JP7489641B2 - Control system and control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control system and a control method.

Various technologies have been proposed to support residents in their homes. Patent Document 1 discloses a home condition monitoring system that can record and tally up electricity, gas, and water usage.

JP 2013-20574 A

The present invention provides a control system that can notify of abnormalities in facility security.

A control system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires first information including at least one of information indicating the status of equipment installed in a facility and information indicating the detection results of a sensor installed in the facility, an analysis unit that analyzes the acquired first information and stores in a storage unit behavioral characteristic information obtained as a result of the analysis that indicates behavioral characteristics of users of the facility, and an output unit that outputs notification information for notifying of an abnormality related to the security of the facility based on second information acquired by the acquisition unit after the first information is acquired, the second information including at least one of information indicating the status of the equipment and information indicating the detection results of the sensor, and the behavioral characteristic information stored in the storage unit.

A control method according to one aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition step of acquiring first information including at least one of information indicating the status of equipment installed in a facility and information indicating the detection result of a sensor installed in the facility, an analysis step of analyzing the acquired first information, a storage step of storing behavioral characteristic information obtained as a result of the analysis and indicating the behavioral characteristics of users of the facility in a storage unit, and an output step of outputting notification information for notifying of an abnormality related to the security of the facility based on second information acquired after the acquisition of the first information, the second information including at least one of information indicating the status of the equipment and information indicating the detection result of the sensor, and the stored behavioral characteristic information.

A program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the control method.

A control system according to one embodiment of the present invention can notify of abnormalities related to the security of a facility.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a first diagram showing an overview of a configuration related to an electric lock provided in a control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a second diagram showing an overview of the configuration related to the electric lock provided in the control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a behavioral characteristic information storage operation of the control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an intruder determining operation of the control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a determination result as to whether or not the behavior of a person in a house can be regarded as the behavior of a resident. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a weighting method based on the variability of data. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a determination result when a plurality of items are weighted for determination.

The following describes the embodiments in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection forms, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in an independent claim are described as optional components.

Note that each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily a precise illustration. In addition, in each figure, the same reference numerals are used for substantially the same configurations, and duplicate explanations may be omitted or simplified.

(Embodiment)
[composition]
First, the configuration of a control system according to an embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control system according to an embodiment.

The control system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an equipment control system capable of controlling a group of equipment 30 installed in a residence 90. The residence 90 is an example of a facility. The residence 90 is, for example, a detached house, but may also be an apartment building. The occupants of the residence 90 are an example of users of the facility (more specifically, users who use the facility on a daily basis). Note that the control system 10 may also be applied to facilities other than the residence 90, such as an office building (a facility that is used daily by only certain people).

As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 10 includes a control terminal 20, a device group 30, a sensor group 40, a wireless communication device 60, a mobile terminal 70, and a server device 80. The control terminal 20, the device group 30, and the sensor group 40 are installed in a house 90. Note that the mobile terminal 70 may be located inside the house 90 or outside the house 90.

First, the control terminal 20 will be described. The control terminal 20 is, for example, a HEMS (Home Energy Management System) controller having an energy management function. The control terminal 20 manages the power consumption of the group of devices 30 installed in the house 90. The control terminal 20 also controls the group of devices 30 installed within the premises of the house 90 and acquires the status of the group of devices 30. The control terminal 20 is not limited to a HEMS controller, and may be another home controller not having an energy management function, or a gateway device. The control terminal 20 is an example of an information terminal.

Specifically, the control terminal 20 includes a display unit 21, a communication unit 22, an information processing unit 23, and a memory unit 24.

The display unit 21 is a display device having a function of displaying images and a function of accepting manual input from a user. The display unit 21 is realized by a display panel such as a touch panel, a liquid crystal panel, or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel. The touch panel is, for example, a capacitive touch panel, but may also be a resistive touch panel.

The communication unit 22 is a communication circuit that allows the control terminal 20 to communicate with other devices. The communication unit 22 can communicate with the server device 80, for example, by connecting to the wide area communication network 100 via the wireless communication device 60. The communication unit 22 can also communicate with the device group 30 and the sensor group 40 by local communication via the wireless communication device 60. The communication unit 22 may also communicate with the device group 30 and the sensor group 40 by direct local communication that does not involve the wireless communication device 60. The communication unit 22 is specifically a wireless communication circuit that performs wireless communication, but may also be a wired communication circuit that performs wired communication. There are no particular limitations on the communication standard of the communication performed by the communication unit 22.

The information processing unit 23 processes information related to the control of the device group 30. The information processing unit 23 is realized, for example, by a microcomputer, but may also be realized by a processor or a dedicated circuit. The information processing unit 23 has a detection unit 25, an acquisition unit 26, an analysis unit 27, and an output unit 28 as functional components. The functions of the detection unit 25, acquisition unit 26, analysis unit 27, and output unit 28 are realized, for example, by a microcomputer or the like constituting the information processing unit 23 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 24. The functions of the detection unit 25, acquisition unit 26, analysis unit 27, and output unit 28 will be described in detail later.

The memory unit 24 is a storage device that stores the computer program executed by the information processing unit 23 and various information such as the behavioral characteristic information described below. The memory unit 24 is realized, for example, by a semiconductor memory.

Next, the device group 30 will be described. The device group 30 is installed within the premises of the house 90 (or outside the house 90), and is the controlled device in the control system 10. The device group 30 is capable of communicating with the control terminal 20, and is controlled by control signals transmitted by the information processing unit 23 of the control terminal 20. The device group 30 includes lighting equipment 31, air conditioning equipment 32, electric locks 33, electric shutters 34, and a speaker device 35.

The lighting equipment 31 illuminates the inside (room) of the house 90. The lighting equipment 31 is, for example, a ceiling light, but the specific form of the lighting equipment 31 is not particularly limited. The lighting equipment 31 may be a downlight, a pendant light, a spotlight, a bracket light, or the like. The lighting equipment 31 may also be a device that illuminates the outside (outdoors) of the house 90.

Air conditioning equipment 32 is an air conditioning equipment for general household use. Air conditioning equipment 32 is an air conditioning equipment that can adjust the temperature of the air sent out from air conditioning equipment 32 by having a heat exchanger (not shown) or the like. In other words, air conditioning equipment 32 has a temperature adjustment function (air blowing function and heating/cooling function). Air conditioning equipment 32 is not limited to air conditioning equipment for general household use, and may be an industrial air conditioning equipment.

The electric lock 33 is a security device that controls the locking and unlocking of the doors (or windows, etc.) of the house 90. The electric lock 33 includes a short-range wireless communication unit that acquires authentication information (key information) from the mobile terminal 70, for example. The electric lock 33 may be locked and unlocked by short-range wireless communication with an authentication medium other than a mobile terminal, such as an IC card. The short-range wireless communication performed by the electric lock 33 is, for example, wireless communication using RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier), but may also be wireless communication based on a communication standard such as BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy). In the following embodiment, the electric lock 33 is described as an electric lock installed on the front door of the house 90.

The electric shutters 34 are shutters for crime prevention or disaster prevention that are installed on the outside of the windows of the house 90. The electric shutters 34 may also be electric blinds that are installed on the inside of the windows of the house 90 to adjust the amount of outside light entering the house 90.

The speaker device 35 is a device that is installed in the house 90 and emits sound. The speaker device 35 is, for example, a standalone device such as a smart speaker, but may also be built into a device belonging to the device group 30 or the control terminal 20.

Next, the sensor group 40 will be described. The sensor group 40 includes one or more sensors placed within the premises of the house 90 (or outside the house 90), and each of the one or more sensors senses the environment within the house 90 or senses a person located within the house 90. The sensor group 40 is capable of communicating with the control terminal 20. The sensor group 40 includes an electric energy sensor 41, a sound sensor 42, an image sensor 43, and an odor sensor 44.

The power sensor 41 measures (detects) the amount of power consumed in the house 90 and transmits power information indicating the measured amount of power consumed to the control terminal 20. The power sensor 41 is, for example, built into a distribution board and measures the amount of power consumed for each branch circuit in the house 90. The power sensor 41 may be built into a smart meter (a power meter with a communication function).

The sound sensor 42 is, in other words, a microphone that acquires (detects) sounds within the house 90 and transmits sound information of the acquired sounds to the control terminal 20. The sound sensor 42 is realized, for example, by a condenser microphone, a dynamic microphone, or a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) microphone.

The sound sensor 42 is, for example, a standalone sensor (microphone) separate from the control terminal 20 and the device group 30, but may be built into a device belonging to the device group 30 or into the control terminal 20. The sound sensor 42 may be built into, for example, a speaker device 35 (smart speaker), an intercom master unit, a robot vacuum cleaner, or other robot device belonging to the device group 30. The sound sensor 42 may also be built into a wiring device such as an electrical outlet.

In other words, the image sensor 43 is a camera that captures (detects) images inside or outside the house 90 and transmits image information of the captured images to the control terminal 20. The image sensor 43 is realized, for example, by a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, but may also be realized by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor.

The image sensor 43 is, for example, a standalone sensor (camera) separate from the control terminal 20 and the device group 30, but may be built into a device belonging to the device group 30 or into the control terminal 20. The image sensor 43 may be built into, for example, an intercom slave (doorphone), an intercom master, a robot vacuum cleaner, or another robot device belonging to the device group 30.

The odor sensor 44 senses the strength of the odor (smell) inside the house 90 and transmits information indicating the intensity of the sensed odor to the control terminal 20. The odor sensor 44 is realized, for example, by a semiconductor gas sensor having an element whose resistance value changes in response to the odor.

The odor sensor 44 is, for example, a standalone sensor (microphone) separate from the control terminal 20 and the device group 30, but may be built into the control terminal 20 or into a device belonging to the device group 30. The odor sensor 44 may be built into, for example, an air conditioner 32, an air purifier, a refrigerator, a robot vacuum cleaner, or another robot device belonging to the device group 30.

Next, the wireless communication device 60 will be described. The wireless communication device 60 is a device that performs short-range wireless communication, and is a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) router that is installed in the house 90. The control terminal 20, the device group 30, and the sensor group 40 are communicatively connected to the wireless communication device 60. Communication of the control terminal 20 through the wide area communication network 100 is performed via the wireless communication device 60.

Next, the mobile terminal 70 will be described. The mobile terminal 70 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or tablet terminal owned by the resident of the house 90. An application program for using the mobile terminal 70 as a key for the electric lock 33 is installed in the mobile terminal 70, and the resident of the house 90 can lock or unlock the electric lock 33 from outside the house using the mobile terminal 70. In addition, an application program for the resident to receive notifications via the mobile terminal 70 is installed in the mobile terminal 70, and as described below, the resident can receive notifications indicating abnormalities related to the security of the house 90 via the mobile terminal 70. The mobile terminal 70 has a display unit 71.

The display unit 71 is a display device having a function of displaying images and a function of accepting manual input from a user. The display unit 71 is realized by a display panel such as a touch panel, a liquid crystal panel, or an organic EL panel. The touch panel is, for example, a capacitive touch panel, but may also be a resistive touch panel.

Next, the server device 80 will be described. The server device 80 is a computer (cloud server) located outside the house 90. The server device 80 performs information processing for the control terminal 20 to notify the resident via the mobile terminal 70. The server device 80 may also perform information processing regarding remote control, in which the resident controls the group of devices 30 in the house 90 by operating the mobile terminal 70 from outside the house 90.

[Configuration of electric lock]
2 and 3 are diagrams showing an overview of the configuration related to the electric lock 33. As shown in Fig. 2, a resident of a house 90 can unlock the electric lock 33 from outside the house 90 by short-range wireless communication between a mobile terminal 70 and the electric lock 33. In other words, the resident can use the mobile terminal 70 as a key for the electric lock 33.

In addition, the resident can also unlock the electric lock 33 from inside the house 90, for example, when a visitor comes to the house 90. As shown in FIG. 3, the resident can send an unlock command from the control terminal 20 to the electric lock 33 via the wireless communication device 60 by operating the display unit 21 of the control terminal 20.

Here, there is a possibility that the electric lock 33 may be illegally unlocked by a cyber attack. For example, the following are examples of cyber attacks targeting the short-range wireless communication between the mobile terminal 70 and the electric lock 33 shown in FIG. 2.

It is conceivable that an attacker could electronically copy the mobile terminal 70 and illegally unlock the electric lock 33. It is also conceivable that, by exploiting vulnerabilities in the short-range wireless communication protocol between the mobile terminal 70 and the electric lock 33, a resident could unlock the electric lock 33 with the mobile terminal 70, and an attacker lurking nearby could unlock it with his or her own mobile terminal immediately after entering the house 90. It is also conceivable that a so-called relay attack could be carried out, in which an attacker lurking nearby could unlock the electric lock 33 by amplifying the weak radio waves emitted by the mobile terminal 70.

A possible cyber attack targeting the communication path from the control terminal 20 to the electric lock 33 shown in FIG. 3 could involve exploiting vulnerabilities in the wireless communication device 60 to tamper with the software in the wireless communication device 60 and duplicating the unlock command from the wireless communication device 60. Another possible attack could involve obtaining a password to connect to the wireless communication device 60, and then illegally connecting an attacking information terminal to the wireless communication device 60 to duplicate the unlock command from the control terminal 20.

[Storage operation of behavioral characteristic information]
In order to distinguish between a person (intruder) who has illegally unlocked the electric lock 33 and invaded the house 90 as described above and a resident, the control terminal 20 (control system 10) stores in the storage unit 24 behavioral characteristic information indicating the behavioral characteristics of the resident during a first predetermined period starting from the timing when the electric lock 33 is unlocked. Thereafter, each time the electric lock 33 is unlocked, the control terminal 20 determines whether the behavior of the person in the house 90 (i.e., the person who unlocked the electric lock 33) matches the behavioral characteristic indicated by the behavioral characteristic information. When the behavior of the person in the house 90 is contrary to (not in accordance with) the behavioral characteristic indicated by the behavioral characteristic information, the control terminal 20 considers that the person is highly likely to be an intruder and notifies the mobile terminal 70 carried by the resident. In this way, the control system 10 can support the resident in quickly dealing with an illegal intrusion into the house 90.

First, we will explain the behavioral characteristic information storage operation of the control system 10. Figure 4 is a flowchart of the behavioral characteristic information storage operation of the control system 10.

First, the detection unit 25 of the control terminal 20 detects that the electric lock 33 has been unlocked from outside the house 90 (S11). For example, when the electric lock 33 is unlocked by short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 70, it transmits an unlocking notification to the control terminal 20. This allows the detection unit 25 to detect the receipt of the unlocking notification by the communication unit 22 as the electric lock 33 having been unlocked from outside the house 90.

Next, the acquisition unit 26 acquires first information including information indicating the state of the device group 30 and information indicating the detection results of the sensor group 40 via the communication unit 22 for a first predetermined period after it is detected that the electric lock 33 has been unlocked from outside the house 90, and stores the first information in the memory unit 24 (S12). The first information is information to be analyzed, and may include at least one of information indicating the state of the device group 30 and the detection results of the sensor group 40.

In addition, the information indicating the state of the device group 30 is, in other words, operation history information indicating the history of how the device group 30 operated or stopped (how the state changed). An example of a communication protocol for acquiring the information indicating the state of the device group 30 and the information indicating the detection results of the sensor group 40 is ECHONET Lite (registered trademark).

Next, the analysis unit 27 analyzes the first information acquired by the acquisition unit 26 and stored in the memory unit 24 to generate behavioral characteristic information indicating the behavioral characteristics of the resident of the house 90, and stores the information in the memory unit 24 (S13). Note that the analysis unit 27 can generate more accurate behavioral characteristic information by generating the behavioral characteristic information based on multiple pieces of first information (n pieces of first information acquired by unlocking the electric lock 33 n times, where n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2).

As described above, the control system 10 acquires first information including at least one of information indicating the state of the group of devices 30 installed in the house 90 and information indicating the detection results of the group of sensors 40 installed in the house 90, and analyzes the acquired first information. The control system 10 can store in the memory unit 24 behavioral characteristic information indicating the behavioral characteristics of the residents of the house 90 obtained as a result of the analysis.

[Behavioral characteristics information based on power consumption]
A specific example of the behavioral characteristic information will be described below. For example, the acquisition unit 26 acquires power information indicating the power consumption measured by the power sensor 41 as information indicating the detection result of the sensor group 40, and the analysis unit 27 analyzes the power consumption. For example, the analysis unit 27 calculates the power consumption during the first predetermined period, and stores information indicating a representative value (e.g., average value or median value; the same applies below) of the calculated power consumption amount for n times as the behavioral characteristic information. In this case, in the determination operation described below, the range of the representative value ± a predetermined value becomes a determination criterion for determining that a person in the house 90 is a resident. The behavioral characteristic information includes information indicating such a determination criterion. The predetermined value is determined, for example, taking into consideration the variation (standard deviation, variance) of the representative values (n representative values) for n times.

In addition, the behavioral characteristic information based on the power consumption measured by the power sensor 41 may be, for example, information indicating the order of the branch circuits to which power is supplied during the first specified period (i.e., in what order the resident turns on the group of devices 30 after returning home). In addition, the behavioral characteristic information based on the power consumption measured by the power sensor 41 may be, for example, information indicating the branch circuit to which power is supplied first during the first specified period (i.e., in what order the resident turns on the group of devices 30 after returning home).

[Behavioral characteristics information based on sound]
The acquisition unit 26 may also acquire sound information of sounds (footsteps, sounds of daily life, etc.) acquired by the sound sensor 42 as information indicating the detection result of the sensor group 40, and the analysis unit 27 may analyze the sound information. For example, the analysis unit 27 calculates a first representative value of the volume (amplitude of the sound signal) of the sound acquired during the first predetermined period, and stores information indicating the average or median value (in other words, the second representative value) of the calculated first representative value n times as behavioral characteristic information. In this case, in the determination operation described below, the range of the second representative value ± a predetermined value becomes a determination criterion for determining that a person in the house 90 is a resident. The behavioral characteristic information includes information indicating such a determination criterion. Note that the predetermined value is determined, for example, taking into consideration the variation (standard deviation, variance) of the first representative value n times (n first representative values).

The behavioral characteristic information based on the sound acquired by the sound sensor 42 may be, for example, information indicating a specific word (i.e., a word that the resident often utters after returning home) obtained by voice recognition of the sound acquired during the first specified period. The behavioral characteristic information based on the sound acquired by the sound sensor 42 may be, for example, information indicating a voiceprint (i.e., the resident's voiceprint) obtained from the sound acquired during the first specified period.

[Image-based behavioral characteristics information]
Furthermore, the acquisition unit 26 may acquire image information of an image captured by the image sensor 43 as information indicating the detection result of the sensor group 40, and the analysis unit 27 may analyze the image information. For example, the analysis unit 27 may store a facial image of a person captured in an image captured during the first predetermined period as behavioral characteristic information. In this case, in the determination operation described below, the image of a person determined to be the same person as the person captured in the facial image stored as behavioral characteristic information captured by the image sensor 43 serves as a determination criterion for determining that a person in the house 90 is a resident. The behavioral characteristic information includes information indicating such a determination criterion.

The behavioral characteristic information based on the image captured by the image sensor 43 may be, for example, an image of the iris (iris feature amount) of a person appearing in the image acquired during the first specified period. In this case, in the determination operation described below, the image of a person whose iris is determined to be the same as the iris image stored as the behavioral characteristic information captured by the image sensor 43 serves as a criterion for determining that a person in the house 90 is a resident.

[Behavioral characteristic information based on odor]
The acquisition unit 26 may also acquire information indicating the intensity of the odor sensed by the odor sensor 44 as information indicating the detection result of the sensor group 40, and the analysis unit 27 may analyze the intensity of the odor. For example, the analysis unit 27 calculates a first representative value of the odor intensity during the first predetermined period, and stores information indicating the average or median of the calculated first representative value over n times (in other words, the second representative value) as behavioral characteristic information. In this case, in the determination operation described below, the range of the second representative value ± a predetermined value becomes the determination criterion for determining that a person in the house 90 is a resident. The behavioral characteristic information includes information indicating such a determination criterion. Note that the predetermined value is determined, for example, taking into consideration the variation (standard deviation, variance) of the first representative value over n times (n first representative values).

In addition, the behavioral characteristic information based on the odor intensity sensed by the odor sensor 44 may be, for example, information indicating a pattern of change over time in odor intensity during the first specified period.

[Behavioral characteristics information based on the state of devices]
The acquisition unit 26 acquires information indicating the state of the device group 30, and the analysis unit 27 analyzes the state of the device group 30 during the first predetermined period. For example, the analysis unit 27 stores information indicating devices in the device group 30 that are likely to change from an off state to an on state during the first predetermined period as behavioral characteristic information. When a resident returns home, the resident often turns on the lighting device 31, turns on the air conditioner 32, and opens the electric shutter 34, but in the case of an intruder, it is considered that the possibility of turning on these devices is low. In particular, an intruder is unlikely to turn on devices that emit noise, such as the electric shutter 34, a robot vacuum cleaner, a range hood, and a coffee maker. Therefore, if a judgment criterion is generated based on behavioral characteristic information indicating what devices are in an on state, it is possible to judge (distinguish) a resident from an intruder in the judgment operation described below. The behavioral characteristic information includes information indicating such a judgment criterion.

[Intruder Judgment Action]
Next, a description will be given of an operation for determining whether or not a person located in the house 90 is an intruder, which is performed after the behavioral characteristic information is stored in the storage unit 24. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the operation for determining whether or not an intruder exists.

First, the detection unit 25 of the control terminal 20 detects that the electric lock 33 has been unlocked from outside the house 90 (S21). For example, when the electric lock 33 is unlocked by short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 70, it transmits an unlocking notification to the control terminal 20. This allows the detection unit 25 to detect the receipt of the unlocking notification by the communication unit 22 as the electric lock 33 having been unlocked from outside the house 90.

Next, the acquisition unit 26 acquires second information including information indicating the state of the device group 30 and information indicating the detection results of the sensor group 40 via the communication unit 22 for a second predetermined period after it is detected that the electric lock 33 has been unlocked from outside the house 90, and stores the second information in the memory unit 24 (S22). The second predetermined period is, for example, a period of the same length as the first predetermined period. The second information is information for calculating an evaluation value for judgment, and may include at least one of information indicating the state of the device group 30 and the detection results of the sensor group 40.

Next, the output unit 28 calculates an evaluation value for the judgment based on the acquired second information (S23). For example, the output unit 28 calculates the amount of power consumption in the second specified period based on the power information included in the second information, and uses the calculated amount of power consumption as an evaluation value for the judgment based on the power information. In step S23, the output unit 28 calculates five evaluation values based on, for example, the power information, sound information, image information, odor information, and information indicating the state of the device group 30.

Next, the output unit 28 judges whether each of the five items corresponding to the five behaviors, namely, behavior related to power consumption, behavior related to sound, behavior related to images, behavior related to odors, and behavior related to device status, can be regarded as a resident's behavior (S24). Specifically, the output unit 28 compares the calculated evaluation value with the judgment criteria for each of the five items to judge whether the behavior can be regarded as a resident's behavior (normal) or not (abnormal). Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of such a judgment result.

Next, the output unit 28 determines whether or not the majority of the five items are judged to be resident behavior (normal) (S25). If the output unit 28 determines that the majority of the five items are judged to be resident behavior (normal) (Yes in S25), that is, if the person currently in the house 90 is highly likely to be a resident, the output unit 28 ends the operation without outputting notification information.

On the other hand, if the output unit 28 determines that the majority of the five items are determined to be actions that cannot be considered to be those of a resident (abnormal) (No in S25), that is, if there is a high possibility that the person currently in the house 90 is a person other than a resident (an intruder), it outputs notification information (S26). The notification information is information for notifying of an abnormality regarding the security of the house 90, and more specifically, information for notifying that there may be a person other than a resident in the house 90.

The notification information is, for example, information for notifying by sound of an abnormality regarding the security of the house 90. In this case, the notification information output by the output unit 28 is transmitted by the communication unit 22 to the speaker device 35, and the speaker device 35 emits an alarm sound based on the notification information. As a result, if there is an intruder in the house 90, the intruder can be urged to leave the house 90. Also, if there is a resident in the house 90 (for example, when the resident is asleep), the resident can be urged to be on guard.

The notification information may also be information for notifying an abnormality in the security of the house 90 by image. In this case, the notification information output by the output unit 28 is transmitted to the server device 80 by the communication unit 22, and the server device 80 transmits the received notification information to the mobile terminal 70. If the mobile terminal 70 is inside the house 90, the notification information may be transmitted directly from the communication unit 22 to the mobile terminal 70 by local communication. The mobile terminal 70 that receives the notification information displays a notification screen as shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit 71. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the notification screen. Note that such a notification screen may be displayed on the display unit 21 of the control terminal 20, and in this case, the output unit 28 outputs the notification information to the display unit 21.

As described above, the control system 10 outputs notification information for notifying of an abnormality in the security of the house 90 based on the second information including at least one of information indicating the state of the device group 30 and information indicating the detection results of the sensor group 40, and the behavioral characteristic information stored in the memory unit 24.

This allows the control system 10 to send a notification if the electric lock 33 is illegally unlocked due to a cyber attack. The resident who receives the notification can then report the incident to a trusted organization such as the police or a security company. By using a control terminal 20 or the like for controlling the group of devices 30, the control system 10 can improve the security of the house 90 without using a dedicated security device or the like.

The control system 10 can not only notify when the electric lock 33 is illegally unlocked by a cyber attack, but also when the electric lock 33 is illegally unlocked physically, for example, by being forced open.

In addition, in step S25, it is required that a majority of the five items are determined to be unable to be regarded as resident behavior, but it may also be required that all five items are determined to be unable to be regarded as resident behavior. Furthermore, it is not essential that a determination is made for multiple items in steps S23 and S24, and a determination may be made for only one item, for example, a determination based only on the power amount information. In this case, the determination process (comprehensive determination process) in step S25 is omitted.

In addition, the second information, in cases where it is determined as a result of the processing of steps S23 to S25 that the person in the house 90 is highly likely to be a resident, can be used to update the behavioral characteristic information. Similarly, the second information, in cases where it is determined as a result of the processing of steps S23 to S25 that the person in the house 90 is highly likely to be a person other than a resident (an intruder), but feedback is subsequently obtained from the resident indicating that the determination was incorrect (it was a resident who was in the house 90), can also be used to update the behavioral characteristic information.

The second information in these cases is stored in the memory unit 24, and the analysis unit 27 may use the second information in addition to the first information to update the behavioral characteristic information for the next determination. In other words, the analysis unit 27 may update the behavioral characteristic information by analyzing the second information when it is determined that there is no abnormality related to the security of the house 90.

[Modification of Determination Operation]
When a comprehensive judgment is made using a plurality of items as described above, the plurality of items may be weighted and then the comprehensive judgment may be made. This weighting may be determined by the resident through an operation on the control terminal 20 or the like, or may be determined based on information regarding the variability of data included in the behavioral characteristic information. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining a weighting method based on the variability of data. Fig. 8 shows a frequency distribution (histogram) of n power consumption amounts (hereinafter also simply referred to as n data).

As shown in FIG. 8, for example, when generating the behavioral characteristic information in step S13, a judgment criterion (normal range in FIG. 8) is determined based on a representative value (average value) of n pieces of data. If the evaluation value calculated in step S23 subsequently falls within the section in FIG. 8(a), it is outside the normal range, and therefore the item corresponding to power consumption is judged not to be the behavior of the resident (is abnormal).

Here, in the first case where the n pieces of data used to determine the judgment criteria show a distribution with a small standard deviation, as shown by the white graph in Figure 8, the judgment that the evaluation value belonging to section (a) is abnormal is highly reliable. In contrast, in the second case where the n pieces of data used to determine the judgment criteria show a distribution with a large standard deviation, as shown by the black graph in Figure 8, the judgment that the evaluation value belonging to section (a) is abnormal is less reliable than in the first case (it is also possible that a misjudgment has been made).

Therefore, the output unit 28 determines the weight of the judgment for an item corresponding to power consumption based on the magnitude of the difference between the representative value (average value) of the n pieces of data corresponding to that item and the evaluation value (the absolute value of the deviation shown in FIG. 8; hereinafter, also referred to as |deviation|), and the standard deviation of the n pieces of data corresponding to that item. Specifically, the output unit 28 increases the weight of the judgment for that item the larger |deviation| - standard deviation is. In other words, the output unit 28 assigns a larger weight to a judgment result (item) with a higher reliability.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a judgment result when multiple items are weighted in this way. In the example of Figure 9, the output unit 28 determines a weight from 1 to 5 according to the value of |deviation| - standard deviation. As a result, the behavior related to the amount of electricity is judged to be abnormal (5 points), the behavior related to sound is judged to be abnormal (3 points), and the behavior related to smell is judged to be normal (1 point). As a result, the total points for abnormality is 8 points, while the total points for normality is 1 point. The overall judgment result is abnormal, and the output unit 28 outputs notification information.

As described above, the behavioral characteristic information may include information regarding the representative value and variance of the data used to determine the judgment criteria corresponding to each of the multiple items. In this case, the output unit 28 may determine the judgment weight for each of the multiple items based on the magnitude of the difference (|deviation|) between the representative value of the data corresponding to the item and the evaluation value determined by the acquired second information, and the variance (standard deviation) of the data corresponding to the item. The output unit 28 outputs notification information based on the judgment result for each of the determined multiple items and the overall judgment result determined based on the judgment weight.

When the judgment results for multiple items differ, this type of control system 10 makes a comprehensive judgment by placing emphasis on the judgment result with the larger relative deviation (i.e., the deviation expressed as |deviation| - standard deviation), thereby improving the accuracy of the comprehensive judgment.

In this modified example, the weight is determined according to the value of |deviation| - standard deviation, but more simply, the judgment weight may be determined based on the variance (standard deviation) of the original data used to determine the judgment criteria. In this case, for example, the smaller the variance of the original data, the larger the judgment weight.

[Other Modifications]
Note that the behavioral characteristics of a resident may differ depending on the time of day. Therefore, the behavioral characteristic information may be generated for each time period, taking into consideration the time period when the electric lock 33 is unlocked. In this case, in the intruder determination operation, the output unit 28 performs determination using behavioral characteristic information corresponding to the time period when the electric lock 33 is unlocked, among the multiple pieces of behavioral characteristic information stored in the memory unit 24. This allows the control system 10 to improve the accuracy of intruder determination.

In the above embodiment, the operation when the electric lock 33 is unlocked from outside the house 90 (Fig. 2) has been described, but the electric lock 33 may be unlocked illegally from inside the house 90. Therefore, when the electric lock 33 is unlocked from inside the house 90 (Fig. 3), the above-mentioned operation of storing the behavioral characteristic information and the operation of determining an intruder may be performed.

When the behavior characteristic information is stored and an intruder is determined both when the electric lock 33 is unlocked from outside the house 90 and when the electric lock 33 is unlocked from inside the house 90, the behavior characteristic information may be generated for each unlocking method, taking into account the unlocking method of the electric lock 33 (whether it is unlocked from outside or inside the house 90). In this case, in the intruder determination operation, the output unit 28 makes a determination using behavior characteristic information corresponding to the method among the multiple behavior characteristic information stored in the memory unit 24, depending on the method by which the electric lock 33 was unlocked. This allows the control system 10 to improve the accuracy of intruder determination.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the main information processing is performed by the control terminal 20, but it may be performed by the server device 80. For example, the server device 80 may perform only a part of the information processing described as being performed by the control terminal 20, or may perform all of it. For example, the server device 80 may be equipped with components equivalent to the memory unit 24, the acquisition unit 26, the analysis unit 27, and the output unit 28, so that the server device 80 can perform some or all of the information processing described as being performed by the control terminal 20. In other words, the information processing described in the above embodiment as being performed by the control terminal 20 may be read as information processing performed by the server device 80, as appropriate.

[Effects, etc.]
As described above, the control system 10 includes an acquisition unit 26 that acquires first information including at least one of information indicating the state of devices installed in the house 90 and information indicating the detection result of a sensor installed in the house 90, an analysis unit 27 that analyzes the acquired first information and stores in the storage unit 24 behavioral characteristic information indicating the behavioral characteristics of the resident of the house 90 obtained as a result of the analysis, and an output unit 28 that outputs notification information for notifying an abnormality regarding the security of the house 90 based on second information acquired by the acquisition unit 26 after the first information is acquired, the second information including at least one of information indicating the state of the devices and information indicating the detection result of the sensor, and the behavioral characteristic information stored in the storage unit 24. The house 90 is an example of a facility. The resident of the house 90 is an example of a user of the facility (more specifically, a user who uses the facility on a daily basis).

Such a control system 10 can notify of abnormalities in the security of the home 90 based on the behavioral characteristics of the occupants.

In addition, for example, the information indicating the detection results of the sensor includes at least one of the following: power information indicating the amount of power consumed in the house 90, audio information of sounds acquired within the house 90, image information of images captured within or outside the house 90, and odor information indicating the intensity of odors sensed within the house 90.

Such a control system 10 can generate behavioral characteristic information by analyzing the amount of power consumed in the house 90, sounds captured within the house 90, images captured within or outside the house 90, and odors sensed within the house 90.

For example, the output unit 28 determines whether each of a plurality of behavioral items can be considered as a resident's behavior based on the acquired second information and the behavioral characteristic information stored in the memory unit 24, and outputs notification information based on the result of the determination.

Such a control system 10 can provide notifications by comprehensively taking into account the results of judgments on multiple items related to behavior.

Also, for example, the output unit 28 outputs notification information when a majority of the multiple items are determined not to be resident behavior.

Such a control system 10 can provide notifications by comprehensively taking into account the results of judgments on multiple items related to behavior.

For example, the behavioral characteristic information includes information regarding the representative value and variance of the data used to determine the judgment criteria corresponding to each of the multiple items. The output unit 28 determines the judgment weight for each of the multiple items based on the magnitude of the difference (|deviation|) between the representative value of the data corresponding to the item and the evaluation value determined by the acquired second information, and the variance (standard deviation) of the data corresponding to the item, and outputs notification information based on the judgment result for each of the multiple items determined and the overall judgment result determined based on the judgment weight.

Such a control system 10 can weight the results of judgments on multiple behavioral items.

For example, the first information includes at least one of information indicating the state of the device in a first specified period starting from a first timing when the electric lock 33 installed in the house 90 is unlocked, and information indicating the detection results of the sensor in the first specified period. The second information includes at least one of information indicating the state of the device in a second specified period starting from a second timing when the electric lock 33 is unlocked after the first specified period, and information indicating the detection results of the sensor in the second specified period.

Such a control system 10 can notify of an abnormality in the security of the house 90 when the electric lock 33 is unlocked.

For example, the electric lock 33 is unlocked based on at least one of short-range wireless communication between the electric lock 33 and an authentication medium and wireless communication with a wireless communication device 60 installed in the house 90.

Such a control system 10 can notify of an abnormality in the security of the house 90 if the electric lock 33 is unlocked unauthorizedly due to a cyber attack on wireless communication or the like when the electric lock 33 is unlocked.

Also, for example, the output unit 28 outputs notification information to notify of an abnormality in the security of the house 90 by sound.

Such a control system 10 can notify of security abnormalities in the home 90 by sound.

Also, for example, the output unit 28 outputs notification information to notify the user of an abnormality in the security of the house 90 by image.

Such a control system 10 can notify the user of any abnormalities in the security of the home 90 via images.

Also, for example, the analysis unit 27 updates the behavioral characteristic information by analyzing the second information when it is determined that there is no abnormality regarding the security of the house 90.

Such a control system 10 can use the second information to update behavioral characteristic information.

The control method executed by a computer such as the control system 10 includes an acquisition step of acquiring first information including at least one of information indicating the status of devices installed in the house 90 and information indicating the detection results of sensors installed in the house 90, an analysis step of analyzing the acquired first information, a storage step of storing behavioral characteristic information indicating the behavioral characteristics of the resident of the house 90 obtained as a result of the analysis in the storage unit 24, and an output step of outputting notification information for notifying of an abnormality related to the security of the house 90 based on second information acquired after the acquisition of the first information, the second information including at least one of information indicating the status of devices and information indicating the detection results of the sensors, and the stored behavioral characteristic information.

This type of control method can notify of abnormalities in the security of the home 90 based on the behavioral characteristics of the occupants.

For example, the control method further includes an update step of updating the behavioral characteristic information by analyzing the second information when it is determined that there is no abnormality related to the security of the house 90.

This type of control method can use the second information to update behavioral characteristic information.

(Other embodiments)
Although the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the control system is realized by multiple devices, but it may be realized by a single device. For example, the control system may be realized as a single device that corresponds to the control terminal of the above embodiment. When the control system is realized by multiple devices, the components of the control system may be allocated in any manner to the multiple devices.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the processing performed by a specific processing unit may be executed by another processing unit. Also, the order of multiple processes may be changed, and multiple processes may be executed in parallel.

In the above embodiment, each component may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

In addition, each component may be realized by hardware. For example, each component may be a circuit (or an integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or each may be a separate circuit. In addition, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

In addition, the general or specific aspects of the present invention may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. Also, the present invention may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

For example, the present invention may be realized as a control terminal or server device according to the above-described embodiment, or as a control system equivalent to the control terminal or server device. The present invention may also be realized as a control method executed by a computer such as a control system, or as a program for causing a computer to execute such a control method. The present invention may also be realized as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium on which such a program is recorded.

In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that a person skilled in the art may conceive, or forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

10 Control system 24 Memory unit 26 Acquisition unit 27 Analysis unit 28 Output unit 30 Device group (device)
60 Wireless communication devices 90 Housing (facilities)

Claims (12)

an acquisition unit that acquires first information including at least one of information indicating a state of a device installed in a facility and information indicating a detection result of a sensor installed in the facility;
an analysis unit that analyzes the acquired first information and stores behavioral characteristic information indicating behavioral characteristics of users of the facility obtained as a result of the analysis in a storage unit;
an output unit that outputs notification information for notifying an abnormality regarding security of the facility, based on second information acquired by the acquisition unit after the first information has been acquired, the second information including at least one of information indicating a state of the device and information indicating a detection result of the sensor, and the behavioral characteristic information stored in the storage unit ;
The output unit determines whether each of a plurality of items related to behavior can be regarded as a behavior of the user based on the acquired second information and the behavior characteristic information stored in the storage unit, and outputs the notification information when a majority of the items are determined not to be the behavior of the user.
Control system. an acquisition unit that acquires first information including at least one of information indicating a state of a device installed in a facility and information indicating a detection result of a sensor installed in the facility;
an analysis unit that analyzes the acquired first information and stores behavioral characteristic information indicating behavioral characteristics of users of the facility obtained as a result of the analysis in a storage unit;
an output unit that outputs notification information for notifying an abnormality regarding security of the facility, based on second information acquired by the acquisition unit after the first information has been acquired, the second information including at least one of information indicating a state of the device and information indicating a detection result of the sensor, and the behavioral characteristic information stored in the storage unit ;
the output unit determines whether each of a plurality of items related to behavior can be regarded as a behavior of the user based on the acquired second information and the behavior characteristic information stored in the storage unit, and outputs the notification information based on a result of the determination;
the behavioral characteristic information includes, for each of the plurality of items, information regarding a representative value and a variance of data used to determine a judgment criterion corresponding to the item;
The output unit is
determining a weight for each of the plurality of items based on a magnitude of a difference between a representative value of the data corresponding to the item and an evaluation value determined by the acquired second information, and based on a variance of the data corresponding to the item;
The notification information is output based on a comprehensive judgment result determined based on the judgment result and the weight of the judgment for each of the determined multiple items.
Control system. The control system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the information indicating the detection results of the sensor includes at least one of the following: power consumption information indicating the amount of power consumed in the facility, sound information of sounds acquired within the facility, image information of images taken within or outside the facility, and odor information indicating the intensity of odors sensed within the facility. The first information includes at least one of information indicating a state of the device during a first predetermined period starting from a first timing at which an electric lock installed in the facility is unlocked and information indicating a detection result of the sensor during the first predetermined period,
A control system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second information includes at least one of information indicating the state of the device during a second specified period starting from a second timing at which the electric lock is unlocked after the first specified period, and information indicating the detection result of the sensor during the second specified period. The control system according to claim 4 , wherein the electric lock is unlocked based on at least one of short-range wireless communication between the electric lock and an authentication medium and wireless communication with a wireless communication device installed within the facility. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit outputs the notification information for notifying an abnormality regarding security of the facility by sound. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit outputs the notification information for notifying an abnormality regarding security of the facility by an image. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the analysis unit updates the behavioral characteristic information by analyzing the second information when it is determined that there is no abnormality regarding the security of the facility. 1. A computer-implemented control method comprising:
An acquisition step of acquiring first information including at least one of information indicating a state of a device installed in a facility and information indicating a detection result of a sensor installed in the facility;
an analysis step of analyzing the acquired first information;
a storage step of storing, in a storage unit, behavioral characteristic information indicating behavioral characteristics of users of the facility obtained as a result of the analysis;
an output step of outputting notification information for notifying an abnormality regarding security of the facility based on second information acquired after the first information has been acquired, the second information including at least one of information indicating a state of the device and information indicating a detection result of the sensor, and the stored behavioral characteristic information ;
In the output step, it is determined whether each of a plurality of items related to behavior can be regarded as a behavior of the user based on the acquired second information and the behavior characteristic information stored in the storage unit, and when the items determined not to be the behavior of the user among the plurality of items are a majority, the notification information is output.
Control methods. 1. A computer-implemented control method comprising:
An acquisition step of acquiring first information including at least one of information indicating a state of a device installed in a facility and information indicating a detection result of a sensor installed in the facility;
an analysis step of analyzing the acquired first information;
a storage step of storing, in a storage unit, behavioral characteristic information indicating behavioral characteristics of users of the facility obtained as a result of the analysis;
an output step of outputting notification information for notifying an abnormality regarding security of the facility based on second information acquired after the first information has been acquired, the second information including at least one of information indicating a state of the device and information indicating a detection result of the sensor, and the stored behavioral characteristic information ;
In the output step, it is determined whether each of a plurality of items related to behavior can be regarded as a behavior of the user based on the acquired second information and the behavior characteristic information stored in the storage unit, and the notification information is output based on a result of the determination.
the behavioral characteristic information includes, for each of the plurality of items, information regarding a representative value and a variance of data used to determine a judgment criterion corresponding to the item;
In the output step,
determining a weight for each of the plurality of items based on a magnitude of a difference between a representative value of the data corresponding to the item and an evaluation value determined by the acquired second information, and based on a variance of the data corresponding to the item;
The notification information is output based on a comprehensive judgment result determined based on the judgment result and the weight of the judgment for each of the determined multiple items.
Control methods. The control method according to claim 9 or 10 , further comprising an updating step of updating the behavioral characteristic information by analyzing the second information when it is determined that there is no abnormality regarding security of the facility. A program for causing the computer to execute the control method according to any one of claims 9 to 11 .

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