JPWO2019225312A1 - Monitoring equipment and programs - Google Patents

Abstract

Use flying objects to monitor animals with abnormalities in grazing animals. The acquisition unit acquires position information indicating the position of the grazing animal. The calculation unit calculates the degree of abnormality of the animal. When the calculated degree of abnormality is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the indicator starts flying toward the monitoring position corresponding to the position indicated by the acquired position information, and performs a process of monitoring the animal at the monitoring position. Instruct the aircraft (10). The changing part changes the threshold value when a predetermined condition regarding the surrounding condition of the animal is satisfied.

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for monitoring an animal using an air vehicle.

A technique for monitoring using an air vehicle such as a drone is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes that when an abnormality is detected in the monitoring area, the flying robot moves to the vicinity of the abnormality detection position and starts transmitting a live image to the monitoring center.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-189114

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a suspicious vehicle or a suspicious person is monitored, but it is convenient to be able to monitor, for example, a grazing animal using an air vehicle. Also, when monitoring an animal using a flying object, the flying object may start flying and monitor the animal when the degree of abnormality of the animal becomes high, but depending on the surrounding conditions of the animal, it may be monitored. In some cases, it may be better for the aircraft to start flying earlier than usual to monitor the animals.
An object of the present invention is to monitor an animal having an abnormality in a grazing animal by using an air vehicle.

The present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the position of a grazing animal, a calculation unit that calculates the degree of abnormality of the animal, and a unit that calculates the degree of abnormality when the calculated degree of abnormality is equal to or greater than a threshold value. An instruction unit that starts flying toward a monitoring position corresponding to the position indicated by the acquired position information and instructs the flying object to perform a process of monitoring the animal at the monitoring position, and a situation around the animal. When the predetermined condition is satisfied, a monitoring device including a changing unit for changing the threshold value is provided.

Further, the present invention includes a step of acquiring position information indicating the position of a grazing animal on a computer, a step of calculating an abnormality degree of the animal, and a case where the calculated abnormality degree is equal to or more than a threshold value. Starts flying toward a monitoring position corresponding to the position indicated by the acquired position information, and instructs the flying object to perform a process of monitoring the animal at the monitoring position, and a step around the animal. When a predetermined condition relating to the situation of the above is satisfied, a program for executing the step of changing the threshold value is provided.

According to the present invention, an animal having an abnormality in a grazing animal can be monitored by using an air vehicle.

It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the monitoring system 1 which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the appearance of the flying object 10. It is a figure which shows the hardware composition of the aircraft body 10. It is a figure which shows the hardware composition of the server apparatus 40. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional structure of the server apparatus 40. It is a figure which shows the hardware composition of the terminal apparatus 50. It is a figure which shows an example of the database 431 stored in the storage 43. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the monitoring process performed by the server apparatus 40. It is a figure which shows an example of the abnormality degree of each animal. It is a sequence chart which shows an example of the monitoring process performed by the aircraft body 10 and the terminal device 50. It is a figure which shows an example of the image 561 displayed on the display device 56. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional structure of the server apparatus 40 which concerns on a modification. It is a figure which shows an example of the division of the place where the animal which concerns on a modification is grazing. It is a figure which shows an example of the total degree of abnormality of each area which concerns on a modification.

1. 1. Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the monitoring system 1 according to the present embodiment. In this example, a plurality of animals are grazing in a place such as a ranch. This "grazing" means keeping it under control and keeping it free-range. The grazing animal may be any animal such as a cow, a sheep, a horse, a sheep, a goat, and the like. Moreover, only one kind of animal may be grazing, or a plurality of kinds of animals may be grazing. These animals are managed by the caretaker. The monitoring system 1 is a system for monitoring grazing animals. The monitoring system 1 includes an air vehicle 10, a plurality of sensor devices 20, a positioning device 30, a server device 40, and a terminal device 50. The number of devices shown in FIG. 1 is an example and is not limited thereto.

The aircraft body 10, the sensor device 20, the positioning device 30, the server device 40, and the terminal device 50 are connected via a communication line 60. The communication line 60 includes, for example, a wireless network and the Internet, and transmits communication between these devices.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the flying object 10. The aircraft body 10 is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of autonomously flying without human operation. The aircraft body 10 may be, for example, a drone. The aircraft body 10 includes a propeller 101, a drive device 102, and a battery 103. The propeller 101 rotates about an axis. As the propeller 101 rotates, the flying object 10 flies. The drive device 102 applies power to the propeller 101 to rotate it. The drive device 102 is, for example, a motor. The drive device 102 may be directly connected to the propeller 101, or may be connected to the propeller 101 via a transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the drive device 102 to the propeller 101. The battery 103 supplies electric power to each part of the flying object 10 including the driving device 102.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the air vehicle 10. The aircraft body 10 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage 13, a communication device 14, a positioning device 15, an image pickup device 16, a bus 17, and the like. In the following description, the word "device" can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like.

The processor 11 operates, for example, an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 11 may be composed of a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with a peripheral device, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like. Further, the processor 11 reads a program (program code), a software module, and data from the storage 13 and / or the communication device 14 into the memory 12, and executes various processes according to these. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least a part of the operation of the flying object 10 is used. Various processes executed in the aircraft body 10 may be executed by one processor 11, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 11. The processor 11 may be mounted on one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via a telecommunication line.

The memory 12 is a computer-readable recording medium, and is composed of at least one such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). May be done. The memory 12 may be referred to as a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 12 can store a program (program code), a software module, or the like that can be executed to carry out the monitoring method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The storage 13 is a computer-readable recording medium, and is, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, an optical magnetic disk (for example, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, or a Blu-ray). It may consist of at least one (registered trademark) disk), smart card, flash memory (eg, card, stick, key drive), floppy (registered trademark) disk, magnetic strip, and the like. The storage 13 may be referred to as an auxiliary storage device.

The communication device 14 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via a wired and / or wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, or the like.

The positioning device 15 measures the position of the flying object 10 at predetermined time intervals. The positioning device 15 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, and measures the current position of the flying object 10 based on GPS signals received from a plurality of satellites. This position may be indicated using, for example, latitude, longitude, and altitude.

The image pickup device 16 is provided toward the ground at a position where an image of an animal on the ground during flight can be taken in the flying object 10, for example, a position facing the ground during flight. The image pickup device 16 is, for example, a camera, and captures an image by forming an image of a subject on an image pickup element using an optical system. This image may be a still image or a moving image. The imaging device 16 is not limited to a visible light camera that captures a visible light image. For example, the image pickup apparatus 16 may include an infrared camera that captures a heat distribution image called thermography.

Further, each device such as the processor 11 and the memory 12 is connected by a bus 17 for communicating information. The bus 17 may be composed of a single bus or may be composed of different buses between the devices.

Returning to FIG. 1, the sensor device 20 is a small device having a wireless communication function and is attached to each grazing animal. For example, if the animal is wearing a collar, the sensor device 20 may be attached to the collar. The sensor device 20 includes a positioning device 21 and a biological information sensor 22. The positioning device 21 is the same device as the positioning device 15 described above, and measures the position of the animal at predetermined time intervals. The biological information sensor 22 detects biological information of an animal. This "biological information" refers to information emitted by a living body. This biological information may include, for example, body temperature, heart rate, pulse rate, or respiratory rate.

The positioning device 30 is a small device having a wireless communication function and is carried by an administrator. The positioning device 30 may be included in a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. The positioning device 30 is the same device as the positioning device 15 described above, and measures the position of the manager at predetermined time intervals.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the server device 40. The server device 40 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 41, a memory 42, a storage 43, a communication device 44, a bus 45, and the like. Since the processor 41, the memory 42, the storage 43, the communication device 44, and the bus 45 are the same as the processor 11, the memory 12, the storage 13, the communication device 14, and the bus 17, respectively, the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server device 40. The server device 40 functions as an acquisition unit 411, a calculation unit 412, a setting unit 413, a change unit 414, and an instruction unit 415. In these functions, by loading predetermined software (program) on the hardware such as the processor 41 and the memory 42, the processor 41 performs an calculation, and the communication by the communication device 44 and the data in the memory 42 or the storage 43 are stored. It is realized by controlling read and / or write.

The acquisition unit 411 acquires position information indicating the position of the grazing animal and state information indicating the state of the animal. This position information is, for example, information indicating a position measured by the positioning device 21. The state information is, for example, biological information detected by the biological information sensor 22. The position information and the state information may be transmitted from, for example, the sensor device 20. In addition, the acquisition unit 411 acquires position information indicating the position of the administrator. This position information is, for example, information indicating a position measured by the positioning device 30. This position information may be transmitted from, for example, the positioning device 30. Further, the acquisition unit 411 acquires the position information indicating the position of the flying object 10. This position information is, for example, information indicating a position measured by the positioning device 15. This position information may be transmitted from, for example, the flying object 10.

The calculation unit 412 calculates the degree of abnormality of the animal. This "abnormality" means a value indicating that the animal may have an abnormality. The higher the degree of abnormality, the higher the possibility that the animal has an abnormality. This degree of abnormality may be calculated based on the position information or biometric information acquired by the acquisition unit 411. For example, the calculation unit 412 determines that the animal has performed a predetermined action based on the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 411, or has determined that the state of performing this predetermined action has continued for a predetermined time. In that case, the degree of abnormality may be increased. This predetermined behavior is an abnormal behavior different from the normal behavior, such as leaving the flock or staying in the same place. The predetermined time is, for example, a time that can be regarded as a continuous abnormal behavior rather than a temporary behavior. Further, when the calculation unit 412 determines that the animal is in a predetermined state based on the state information acquired by the acquisition unit 411, or determines that the predetermined state continues for a predetermined time, the calculation unit 412 determines that the animal is in a predetermined state. You may increase the degree of anomaly. This predetermined state is an abnormal state different from the normal state, for example, the body temperature is higher than the normal temperature. The predetermined time is, for example, a time that can be regarded as a continuous abnormal state, not a temporary state. In addition, individual differences of animals may be reflected in the determination of whether or not the state is a predetermined state. For example, it may be determined whether or not the body temperature of each animal is high based on the normal temperature of each animal.

The setting unit 413 sets a threshold value used for comparison with the degree of abnormality. For example, if a predetermined condition relating to the surroundings of the animal is not met, a predetermined standard threshold is set. This predetermined condition is a condition indicating that it is better to start monitoring at an earlier timing than usual due to, for example, the surrounding conditions of the animal. For example, if the flying object 10 cannot quickly reach the place where the monitored animal is, the administrator cannot quickly reach the place where the monitored animal is, or the place where the animal is prone to anomaly or is likely to lead to danger. If you are in Japan, it is better to start monitoring earlier than usual. Therefore, for example, a predetermined condition is that the distance between the position of the flying object 10 and the position of the animal indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 411 is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance, the position of the flying object 10 and the manager. It may be at least one of the conditions that the distance to the position of the animal is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance and that the animal is in a predetermined place that is likely to cause an abnormality or lead to danger. On the other hand, when a predetermined condition regarding the surrounding condition of the animal is satisfied, a threshold value different from the standard threshold value is set.

The change unit 414 changes the threshold value when the predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, in the changing unit 414, the greater the distance between the position of the flying object 10 and the position of the animal indicated by the position information acquired by the acquiring unit 411 or the position of the flying object 10 and the position of the manager, the greater the distance. You may lower the threshold. Further, the changing unit 414 may lower the threshold value when it is determined that the animal is in a predetermined place based on the position information acquired by the acquiring unit 411. When the threshold value is changed in this way, the changed threshold value is set.

When the degree of abnormality calculated by the calculation unit 412 is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the instruction unit 415 starts flying toward the monitoring position corresponding to the position indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 411, and at this monitoring position. Instruct the flying object 10 to perform a process of monitoring the animal. This monitoring position is a position where the animal to be monitored can be photographed. For example, the monitoring position may be a position above the position indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 411. The process of monitoring an animal is, for example, a process of taking an image of an animal. The instruction to the flying object 10 may be given, for example, by transmitting instruction information to the flying object 10.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the terminal device 50. The terminal device 50 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 51, a memory 52, a storage 53, a communication device 54, an input device 55, a display device 56, a bus 57, and the like. Since the processor 51, the memory 52, the storage 53, the communication device 54, and the bus 57 are the same as the processor 11, the memory 12, the storage 13, the communication device 14, and the bus 17, respectively, the description thereof will be omitted. The input device 55 is used for inputting various kinds of information. For example, the input device 55 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives an input from the outside. The display device 56 is an output device (for example, a display) that outputs to the outside. For example, the display device 56 may be configured to include a liquid crystal display. The input device 55 and the display device 56 may have an integrated configuration (for example, a touch panel).

2. Operation 2-1. Data collection processing Here, as shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that a plurality of animals include animals A to D. The sensor device 20 is a server device that displays the position information indicating the current position of the animal measured by the positioning device 21 and the biological information of the animal detected by the biological information sensor 22 together with the identification information of the animal at predetermined time intervals. Send to 40. Further, the positioning device 30 transmits the position information indicating the current position of the administrator to the server device 40 together with the identification information of the administrator at predetermined time intervals. Further, the flying object 10 transmits the position information indicating the current position of the flying object 10 measured by the positioning device 15 to the server device 40 together with the identification information of the flying object 10 at predetermined time intervals. The time intervals at which these devices transmit information may be the same or different. The server device 40 receives the information transmitted from these devices by the acquisition unit 411 and stores it in the storage 43.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the database 431 stored in the storage 43. The database 431 includes identification information, position information, and biometric information received from the sensor device 20. In addition, the database 431 includes identification information and position information received from the positioning device 30 or the flying object 10. This information is stored in association with each other. For example, when the identification information of the animal A, the position information "P1", and the biological information "M1" are received from the sensor device 20, these information are stored in association with each other as shown in FIG. Further, when the administrator's identification information and the position information "P10" are received from the positioning device 30, these information are stored in association with each other as shown in FIG. 7. Further, when the identification information of the flight body 10 and the position information "P20" are received from the flight body 10, these information are stored in association with each other as shown in FIG. 7. Since the information received from the positioning device 30 or the flying object 10 does not include the biological information, the biological information is not stored. In this way, the information transmitted from each sensor device 20, the positioning device 30, or the flying object 10 is accumulated in the database 431.

2-2. Monitoring process FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of monitoring processing performed by the server device 40. This process may be started at predetermined time intervals, for example, when new information is stored in the database 431.

The calculation unit 412 calculates the degree of abnormality of each animal based on the database 431 (step S21). In this example, the degree of anomaly is indicated using a number from 1 to 10. The larger this number is, the higher the degree of abnormality is.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the degree of abnormality of each animal. First, the calculation unit 412 determines whether each animal has performed a predetermined action or is in a predetermined state based on the contents stored in the database 431. For example, based on the position information "P1" to "P4" of the animals A to D stored in the database 431, it is determined that the animals A to C are in a group and the animal D is further away from this group. Imagine a case. For example, when the state in which the animal D is separated from the herd continues for a predetermined time, the degree of abnormality of the animal D may be increased to "6" from the current degree of abnormality. Further, for example, it is assumed that the body temperature of the animal A is determined to be higher than the normal temperature based on the biological information "M1" of the animal A stored in the database 431. For example, in this case, the degree of abnormality of animal A may be increased to "6" from the current degree of abnormality.

The setting unit 413 sets a threshold value for each animal (step S22). Specifically, if a predetermined condition is not satisfied, a standard threshold value is set. For example, based on the position information "P1" of the animal A and the position information "P20" of the flying object 10 stored in the database 431, the distance between the position of the animal A and the position of the flying object 10 is less than a predetermined distance. It is assumed that there is a case. In this case, since the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the standard threshold value “7” may be set for the animal A. Further, the distance between the position of the animal A and the position of the manager is less than a predetermined distance based on the position information "P1" of the animal A and the position information "P10" of the manager stored in the database 431. It is assumed that the case is determined. In this case, since the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the standard threshold value “7” may be set for the animal A. Further, it is assumed that it is determined that the animal A is not in a predetermined place within a predetermined range from the cliff based on the position information "P1" of the animal A stored in the database 431. In this case, since the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the standard threshold value “7” may be set for the animal A.

On the other hand, if a predetermined condition is satisfied, the changing unit 414 changes the threshold value of the corresponding animal. For example, based on the position information "P4" of the animal D and the position information "P20" of the flying object 10 stored in the database 431, the distance between the position of the animal D and the position of the flying object 10 is equal to or more than a predetermined distance. It is assumed that there is a case. In this case, the threshold of animal D is changed from the standard threshold in order to satisfy a predetermined condition. At this time, the threshold value of animal D may be lowered as this distance increases. Further, the distance between the position of the animal D and the position of the manager is equal to or more than a predetermined distance based on the position information "P4" of the animal D and the position information "P10" of the manager stored in the database 431. It is assumed that the case is determined. In this case, the threshold of animal D is changed from the standard threshold in order to satisfy a predetermined condition. At this time, the threshold value of animal D may be lowered as this distance increases. Further, it is assumed that the animal D is determined to be in a predetermined place within a predetermined range from the cliff based on the position information "P4" of the animal D stored in the database 431. In this case, the threshold of animal D is changed from the standard threshold in order to satisfy a predetermined condition. At this time, the threshold value of animal D may be lowered by a predetermined value from the standard threshold value. When the threshold value is changed in this way, the changed threshold value is set.

The instruction unit 415 determines for each animal whether or not the degree of abnormality calculated in step S21 is equal to or greater than the threshold value set in step S22 (step S23). For example, when all the abnormalities are smaller than the corresponding threshold values (the determination in step S23 is NO), this process ends. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the abnormality degree of the animal D is "6" and the threshold value of the animal D is "5", it is determined that the abnormality degree is equal to or higher than the threshold value (step S23). Judgment is YES). In this case, the instruction unit 415 sets an animal having an abnormality degree equal to or higher than the threshold value as a monitoring target, starts flying toward the position of the monitored animal, and instructs the instruction unit to perform a process of monitoring the animal. Is transmitted to the flying object 10 (step S24). This instruction information includes at least position information indicating the position of the animal to be monitored. Further, the instruction information may include route information indicating a route from the current position of the flying object 10 to the monitoring position. For example, when the animal D is the monitoring target, the flight is started toward the monitoring position corresponding to the position of the animal D based on the position information "P4" of the animal D included in the database 431, and the flight is started at this monitoring position. Instructional information instructing the process of taking an image of the animal D is transmitted.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the degree of abnormality of animal A is "6", which is the same as the degree of abnormality of animal D, but since the threshold value of animal A is "7", the degree of abnormality is less than the threshold value. , Animal A is not set as a monitoring target.

FIG. 10 is a sequence chart showing an example of monitoring processing performed by the flying object 10 and the terminal device 50. This process is started in response to the aircraft body 10 receiving the instruction information from the server device 40.

The aircraft body 10 starts flying toward the monitoring position according to the instruction information received from the server device 40 (step S31). At this time, the flying object 10 automatically navigates without the operation of the administrator. Upon arriving at the monitoring position, the flying object 10 captures an image of the animal to be monitored using the image pickup device 16 (step S32). For example, when the animal D is the monitoring target, an image of the animal D is taken from the monitoring position. The aircraft body 10 transmits image information indicating the captured image to the terminal device 50 (step S33). The transmission of this image information may be performed in real time, for example. It should be noted that "real time" does not necessarily have to be simultaneous, and there may be some delay. When the image information is received from the flying object 10, the terminal device 50 causes the display device 56 to display the image 561 indicated by the received image information (step S34).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the image 561 displayed on the display device 56. The image 561 includes an image of the animal D to be monitored. The administrator can grasp the state of the animal D to be monitored by viewing the image 561 using the terminal device 50. Then, for example, when it is determined that the animal D has an abnormality, the manager moves to the animal D and takes measures.

In the above-described embodiment, the "server device 40", the "imaging device 16", the "position information" indicating the position of the animal, the "position information" indicating the position of the flying object 10, and the "position" indicating the position of the administrator. "Information" is used as "monitoring device", "imaging unit", "first position information", "second position information", and "third position information" according to the present invention, respectively.

According to the embodiment described above, an animal having an abnormality in the grazing animal, for example, an animal having an abnormal behavior or an animal in an abnormal state can be monitored by using the flying object 10. Also, in general, when an animal has an abnormality, the degree of abnormality of the animal gradually increases with the passage of time. In this case, the smaller the threshold value, the shorter the time required for the degree of abnormality to reach the threshold value. In the above-described embodiment, the threshold value is lowered when the distance between the animal and the flying object 10 is equal to or more than a predetermined distance. Therefore, when the flying object 10 cannot quickly reach the place where the target animal is, the flight is performed. The timing at which the body 10 starts flying can be accelerated. In addition, when the distance between the animal and the manager is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance, the threshold value is lowered. Therefore, when the manager cannot quickly reach the place where the target animal is, the flying object 10 starts flying. You can accelerate the timing of the flight. Further, when the animal is in a predetermined place where an abnormality is likely to occur or a danger is likely to occur, the threshold value is lowered, so that the timing at which the flying object 10 starts flying can be accelerated. Further, in the above-described embodiment, since the image of the animal having an abnormality in the grazing animal is displayed on the terminal device 50, the manager can see the image of such an animal.

3. 3. Modifications The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. Further, the following two or more modified examples may be combined and carried out.

In the above-described embodiment, the threshold value may be changed depending on the weather. In this case, the acquisition unit 411 acquires the weather information indicating the weather of the place where the animals are grazing from the external server device that provides the weather information. The change unit 414 may lower the threshold value when the weather information indicates a predetermined weather. This predetermined weather is, for example, rain, strong wind, or the like, in which it is considered that it takes longer than usual for the flying object 10 to fly to the monitoring position. As described in the embodiments described above, in general, when an animal has an abnormality, the degree of abnormality of the animal gradually increases with the passage of time. In this case, the smaller the threshold value, the shorter the time required for the degree of abnormality to reach the threshold value. According to this modification, for example, when the flying object 10 cannot quickly reach the place where the target animal is present due to bad weather, the threshold value is lowered, so that the timing at which the flying object 10 starts flying can be accelerated.

In the above-described embodiment, the threshold value may be changed according to the change in the degree of abnormality. In this case, the changing unit 414 may lower the threshold value when the rate of increase in the degree of abnormality is equal to or greater than the predetermined rate of increase. This predetermined rate of increase is, for example, a value indicating a state in which immediate action is required. As described in the embodiments described above, in general, when an animal has an abnormality, the degree of abnormality of the animal gradually increases with the passage of time. In this case, the smaller the threshold value, the shorter the time required for the degree of abnormality to reach the threshold value. According to this modification, for example, when the rate of increase in the degree of abnormality is high, the threshold value is lowered, so that the timing at which the flying object 10 starts flying can be accelerated.

In the above-described embodiment, the process of monitoring the animal to be monitored and the process of monitoring other animals in the vicinity of the animal may be performed. For example, if there is another animal within a predetermined range from the animal to be monitored, the degree of abnormality is less than the threshold value but more than the predetermined value, this animal is set as a preliminary monitoring target, and the process of monitoring this animal is also performed. You may go there. This predetermined value is a value that is considered to be abnormal. The predetermined value may be, for example, a value higher than 0 and lower than the threshold value. For example, when the threshold value is 7, the predetermined value may be 3. In this case, the instruction unit 415 starts flying toward the monitoring position corresponding to the position of the animal to be monitored, and flies the instruction information instructing to pass through the preliminary monitoring position corresponding to the position of the animal to be preliminary monitored. Send to body 10. This instruction information may include, for example, position information indicating the position of the animal to be monitored and position information indicating the position of the animal to be preliminarily monitored. Further, this instruction information includes route information indicating a route from the current position of the aircraft 10 to the monitoring position through the preliminary monitoring position, or a route returning from the monitoring position through the preliminary monitoring position. You may. The aircraft body 10 flies according to this instruction information. In this case, the flying object 10 passes through the preliminary monitoring position on the way to the monitoring position corresponding to the position of the animal to be monitored or on the way back from this monitoring position, and the image of the animal to be preliminary monitoring is displayed at this preliminary monitoring position. Take a picture. At this time, the method of capturing the image of the animal to be monitored and the method of capturing the image of the animal to be monitored may be different. For example, the time for taking an image of the animal to be monitored may be shorter than the time for taking an image of the animal to be monitored. According to this modification, when an animal having an abnormality in a grazing animal is monitored by using the flying object 10, an animal that is likely to have an abnormality can also be monitored. In this modification, the "monitoring position" and the "preliminary monitoring position" corresponding to the position of the animal to be monitored are used as the "first monitoring position" and the "second monitoring position" according to the present invention, respectively. ing.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring process may be performed for each area where the animal is present. In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, the server device 40 has a division unit 416 in addition to the functional configuration shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the division unit 416 divides the place where the animal is grazing into a plurality of regions R1 to R4. As shown in FIG. 14, the calculation unit 412 calculates the total degree of abnormality of at least one animal in the divided region for each divided region. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, when animals A to C are present in the region R1, the abnormality degree of animal A shown in FIG. 9 is “6”, the abnormality degree of animal B is “4”, and the abnormality degree of animal C is “4”. "14", which is the total of, is calculated as the degree of abnormality of the region R1. Further, a threshold value is set for each of the regions R1 to R4. For example, a standard threshold value of "10" may be set in the region R1. This standard threshold may be greater than the standard threshold described in the embodiments described above. Further, this threshold value may be changed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. When the total degree of abnormality is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the instruction unit 415 instructs the flight to start the flight toward the monitoring position corresponding to the area. For example, when the degree of abnormality of the area R1 is "14" and the threshold value of the area R1 is "10", the area R1 is set as a monitoring target. In this case, instruction information instructing the flight to start the flight toward the monitoring position corresponding to the area R1 and taking an image of the area R1 may be transmitted to the flying object 10. This instruction information may include position information indicating the position of the area R1. In this case, the flying object 10 may perform a process of capturing an image while orbiting the region R1. With this configuration, the administrator can see the images of animals A to C in the area R1. In the above-described embodiment, since the degree of abnormality of animals A to C is less than the threshold value, animals A to C are not monitored. However, it may be better to monitor areas where there are many animals that are likely to be abnormal. According to this modification, the area where there are many animals that are likely to be abnormal can be monitored by using the flying object 10.

In the above-described embodiment, when it is determined that the animal is in a predetermined place based on the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 411, the threshold value is lowered or the threshold value is lowered and the degree of abnormality is raised. May be good. Also in this case, when the animal is in a predetermined place where an abnormality is likely to occur or a danger is likely to occur, the timing at which the flying object 10 starts flying can be accelerated.

In the above-described embodiment, the threshold value may be changed according to the importance of the animal. For example, if the animal is a child, is in estrus, or is pregnant, the animal may be of greater importance. The change unit 414 may lower the threshold for animals of high importance. According to this variant, for animals of high importance, the timing at which the flying object 10 starts flying can be accelerated.

In the above-described embodiment, the photographing method may be different depending on the type of abnormality of the animal. For example, if the animal is out of the herd, it may be photographed from a higher position than usual so that both the herd and the animal are photographed. In addition, if the animal stays in a certain place, there is a possibility that there is an abnormality in the paw, so the image may be centered on the paw of the animal. According to this modification, the manager can see the image of the animal and judge the abnormality of the animal more accurately.

In the above-described embodiment, the sensor device 20 is not limited to the positioning device 21 and the biometric information sensor 22. The sensor device 20 may include any sensor as long as it is a sensor that detects a physical quantity from an animal. For example, the sensor device 20 may include a microphone. In this case, the degree of abnormality of the animal may be calculated based on the voice information indicating the voice of the animal acquired by the microphone.

In the above-described embodiment, the process of monitoring the animal is not limited to the process of capturing an image of the animal. For example, the process of monitoring an animal may be a process of acquiring information such as voice from the animal, a process of supplying an object for dealing with an abnormality to the animal, or a process of tracking the animal.

In the above-described embodiment, the method of measuring the position of the flying object 10, the animal, or the manager is not limited to the method using GPS. The position of the flying object 10, the animal, or the manager may be measured by a method that does not use GPS.

In the above-described embodiment or modification, at least a part of the functions of the server device 40 may be implemented in another device. For example, at least one of the acquisition unit 411, the calculation unit 412, the setting unit 413, the change unit 414, the instruction unit 415, and the division unit 416 may be mounted on the terminal device 50.

The present invention may be provided as a method comprising steps for processing performed in the monitoring system 1, the flying object 10, the sensor device 20, the positioning device 30, the server device 40, or the terminal device 50. Further, the present invention may be provided as a program executed by the flying object 10, the server device 40, or the terminal device 50.

The block diagram of FIG. 5 or FIG. 12 shows a block of functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of hardware and / or software. Further, the means for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by one physically and / or logically coupled device, or directly and / or indirectly by two or more physically and / or logically separated devices. (For example, wired and / or wireless) may be connected and realized by these a plurality of devices.

The hardware configuration of the aircraft 10, the server device 40, or the terminal device 50 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in FIGS. 3, 4, or 6. It may be configured without including the device. Further, the air vehicle 10, the server device 40, or the terminal device 50 includes a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). ) And the like, and the hardware may realize a part or all of the functional blocks of the flying object 10, the server device 40, or the terminal device 50. For example, processors 11, 41, or 51 may be implemented on at least one of these hardware.

Each aspect / embodiment described herein includes LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G, 5G, FRA (Future Radio Access), W-CDMA. (Registered Trademarks), GSM (Registered Trademarks), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), It may be applied to Bluetooth®, other systems that utilize suitable systems and / or next-generation systems that are extended based on them.

The order of the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in the present specification may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described herein present elements of various steps in an exemplary order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

The input / output information and the like may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory) or may be managed by a management table. Input / output information and the like can be overwritten, updated, or added. The output information and the like may be deleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to another device.

The determination may be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (Boolean: true or false), or by comparing numerical values (for example, a predetermined value). It may be done by comparison with the value).

Each aspect / embodiment described in the present specification may be used alone, in combination, or switched with execution. Further, the notification of predetermined information (for example, the notification of "being X") is not limited to the explicit one, but is performed implicitly (for example, the notification of the predetermined information is not performed). May be good.

Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or by any other name, is an instruction, instruction set, code, code segment, program code, program, subprogram, software module. , Applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, features, etc. should be broadly interpreted.

Further, software, instructions, and the like may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, the software uses wired technology such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair and digital subscriber line (DSL) and / or wireless technology such as infrared, wireless and microwave to websites, servers, or other When transmitted from a remote source, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission medium.

The information, signals, etc. described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description are voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these. It may be represented by a combination of.

The terms "system" and "network" as used herein are used interchangeably.

Further, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present specification may be represented by an absolute value, a relative value from a predetermined value, or another corresponding information. .. For example, the radio resource may be indexed.

The terms "determining" and "determining" as used herein may include a wide variety of actions. "Judgment" and "decision" are, for example, judgment, calculation, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (for example, table). , Searching in a database or another data structure), ascertaining can be regarded as "judgment" or "decision". Also, "judgment" and "decision" are receiving (for example, receiving information), transmitting (for example, transmitting information), input (input), output (output), and access. (Accessing) (for example, accessing data in memory) may be regarded as "judgment" or "decision". In addition, "judgment" and "decision" mean that "resolving", "selecting", "choosing", "establishing", "comparing", etc. are regarded as "judgment" and "decision". Can include. That is, "judgment" and "decision" may include considering some action as "judgment" and "decision".

The phrase "based on" as used herein does not mean "based on" unless otherwise stated. In other words, the statement "based on" means both "based only" and "at least based on".

Any reference to elements using designations such as "first", "second", etc. as used herein does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations can be used herein as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Thus, references to the first and second elements do not mean that only two elements can be adopted there, or that the first element must somehow precede the second element.

As long as "inclusion," "comprising," and variations thereof are used herein or in the claims, these terms are as comprehensive as the term "comprising." Intended to be targeted. Furthermore, the term "or" as used herein or in the claims is intended not to be an exclusive OR.

Throughout this disclosure, if articles are added by translation, for example a, an, and the in English, unless the context clearly indicates that these articles are not. It shall include more than one.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented as modifications and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for the purpose of exemplification and does not have any limiting meaning to the present invention.

1: Surveillance system, 10: Aircraft, 11: Processor, 12: Memory, 13: Storage, 14: Communication device, 15: Positioning device, 16: Imaging device, 20: Sensor device, 21: Positioning device, 22: Living body Information sensor, 30: Positioning device, 40: Server device, 50: Terminal device, 411: Acquisition unit, 412: Calculation unit, 413: Setting unit, 414: Change unit, 415: Indicator unit, 416: Division unit

Claims (10)

An acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating the location of grazing animals,
A calculation unit that calculates the degree of abnormality of the animal,
When the calculated anomaly degree is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the flight is started toward the monitoring position corresponding to the position indicated by the acquired position information, and the animal is monitored at the monitoring position. An instruction unit that instructs the aircraft to
A monitoring device including a changing unit that changes the threshold value when a predetermined condition relating to the surrounding condition of the animal is satisfied. Based on the acquired position information, the calculation unit determines that the animal has performed a predetermined behavior, or that the state of performing the predetermined behavior has continued for a predetermined time. Is the monitoring device according to claim 1, which raises the degree of abnormality. The acquisition unit acquires state information indicating the state of the animal, and obtains the state information.
When the calculation unit determines that the animal is in a predetermined state based on the acquired state information, or determines that the predetermined state continues for a predetermined time, the abnormality degree The monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2. The position information is the first position information, and is
The acquisition unit acquires the second position information indicating the position of the flying object or the weather information indicating the weather corresponding to the position of the animal.
The change unit lowers or obtains the threshold value as the distance between the position of the animal indicated by the first position information and the position of the flying object indicated by the second position information increases. The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which lowers the threshold value when the weather information indicates a predetermined weather. The position information is the first position information, and is
The acquisition unit further acquires the third position information indicating the position of the manager of the animal, and obtains the third position information.
The change unit lowers the threshold value as the distance between the position of the animal indicated by the first position information and the position of the manager indicated by the third position information is larger. The monitoring device according to any one item. According to claims 1 to 5, when it is determined that the animal is in a predetermined place based on the acquired position information, the calculation unit raises the degree of abnormality or the change unit lowers the threshold value. The monitoring device according to any one item. Multiple animals are grazing
Based on the acquired position information, the indicating unit has the abnormality degree less than the threshold value and the threshold value within a predetermined range from the monitored animal having the abnormality degree equal to or higher than the threshold value among the plurality of animals. When it is determined that there is another animal having a lower predetermined value or more, the flight is started toward the first monitoring position corresponding to the position of the animal to be monitored, and corresponds to the position of the other animal. The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, instructing the animal to pass through the second monitoring position. Multiple animals are grazing
Further provided with a division that divides the place where the plurality of animals have been grazing into a plurality of areas.
The calculation unit calculates the total of the abnormalities of at least one of the plurality of animals in the region for each region included in the plurality of regions.
Claim that when the calculated total is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the instruction unit instructs to start a flight toward a monitoring position corresponding to the region in which the total is calculated among the plurality of regions. The monitoring device according to any one of 1 to 7. The flying object has an imaging unit that captures an image.
The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the processing is a processing in which the imaging unit captures an image of the animal. On the computer
Steps to get location information that shows the location of grazing animals,
The step of calculating the degree of abnormality of the animal and
When the calculated anomaly degree is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the flight is started toward the monitoring position corresponding to the position indicated by the acquired position information, and the animal is monitored at the monitoring position. And the steps to instruct the aircraft
A program for executing a step of changing the threshold value when a predetermined condition relating to the surrounding condition of the animal is satisfied.

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