction step for extracting a key point position point characterizing the spatial area from the position point, wherein the extraction step (a) sets the number of key point position points that need to be acquired; and (b) a series of steps A step of calculating a distance between two position points within the position point of (2), (c) merging two position points having the minimum distance to form a new position point, and (d) a current position point Comparing the number of position points with the number of set key point position points, and determining the key point position point based on the number of current position points and the set number of key point position points. This The features.

A first apparatus according to the present invention comprises acquisition means for acquiring a series of position points in a spatial area, and extraction means for extracting key point position points characterizing the spatial area from the series of position points , the extraction means comprising: A calculation means for calculating a distance between a position point within a series of position points and a predetermined key point position point, and a group for grouping the position points into each predetermined key point position point based on the adjacency principle And an averaging means for obtaining an average of position parameters of position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point, and comparing the average value and the position parameter of each predetermined key point position point Comparing means for obtaining a difference, and if the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, the position point of the predetermined key point is defined as the key point position point. If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is greater than the predetermined value, the predetermined key point position point is replaced with the position point corresponding to the average value, and then the calculation is performed. The operations of the means, the grouping means, the averaging means, and the comparing means are repeatedly executed .
A second apparatus according to the present invention comprises acquisition means for acquiring a series of position points in a spatial area, and extraction means for extracting key point position points characterizing the spatial area from the series of position points, the extraction means comprising: Setting means for setting the number of key point position points that need to be acquired; calculation means for calculating a distance between two position points in a series of position points; and two position points having a minimum distance Are merged into new position points, and comparing means for comparing the number of current position points with the number of set key point position points. The number of current position points is set. If it is equal to the number of key point position points, the current position point is determined as a key point position point. If the number of current position points is not equal to the number of set key point position points, the calculation means, the merge Means, before Repeated operation of the comparison means and executes.

According to the present invention, a method capable of characterizing a spatial area in a space with simple processing is realized.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to determine in which spatial area of the space the target is located efficiently and quickly.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Other objects and effects of the present invention will become clearer and more easily understood with a more comprehensive understanding of preferred embodiments of the present invention by the description of the detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Let's go.
It is the schematic of the space containing several space areas. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the characterization of a spatial area according to related technology. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the characterization of a spatial area according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the system which characterizes the space area in the space by embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for characterizing a spatial area in a space according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for extracting key point position points according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for extracting key point position points according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the system which determines the space area by embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a spatial area according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a spatial area in which a target is located according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a spatial area in which a target is located according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration for characterizing and determining a spatial area in a space according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  First, technical terms used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described.

1. Space and Space Area A space according to the present invention is a space in which a target can move, such as a room, an office, a conference room, and the like. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a space 100 including a plurality of spatial areas.

The spatial area according to the present invention refers to a part of the area included in the space. FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are schematic diagrams showing the space area 210 and the space area 220. It should be understood that the spatial area according to the present invention is not limited to a cube as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, and can take any shape, for example a rectangular parallelepiped, a sphere, an irregular shape, and the like.
Further, the space may include one or more space areas, and the space areas may be independent space portions that do not overlap each other as shown in FIG. 1 or space portions that have overlap portions with each other. You should understand that.

  Usually, in order to recognize in which spatial area the target exists, the model of the spatial area must be recognized. That is, it is necessary to recognize how to characterize the spatial area. Embodiments of the present invention provide a technical method for characterizing a spatial area. Details will be described below.

2. Position Point and Position Point to be Key Point The position point according to the present invention is a point in the space area 220 (for example, the space area 220 shown in FIG. 2 b), and the space area 220 includes a plurality of position points 221. A location point may have a corresponding location parameter that is a three-dimensional coordinate of the location point in space.

A position point 222 as a key point is a position point for characterizing a spatial area. The position point to be a key point may be any position point in the spatial area or any position point on the spatial area.
For example, in the spatial area 220 shown in FIG. 2b, the spatial area 220 not only has a plurality of position points 221, but also has position points 222 that become key points selected from those position points to characterize the spatial area.
In principle, any point in space can be selected as a key position point as long as it can characterize the space.
Usually, in order to acquire a model of a spatial area, it is necessary to recognize position points that are key points for characterizing the spatial area.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a technical method for characterizing a spatial area through extraction of position points as key points is provided, which will be described in detail below.

3. Signal Transmitter The signal transmitter in a preferred embodiment of the present invention refers to a device capable of transmitting a ranging signal, for example, an RF signal transmitter.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the signal transmitter can be placed at a target in space. For example, a signal transmitter is attached to a target in the form of a tag to obtain a target position parameter by a positioning device (POD) that receives a ranging signal transmitted from the target signal transmitter.
Various types of signals can be used as ranging signals. Examples include, but are not limited to, ultrasound, infrared, laser, RF signal, ultra-wideband pulse signal, Doppler signal, and sound wave.
The determination of the target position parameter by the POD and the signal transmitter is widely known in the technical field of the present invention, and the details thereof are omitted.

4). Positioning device (POD: Positioning on
One Device)
The POD according to the embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for acquiring a target position parameter.
In a preferred embodiment, the POD employed in the present invention is a sensor array having a plurality of leaf nodes. The number of leaf nodes is at least two. In other words, the POD includes at least two leaf node sensors and one sensor arranged therebetween. Usually, the more leaf nodes, the higher the positioning accuracy.
In a specific application example, the POD is usually placed at the top of the space 100 and receives a ranging signal transmitted from a target signal transmitter in the space 100.
The target position parameter can be determined based on the ranging signal and the position parameter of the POD itself.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are described by way of example and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

  First, the related art methods for characterizing the spatial area and determining the spatial area where the target is located will be described.

FIG. 2a is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for characterizing a spatial area according to the related art. In a method for characterizing a spatial area as shown in FIG. 2a, a user moves along a boundary of the spatial area using a signal transmitter, while receiving a ranging signal emitted from the signal transmitter by a POD.
The position parameter of the signal transmitter moving along the boundary of the spatial area is determined based on the distance measurement signal and the position parameter of the POD itself, and as a result, the position parameter of the boundary of the spatial area is obtained.
Thereafter, a series of vertices of the spatial area is obtained by using a polygon fitting algorithm, and the series of vertices is used as a model of the spatial area to characterize the spatial area.

In a related art method for determining a spatial area where a target is located, when a target signal transmitter moves to a different spatial area in the space, a ranging signal transmitted from the signal transmitter during that time is received by the POD.
The target position parameter is determined based on the distance measurement signal and the position parameter of the POD itself. Then, in order to determine in which spatial area the target is located, the target position parameter is compared with all spatial area models.

However, there are many problems with the related technology.
First, because the target is required to move strictly along the boundary of the spatial area with the signal transmitter, the related art requires a complex process to characterize the spatial area.
In addition, when the shape of the spatial area is irregular, it is difficult for the target equipped with the signal transmitter to move strictly along the boundary of the spatial area.
Second, in the process of determining the spatial area where the target is located, when the two spatial areas are closely adjacent, when the target moves between the two spatial areas, which spatial area the target is located exactly It will be difficult to decide.

FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for characterizing a spatial area according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
According to a preferred embodiment, during the process of characterizing the spatial area, it is not necessary for the target to move strictly along the boundary of the spatial area with the signal transmitter.
On the contrary, by simply acquiring an arbitrary series of position points in the spatial area, it is possible to extract position points as key points to characterize the spatial area.
Hereinafter, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 describe in detail the method for characterizing the spatial area of the space according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a system 300 for characterizing a spatial area in space according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, a system 300 for characterizing a spatial area in space includes a signal transmitter 310, a positioning device (POD) 320, and a server 300.
The signal transmitter 310 is configured to transmit a distance measurement signal, and is arranged at a position point within a series of position points. The position parameters of the position points in the series of position points are obtained by transmitting a ranging signal from the signal transmitter to the positioning device (POD).
The positioning device (POD) 320 is configured to acquire a position parameter of a position point where the signal transmitter is located based on a distance measurement signal from the signal transmitter.
Server 330 includes a spatial area characterization device 340.

Hereinafter, an implementation example of the system 300 will be described in detail.
Specifically, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a series of position points (a series of position points connected by an alternate long and short dash line as shown in FIG. 2b) is first determined in the spatial area.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the series of position points is determined by randomly moving the signal transmitter in the spatial area, or determined by presetting a plurality of position points in the spatial area. The
It should be noted that the series of position points in the present invention does not have to be acquired by moving strictly along the boundary of the spatial area as in the related art, but includes any position point in the spatial area. .
In the embodiment of the present invention, the signal transmitter is arranged at each position point of the series of position points, and thereby the position parameters of the position points are acquired.
In order to obtain the position parameters of the position points, the same signal transmitter is also arranged at different position points within the series of position points.
In one example, the server 330 determines the position parameter of each position point in the series of position points based on the distance measurement signal transmitted from the signal transmitter 310 and the position parameter of the POD 320 itself that receives the distance measurement signal.
In another example, the POD 320 determines the position parameter of each position point in the series of position points based on the ranging signal emitted from the signal transmitter 310 and the position parameter of the signal transmitter itself.
The signal transmitter 310 itself is well known in the art and will not be described in detail here.

Next, the POD 320 is set in the space. The POD 320 can be installed at any location in the space.
For example, the POD 320 can be arranged in the upper part of the space, and its initial arrangement location is arbitrary. That is, it can be arranged at any location in the upper part of the space.
In one example, the spatial area characterization device 340 in the server 330 receives a ranging signal transmitted from the signal transmitter 310 and each position point in the series of position points based on the position parameter of the POD 320 itself that receives the ranging signal. In order to determine the position parameter, the POD 320 receives the distance measurement signal from the signal transmitter 310 and transmits the distance measurement signal and the position parameter of the POD 320 itself to the server.
In another example, the POD 320 determines the position parameter of each position point in the series of position points based on the ranging signal emitted from the signal transmitter 310 and the position parameter of the signal transmitter itself.

It should be understood that there is no context between the placement of the signal generator 310 and the placement of the POD 320.
Both can be placed at the same time, or the POD 320 can be placed first and then the signal generator 310 can be placed at a spatial feature in the space.

Thereafter, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the spatial area characterization device 340 of the server 330 is based on the ranging signal transmitted from the signal transmitter 310 and the position parameter of the POD 320 itself that receives the ranging signal. A position parameter of a position point in a series of position points in the space area is calculated for the entire space.
For example, the position parameter is coordinates (x, y, z) of a position point in space.
The spatial area characterization device 340 then uses the location parameters of the location points within the series of location points to extract key point location points that characterize the spatial area, thereby establishing a model of the spatial area.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spatial area characterization device 340 includes an acquisition means 341 configured to acquire a series of position points in the spatial area, and a series of Extraction means 342 configured to extract keypoint position points based on the position points.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the spatial area characterization device 340 for characterizing the spatial area according to the present embodiment.

  In step 401, a series of position points in the spatial area are acquired.

  As described above, a series of position points can be obtained based on the movement trajectory of a signal transmitter that moves randomly in the space area, or by setting a plurality of position points in the space area in advance. Can be acquired.

  In a specific example, a user possesses a signal transmitter that transmits a ranging signal, moves randomly in space, and extracts a position point that becomes a key point of the movement locus of the signal transmitter. Can be used as a position point.

  In step 402, key point position points characterizing the spatial area are extracted.

  In this step, various implementation methods can be used to extract a position point as a key point from the series of position points acquired from step 401.

As an example, step 402 includes a k-means clustering algorithm (K-means
clustering algorithm), Non-Patent Document 1, “Pattern Classification (Second Edition), Chapter 10, 517-599 pages RO Duder, PE Heart, DG Stoke, ISBN: 0-471-05669- 3 (Pattern
Classification (Second Edition), Chapter 10, pp. 517-599, RO Duda, PE
Hart, and DG Stork, ISBN: 0-471-05669-3) ”.
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a method for extracting key point position points with the k-means clustering algorithm. This will be described in detail below.

  In another example, step 402 can be implemented with a hierarchical clustering algorithm. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a method for extracting position points as key points in the hierarchical clustering algorithm. This will be described in detail below.

In the method of extracting key point position points using the k-means clustering algorithm shown in FIG. 5, the spatial area characterization device 340 includes an acquisition unit 341 and an extraction unit 342.
The extracting unit 342 calculates a distance between a position point in the series of position points and a predetermined key point position point (the initial predetermined key point position point is one selected from the series of position points). Grouping means for grouping position points into predetermined keypoint position points based on the adjacency principle, and the same predetermined keypoint position points. Average means for obtaining an average of the position parameters of the position points to which the position belongs belongs, and comparison means for comparing the average value with the position parameters of the predetermined key point position points to obtain a difference therebetween.
If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the predetermined position point is determined as the key point position point.
When the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is larger than the predetermined value, the predetermined key point position point is replaced with the position point corresponding to the average value, and then the calculation means and the grouping means The averaging means and the comparison means are activated and executed repeatedly.

  Hereinafter, the operation flow of the extraction unit 342 of the spatial area characterization device 340 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to each step of FIG.

  In step 501, a distance between a position point in a series of position points and a predetermined key point position point is calculated.

In one example, the series of position points obtained from step 401 includes one or more position points.
Each position point is characterized by a position parameter (eg, the three-dimensional coordinates of the position point).
A series of position points is L = {(x _i , y _i , z _i ),
i = 1,2, ..., N}. Here, N indicates the number of position points included in the series of position points.

In the embodiment for extracting the key points as shown in FIG. 5, the predetermined key point position point may be an arbitrary position point.
A given keypoint position point is not necessarily a keypoint position point that can characterize a spatial area, but merely an intermediate position point used in the process of extracting keypoint position points from a series of position points.

In one example, one or more initial predetermined keypoint position points are predetermined. Alternatively, one or more position points from the series of position points are selected as initial predetermined key point position points.
The initial predetermined key point position point is a position parameter, e.g. P = {(x _j ^P , y _j ^P , z _j ^P ),
j = 1,…, M}
Is characterized by Here, M is the number of initial predetermined key point position points.

  The distance between each position point in the series of position points to each of the M predetermined key point position points is calculated by using the Euclidean distance or other methods known to those skilled in the art. Can do.

ここで、d_ijは、一連の位置点におけるｉ番目（ｉ＝１、２、・・・、Ｎ）の位置点(x_i,y_i,z_i)からｊ番目（ｊ＝１、・・・、Ｍ）の所定のキーポイント位置点((x_j ^P,y_j ^P,z_j ^P))までの間の距離である。 The calculation formula for the Euclidean distance is as follows.

Here, d _ij is the j-th (j = 1,...) From the i-th (i = 1, 2,..., N) position point (x _i , y _i , z _i ) in a series of position points. The distance between the predetermined key point position points ((x _j ^P , y _j ^P , z _j ^P )) of M).

After step 501, a distance matrix d _ij between each position point in the series of position points and each predetermined key point position point is obtained. Here, i = 1, 2,..., N and j = 1,.

In step 502, the position point is converted to the adjacency principle (adjacency).
group to each predetermined keypoint location point based on principle).

The adjacency principle in this step refers to determining the predetermined key point position point whose position is closest to the position point.
For example, a predetermined key point position point for the i-th position point (x _i , y _i , z _i ) in the series of position points can be determined by the following method.
First, the distance between the i-th position point (x _i , y _i , z _i ) in the series of position points and each predetermined key point position point is acquired based on the calculation result in step 501. .
For example, for example, row i in the distance matrix (2) includes M values (d _i1 , d _i2 ,..., D _iM ).
The minimum value is obtained by sorting the M values. For example, d _ik
Here, k represents the kth of M predetermined key point position points.
Thereafter, the i-th position point (x _i , y _i , z _i ) in the series of position points is grouped into a k-th predetermined key point position point.

By the above method, all position points in a series of position points are grouped into corresponding predetermined key point position points based on the adjacency principle.
Thereby, M groups can be acquired. Each group also includes at least one predetermined key point position point.
Note that each group may include multiple location points within a series of location points.
However, in some situations, none of the position points within a series of position points may be grouped into a specific predetermined keypoint, and then the group to which the specific predetermined keypoint belongs Does not include any of the location points in the location point.

  In step 503, the average of the position parameters of the position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point is obtained.

  For the M groups obtained from step 502, the average of the position parameter of a predetermined key point position point and the position parameters of other position points in each group is obtained. The average value acquired at this time is referred to as an average position parameter.

For example, the jth group of M groups includes T _j position points (T _j position points include not only predetermined key point position points but also position points within a series of position points). If included, the average position parameter of the jth group is expressed as follows:

  In step 504, the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point are compared to obtain a difference between them, thereby determining whether the difference is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

  The difference between the average value (ie, the average position parameter) and the position parameter of a given keypoint position point is calculated by subtracting the corresponding position parameters from each other. Other schemes known to those skilled in the art can be used to calculate the difference.

  If the difference is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step 505. If the difference is larger than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step 506.

The predetermined value to be compared with the difference can be fixedly set based on experience, or tentatively set according to different application situations.
As an example, the predetermined value may be set to “0”. In this case, the iterative process is completed only when the average value acquired in step 503 (that is, the average position parameter) is completely the same as the position parameter of the predetermined position point, and the process proceeds to step 505.
Otherwise, the process continues to step 506 and the next iteration is started.

  In step 505, the current predetermined key point position point is determined as the key point position point. Thereafter, the process of FIG. 5 ends.

In step 506, the predetermined key point position point is replaced with a position point corresponding to the average value.
Thereafter, the process returns to step 501, and steps 501 to 504 are repeatedly executed until it is determined in step 504 that the difference between the average position parameter and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is not more than the predetermined value. To do.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which key point position points are extracted by using a hierarchical clustering algorithm.
In this embodiment, the extraction means 342 of the spatial area characterization device 340 includes setting means for setting the number of key point position points that need to be acquired, and for every two position points in the series of position points. Calculation means for calculating the distance between them, merging means for merging two position points having the minimum distance to obtain a new position point, and the number of current position points and set key points Comparing means for comparing the number of position points.
If the number of current position points is equal to the number of set key point position points, the current position point is determined as the key point position point, and the number of current position points must be equal to the number of set key point position points. For example, the calculation unit, the merge unit, and the comparison unit are activated and repeatedly executed.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the extraction unit 342 of the spatial area characterization apparatus 340 in the present embodiment will be described in detail through the description of each step in FIG.

  In step 601, the number of key point position points that need to be acquired is set.

Since key point position points are extracted from a series of position points, the number of key point position points to be set is not as large as the number of position points in the series of position points.
In a specific example, if the number of keypoint position points is the same as the number of position points in a series of position points, all position points in the series of position points are used as keypoint position points to characterize the spatial area. Can be used.
The more keypoint position points, the more accurately the spatial area can be characterized.
However, this leads to the problem of increasing the complexity of subsequent calculations for determining in which spatial area the target is located.
For this reason, in the above example, it is necessary to make a compromise between the number of key point position points and the calculation complexity.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the number of key point position points that need to be acquired is set to H.

  In step 602, the distance between two position points in a series of position points is calculated.

Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the series of position points acquired from step 401 is L = {(x _i , y _i , z _i ),
i = 1,2, ..., N}. Here, N indicates the number of position points included in the series of position points.
The distance between every two position points in a series of position points can be calculated by Euclidean distance or other methods known to those skilled in the art.

ここで、d_ijは、一連の位置点におけるｉ番目（ｉ＝１、２、・・・、Ｎ）の位置点(x_i,y_i,z_i)から一連の位置点におけるｊ番目（ｊ＝１、・・・、Ｍ）の位置点(x_j,y_j,z_j)までの間の距離である。 The calculation formula for the Euclidean distance is as follows.

Here, d _ij is the j-th position (j from the i-th (i = 1, 2,..., N)) position point (x _i , y _i , z _i ) at the series of position points. = 1,..., M) is the distance to the position point (x _j , y _j , z _j ).

  In step 603, the two position points with the smallest distance between them are merged as new position points.

First, the distance between every two position points in the series of position points calculated in step 602 is sorted to determine the two position points having the smallest distance.
As an example, assume that the distance between the position point (x ₁ , y ₁ , z ₁ ) and the position point (x ₂ , y ₂ , z ₂ ) is determined as the minimum distance.

Thereafter, the two position points having the minimum distance are merged as new position points. In the above example, the position point (x ₁ , y ₁ , z ₁ ) and the position point (x ₂ , y ₂ , z ₂ ) can be merged by various methods.
For example, it is possible to average the position parameters of two position points and use the average value as the position parameter of a new position point, or to merge them by other methods known to those skilled in the art. Is possible.
The position parameters of the merged position points by averaging the position parameters of the two position points are shown as follows:

  In this way, the number of position points in the series of position points is reduced to one.

  In step 604, the number of current position points is compared with the set number of key point position points.

  As set in step 601, the number of keypoint positions that need to be acquired is H, so in step 604 the number of current position points is compared with H.

If the number of current position points is equal to H, it indicates that the number of current position points has reached the set number of key point position points, at which point processing proceeds to step 605.
If they are not equal, the process returns to step 602 and repeats steps 602-604 until the number of position points has decreased to the number of set key point position points.

  In step 605, the current key point position point is determined as the key point position point. Thereafter, the process of FIG. 6 ends.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a system 700 for determining a spatial area according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 7, the system 700 includes a signal transmitter 710 that transmits a ranging signal arranged at a target (a target position parameter based on a ranging signal transmitted from the signal transmitter to a positioning device (POD)). And a positioning device (POD) 720 configured to acquire a position parameter based on a ranging signal from the signal transmitter, and a server 730 including a spatial area determination device 740. is there.

Hereinafter, an implementation example of the system 700 will be described in detail.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the target with signal generator (or label) 710 is located in a spatial area, and what needs to be determined is in which spatial area in the space the target is located. It is.

The POD 720 can be installed at any place in the space.
For example, the POD 720 can be arranged in the upper part of the space, and its initial arrangement location is arbitrary. That is, it can be arranged at any location in the upper part of the space.
In one example, the server 730 determines the position parameter of each position point in the series of position points based on the distance measurement signal transmitted from the signal transmitter 710 and the position parameter of the POD 720 itself that receives the distance measurement signal. , POD 720 receives the distance measurement signal from signal transmitter 710 and transmits the distance measurement signal and the position parameter of POD 720 itself to the server.
In another example, the POD 720 determines a position parameter for each position point in the series of position points based on the ranging signal emitted from the signal transmitter 710 and the position parameter of the signal transmitter itself.

Thereafter, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the server 730 performs the target measurement for the entire space based on the ranging signal transmitted from the target signal transmitter 710 and the position parameter of the POD 720 itself that receives the ranging signal. A position parameter is calculated.
For example, the position parameter is a target coordinate (x, y, z) in space.
Thereafter, the spatial area determination device 740 determines the spatial area where the target is located based on the target positional parameter and the positional parameter of the key point position point characterizing the spatial area.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spatial area determination device 740 includes a receiving means 741 for receiving a target positional parameter in space, and a positional parameter of a key point position point characterizing the target positional parameter and the spatial area. And determining means 742 for determining a spatial area where the target is located.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the spatial area determination device 740 that determines the spatial area in which the target is located according to the present embodiment.

  In step 801, a target position parameter in space is received.

  As described above, the target position parameter in the space is determined by the POD 720 or the server 730 based on the distance measurement signal emitted from the target signal transmitter and the position parameter of the POD 720.

  In step 802, the spatial area in which the target is located is determined based on the positional parameters of the target and the positional parameters of the key point position points that characterize the spatial area.

The key point position points characterizing the spatial area can be extracted by a spatial area characterization method according to the present invention as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, or by other methods known to those skilled in the art. Is possible.
In addition, the key point position points that characterize the spatial area may be extracted in the process of executing step 802, or may be stored in advance in a storage device that can be used by those skilled in the art.

The spatial area where the target is located can be determined in various ways based on the positional parameters of the target and the positional parameters of key point position points characterizing the spatial area.
9 and 10 are flowcharts of a method for determining a spatial area in which a target is located, respectively, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Before describing FIG. 9, an embodiment of a spatial area determination device 740 that implements the method of FIG. 9 will be described first.
Spatial area determining apparatus 740 includes receiving means 740 and determining means 742. The determining means 742 also includes means for calculating the distance between the target and each spatial area based on the position parameter of the target and the position parameter of the key point position point characterizing the spatial area, and the spatial area having the minimum distance. And means for selecting as a spatial area in which the target is located.
In a specific example, the distance between the target and the spatial area is obtained by averaging the distance between the target and the key point position point in the spatial area.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a spatial area in which a target is located according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In step 901, the distance between the target and each spatial area is calculated.
In an embodiment of the invention, the spatial area is characterized by key point position points within the spatial area.
Calculation of the distance between the target and the spatial area is performed by calculating the distance between the target and each key point position point in the spatial area.

As an example, assume that the location parameter received in step 401 of FIG. 4 is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ), and that the space includes N spatial areas.
Here, the number of key point position points (x _ij , y _ij , z _ij ) for characterizing the i-th spatial area is M _i (i = 1, 2,..., N
Also j = 1, ..., M _i ).

  The distance between the target and each keypoint location point can be calculated by the Euclidean distance or other methods known to those skilled in the art.

ここで、d_ijは、目標とｉ番目の空間エリア内のｊ番目のキーポイント位置点(x_ij,y_ij,z_ij)の間の距離である。 The calculation formula for the Euclidean distance is as follows.

Here, d _ij is a distance between the target and the j-th key point position point (x _ij , y _ij , z _ij ) in the i-th spatial area.

If the i-th spatial area includes one keypoint location points, the calculated d _ij as described above, it can be regarded as the distance d _i between the target and the i-th spatial area.
When the number of key point position points included in the i-th spatial area is 1 or more, a plurality of calculated distances can be averaged, and the average value can be used as the distance between the target and each spatial area.

In the above example, the i-th the number M _i keypoint location points characterizing the spatial area is assumed to be 1 or more, the distance d _i between the target and the i-th spatial area, M _i by the following equation It can be obtained by averaging d _ij .

  In step 902, the calculated distances are sorted to determine the minimum distance.

In the above example, the space includes a total of N spatial areas. Accordingly, N distances d _i between the target and the N spatial areas are obtained in step 901 (where i = 1, 2,..., N). The minimum distance can be obtained by sorting the N distances.

  In step 903, the spatial area having the smallest distance is selected as the spatial area where the target is located.

  Thereafter, the process of FIG. 9 ends.

Before describing FIG. 10, an embodiment of a spatial area determination device 740 that implements the method of FIG. 10 will be described.
The spatial area determination device 740 includes a reception unit 740 and a determination unit 742.
The determining means 742 calculates the distance between the target and each candidate space area based on the means for selecting the candidate space area from the space area, and the position parameter of the target and the key point position point characterizing the candidate space area. And means for selecting the candidate spatial area having the smallest distance as the spatial area in which the target is located.
The means for selecting a candidate spatial area from the spatial area calculates a distance between the means for selecting one key point position point from the key point position points of each spatial area and the target and the selected key point position point. And means for determining a spatial area having a distance less than the threshold as a candidate spatial area.
In a specific example, the distance between the target and the spatial area is obtained by averaging the distance between the target and the key point position point in the spatial area.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a spatial area in which a target is located according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Unlike the method shown in FIG. 9, in the method shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of candidate spatial areas are determined from all the spatial areas, and the amount of calculation required for calculating the distance between the target and the spatial area is reduced. This improves the speed of the method for determining the spatial area where the target is located.

  In step 1001, one key point position point is selected from key point position points in each spatial area.

In one example, the keypoint position point can be selected randomly from the spatial area.
In another preferred example, the key point position point may be selected based on a predetermined rule.
For example, an average position parameter is calculated for all keypoint position points in the spatial area, and then the keypoint position point closest to the average position parameter is selected.

  In step 1002, the distance between the target and each selected keypoint location point is calculated.

The distance between the target and the keypoint location point selected from each spatial area can be calculated by the Euclidean distance or other methods known to those skilled in the art.
Assuming that the number of spatial areas is N, the number of distances between the target calculated in step 1002 and each selected keypoint location point in the N spatial areas is also N.

  In step 1003, a spatial area having a distance less than the threshold is determined as a candidate spatial area.

In the preferred embodiment, a threshold is set to limit the range of candidate space areas.
For example, N distances calculated in step 1002 are compared with a threshold value, and a spatial area having a distance smaller than the threshold value is determined as a candidate spatial area.

  In step 1004, the distance between the target and each candidate space area is calculated.

  This step is similar to step 901. However, step 1004 is different in that it calculates the distance between the target and the candidate spatial area, whereas step 901 calculates the distance between the target and all the spatial areas. ing.

  In step 1005, the calculated distances are sorted to determine the minimum distance.

Implementation of this step is similar to step 902.
Further, those skilled in the art will be able to utilize other embodiments in the prior art to implement this step. Here, this will not be described in detail.

  In step 1006, the candidate spatial area with the smallest distance is selected as the spatial area where the target is located.

  This step is similar to step 903, but in step 1006, the spatial area where the target is located is determined from the candidate spatial areas, whereas in step 903, the spatial area where the target is located is all spatial areas. It is different in the point decided from.

  Thereafter, the process of FIG. 10 ends.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a system for characterizing and determining a spatial area in a space according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The system 1100 is configured to obtain a target position parameter based on a ranging signal from the signal transmitter 1110 configured to transmit a ranging signal at a target position in space and a ranging signal from the signal transmitter. A positioning device (POD) 1120 and a server 1130 including a spatial area characterization device 1131 and a spatial area determination device 1132.
The spatial area characterization device 1131 is configured to determine the spatial area in which the target is located based on the target positional parameter and the positional parameter of the key point position point characterizing the spatial area.
The spatial area determination device 1132 is configured to extract key point position points characterizing the spatial area from a series of position points within the spatial area.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the server 1130 in the system 1100 may include only the spatial area characterization device 1131.
In this case, the system 1100 can realize a function for characterizing a spatial area in the space.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the server 1130 in the system 1100 may include only the spatial area determination device 1132.
In this case, the system 1100 can implement the function of determining in which spatial area of the space the target is located.

  In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the server 1130 in the system 1100 may include not only the spatial area characterization device 1131 but also the spatial area determination device 1132. In this case, the system 1100 can implement both the function of characterizing the spatial area in the space and the function of determining which spatial area of the space the target is based on the characterized spatial area. It is.

The method and apparatus according to the present invention can be realized by software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware.
The hardware part is realized by dedicated logic, and the software part is stored in a storage device and executed by an appropriate instruction execution system (for example, a microprocessor, a personal computer (PC), a main frame).

  Although the specification of the present invention has been presented above for purposes of illustration and description, it is not intended to be exhaustive of the invention and the invention is not limited to the disclosed form. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art.

  Accordingly, the selection and description of the above-described embodiments more clearly explain the principle and practical application of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit of the present invention will be appended. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that they are within the protection scope of the present invention as defined in the claims.

  Moreover, although a part or all of the said embodiment can be described also as the following additional remarks, it is not limited to this.

(Appendix 1)
Receiving a position parameter of a target in space including one or more spatial areas characterized by a plurality of keypoint position points;
Determining the spatial area in which the target is located based on the positional parameter of the target and the positional parameter of the keypoint location point characterizing the spatial area.

(Appendix 2)
Determining a spatial area in which the target is located;
Calculating a distance between the target and each spatial area based on the position parameter of the target and the position parameter of the key point position point characterizing the spatial area;
The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of selecting the spatial area having the smallest distance as the spatial area in which the target is located.

(Appendix 3)
Determining a spatial area in which the target is located;
Selecting a candidate spatial area from the spatial area;
Calculating a distance between the target and each candidate space area based on the position parameter of the target and the position parameter of the key point position point characterizing the candidate space area;
The method according to claim 1, comprising selecting a candidate spatial area having a minimum distance as a spatial area in which the target is located.

(Appendix 4)
Selecting a candidate spatial area from the spatial area,
Selecting a key point position point from the key point position points of each spatial area;
Calculating the distance between the target and the selected keypoint location point;
The method according to claim 3, comprising a step of determining a spatial area having a distance less than the threshold value as a candidate spatial area.

(Appendix 5)
The method according to Supplementary Note 2 or Supplementary Note 3, wherein the distance is obtained by averaging the distance between the target and the key point position point of each spatial area.

(Appendix 6)
The method of claim 1, further comprising extracting key point position points characterizing the spatial area based on a series of position points in the spatial area.

(Appendix 7)
Extracting the key point position point comprises:
(A) calculating a distance between a series of position points and a predetermined key point position point;
(B) grouping position points into predetermined keypoint position points based on the adjacency principle;
(C) obtaining an average of position parameters of position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point;
(D) comparing the average value and the position parameter of each predetermined key point position point to obtain a difference between them;
If the difference is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the predetermined position point is determined as the key point position point,
If the difference is larger than a predetermined value, step (a) to step (d) are repeatedly executed after replacing a predetermined key point position point with a position point corresponding to the average value. the method of.

(Appendix 8)
Extracting the key point position point comprises:
(A) setting the number of keypoint position points that need to be acquired;
(B) calculating a distance between two position points in a series of position points;
(C) merging two position points having a minimum distance to form a new position point;
(D) comparing the number of current position points with the set number of key point position points;
If the number of current position points is equal to the number of set key point position points, the current position point is determined as the key point position point,
The method according to appendix 6, wherein if the number of current position points is not equal to the set number of key point position points, steps (b) to (d) are repeatedly executed.

(Appendix 9)
A signal transmitter capable of transmitting a ranging signal is arranged at each position point in a series of position points.
The method according to appendix 6, wherein the position parameter of the position point is obtained from the distance measurement signal transmitted from the signal transmitter to the positioning device (POD).

(Appendix 10)
A signal transmitter capable of transmitting a ranging signal is placed at the target,
The method according to claim 1, wherein a target position parameter is obtained from a ranging signal transmitted from a signal transmitter to a positioning device (POD).

(Appendix 11)
Obtaining a series of position points in the spatial area;
Extracting a key point position point characterizing a spatial area from a series of position points.

(Appendix 12)
The step of extracting the key point position point is
(A) calculating a distance between a position point within a series of position points and a predetermined key point position point;
(B) grouping position points into each predetermined keypoint position point based on the adjacency principle;
(C) obtaining an average of position parameters of position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point;
(D) comparing the average value and the position parameter of each predetermined key point position point to obtain a difference between them;
If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the position point of the predetermined key point is determined as the key point position point;
If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is greater than the predetermined value, the predetermined key point position point is replaced with the position point corresponding to the average value, and then steps (a) to The method according to appendix 11, wherein (d) is repeatedly executed.

(Appendix 13)
The method according to appendix 12, wherein one or more position points are selected from a series of position points as an initial predetermined key point position point.

(Appendix 14)
The step of extracting the key point position point is
(A) setting the number of keypoint position points that need to be acquired;
(B) calculating a distance between two position points in a series of position points;
(C) merging two position points having a minimum distance to form a new position point;
(D) comparing the number of current position points with the set number of key point position points;
If the number of current position points is equal to the number of set key point position points, the current position point is determined as the key point position point,
The method according to appendix 11, wherein steps (b) to (d) are repeatedly executed if the number of current position points is not equal to the set number of key point position points.

(Appendix 15)
A signal transmitter capable of transmitting a ranging signal is arranged at each position point in a series of position points.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the position parameter of the position point is obtained from a distance measurement signal transmitted from the signal transmitter to the positioning device (POD).

(Appendix 16)
Receiving means for receiving a position parameter of a target in space including one or more spatial areas characterized by a plurality of keypoint position points;
An apparatus comprising: determining means for determining a spatial area where the target is located based on a positional parameter of the target and a positional parameter of a key point position point characterizing the spatial area.

(Appendix 17)
The determining means is
Means for calculating the distance between the target and each spatial area based on the positional parameters of the target and the positional parameters of the key point position points characterizing the spatial area;
The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising means for selecting a spatial area having a minimum distance as a spatial area where the target is located.

(Appendix 18)
The determining means is
Means for selecting a candidate spatial area from the spatial area;
Means for calculating the distance between the target and each candidate space area based on the position parameter of the target and the position parameters of the key point position points characterizing the candidate space area;
The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising means for selecting a candidate spatial area having the smallest distance as a spatial area where the target is located.

(Appendix 19)
Means for selecting a candidate spatial area from the spatial area;
Means for selecting a key point position point from the key point position points of each spatial area;
Means for calculating the distance between the target and the selected keypoint location point;
The apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising means for determining a spatial area having a distance less than a threshold value as a candidate spatial area.

(Appendix 20)
The apparatus according to appendix 17 or appendix 18, wherein the distance is obtained by averaging the distance between the target and the key point position point of each spatial area.

(Appendix 21)
A signal transmitter capable of transmitting a ranging signal is arranged at each position point in a series of position points.
The apparatus according to appendix 16, wherein a position parameter of a position point is obtained from a distance measurement signal transmitted from a signal transmitter to a positioning apparatus (POD).

(Appendix 22)
An acquisition means for acquiring a series of position points in the spatial area;
An apparatus comprising: extraction means for extracting key point position points that characterize a spatial area from a series of position points.

(Appendix 23)
The extraction means comprises:
A calculating means for calculating a distance between a position point in a series of position points and a predetermined key point position point;
Grouping means for grouping position points into each predetermined keypoint position point based on the adjacency principle;
Averaging means for calculating an average of position parameters of position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point;
Comparing means for comparing the average value and the position parameter of each predetermined key point position point to obtain a difference between them,
If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the position point of the predetermined key point is determined as the key point position point;
If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is greater than the predetermined value, the predetermined key point position point is replaced with a position point corresponding to the average value, and then the calculation means, the group 23. The apparatus according to appendix 22, wherein the operations of the averaging means, the averaging means, and the comparing means are repeatedly executed.

(Appendix 24)
24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein one or more position points from the series of position points are selected as initial predetermined key point position points.

(Appendix 25)
The extraction means comprises:
A setting means for setting the number of key point position points that need to be acquired;
A calculation means for calculating a distance between two position points in a series of position points;
Merging means that merges two position points having a minimum distance into a new position point;
Comparing means for comparing the number of current position points with the set number of key point position points,
If the number of current position points is equal to the number of set key point position points, the current position point is determined as the key point position point,
The apparatus according to appendix 22, wherein the operation of the measuring means, the merging means, and the comparing means is repeatedly executed if the number of current position points is not equal to the set number of key point position points.

(Appendix 26)
A signal transmitter capable of transmitting a ranging signal is arranged at each position point in a series of position points.
23. The apparatus according to appendix 22, wherein a position parameter of a position point is obtained from a distance measurement signal transmitted from a signal transmitter to a positioning device (POD).

(Appendix 27)
A signal transmitter disposed in a space including one or more spatial areas characterized by a plurality of keypoint position points and configured to transmit a ranging signal;
A positioning device (POD) configured to obtain a target position parameter based on a ranging signal transmitted from a signal transmitter;
And a server configured to determine a spatial area in which the target is located based on a positional parameter of the target and a positional parameter of a keypoint location point characterizing the spatial area.

(Appendix 28)
28. The system of claim 27, wherein the server is configured to extract keypoint location points that characterize the spatial area based on a series of location points within the spatial area.

100: Space 221: Position point 222: Key point position point 220: Space area 310: Signal transmitter 320: Positioning device (POD)
330: Server 340: Spatial area characterization device 341: Acquisition means 342: Extraction means 710: Signal transmitter 720: Positioning device (POD)
730: Server 740: Spatial area determination device 741: Reception means 742: Determination means 1110: Signal transmitter 1120: Positioning device (POD)
1130: Server 1131: Spatial area characterization device 1132: Spatial area determination device

Claims (12)

A method by an apparatus for determining a spatial area in which a target is located,
An acquisition step in which the acquisition means acquires a series of position points in the spatial area;
An extracting means for extracting key point position points characterizing the spatial area from a series of position points;
The extraction step comprises:
A calculation step for calculating a distance between a position point in a series of position points and a predetermined key point position point;
An averaging step for obtaining an average of position parameters of position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point;
Comparing the average value with the position parameters of each predetermined keypoint position point to obtain a difference between them,
Based on the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point, determine the position of the predetermined key point position point,
The extraction step comprises:
Grouping the position points into each predetermined keypoint position point based on the adjacency principle ;
How it characterized a call. The difference between the position parameters of an average value and a predetermined key point position point, if the predetermined value or less, claim 1, characterized in that to determine the position point of the predetermined key points as keypoint location point the method of. If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is greater than the predetermined value, the predetermined key point position point is replaced with a position point corresponding to the average value, and then the calculation step, the group step, the averaging step, and methods according to claim 1, characterized in that repeatedly executes the comparison step. As initial predetermined keypoint location points, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by selecting one or more location points from a set of location points. A method by an apparatus for determining a spatial area in which a target is located,
An acquisition step in which the acquisition means acquires a series of position points in the spatial area;
An extracting means for extracting key point position points characterizing the spatial area from a series of position points;
The extraction step comprises:
(A) setting the number of keypoint position points that need to be acquired;
(B) calculating a distance between two position points in a series of position points;
(C) merging two position points having a minimum distance to form a new position point;
(D) comparing the number of current position points with the set number of key point position points;
The key point position point is determined based on the current number of position points and the set number of key point position points. 6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein if the number of current position points is equal to the number of set key point position points, the current position point is determined as a key point position point. The method according to claim 5 or 6 , wherein if the number of current position points is not equal to the set number of key point position points, the steps (b) to (d) are repeatedly executed. . A signal transmitter capable of transmitting a ranging signal is arranged at each position point in a series of position points.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein a position parameter of a position point is obtained from a distance measurement signal transmitted from a signal transmitter to a positioning device (POD). An acquisition means for acquiring a series of position points in the spatial area;
Extracting means for extracting key point position points characterizing a spatial area from a series of position points;
The extraction means comprises:
A calculating means for calculating a distance between a position point in a series of position points and a predetermined key point position point;
Grouping means for grouping position points into each predetermined keypoint position point based on the adjacency principle;
Averaging means for calculating an average of position parameters of position points belonging to the same predetermined key point position point;
Comparing means for comparing the average value and the position parameter of each predetermined key point position point to obtain a difference between them,
If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the position point of the predetermined key point is determined as the key point position point;
If the difference between the average value and the position parameter of the predetermined key point position point is greater than the predetermined value, the predetermined key point position point is replaced with a position point corresponding to the average value, and then the calculation means, the group An apparatus for repeatedly executing the operations of the averaging means, the averaging means, and the comparing means. 10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein one or more position points from the series of position points are selected as initial predetermined key point position points. An acquisition means for acquiring a series of position points in the spatial area;
Extracting means for extracting key point position points characterizing a spatial area from a series of position points;
The extraction means comprises:
A setting means for setting the number of key point position points that need to be acquired;
A calculation means for calculating a distance between two position points in a series of position points;
Merging means that merges two position points having a minimum distance into a new position point;
Comparing means for comparing the number of current position points with the set number of key point position points,
If the number of current position points is equal to the number of set key point position points, the current position point is determined as the key point position point,
The current number of position points, if not equal to the number of keypoint locations points set, the calculations means, said merging means, characterized in that repeatedly executes the operation of said comparing means device. A signal transmitter capable of transmitting a ranging signal is arranged at each position point in a series of position points.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 11 , wherein a position parameter of a position point is acquired by a distance measurement signal transmitted from a signal transmitter to a positioning device (POD).

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