JP6738662B2 - Tracking object finding device, tracking object finding method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a tracking object finding device, a tracking object finding method, and a program.

When the robot moves or works in the human living space, the robot needs to know the state of the human living space. Specifically, the robot needs to know the environment map and the position of the object in the environment accurately.
The environment map used by the robot is generally created using a distance measuring sensor (for example, a sensor equipped with a camera and an LRF (Laser Range Finder)). For example, in the environment information creating method described in Patent Document 1, environment information indicating the shape and position of an object is created by using a sensor that acquires a measurement value indicating the relative position of an object existing in the surroundings as viewed from the moving body. To be done.

JP, 2009-174898, A

In the environment information creating method described in Patent Document 1, for example, when two objects are in contact with each other, such as when a measurement target object is placed on a table that is a part of the environment to be measured, It is difficult to recognize the table and the measurement object as individual objects without preparing the shape data of the measurement object in advance. In addition, it is difficult to recognize, as an individual object, an object to be measured whose shape is indefinite such as cloth or paper.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a tracking object finding device, a tracking object finding method, and a program capable of recognizing an object as an individual object.

(1) The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and as one aspect of the present invention, an object movement information acquisition unit that acquires object movement information indicating that an object has moved, and first, measuring the distance between each of the plurality of the objects in the environment, if the object movement information acquisition section acquires the object movement information, a distance measuring sensor for re-measuring the distance between each of the plurality of objects within the environment, each time the distance measuring sensor measures the environmental map creation unit for creating an environmental map on the basis of each of the distances to the plurality of objects, a map that stores the environmental map created by the environmental map creation unit an information storage unit, and the environmental map the object was created prior to direct the timing to move in the environment map stored in the map information storage unit, the environmental map created immediately following the timing Based on the information indicating the difference between the object movement information acquired at the timing, and the object moving unit is identified, the object tracking unit that identifies the position after the movement of the identified object, It is a tracking object finding device characterized by including.

(2) Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the object movement information acquisition unit acquires the object movement information based on acceleration information measured by an acceleration sensor mounted on the object ( The tracking object finding device according to 1).

(3) Further, as an aspect of the present invention, when the object movement information acquisition unit acquires object movement information about a plurality of the objects, the distance measurement sensor is configured to detect a plurality of objects in the environment. distance was measured again, and the object tracking unit includes: the environmental map created in the immediately preceding timing in which a plurality of the object has moved in the environmental map stored in the map information storage unit, the information indicating a plurality of the difference between the environmental map created immediately following timing, the information analyzing the object movement information of a plurality of the object obtained in the timing in time series, based on the moving The tracking object finding apparatus according to (1) or (2), characterized in that the plurality of objects are identified, and the positions of the identified objects after the movement are identified.

(4) Further, as one aspect of the present invention, the object tracking unit acquires a plurality of the environmental maps stored in the map information storage unit based on acquisition of object movement information about the specific object. (1) to (3), wherein the environment in which the self-tracking object finding device exists is specified from among the plurality of environments indicated by (1) to (3). It is a tracking object finding device.

(5) As another aspect of the present invention, an object management information storage unit that stores object management information that associates identification information that identifies the object, the position of the object, and attribute information that represents the characteristics of the object is provided. The tracking object finding device according to any one of (1) to (4).

(6) Further, as an aspect of the present invention, it is provided with a dialogue unit that receives an input of information indicating an inquiry from a user and outputs information indicating a response to the user based on the object management information. The tracking object finding apparatus according to (5).
(7) Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the information indicating the inquiry from the user is information indicating an inquiry about the position of the object, and the dialogue unit is information indicating a response to the user, The tracking object finding device described in (6) is characterized in that information for presenting a positional relationship between the inquired object and another object located in the vicinity of the inquired object is output.
(8) Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the other object is an object that is not moving most.
The tracking object finding device according to (7) is characterized in that:

( 9 ) Further, as an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tracking object finding method using a computer having a distance measuring sensor , wherein the object movement information acquisition unit acquires object movement information indicating that the object has moved. and the object movement information acquisition step, the distance measuring sensor, initially measuring the distance between each of the plurality of the objects in the environment, if the object movement information acquisition section acquires the object movement information, a plurality of said environment a distance measuring step of measuring the object distance with each again, environmental map creation unit, environmental map the distance measuring sensor to create an environmental map on the basis of each of the distances to the plurality of objects each time measure A map information storing step of a creating step, a map information storing section storing the environment map created by the environment map creating section, and an object tracking section of the environment map stored in the map information storing section. It said environmental map the object was created prior to direct the timing moving at medium, and information indicating a difference between the environmental map created immediately following the timing, and the object movement information acquired in the time And an object tracking step of identifying the moved object based on, and specifying the position of the identified object after the movement.

(10) Further, as an embodiment of the present invention, the computer having a distance measuring sensor, and the object movement information acquisition step of acquiring object movement information indicating that the object has moved, a plurality of the object first in the environment When the object movement information is acquired in the object movement information acquisition step by causing the distance measurement sensor to measure the distance to each of them, the distance measurement sensor measures the distance to each of the plurality of objects in the environment again. and causes the distance measuring step, the Rugoto measured in the distance measuring step, and the environment map generating step of generating an environmental map on the basis of each of the distances to the plurality of objects, created in the environmental map creation step a map information storage step of causing storing said environmental map in the map information storage unit, and the environmental map the object was created prior to direct the timing to move in the environment map stored in the map information storage unit , information indicating the difference between the environmental map created immediately following the timing, and the object movement information acquired in the time, based on, identifies the object that has moved, identified in the object This is a program for executing an object tracking step of specifying a position after movement.

According to the present invention, an object can be recognized as an individual object.

It is a schematic diagram showing tracking of an object by tracking object discovery system 1 concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the tracking object discovery system 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the acceleration information 1033 which the memory|storage part 103 of the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention memorize|stores. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the object management information 1032 which the memory|storage part 103 of the tracking object discovery apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention memorize|stores. It is a schematic diagram showing specification of a moved object and a position by tracking object discovery device 10 concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows operation of tracking object discovery device 10 concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram showing specification of a moved object and a position by tracking object discovery device 10 concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram showing specification of an environment by tracking object discovery device 10 concerning an embodiment of the present invention.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, an outline of object tracking in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing tracking of an object by a tracking object finding system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a tracking object finding apparatus 10 and three objects (object obj1, object obj2, and object obj3) are placed in a space spc1 which is the environment of the measurement target. The tracking object finding device 10, the plurality of sensor tags 20, and the communication network for wirelessly connecting the tracking object finding device 10 and the sensor tag 20 together will be referred to as a tracking object finding system 1.

The tracking object finding device 10 is a device (for example, a robot) including a distance measuring sensor 101 capable of measuring the distance from the tracking object finding device 10 for each of a plurality of objects placed in the space spc1. For example, light emitted from a light source (for example, an LED (light emitting diode) or a laser diode) included in the distance measuring sensor 101 is placed in a space spc1 (object obj1, object obj2, or object obj3). ) Is reflected and is received by the light receiving element of the distance measuring sensor 101. The distance measuring sensor 101 measures the distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to each of the objects by analyzing the received light. The tracking object finding device 10 specifies the position of each object in the space spc1 based on the measured distance and creates an environment map.

The object obj1 and the object obj2 are provided with sensor tags 20 each having an acceleration sensor. As a result, when the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed moves or is intentionally moved, the tracking object finding device 10 receives the acceleration information from the sensor tag 20 to determine when and at what acceleration the object moved. Can be recognized.

The objects (object obj1 and object obj2) on which the sensor tag 20 is installed are the objects to be tracked by the tracking object finding apparatus 10. An object (object obj3) on which the sensor tag 20 is not installed is a part of the environment to be measured, and is not an object to be tracked by the tracked object finding apparatus 10.

When an object (object obj1 or object obj2) on which the sensor tag 20 is installed moves, an acceleration sensor included in the sensor tag 20 detects a change in acceleration accompanying the movement of the object, and information indicating the detected acceleration and the sensor tag 20 ( And acceleration information associated with identification information for identifying the object) is transmitted to the tracking object finding apparatus 10 via a wireless communication network by a wireless communication module included in the sensor tag 20.

When the tracking object finding device 10 receives the acceleration information from the sensor tag 20, the distance measuring sensor 101 measures the distances from the tracking object finding device 10 to the respective objects again, and the distances in the space spc1 are measured based on the measured distances. Re-specify the position of the object and create an environment map.

Then, the tracking object finding device 10 has information indicating the difference between the environment map created before the object moves and the environment map created after the object moves, and the information indicating the acceleration of the object and the sensor tag 20 (and the object). ) Is identified and the acceleration information associated with the identification information is analyzed to identify which object has moved to which position. The details of the moving object and the method of identifying the position of the moving object will be described later.

In the above description, the distance measuring sensor 101 is provided only in the tracking object finding device 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, by installing a plurality of distance measuring sensors 101 at different positions in the space spc1 and measuring distances from the plurality of positions to the respective objects, it is possible to further improve the measurement accuracy of the position of the object. Further, this makes it possible to reduce the case where the object to be measured is hidden behind another object and the distance cannot be measured.

(Structure of tracking object discovery system)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the tracking object finding system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the tracking object finding system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the tracked object finding system 1 includes a tracked object finding apparatus 10, a plurality of sensor tags 20 (sensor tag group), and a communication network 30.

The tracking object finding device 10 includes a distance measuring sensor 101, an environment map creation unit 102, a storage unit 103, an acceleration information acquisition unit 104, an acceleration information writing unit 105, an object tracking unit 106, and an environmental structure management unit 107. And a dialogue unit 108.

The distance measuring sensor 101 measures each distance from the tracking object finding device 10 to a plurality of objects (for example, the object obj1, the object obj2, and the object obj3) in the environment (for example, the space spc1).
The environment map creation unit 102 identifies respective positions of a plurality of objects based on the distance measured by the distance measurement sensor 101, and a general environment map creation method, for example, SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) is used. Environment map using various methods.

The storage unit 103 stores map information 1031 based on the environment map created by the environment map creation unit 102. The storage unit 103 also stores acceleration information 1033 written in time series by the acceleration information writing unit 105 described later. The storage unit 103 also identifies information for identifying the sensor tag 20 (and the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed), the name of the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed, information indicating the position of the object, and the attribute of the object. Object management information 1032 that correlates information (for example, information about characteristics of the object) is stored.

The acceleration information acquisition unit 104 (object movement information acquisition unit) identifies the information indicating the acceleration of the object (object movement information indicating that the object has moved) and the sensor tag 20 (and the object) transmitted from the sensor tag 20. The acceleration information 1033, which is associated with the information, is received via the communication network 30.
The acceleration information writing unit 105 writes the acceleration information 1033 received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 in the storage unit 103.

The object tracking unit 106 is a mechanism for cutting out the object on which the sensor tag 20 is installed from the environment map and specifying the position of the object. The object tracking unit 106 monitors the acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103, and performs processing for identifying the position of the object at the timing when the acceleration information 1033 is updated. The object tracking unit 106 includes information indicating a difference between the environment map created by the environment map creation unit 102 before the object moves and the environment map created by the environment map creation unit 102 after the object moves, and acceleration information. Based on 1033, the moved object is identified, and the position of the identified object after the movement is specified.
The environmental structure management unit 107 updates the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103, based on the information indicating the position of the moved object specified by the object tracking unit 106.

As shown in FIG. 2, the dialogue unit 108 includes a dialogue input/output unit 1081 and a dialogue control unit 1082.
The dialogue input/output unit 1081 receives an input of information from a user who interacts with the tracking object finding apparatus 10 (for example, a dialogue robot having a dialogue function with a user) and outputs information to the user. Is the input/output interface of. The dialogue unit 108 is configured to include, for example, a microphone, a speaker, or a touch panel type liquid crystal display.

The dialogue control unit 1082 analyzes the information input to the dialogue input/output unit 1081 by the user and recognizes the content of the request from the user. Then, the dialogue control unit 1082 outputs information indicating the content of the request from the user to the environment structure management unit 107.
The environmental structure management unit 107 refers to the object management information 1032 based on the information input from the dialogue control unit 1082, and acquires information for generating a response to the input information from the object management information 1032. The environmental structure management unit 107 outputs the information acquired from the object management information 1032 to the dialogue control unit 1082.
The dialogue control unit 1082 generates information indicating a response to the request content from the user based on the information input from the environment structure management unit 107, and outputs the information to the dialogue input/output unit 1081.
The dialogue input/output unit 1081 converts the information input from the dialogue control unit 1082 into a data format recognizable by the user (for example, voice data), and outputs (to the user).
The details of the interaction between the tracking object finding device 10 and the user will be described later.

(Structure of acceleration information)
The configuration of the acceleration information 1033 will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103 of the tracking object finding device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the acceleration information 1033 is two-dimensional tabular data composed of columns of three data items of “sensor tag ID”, “time stamp”, and “acceleration value”.

As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the data in the first row of the acceleration information 1033 is “A001” which is the value of the item “sensor tag ID”, “1463938725” which is the value of the item “time stamp”, and “ The data is composed of "5.236" which is the value of the item "acceleration value". In this data, the sensor tag 20 (the object on which the sensor tag 20 is attached) to which the sensor tag ID “A001” is attached is moving at the acceleration value of “5.236” at the time based on the time stamp of “1463987325”. It means that.

The acceleration information 1033 is transmitted from the sensor tag 20 to the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 of the tracking object finding device 10 via the communication network 30 when the sensor tag 20 detects the acceleration. Then, the acceleration information 1033 received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 is written in the storage unit 103 by the acceleration information writing unit 105. The sensor tag 20 measures the acceleration information 1033 periodically, for example, at a cycle of 30 Hz from the time when the acceleration is detected until the object stops, and transmits the acceleration information 1033 to the acceleration information acquisition unit 104.

(Structure of object management information)
The configuration of the object management information 1032 will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103 of the tracking object finding device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the object management information 1032 is two-dimensional tabular data composed of four data item columns of “sensor tag ID”, “object name”, “coordinate value”, and “attribute value”.

As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the data in the first line of the object management information 1032 is “A001” which is the value of the item “sensor tag ID”, “remote control” which is the value of the item “object name”, and The data is composed of “(25, 36)” which is the value of the item “coordinate value” and “remote control for display 1” which is the value of the item “attribute value”. This data indicates that the “object name” of the object on which the sensor tag 20 assigned the sensor tag ID “A001” is installed is the “remote control”. In addition, this data indicates that the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID “A001” is added is located at the coordinate represented by the coordinate value “(25,36)”. Further, this data indicates that the object on which the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID “A001” is attached is installed has an “attribute value” (attribute information) that is “remote control for display 1”. Represents.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, for the data on the fourth line of the object management information 1032, no value is stored in the item “sensor tag ID”. In addition, the value of the item of "object name" is "table 1", the value of the item of "coordinate value" is "(25, 30)", and the value of the item of "attribute value" is "central large table". is there. In this data, an object in which the sensor tag 20 is not installed and whose "object name" is "table 1" is located at the coordinates represented by the coordinate value "(25,30)". It indicates that it has an "attribute value" (attribute information) that it is a "central large table".

When a value is stored in the item “sensor tag ID” like the data from the first line to the third line of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4, the sensor tag 20 to which the sensor tag ID is given is installed. The removed object is an object to be tracked by the tracking object finding device 10. On the other hand, if no value is stored in the "sensor tag ID" item as in the data on the fourth line of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4, the object indicated by the "object name" of the data is the sensor tag. 20 is an object that is not installed, and is an object that is not targeted for tracking by the tracking object finding device 10.

Regarding the data (data from the first line to the third line of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4) corresponding to the object to be tracked by the tracking object finding apparatus 10, the “sensor tag ID” and the “object name” , And the value of the three items of “attribute value” are stored in advance. In addition, the value of the item “coordinate value” is updated by the environmental structure management unit 107 each time it is detected that the object has moved. Whether or not a value is stored in the “attribute value” item is arbitrary.

Further, regarding data (data on the fourth line of the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4) corresponding to an object which is not a tracking target by the tracking object finding apparatus 10, the “object name”, the “coordinate value”, The values of the three items of “and attribute value” are stored in advance. The value of the item "sensor tag ID" is not stored, and whether or not the value is stored in the item "attribute value" is arbitrary.

(Identification of moved object and position)
Hereinafter, identification of a moved object and identification of a position of the moved object after movement by the tracking object finding device 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing identification of a moved object and position by the tracking object finding apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5A, the positions (coordinates) of objects (eg, object obj1, object obj2, and object obj3) actually existing in the space spc1 shown in FIG. It is represented on the two-dimensional coordinate plane. It should be noted that, for simplification of description, a coordinate plane composed of the x-axis and the y-axis is described here as an example, but a three-dimensional coordinate space composed of the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis may be used.

In FIG. 5B, the distance measurement sensor 101 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 measures the distance from the tracking object finding apparatus 10 to each object existing in the space spc1, and the environment map creating unit 102 positions (coordinates) the position. The object identified by is represented on a coordinate plane whose origin is the position of the tracking object finding apparatus 10. The part indicated by the broken line in FIG. 5B represents the range in which the light emitted by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0.

In FIG. 5C, after the object obj2 moves to the position of the coordinate crd1, the distance measurement sensor 101 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 measures the distance from the tracking object finding apparatus 10 to each object existing in the space spc1 again. The object whose position (coordinates) has been specified by the environment map creation unit 102 is represented on the coordinate plane with the position of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 as the origin. Similar to FIG. 5B, the portion indicated by the broken line in FIG. 5C represents a range in which the light emitted by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0. It is a thing.

The object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 analyzes that a certain object has moved by analyzing the difference between the environment map created before the object moves and the environment map created after the object moves. Can be recognized. Specifically, the object tracking unit 106 determines the coordinates where the object exists in the environment map created before the object moves but does not exist in the environment map created after the object moves, Recognize that it is the coordinates of the movement source of the object. In addition, the object tracking unit 106 determines the coordinates at which the object does not exist in the environment map created before the object moves but does exist in the environment map created after the object moves, by the object tracking unit 106. Recognize as the original coordinates.

The object tracking unit 106 outputs a time stamp corresponding to a time zone between the time when the environment map created before the object moves and the time when the environment map created after the object moves. The data shown is extracted from the acceleration information 1033 in the storage unit 103, and the sensor tag ID associated with the extracted time stamp is acquired. Thereby, the object tracking unit 106 can infer the sensor tag ID installed on the object moved from the coordinates of the movement source to the coordinates of the movement destination, based on the acquired sensor tag ID.
The object tracking unit 106 outputs the sensor tag ID estimated above and information indicating the coordinates of the movement destination to the environmental structure management unit 107.

The environmental structure management unit 107 sets the coordinate values associated with the sensor tag ID input from the object tracking unit 106 in the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103, to the movement destination input from the object tracking unit 106. Update with the coordinates of.
The environmental structure management unit 107 refers to the object name associated with the sensor tag ID input from the object tracking unit 106 in the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103, and thereby the object name of the moved object Can be recognized.

In the above description, the object tracking unit 106 estimates which object has moved by acquiring the sensor tag ID from the acceleration information 1033, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the object tracking unit 106 calculates the estimated moving distance of the object corresponding to the sensor tag ID based on the transition of the acceleration value for each sensor tag ID included in the acceleration information 1033, and the calculated estimated moving distance and The moved object may be specified by comparing the distance between the coordinates of the movement source and the coordinates of the movement destination in the environment map of FIG.

Note that a gyroscope may be mounted on the sensor tag 20, and the object tracking unit 106 may identify the moved object also by using information indicating the attitude, angular velocity, etc. of the object measured by the gyroscope. By using the information measured by the plurality of types of sensors, the object tracking unit 106 can identify the moved object with higher accuracy.

The tracking object finding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment detects movement of an object using the acceleration value acquired by the acceleration sensor, but is acquired by another sensor or the like capable of detecting movement of the object. The configuration may be such that the movement of the object is detected based on the information described above. For example, the sensor tag 20 may be configured to include an atmospheric pressure sensor and detect a change in altitude of the position of an object based on a change in atmospheric pressure acquired by the atmospheric pressure sensor.

(Operation of the tracking object finding device)
Hereinafter, the outline of the operation of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the tracking object finding device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The process of this flowchart starts when the tracking object finding device 10 starts tracking an object in the space spc1.

(Step S001) The ranging sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 includes the tracking object finding device 10 and a plurality of objects (for example, the object obj1, the object obj2, and the object obj3) in the environment (for example, the space spc1). Measure each distance. Then, it progresses to step S002.

(Step S002) The environment map creation unit 102 of the tracked object finding device 10 identifies each position of a plurality of objects based on the distance measured by the distance measurement sensor 101 and creates an environment map. Then, it progresses to step S003.

(Step S003) The environment map creating unit 102 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 stores the map information 1031 based on the created environment map in the storage unit 103. Then, it progresses to step S004.

(Step S004) The acceleration information acquisition unit 104 of the tracking object finding device 10 identifies the sensor tag 20 (and the object), which is transmitted from the sensor tag 20 and indicates the acceleration of the object (indicating that the object has moved). The acceleration information 1033 associated with the information is received via the communication network 30. The acceleration information writing unit 105 writes the acceleration information 1033 received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 in the storage unit 103. Then, it progresses to step S005.

(Step S005) The ranging sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 includes the tracking object finding device 10 and a plurality of objects (for example, the object obj1, the object obj2, and the object obj3) in the environment (for example, the space spc1). Measure each distance. Then, it progresses to step S006.

(Step S006) The environment map creation unit 102 of the tracked object finding device 10 identifies each position of a plurality of objects based on the distance measured by the distance measuring sensor 101 and creates an environment map. Then, it progresses to step S007.

(Step S007) The environment map creating unit 102 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 stores the map information 1031 based on the created environment map in the storage unit 103. Then, it progresses to step S008.

(Step S008) The object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 uses the environment map created by the environment map creation unit 102 before the object moves and the environment map created by the environment map creation unit 102 after the object moves. Extract the difference from. Then, it progresses to step S009.

(Step S009) The object tracking unit 106 of the tracked object finding apparatus 10 identifies the moved object based on the information indicating the difference between the environment maps extracted in step S007 and the acceleration information 1033, and identifies the identified object. Specify the position after the move. Then, it progresses to step S010.

(Step S010) When the tracked object finding apparatus 10 finishes tracking the object in the space spc1, the process of this flowchart ends. If not, the process returns to step S004.

(Identification of object and position when multiple objects move)
Hereinafter, identification of a moved object and identification of a position of the moved object after the movement by the tracking object finding device 10 when a plurality of objects move will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing identification of a moved object and position by the tracking object finding apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 7A, after the object obj1 and the object obj2 have moved, the distance measurement sensor 101 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 measures the distance from the tracking object finding apparatus 10 to each object existing in the space spc1, The object whose position (coordinates) is specified by the environment map creation unit 102 is represented on a coordinate plane with the position of the tracking object finding device 10 as the origin. The part indicated by the broken line in FIG. 7A represents the range in which the light emitted by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0.

The coordinates of the object obj1 and the object obj2 shown in FIG. 7A represent the position of each object in the environment map created before the object obj1 and the object obj2 move. Further, the coordinates crd11 and the coordinates crd12 shown by dotted lines in FIG. 7A represent the positions of the respective objects in the environment map created after the objects obj1 and obj2 have moved. That is, FIG. 7A shows a state in which it is estimated that the two objects have moved to the coordinates crd11 or the coordinates crd12, respectively.

When a plurality of objects have moved, the object tracking unit 106 can identify the plurality of moved objects by identifying the object whose acceleration is detected by referring to the acceleration information 1033. It is not possible to specify to which position each of the objects has moved.

In FIG. 7B, after the object obj1 moves again, the distance measurement sensor 101 of the tracking object finding apparatus 10 measures the distance from the tracking object finding apparatus 10 to each object existing in the space spc1, and the environment map The object whose position (coordinates) is specified by the creation unit 102 is represented on a coordinate plane with the position of the tracking object finding device 10 as the origin. Similar to FIG. 7A, the portion indicated by the broken line in FIG. 7B represents the range in which the light emitted by the distance measuring sensor 101 of the tracking object finding device 10 is reflected from the position of the origin 0. Is.

Coordinates crd11 and coordinates crd12 shown by dotted lines in FIG. 7B represent the positions of the respective objects in the environment map created before the object obj1 moves again. Further, the coordinates crd13 and the coordinates crd12 shown by dotted lines in FIG. 7B represent the positions of the respective objects in the environment map created after the object obj1 moves again. Therefore, the coordinate crd12 is the coordinate measured as the existence of the object in both the environment map created before the object obj1 moves again and the environment map created after the object obj1 moves again. That is, FIG. 7B shows a state in which it is estimated that only one object has moved.

When the object in FIG. 7A is moving, the acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103 includes information indicating the sensor tag IDs given to the sensor tags 20 installed in the objects obj1 and obj2, respectively. Since it is included, the object tracking unit 106 can detect that the objects obj1 and obj2 have moved. However, it cannot be recognized which of the coordinates crd11 and the coordinates crd12 of the object obj1 and the object obj2, respectively.

Then, when the object is moving in FIG. 7B, the acceleration information 1033 stored in the storage unit 103 includes only the information indicating the sensor tag ID given to the sensor tag 20 installed in the object obj1. Therefore, it is possible to detect that the object obj1 has moved. As a result, the object tracking unit 106 moves the object obj1 to the coordinate crd11 when the object moves in FIG. 7A, and then moves the coordinate crd11 to the coordinate crd13 when the object moves in FIG. 7B. You can infer that you have moved further. Further, from this, the object tracking unit 106 can infer that the object obj2 has moved to the coordinate crd12 when the object in FIG. 7A moves.

As described above, when the acceleration information acquisition unit 104 acquires the acceleration information 1033 about a plurality of objects, the object tracking unit 106 moves the environment map and the plurality of objects created before the plurality of objects move. A plurality of moved objects are respectively identified and identified based on information indicating a plurality of differences from the environment map created after that and information obtained by analyzing the acceleration information 1033 of the plurality of objects in time series. The positions of the plurality of objects after the movement are respectively specified.

(Identification of environment when multiple similar environments exist)
Hereinafter, the identification of the environment by the tracking object finding apparatus 10 when there are a plurality of similar environments will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the identification of the environment by the tracking object finding apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8A shows an environment map in environment A, and FIG. 8B shows an environment map in environment B, which is an environment different from environment A. In addition, FIG. 8C illustrates an environment in which the tracking object finding device 10 is actually located. Although the tracking object finding apparatus 10 is located in either environment A or environment B, it is not aware in advance which environment it is located in.

The tracking object finding apparatus 10 stores an environment map of environment A and an environment map of environment B in the storage unit 103, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 8, environment A and environment B are environments in which the arrangement of objects is similar. For example, in an environment such as an office in a building, the floor layout of each floor may be similar in this way.
The tracking object finding apparatus 10 stores the acceleration information 1033 in the environment A and the acceleration information 1033 in the environment B in the storage unit 103, respectively.

The tracking object finding apparatus 10 is located in either environment A or environment B, but if it does not recognize which environment it is located in, the tracking object finding apparatus 10 is located there. An arbitrary object (measurement target) existing in the environment is moved. For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, the tracking object finding device 10 moves obj8 to the position of the coordinate crd21. Then, the acceleration information 1033 in the environment in which the tracking object finding device 10 is actually located is updated. As a result, the object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object finding device 10 determines which environment the environment in which the tracking object finding device 10 is located is (the environment A or the environment B). Can be specified.
Note that the tracking object finding device 10 does not move an arbitrary object (measurement target) by itself, but based on, for example, a third party such as a user moving an arbitrary object (measurement target), The object tracking unit 106 of the tracking object finding device 10 may specify which environment the environment in which the tracking object finding device 10 is located is.

As described above, the object tracking unit 106, based on the acquisition of the acceleration information 1033 for a specific object, selects the tracking object of its own among the plurality of environments indicated by the plurality of environment maps stored in the storage unit 103. The environment in which the discovery device 10 exists is specified.

(Dialogue control by the dialogue unit)
Hereinafter, the dialogue control of the dialogue with the user by the dialogue unit 108 of the tracking object finding device 10 will be described.
The tracking object finding device 10 can accept an inquiry from the user, for example, an inquiry about the position of a specific object in the space spc1, and present the answer to the inquiry to the user.

For example, the user makes an inquiry to the tracking object finding apparatus 10 (for example, a robot) about the content of “where is the remote controller?”. Then, the microphone included in the dialogue input/output unit 1081 of the tracking object finding device 10 acquires the voice based on the inquiry from the user and converts the voice into a voice signal. The dialogue input/output unit 1081 outputs the converted voice signal to the dialogue control unit 1082.

The dialogue control unit 1082 analyzes the voice signal input from the dialogue input/output unit 1081 and recognizes the content of the request from the user. When the dialogue control unit 1082 recognizes that the inquiry from the user is the content to inquire about the position of the “remote control”, the dialogue control unit 1082 causes the environment structure management unit 107 to store the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103, for example, Reference is made to the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the coordinate value of the "remote control" is "(25,36)". Further, the object management information 1032 shown in FIG. 4 stores “(25, 30)” as the coordinate value indicating the vicinity of the coordinate value. Then, the dialogue control unit 1082 acquires “table 1” which is the value of the item of the object name corresponding to this coordinate value.

The dialogue control unit 1082 generates a response sentence “near table 1” based on the information indicating “table 1” acquired above. Then, the dialogue control unit 1082 converts the response sentence into a voice signal and outputs it to the dialogue input/output unit 1081. The dialogue input/output unit 1081 outputs a voice through a speaker included in the dialogue control unit 1082 based on the voice signal input from the dialogue control unit 1082.

As described above, when the tracking object finding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment receives an inquiry about the position of a specific object, the user does not present the data indicating the coordinate value of the object as it is, but the user does not present the data. It is possible to present the user with "a mark (for example, a mark near the object)" for discovery. Accordingly, the tracking object finding device 10 can make the user find the specific object more easily.

As the above-mentioned "mark", a static one (not moving) or a large one such as a table may be used. Further, as the “mark”, “the object that has not moved most among the objects (for example, the object A) on which the sensor tag 20 is installed” is used, so that the dialogue unit 108 can, for example, It is possible to present a response sentence to the user such as "around the place where the object A is often placed."

The “mark” may be set by the environment map creation unit 102 together with the creation of the environment map and registered in the object management information 1032 stored in the storage unit 103.

In the above example, the tracking object finding device 10 has a dialogue with the user by voice using a microphone, a speaker, or the like included in the dialogue unit 108, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the tracking object finding device 10 may be configured to have a dialogue with a user by inputting and outputting through a touch panel liquid crystal display or the like included in the dialogue unit 108.

In the above example, the dialogue unit 108 responds to the user with a sentence, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the camera mounted on the distance measuring sensor 101 captures an object that the user is looking for or the above-mentioned “mark”, and the dialogue unit 108 presents the captured image to the user. May be.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the specific configuration is not limited to the above, and various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there.

A part or all of the tracking object finding device 10 in the above-described embodiment may be realized by a computer. In that case, the program for realizing this control function may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded in this recording medium may be read by a computer system and executed.

The “computer system” mentioned here is a computer system built in the tracking object finding apparatus 10 and includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in a computer system.

Further, "computer-readable recording medium" means a program that dynamically holds a program for a short time, such as a communication line when transmitting the program through a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In such a case, a volatile memory that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system serving as a server or a client, may be included. Further, the program may be one for realizing some of the functions described above, and may be one that can realize the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

Further, the tracking object finding device 10 in the above-described embodiment may be realized as an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each functional block of the tracking object finding device 10 may be individually implemented as a processor, or part or all of the functional blocks may be integrated and implemented as a processor. Further, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, when a technique for forming an integrated circuit that replaces the LSI appears due to the progress of semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit according to the technique may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Tracking object finding system, 10... Tracking object finding device, 20... Sensor tag, 30... Communication network, 101... Distance measuring sensor, 102... Environment map creation section, 103... Storage unit 104... Acceleration information acquisition unit 105... Acceleration information writing unit 106... Object tracking unit 107... Environmental structure management unit 108... Dialogue unit 1031... Map information, 1032... Object management information, 1033... Acceleration information, 1081... Dialogue input/output unit, 1082... Dialogue control unit

Claims (10)

An object movement information acquisition unit that acquires object movement information indicating that the object has moved,
Initially measuring the distance between each of the plurality of the objects in the environment, if the object movement information acquisition section acquires the object information of moving distance measuring sensor again measures the distance between each of the plurality of objects within the environment When,
And environmental map creation unit for creating an environmental map on the basis of each of the distance every time the distance measuring sensor is measured to said plurality of objects,
A map information storage unit that stores the environment map created by the environment map creation unit;
Indicating said environmental map the object was created prior to direct the timing to move in the environment map stored in the map information storage unit, the difference between the environmental map created immediately following the timing Based on the information and the object movement information acquired at the timing, the object tracking unit that identifies the moved object and identifies the position of the identified object after the movement,
A tracking object finding device comprising: The tracking object finding device according to claim 1, wherein the object movement information acquisition unit acquires the object movement information based on acceleration information measured by an acceleration sensor mounted on the object. When the object movement information acquisition unit acquires object movement information about a plurality of the objects,
The distance measuring sensor,
Again measuring the distance to each of the plurality of objects in the environment,
The object tracking unit,
A plurality of said environmental map created in the immediately preceding timing in which a plurality of the object has moved in the environmental map stored in the map information storage unit, and the environmental map created immediately following the timing Based on the information indicating the difference, and information obtained by analyzing the object movement information of the plurality of objects acquired at the timing in time series, the plurality of moved objects are respectively identified and identified. The tracking object finding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the positions of the plurality of objects after the movement are respectively specified. The object tracking unit, based on having acquired the object movement information about the specific object, among the plurality of environments indicated by the plurality of environment maps stored in the map information storage unit, the tracking object of its own. The tracking object finding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the environment in which the finding device exists is specified. An object management information storage unit that stores object management information that associates identification information that identifies the object, position of the object, and attribute information that represents the characteristics of the object with each other. The tracking object finding device according to any one of items 1 to 10. The tracking object finding device according to claim 5, further comprising: a dialogue unit that receives an input of information indicating a query from a user and outputs information indicating a response to the user based on the object management information. The information indicating the inquiry from the user is information indicating an inquiry about the position of the object, and the dialogue unit, as the information indicating the response to the user, the other object located near the inquired object. And output information presenting the positional relationship with the inquired object.
7. The tracking object finding device according to claim 6, wherein: The other object is the least moving object
The tracking object finding device according to claim 7, wherein A method of finding a tracking object using a computer equipped with a distance measuring sensor ,
An object movement information acquisition step in which the object movement information acquisition unit acquires object movement information indicating that the object has moved,
The distance measuring sensor, initially measuring the distance between each of the plurality of the objects in the environment, if the object movement information acquisition section acquires the object movement information, the distance between each of the plurality of objects within the environment Distance measuring step to measure again ,
Environmental map creation unit, and the environmental map generation step of generating an environmental map on the basis of each of the distances to the plurality of objects each time the distance measuring sensor is measured,
A map information storage step of storing the environment map created by the environment map creation section;
Object tracking section, and the environmental map the object was created prior to direct the timing to move in the environment map stored in the map information storage unit, the environmental map created immediately following the timing Based on the information indicating the difference between the object movement information acquired at the timing and the object movement information, an object tracking step of identifying the moved object, and identifying the position after the movement of the identified object,
A method for finding a tracked object, which comprises: In a computer equipped with a distance measuring sensor ,
An object movement information acquisition step of acquiring object movement information indicating that the object has moved,
First be measuring the distance between each of the plurality of the objects in the environment to the distance measuring sensor, in the object movement information acquisition step, when the object movement information is acquired, the plurality of objects within the environment A distance measuring step for causing the distance measuring sensor to measure the distance again ,
And environmental map creation step of creating an environmental map on the basis of each of the distances of the Rugoto measured in the distance measuring step, until the plurality of objects,
A map information storage step of storing the environment map created in the environment map creation step in a map information storage unit ;
Indicating said environmental map the object was created prior to direct the timing to move in the environment map stored in the map information storage unit, the difference between the environmental map created immediately following the timing Based on the information and the object movement information acquired at the timing, the object tracking step of identifying the moved object, and identifying the position after the movement of the identified object,
A program to execute.

Images