JP7257166B2 - Position estimation system, position estimation method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a position estimation system, a position estimation method, and a program for estimating the position of a mobile terminal carried by a worker during work such as security work, using beacons and a GPS (Global Positioning System).

Conventionally, as a technology for switching between indoor positioning using beacons and the like and outdoor positioning using GPS and the like, switching is performed when the strength of received signals such as GPS signals and beacon signals is below a predetermined strength or signals cannot be received (Patent Document 1 below, Patent Document 2, etc.).

JP 2008-109293 A JP 2010-271206 A

However, in the technology for switching indoor positioning/outdoor positioning according to the received signal strength, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the received signal strength in the indoor (outdoor) positioning means is low indoors (outdoors), or indoors ( outdoors), the strength of the signal received by the outdoor (indoor) positioning means may be high. In such a case, there is a risk that the outdoor (indoor) positioning means may perform position determination even though the user is indoors (outdoors). In other words, it is not preferable to perform switching simply because the received signal strength is high.

In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to grasp the position of a worker appropriately using indoor/outdoor positioning means according to whether the worker is indoors or outdoors. An object of the present invention is to provide a position estimation system, a position estimation method, and a program.

To achieve the above object, a position estimation system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of signal transmitters installed in an indoor space to be managed, a mobile terminal carried by a person moving in the space, and A position estimation system including a mobile terminal and a communicable management device for estimating the position of the person.
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information.
The portable terminal includes a first receiving unit for receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance range, a second receiving unit for receiving a GPS signal, the identification signal and the GPS signal. and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the information of to the management device.
The management device performs indoor positioning based on the identification signal received from the mobile terminal and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal, and performs indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or the result of the outdoor positioning. A position estimating unit for estimating the position of the person by any one of outdoor positioning processing assuming the position of the person, and a memory for storing a route condition indicating a route on which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter. and
When the position estimation unit detects the plurality of signal transmitters by satisfying the route condition based on the received identification signal while estimating the position of the person by the outdoor positioning process, the outdoor positioning process is performed. to the above indoor positioning process.

With this configuration, by switching the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process when a plurality of signal transmitters that satisfy the route conditions are detected and it is estimated that the person is present indoors with a very high probability, the person can be positioned indoors and outdoors. The position of the person can be ascertained by appropriately using the indoor/outdoor positioning means depending on whether the person exists.

The position estimation unit may switch between the indoor positioning process and the outdoor positioning process according to the accuracy of GPS when a plurality of signal transmitters are detected while satisfying the route condition.

As a result, if the signal transmitter detected in the outdoor positioning satisfies the route conditions and the GPS accuracy is poor, the outdoor positioning processing is switched to the indoor positioning processing. Processing can be maintained.

The position estimating unit may switch to the indoor positioning process when detecting a set number or more of the signal transmitters satisfying the route condition according to the accuracy of the GPS.

As a result, if the GPS accuracy is low, the number of signal transmitters can be set to a small number (for example, two) to facilitate switching to indoor positioning processing, and if the GPS accuracy is high, the signal transmitter By setting a large number (for example, three) of , it is possible to prevent erroneous switching to indoor positioning processing.

The position estimating unit detects, from among the plurality of signal transmitters, a specific signal transmitter near an entrance leading to indoors and outdoors when estimating the position of the person by the outdoor positioning process, and The outdoor positioning process may be switched to the indoor positioning process when the signal transmitter satisfying the route condition is detected.

This can prevent erroneous switching to indoor positioning processing just by detecting a specific beacon terminal while a person is moving outdoors.

When detecting the specific signal transmitter, the position estimation unit detects whether the GPS accuracy is less than the threshold value or the GPS accuracy is greater than or equal to the threshold value, and further detects the signal transmitter that satisfies the route condition. The outdoor positioning process may be switched to the indoor positioning process.

As a result, when a signal transmitter near the entrance is detected, depending on the accuracy of the GPS, it is possible to quickly switch to indoor positioning processing if there is a high possibility that the person is indoors. erroneous switching to indoor positioning processing can be prevented.

When the position estimation unit is estimating the position of the person by the indoor positioning process, the position estimation unit detects the signal transmitter that does not satisfy the route condition, and if the GPS accuracy is a threshold value or more, the indoor positioning You may switch from a process to the said outdoor positioning process.

As a result, it is possible to detect a situation in which indoor positioning processing is set even though a person is outdoors, and appropriately switch to outdoor positioning processing.

The storage unit may store outdoor route information indicating, by the identification information, a route of a signal transmitter near the outdoor area that can be detected when the person moves through the outdoor area in the space to be managed. In this case, when the position estimation unit detects the signal transmitter that does not satisfy the route condition, if the route of the detected signal transmitter matches the outdoor route information, the position estimation unit performs the indoor positioning process on the outdoor positioning process. You can switch to processing.

This makes it possible to more reliably detect a situation in which the indoor positioning process is set even though the person is outdoors, and appropriately switch to the outdoor positioning process. In addition, when a person detects a beacon terminal erroneously deviating from the route while moving indoors, erroneous switching to outdoor positioning processing can be prevented.

A position estimation system according to another aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of signal transmitters installed in a space to be managed, and a mobile terminal carried by a person moving in the space, and detects the position of the person. It is a position estimation system that estimates.
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information.
The mobile terminal includes a first receiving unit for receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance range, a second receiving unit for receiving the GPS signal, and indoor positioning based on the identification signal. and outdoor positioning based on a GPS signal, and determine the position of the person by either indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or outdoor positioning processing using the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the person. A position estimating unit for estimating and a storage unit for storing a route condition indicating a route along which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter.
The position estimation unit switches from the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process when the route condition is satisfied and the plurality of signal transmitters are detected while estimating the position of the person by the outdoor positioning process.

A position estimation method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of signal transmitters installed in an indoor space to be managed, a mobile terminal carried by a person who moves inside and outside the space, and communicating with the mobile terminal. It is a position estimation method for estimating the position of the person using a possible management device.
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information. The position estimation method is
receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance range;
receive a GPS signal,
Indoor positioning based on the identification signal received from the mobile terminal and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal, and indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the person Estimate the position of the person by one of the outdoor positioning processes,
storing a route condition indicating a route through which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter;
When the position of the person is estimated by the outdoor positioning process and the plurality of signal transmitters are detected by satisfying the route condition based on the received identification signal, the outdoor positioning process is changed to the indoor positioning process. Including switching.

A program according to another aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of signal transmitters installed in an indoor space to be managed, a mobile terminal carried by a person who moves inside and outside the space, and a mobile terminal capable of communicating with the mobile terminal. A program executed by the management device in a position estimation system for estimating the position of the person using the management device.
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information.
The portable terminal includes a first receiving unit for receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance range, a second receiving unit for receiving a GPS signal, the identification signal and the GPS signal. and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the information of to the management device.
The program, to the management device,
receiving the identification signal from the signal transmitter within a predetermined distance;
receiving the GPS signal;
Indoor positioning based on the identification signal received from the mobile terminal and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal, and indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the person a step of estimating the position of the person by any of the outdoor positioning processes of
a step of storing a route condition indicating a route through which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter;
When the position of the person is estimated by the outdoor positioning process and the plurality of signal transmitters are detected by satisfying the route condition based on the received identification signal, the outdoor positioning process is changed to the indoor positioning process. and causing a switching step to be performed.

As described above, according to the present invention, the position of a person can be grasped appropriately using indoor/outdoor positioning means depending on whether the person exists indoors or outdoors. However, this effect does not limit the invention.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a position estimation system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a center server according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is the figure which showed the structure of the functional block of the center server, portable terminal, and beacon terminal which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the database of the identification information of a beacon terminal, and a positional information which the center server which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention memorize|stores. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a table of route conditions for security guards to move between beacon terminals, stored in a center server according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of switching processing from indoor positioning processing to outdoor positioning processing by the center server according to one embodiment of the present invention. A diagram showing an example of switching processing from indoor positioning processing to outdoor positioning processing by the center server according to one embodiment of the present invention in chronological order, along with changes in reception strength of beacon terminals, accuracy of GPS signals, and positions of security guards. is. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of switching processing from outdoor positioning processing to indoor positioning processing by the center server according to one embodiment of the present invention. A diagram showing an example of switching processing from outdoor positioning processing to indoor positioning processing by the center server according to one embodiment of the present invention in chronological order along with changes in the reception strength of the beacon terminal, the accuracy of the GPS signal, and the position of the security guard. is. 10 is a flow chart showing a flow of switching processing from outdoor positioning processing to indoor positioning processing by a center server according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a position estimation system according to this embodiment.

As shown in the figure, this system includes a center server 100 , a mobile terminal 200 and a plurality of beacon terminals 300 .

The center server 100 is a server installed in a security center operated by a security company, and is a management device that manages the states of the guards G and the beacon terminals 300 . The center server 100 can communicate with the mobile terminal 200 via a mobile network and the Internet. The security center has a stationed controller, who monitors the position of security guard G at security target facility B, and dispatches security guards to security target facility B upon receiving an anomaly report from security guard G. Necessary measures will be taken.

Facilities B to be guarded are, for example, airports, train stations, art museums, museums, schools, facilities of public offices, commercial facilities (department stores, supermarkets, etc.), performance halls, offices of companies, private residences, and the like.

The mobile terminal 200 is, for example, a smartphone or a dedicated security terminal, and is carried by the guard G who guards the facility B to be guarded. Although one security guard G and one mobile terminal 200 are shown in FIG.

A plurality of beacon terminals 300 (1 to 18) are installed in various parts of the space (walls, ceiling, fixtures, etc.) of the facility B to be guarded, and transmit beacon signals. Also, the beacon terminals 300 can communicate with each other to transmit abnormality information of the beacon terminals 300 and the like to the center server 100 .

A beacon signal is a signal for acquiring various information including a position by receiving with the portable terminal 200, and contains the information which can identify the installation position in the space of the beacon terminal 300 of a transmission source. For example, by including identification information that specifies the beacon terminal 300 of the transmission source in the beacon signal, the center server 100 receives the signal by referring to a database that associates the identification information with the installation position of the beacon terminal 300 of the transmission source. The installation position of the beacon terminal 300 of the transmission source can be acquired from the identification information obtained.

The mobile terminal 200 receives the beacon signal from each of the beacon terminals 300 (that is, detects the beacon terminal 300), and transmits the identification information contained therein and the information on the signal strength (received signal strength: RSSI) to the mobile network. and transmitted to the center server 100 via the Internet. Note that it is preferable that the beacon terminal 300 is detected when the signal strength is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Based on the identification information and the signal strength, the center server 100 estimates which beacon terminal 300 the security guard G is near. The mobile terminal 200 also transmits data and the like acquired by the security guard G during security work to the center server 100 .

Further, in the figure, the solid line connecting the beacon terminals 300 is a route condition set as a route along which the security guard G can move. For example, since it is usually impossible for security guard G to move from beacon terminal 2 to beacon terminal 4 without going through beacon terminal 3, center server 100 measures a signal strength equal to or greater than a threshold value from beacon terminal 4, does not satisfy the route condition, it is not estimated that the security guard G exists in the vicinity of the beacon terminal 4 .

Also, the beacon terminal 300 installed near the doorway D leading to the indoors and outdoors of the facility B to be guarded is defined as a "specific" beacon terminal 300, and when the security guard G enters and exits indoors/outdoors, this It goes through a specific beacon terminal 300 .

In addition, when the security guard G exists outdoors, the center server 100 estimates the position based on the GPS signal.

[Hardware configuration of center server]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the center server 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the center server 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input/output interface 15, and a bus 14 connecting these to each other. Prepare.

The CPU 11 appropriately accesses the RAM 13 or the like as necessary, and performs overall control of each block of the center server 100 while performing various kinds of arithmetic processing. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that permanently stores firmware such as an OS, programs, and various parameters to be executed by the CPU 11 . The RAM 13 is used as a work area for the CPU 11, and temporarily holds the OS, various applications being executed, and various data being processed.

The input/output interface 15 is connected to a display unit 16, an operation reception unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like.

The display unit 16 is a display device using, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an OELD (Organic ElectroLuminescence Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like.

The operation reception unit 17 is, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or other input devices.

The storage unit 18 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory (SSD; Solid State Drive), or other solid state memory. The storage unit 18 stores the OS, various applications, and various data.

In particular, in this embodiment, the storage unit 18 stores an application, other programs, and a database for the center server 100 to execute security guard position estimation processing.

The communication unit 19 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) for Ethernet and various modules for wireless communication such as a wireless LAN, and is in charge of communication processing with the mobile terminal 200 .

Although not shown, the basic hardware configuration of the portable terminal 200 and the beacon terminal 300 as computers is substantially the same as the hardware configuration of the center server 100 described above. In addition, the mobile terminal 200 has a first receiving section for receiving the identification signal from the beacon terminal 300 existing within a predetermined distance range, and a second receiving section for receiving the GPS signal.

[Functions and databases of each device in the system]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of functional blocks of the center server 100, mobile terminal 200, and beacon terminal 300. As shown in FIG.

(Functional block of center server)
As shown in the figure, the center server 100 has a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, a state management unit 130, a display output unit 140, a route condition determination unit 150, and a position estimation unit 160 as functional blocks.

The communication unit 110 is a communication interface having a function of communicating with the mobile terminal 200, and transmits detection data (beacon signal information (identification information and received signal strength) and GPS information ( latitude and longitude, accuracy), etc.).

The storage unit 120 stores information on the installation position of each beacon terminal 300 . FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the installation position information.

As shown in the figure, the installation position information is a database in which the installation position of each beacon terminal 300 in the space of the guarded facility B is registered in association with the identification information (beacon ID) of each beacon terminal 300. .

In the example shown in the figure, the position (latitude and longitude) in a plane is registered for each beacon terminal 300, but three-dimensional position information may be registered by adding information such as altitude. Further, position information consisting of coordinate values (x, y, z) based on a position in a three-dimensional space may be registered without being limited to latitude, longitude, and altitude. The installation positions of the beacon terminals may be registered under names such as the west entrance (for example, the beacon terminal 1) and the room east side (for example, the beacon terminal 9) to estimate the positions of security guards.

The storage unit 120 also stores a route condition indicating a route through which the guard G can move within the facility B to be guarded. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the route condition table.

In FIG. 1, a solid line connecting adjacent beacon terminals 300 is a route along which security guard G can move, and as shown in FIG. .

In registering the route condition, another beacon terminal 300 located within a predetermined distance from a certain beacon terminal 300 may be automatically connected, or may be manually registered by an administrator.

As described above, referring to FIG. 1, security guard G can move from beacon terminal 2→3→4, but directly from beacon terminal 2 to beacon terminal 4 without going through beacon terminal 3. It is usually not possible to do so. Therefore, in the table of FIG. 5, beacon terminal 4 is not registered as a destination to which beacon terminal 2 can move.

Further, the storage unit 120 sequentially receives and stores detection data received by the mobile terminal 200 from the mobile terminal 200 when the security guard G actually moves through the facility B to be guarded. Further, data indicating the reception order of each beacon signal may be stored, or data indicating the reception time of each beacon signal may be stored. In the detection data, the identification information of the beacon terminal 300 and the signal strength are associated with each other.

The state management unit 130 manages the location information of the guard G from the detection data received from the mobile terminal 200 .

The display output unit 140 outputs the current position of the guard G estimated by the position estimation unit 160 described later and the detection data received from the mobile terminal 200 to display means such as a monitor. Thereby, an administrator can grasp|ascertain the position information of the security guard G, and the abnormality information of the beacon terminal 300. FIG. Note that the display output unit 140 may display the movement trajectory of the security guard G using the accumulated and stored detection data. This allows the administrator to visually grasp the change in the location information of the security guard G. FIG.

When receiving the detection data from the mobile terminal 200, the route condition determination unit 150 refers to the route conditions shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied.

Specifically, in FIG. 1, the security guard can move from beacon terminal 2 to 3 to 17, but moves directly from beacon terminal 2 to beacon terminal 17 without going through beacon terminals 3 and 18. I know you can't. Here, referring to the table of FIG. 5, since the beacon 17 does not exist in the movable destination of the beacon 2, even if the center server 100 recognizes the beacon terminal 17 as the route immediately after the beacon terminal 2 from the detection data, It is not assumed that the security guard G exists in the vicinity of the beacon terminal 17 .

The position estimation unit 160 performs indoor positioning based on the identification signal transmitted from the beacon terminal 300 and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal. That is, indoor positioning and outdoor positioning are performed at the timing of receiving detection data from mobile terminal 200 or the like. Then, the mobile terminal 200 can be carried by performing either indoor positioning processing using the result of indoor positioning as the position of the security guard G or outdoor positioning processing using the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the security guard G. Estimates the current position of the security guard G. As will be described later, based on the presence or absence of detection of the beacon terminal 300 that satisfies the route conditions and the GPS accuracy, the process to be prioritized from the indoor positioning process and the outdoor positioning process is determined, and the position of the security guard G is determined by the determined positioning process. presume. That is, position estimation section 160 performs position estimation by switching between indoor positioning processing and outdoor positioning processing depending on whether mobile terminal 200 has detected beacon terminal 300 that satisfies the route condition.

Specifically, when the mobile terminal 200 satisfies the route conditions and detects a plurality of beacon terminals 300 while estimating the position of the guard G by outdoor positioning processing, the position estimating unit 160 performs indoor positioning processing. switch. For example, when the beacon 8 is detected after the beacon 7 in FIG. 1 is detected, the beacon terminal 300 that satisfies the route condition is detected, so the process is switched to indoor positioning processing.

Also, when the position of the security guard G is estimated by outdoor positioning processing, even if the beacon 7 is not detected and the beacon 8 and then the beacon 9 are detected in this order, the beacon 7 cannot be detected due to the reception environment or the like. Alternatively, when the beacon 7 is detected, it is assumed that the outdoor positioning process is erroneously switched to, so the indoor positioning process is switched to.

As a result, when there is a high possibility that the security guard G is moving indoors, the position can be estimated by quickly switching from the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process.

Further, when the position estimation unit 160 has detected a plurality of beacon terminals 300 while satisfying the route conditions, the position estimation unit 160 may switch between the indoor positioning process and the outdoor positioning process according to the accuracy of the GPS.

As a result, when the position of the guard G is estimated by the outdoor positioning process, the detected beacon terminal 300 satisfies the route conditions and the GPS accuracy is poor, the outdoor positioning process is switched to the indoor positioning process, and the route condition is determined. is satisfied, the outdoor positioning process can be maintained if the GPS accuracy is good.

In addition, when the position estimation unit 160 estimates the position of the security guard G by indoor positioning processing, when the mobile terminal 200 detects a beacon terminal that does not satisfy the route conditions, the position estimation unit 160 performs outdoor positioning if the GPS accuracy is equal to or higher than the threshold. Switching to positioning processing, if the accuracy of GPS is less than the threshold, position estimation is performed by the result of indoor positioning based on the signal of the beacon terminal detected immediately before (indoor positioning processing).

Thereby, when the guard G is unlikely to be moving indoors, the indoor positioning process can be quickly switched to the outdoor positioning process.

In this way, the position estimating unit 160 switches to the indoor positioning process when the route conditions are satisfied and a plurality of beacon terminals 300 are detected while estimating the position of the security guard G by the outdoor positioning process. Specifically, when the beacon terminal 8 is detected immediately after the beacon terminal 7 in FIG. 1, the process is switched to the indoor positioning process. there is Therefore, when the positioning process is switched in this way, the storage unit 120 retroactively stores the position of the security guard when the beacon terminal 7 is detected as a position based on the beacon terminal 7 instead of a position based on GPS.

(mobile terminal functional block)
As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 200 has a first reception section 210, a second reception section 220, a communication section 230, and a signal strength measurement section 240 as functional blocks.

The first receiving unit 210 is a communication interface having a function of performing short-range communication with the beacon terminal 300 within the space of the guarded facility B, and receives a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon terminal 300 within the space. Bluetooth (registered trademark), for example, is used for short-range communication.

The second receiver 220 receives GPS signals from GPS satellites.

The communication unit 230 is a communication interface having a function of communicating with the center server 100 . The communication unit 230 transmits detection data and the like to the center server 100 via, for example, a mobile phone network, the Internet network, or the like.

The signal strength measurement unit 240 is means for measuring the signal strength of the beacon signal received from the beacon terminal 300 . When the beacon signal from the beacon terminal 300 is radio waves, the signal strength measurement unit 240 detects the amplitude of the received radio waves as the signal strength.

The signal strength measurement unit 240 also determines the GPS positioning accuracy. For example, the GPS positioning accuracy can be determined by calculating DOP (Dilution Of Precision) based on the arrangement of GPS satellites. For example, when the DOP value is less than 5, the positioning accuracy is good, and when the DOP value is 5 or more, the positioning accuracy is bad. In the following, the description will be made separately for the case where the accuracy is good and the case where the accuracy is poor. Note that the accuracy is not limited to this, and can be set to high, medium, or low (for example, "high" when DOP value < 3, "medium" when 3 ≤ DOP ≤ 7, and "low" when 7 < DOP). It may be classified into multiple stages, and the positioning distance error (m) may be used as the accuracy. That is, the accuracy is equal to or greater than the threshold, for example, when the accuracy is "good", "high or medium", "error within 3 m", or the like. In addition, in determining the positioning accuracy of GPS, various known methods such as CEP (Circular Error Probability: average error radius) and RMS (Root Mean Square: root mean square) can be adopted in addition to DOP calculation. . For example, when using the RMS value, it is sufficient that the positioning accuracy is good if it is less than 5mRMS (exists in a circle within a radius of 5m from the true positioning point with a probability of 63%).

The signal strength measuring unit 240 may also determine the signal strength of the GPS signal as the positioning accuracy. In this case, if the signal intensity is high (greater than or equal to the threshold value), the accuracy is good, and if it is low (less than the threshold value), the accuracy is bad.

Measurement of signal strength and calculation of positioning accuracy are not limited to those described above, and various known methods can be used.

(Functional block of beacon terminal)
As shown in FIG. 3, the beacon terminal 300 has a transmitting section 310 and a storage section 320 as functional blocks.

The transmission unit 310 transmits the beacon signal including the identification information (beacon ID) of the beacon terminal 300 as radio waves or sound waves. The transmission interval of the beacon signal is set once/second, and the reception interval is set once (continuous for 5 seconds)/hour, but is not limited to these.

The storage unit 320 stores identification information and the like of the beacon terminal 300 .

[System operation]
Next, a switching operation between indoor positioning processing and outdoor positioning processing in the position estimation system configured as described above will be described. The operation is performed in cooperation with hardware such as CPUs and communication units of the center server 100, the mobile terminal 200, and the beacon terminal 300, and software stored in the storage unit. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, unless otherwise specified, the CPU of each device is assumed to operate.

As a premise of this process, the center server 100 receives beacon information (beacon identification signal and received signal strength) and GPS information (latitude and longitude and accuracy ). In addition, since it is assumed that the mobile terminal 200 receives signals from a plurality of beacon terminals 300 , information on the beacon terminal 300 with the highest received signal strength is transmitted to the center server 100 . Note that the center server 100 accumulates both received beacon information and GPS information in the storage unit 120 in order to determine whether the route conditions are satisfied.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the flow of switching processing from indoor positioning processing to outdoor positioning processing by the center server 100 .

As shown in the figure, during execution of the position estimation of the guard G by the indoor positioning process, the CPU 11 of the center server 100 determines whether or not the identification signal of any beacon terminal 300 has been received from the portable terminal 200. (step 61).

If it is determined that the identification signal of the beacon terminal 300 has been received (Yes), the CPU 11 determines whether the beacon terminal 300 corresponding to the identification signal is the beacon terminal 300 that satisfies the path condition in relation to the previously received identification signal. A decision is made as to whether or not (step 62).

On the other hand, when determining that the identification signal of the beacon terminal 300 has not been received (No), the CPU 11 determines whether the GPS accuracy is equal to or higher than the threshold (good) (step 63).

If it is determined in step 62 that the identification signal satisfies the route condition (Yes), there is a high possibility that the security guard G is staying indoors, so the CPU 11 continues the indoor positioning process (step 64).

On the other hand, when determining that the identification signal does not satisfy the route condition (No), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the accuracy of the GPS signal is equal to or higher than the threshold (good) (step 63).

If it is determined in step 63 that the GPS accuracy is equal to or greater than the threshold value (Yes), it is highly likely that the guard G has gone outdoors, so the CPU 11 switches the indoor positioning process to the outdoor positioning process (step 65).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the GPS accuracy is less than the threshold value (No), there is a high possibility that the security guard G is staying indoors, so the CPU 11 continues the indoor positioning process (step 64).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the switching process from the indoor positioning process to the outdoor positioning process in chronological order along with changes in the reception intensity of the beacon terminal 300, the accuracy of the GPS, and the position of the security guard G. FIG. Note that the numbers indicating the beacon terminals 300 in the figure correspond to those shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, at time t2, a beacon terminal 17 that does not satisfy the route conditions is detected, but since the GPS accuracy is low, the CPU 11 maintains the position of the beacon 2 immediately before.

On the other hand, at time t11, the beacon terminal 13 that does not satisfy the route condition is detected and the GPS accuracy is high, so the CPU 11 switches the indoor positioning process to the outdoor positioning process.

At time t10, the position of the beacon terminal 11 is recorded, but since it was switched to outdoor positioning processing due to movement that does not satisfy the route conditions, the CPU 11 overwrites the record of the position at t10 (beacon 11) on the GPS. do.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the flow of switching processing from outdoor positioning processing to indoor positioning processing by the center server 100 .

As shown in the figure, during execution of the position estimation of the guard G by the outdoor positioning process, the CPU 11 of the center server 100 determines whether or not the identification signal of any beacon terminal 300 has been received from the portable terminal 200. (step 81).

If it is determined that the identification signal of the beacon terminal 300 has been received (Yes), the CPU 11 determines whether the beacon terminal 300 corresponding to the identification signal is the beacon terminal 300 that satisfies the path condition in relation to the previously received identification signal. A decision is made as to whether or not (step 82).

If it is determined that the identification signal does not satisfy the route condition (No), there is a high possibility that the guard G is staying outdoors, so the CPU 11 continues the outdoor positioning process (step 85).

On the other hand, when determining that the identification signal satisfies the route condition (Yes), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the GPS accuracy is equal to or higher than the threshold (good) (step 83).

If it is determined that the GPS accuracy is equal to or greater than the threshold (Yes), there is a high possibility that the security guard G is staying outdoors, so the CPU 11 maintains the position estimation processing based on the outdoor positioning processing (step 85).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the GPS accuracy is less than the threshold value (No), it is highly likely that the security guard G has moved indoors, so the CPU 11 switches the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process (step 84). .

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the switching process from the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process in chronological order, together with changes in the reception intensity of the beacon terminal 300, the accuracy of the GPS, and the position of the security guard G. As shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the beacon terminals 7→8 detected at times t2 and t3 satisfy the route condition, so the CPU 11 switches the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process. At this time, as described above, the condition for switching may be that the GPS accuracy is low (below the threshold).

At time t2, the GPS-based positioning result was recorded, but the process was switched to indoor positioning due to movement that satisfied the route conditions. do.

[summary]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of beacon terminals 300 satisfying the route conditions are detected and the GPS accuracy is low, the center server 100 switches the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process, and the beacon terminals 300 switch from outdoor positioning to indoor positioning. If the identification signal does not satisfy the route conditions and the GPS accuracy is high, the indoor positioning process is switched to the outdoor positioning process. The position of security guard G can be grasped using positioning processing.

[Modification]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the condition for switching from outdoor positioning processing to indoor positioning processing is that the GPS accuracy is less than the threshold. Here, in consideration of the possibility that the security guard G may detect the beacon terminals 300 while moving outdoors, outdoor positioning is performed when the number of beacon terminals 300 set according to the accuracy of GPS or more is detected. Position estimation may be performed by switching from processing to indoor positioning processing.

For example, if the GPS accuracy is low (that is, the possibility of being indoors is high), switching to indoor positioning processing when two or more beacon terminals are detected, and the GPS accuracy is high (that is, the possibility of being outdoors is high). is high), the indoor positioning process may be switched to if three or more beacon terminals are detected. As a result, it is possible to prevent erroneous switching to indoor positioning processing even if a beacon signal is received while moving outdoors, and to quickly switch to indoor positioning processing when moving from outdoors to indoors.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of switching processing from outdoor positioning processing to indoor positioning processing by the center server 100 in this case. Compared to the flowchart in FIG. 8, the process in FIG. 8 is different from the flowchart in FIG. The process is the same as the process in FIG. 8 except that the process is replaced with the process of determining whether or not the beacon terminal 300 has been detected.

In the above-described embodiment, an arbitrary beacon terminal 300 is used to determine whether or not the detected beacon terminal 300 satisfies the route condition in the switching process from the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process. However, the center server 100 detects a specific beacon terminal 300 installed in the vicinity of the doorway D leading to the inside and outside of the facility B to be guarded, and then detects a movable beacon terminal from the specific beacon terminal 300. When (the route condition is satisfied), the position may be estimated by switching to the indoor positioning process. This can prevent erroneous switching to indoor positioning processing just by detecting a specific beacon terminal 300 while moving outdoors.

Furthermore, in this case, when the mobile terminal 200 detects the specific beacon terminal 300, the center server 100 switches from the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process if the GPS accuracy is low (below the threshold value). If the accuracy is high (greater than or equal to the threshold value) and the beacon terminal 300 that satisfies the route condition is detected, the outdoor positioning process may be switched to the indoor positioning process to perform position estimation. Accordingly, when there is a high possibility that the security guard G is indoors by considering the GPS accuracy, the process can be quickly switched to the indoor positioning process.

In the above-described embodiment, when the mobile terminal 200 detects the beacon terminal 300 that does not satisfy the route conditions while estimating the position of the security guard G by indoor positioning processing, the center server 100 detects this beacon terminal immediately before. If there is an outdoor area between it and the beacon terminal 300, it switches to outdoor positioning processing, and if there is no outdoor area, position estimation is performed by indoor positioning processing based on the signal of the beacon terminal 300 detected immediately before. good.

Specifically, in this case, the center server 100 stores in the storage unit 120 an outdoor route indicating the route of the beacon terminal 300 near the outdoor area that can be detected when the guard G moves through the outdoor area of the facility B to be managed. Store information. For example, in FIG. 1, a route such as beacon terminal 15→18 and a route such as beacon terminal 11→13 correspond to the outdoor route information. The route of the outdoor route information does not satisfy the above route conditions indoors, and an outdoor area exists on a straight line connecting the beacon terminals on the route on the map.

Then, when the position estimating unit 160 detects a beacon terminal 300 that does not satisfy the route conditions, and if the route of the detected beacon terminal 300 matches the outdoor route information, the position estimation unit 160 switches to the outdoor positioning process and estimates the position. You may

As a result, it is possible to more reliably detect a situation in which the indoor positioning process is set even though the security guard G is outdoors, and appropriately switch to the outdoor positioning process. In addition, when the security guard G detects the beacon terminal 300 that erroneously deviates from the route while moving indoors, erroneous switching to outdoor positioning processing can be prevented.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the identification signal is not received from the mobile terminal 200 during the execution of the position estimation of the security guard G by the indoor positioning process, it is determined whether the GPS accuracy is equal to or higher than the threshold value. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not the GPS accuracy is equal to or higher than the threshold value only when the position of the security guard G is determined by a specific beacon terminal 300 . That is, even if the position of the security guard G is being estimated by indoor positioning processing, the position of the security guard G is determined by a position other than the specific beacon terminal 300, and if the identification signal cannot be received, the position of the security guard G can be temporarily stored indoors. Since it is assumed that the identification signal has not been received, the indoor positioning process is maintained regardless of the GPS accuracy. As a result, it is possible to distinguish between the inability to receive the identification signal due to the security guard G moving from indoors to the outdoors and the temporary inability to receive the identification signal while the security guard G is moving indoors. It is possible to prevent the indoor positioning process from being switched to the outdoor positioning process due to an error.

In the above-described embodiment, the center server 100 was in charge of the position estimation process, but the mobile terminal 200 may be in charge of each of these processes. In this case, the mobile terminal 200 has functional blocks, hardware, and programs corresponding to the storage unit 120 and the position estimation unit 160 described above. In this case, the process of transmitting the information of the identification signal and the GPS signal from the mobile terminal 200 to the center server 100 becomes unnecessary. The mobile terminal 200 may transmit to the center server 100 the location information of the guard G carrying the mobile terminal 200 estimated by the location estimation process.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the center server 100 stores the route conditions shown in FIG. Then, it is determined whether or not the beacon terminal 300 described as the source of the beacon signal in the detection data satisfies the route condition. However, the mobile terminal 200 may have the route condition determination unit and the route condition. In this case, the mobile terminal 200 transmits the detection data to the center server 100 when it is determined by the route determination unit that the detection data satisfies the route conditions, and when it is determined that the route conditions are not satisfied. , does not transmit detection data to the center server 100 .

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the position estimation of the security guard G during security service has been described, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it can be applied to the position estimation of various people such as workers at various sites such as staff at airports and department stores, cleaning staff who perform cleaning work, and users who use facilities such as airports and department stores. is.

Among the inventions described in the scope of claims of the present application, the invention described as a "position estimation method" automatically performs each step by at least one device such as a computer through information processing by software. It is not performed by humans using devices such as computers. In other words, the "position estimation method" is a position information estimation method using computer software, and is not a method of manipulating a computing tool called a computer.

11 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18-120... Storage part 19-110... Communication part 150... Route condition determination part 160... Position estimation part 100... Center server 200... Portable terminal 210... First receiving part 220... Second receiving part 300... Beacon terminal 310... Transmission Part B... Security target facility D... Entrance G... Security guard

Claims (9)

A plurality of signal transmitters installed in an indoor space to be managed, a mobile terminal carried by a person moving in the space, and a management device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal, and estimating the position of the person. A position estimation system that
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information,
The mobile terminal is
a first receiving unit for receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance;
a second receiver that receives a GPS signal;
a transmission unit that transmits information of the identification signal and the GPS signal to the management device;
The management device
Indoor positioning based on the identification signal received from the mobile terminal and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal are performed, and indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the person a position estimation unit for estimating the position of the person by any of the outdoor positioning processes;
a storage unit that stores a route condition indicating a route through which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter;
When the position estimation unit detects a plurality of the signal transmitters by satisfying the route condition based on the received identification signal while estimating the position of the person by the outdoor positioning process, position estimation system that switches from the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process accordingly . 2. The position estimation according to claim 1 , wherein the position estimation unit switches from the outdoor positioning process to the indoor positioning process when detecting a set number or more of the signal transmitters satisfying the route condition according to the accuracy of the GPS. system. The position estimating unit detects, from among the plurality of signal transmitters, a specific signal transmitter near an entrance leading to indoors and outdoors when estimating the position of the person by the outdoor positioning process, and 3. The position estimation system according to claim 1 , wherein the outdoor positioning process is switched to the indoor positioning process when the signal transmitter satisfying the route condition is detected. The position estimation unit detects the specific signal transmitter, the GPS accuracy is less than a threshold value , or the GPS accuracy is greater than or equal to the threshold value and the signal transmitter that satisfies the route condition is detected. 4. The position estimation system according to claim 3 , wherein the outdoor positioning process is switched to the indoor positioning process. The position estimating unit detects the signal transmitter that does not satisfy the route condition when estimating the position of the person by the indoor positioning process, and if the accuracy of GPS is a threshold value or more, the indoor positioning 5. The position estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein switching from processing to said outdoor positioning processing. The storage unit stores outdoor route information indicating, by the identification information, a route of a signal transmitter in the vicinity of the outdoor area that can be detected when the person moves in the outdoor area in the space to be managed,
When the position estimation unit detects the signal transmitter that does not satisfy the route condition, and if the route of the detected signal transmitter matches the outdoor route information, the position estimation unit switches from the indoor positioning process to the outdoor positioning process. 6. The position estimation system of claim 5 , which switches. A position estimation system comprising a plurality of signal transmitters installed in a space to be managed and a mobile terminal carried by a person moving in the space, and estimating the position of the person,
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information,
The mobile terminal is
a first receiving unit for receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance;
a second receiver that receives a GPS signal;
indoor positioning based on the identification signal and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal, and indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or outdoor positioning processing using the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the person a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the person by
a storage unit that stores a route condition indicating a route through which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter;
When the position estimation unit detects the plurality of signal transmitters by satisfying the route condition while estimating the position of the person by the outdoor positioning process , the position estimation unit performs A position estimation system that switches to the indoor positioning process. Using a plurality of signal transmitters installed in an indoor space to be managed, a mobile terminal carried by a person who moves inside and outside the space, and a management device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal, the position of the person A position estimation method for estimating
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information, and the position estimation method includes:
receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance range;
receive a GPS signal,
indoor positioning based on the identification signal received from the mobile terminal and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal, and indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the person Estimate the position of the person by any of the outdoor positioning processing of
storing a route condition indicating a route through which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter;
When the position of the person is estimated by the outdoor positioning process and the plurality of signal transmitters are detected by satisfying the route condition based on the received identification signal, the outdoor positioning is performed according to the accuracy of GPS. A position estimation method for switching from processing to said indoor positioning processing. Using a plurality of signal transmitters installed in an indoor space to be managed, a mobile terminal carried by a person who moves inside and outside the space, and a management device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal, the position of the person A program executed by the management device in a position estimation system that estimates the
The signal transmitter has a transmitter that transmits an identification signal including its own identification information,
The portable terminal includes a first receiving section for receiving the identification signal transmitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance range, a second receiving section for receiving a GPS signal, and the identification signal and the GPS signal. a transmission unit that transmits information of to the management device,
The program, in the management device,
receiving the identification signal emitted by the signal transmitter existing within a predetermined distance;
receiving the GPS signal;
indoor positioning based on the identification signal received from the mobile terminal and outdoor positioning based on the GPS signal, and indoor positioning processing using the result of the indoor positioning as the position of the person or the result of the outdoor positioning as the position of the person a step of estimating the position of the person by any of the outdoor positioning processes of
a step of storing a route condition indicating a route through which the person can move by the identification information of the signal transmitter;
When the position of the person is estimated by the outdoor positioning process and the plurality of signal transmitters are detected by satisfying the route condition based on the received identification signal, the outdoor positioning is performed according to the accuracy of GPS. A program for executing a step of switching from processing to the indoor positioning.

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