KR101330046B1 - System for assisting elderly memory using walking assistant robot for life support of elderly, and method of assisting elderly memory using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The memory assisting system for the elderly using a walking aid robot for supporting the daily living of the elderly includes a walking aid robot and a sensor network. The walking assistance robot includes a terminal that supports the walking of the elderly and assists the memory of the elderly. The sensor network includes a sensor network that acquires the position of the forgotten object of the elderly in the room and provides the terminal to the terminal. The terminal informs the previously recorded schedule in advance of the schedule.

Description

Memory assist system for elderly using pedestrian aided robot for everyday life support, and method for assisting elderly memory using pedestrian assisted robot for life support of elderly, and method of assisting elderly memory using the same}

The present invention relates to a technology related to walking aid robot, and more particularly, to a memory assisting system for elderly people using a walking aid robot for daily life support of the elderly, and a memory assisting method for elderly using a walking aid robot.

Recent developments in technology and rapidly growing population aging have led to the technology that supports the basic life of the elderly. Among them, the support of walking behavior and the memory assistance technique of the elderly have high demands.

In the case of a robot that supports walking, there are a robot that supports walking by incorporating a muscle assisted robot that combines articulation robot technology with a human leg and a driving technology of an existing electric wheelchair into a manual walking aid. However, considering the stability of the user, the research of pedestrian aid robot is actively progressed and commercialized.

However, these walking aid robots are limited in size and are suitable for use in rehabilitation hospitals or nursing homes in Silvertown rather than in residential environments. These institutions are helped by carers because they provide more space than residential environments. Therefore, the elderly's desire to respect self is bound to be limited. The elderly's desire for self-respect is based on the elderly's preferences for ubiquitous housing planning elements, including memory aids, weather alerts, smart magic mirrors, schedule management, and smart dress coordination items. . Many older people also need a system that allows them to worry about what they need to do in the future rather than remember what they have done in the past and to find their favorite items.

A memory device cannot be like a caregiver. But caregivers should be able to help. According to a user interface (UI) study that supports the elderly's future memory, the survey found that the elderly are reluctant to suggest a new sense of control and suggest a way to suggest.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a walking aid robot for daily life support of the elderly who can satisfy the needs of the elderly's self-respect to support the elderly's basic life behavior in rehabilitation hospital or nursing home in Silvertown The present invention provides a memory assisting system for the elderly and a memory assisting method for the elderly using a walking assistance robot.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the memory assisting system of the elderly according to an embodiment of the present invention, the walking assistance robot including a terminal for supporting the walking of the elderly, and assists the memory of the elderly; And a sensor network for acquiring a location of the forgotten item of the elderly in the room and providing the terminal to the terminal, wherein the terminal may inform the previously recorded schedule in advance of the schedule.

The terminal is included in the refrigerator by estimating a distance between the terminal and the refrigerator when the terminal approaches the refrigerator using a Zigbee module of the sensor network attached to the refrigerator and a Zigbee module of the terminal. The shelf life of the contents can be provided. The terminal may provide weather information by accessing the Internet when the schedule of the elderly person is an outdoor activity. The terminal may provide a medication notification, meal notification, or schedule notification as an interactive voice notification.

The server included in the sensor network uses three-sided surveying of three pieces of distance data between the walking aid robot and the routers estimated by a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) positioning technique. The distance data may be estimated, and the three distance data may be data extracted in the order of increasing Link Quality Indicator (LQI) values.

The server included in the sensor network uses the trilateration method to calculate three pieces of distance data among the forgotten items of the elderly and routers estimated by the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) positioning technique. The location of the discarded object may be estimated, and the three distance data may be data extracted in order of increasing Link Quality Indicator (LQI) values.

The server included in the sensor network may determine the location of the router having the highest LQI value among Link Quality Indicator (LQI) values related to the distance data between the router and the object attached to the end device. The location of the forgotten object may be estimated, and each of the distance data may be estimated by RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) positioning technique.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the memory assisting method of the elderly using a walking aid robot for supporting the daily life of the elderly according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) the terminal included in the walking aid robot is disposed indoors Providing a location of the elderly person's forgotten item using a sensor network; And (b) the terminal may inform the elderly person in advance of a previously recorded schedule.

The memory assistance system of the elderly using a walking aid robot for supporting the daily life of the elderly according to the present invention, and the memory assistance method of the elderly using a walking aid robot, because the overall schedule management of the elderly, taking medication time in consideration of meal time This is possible, and if you do not take the drug when you go out, you can carry the drug to assist the memory of the elderly in everyday life.

In addition, the present invention finds the lost things of the elderly, the overall schedule management and the user's UI (user interface) of the terminal decorated with a symbolic image for easy use by the elderly to induce active behavior according to the schedule of the elderly It can support you in your daily life.

Since elderly people in modern society have a clear desire for self-esteem, for this purpose, the present invention informs the user of the walking aid robot in advance of the schedule previously recorded on the terminal, and confirms the expiration date of the contents of the refrigerator that can be easily forgotten. When going out, weather information can be searched on the internet (web) and actively provided through the terminal. In addition, the present invention can propose to the elderly to use the ubiquitous sensor network (USN) under the premise of the indoor environment to inform and find the location of the forgotten object.

In order to more fully understand the drawings used in the detailed description of the invention, a brief description of each drawing is provided.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a memory assisting system 100 of an elderly person using a walking aid robot for supporting daily life of the elderly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view illustrating a walking aid robot 105 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a system for estimating the position of the elderly person's forgotten item 125 in the elderly person's memory assistance system 100 shown in FIG. 1.
4 is a view for explaining an embodiment of a procedure for estimating a position of a forgotten item of the elderly in the memory assistance system 100 of the elderly shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a process of transmitting and receiving position data between the server 145 and the walking assistance robot 105 in the memory assistance system 100 of the elderly shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a terminal 110 of the walking assistance robot shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a main algorithm of the memory assisting method of the elderly stored in the storage unit 220 of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a weather alert algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a schedule notification algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.
10 is a flowchart illustrating a meal notification algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a medicine-taking algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm for notifying of a shelf life of contents of a refrigerator included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an information storage and browsing algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an execution screen implemented by the storage assistance program of the terminal illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an object search menu executed when the object search button of FIG. 14 is clicked.
FIG. 16 illustrates an information storage / view menu executed when the information storage / view button of FIG. 14 is selected.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a freezer compartment / freezer compartment selection menu of a refrigerator executed when the refrigerated product management menu of FIG. 16 is selected.
FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a refrigerator compartment contents storage menu executed when the store button is selected after the refrigerator compartment button of FIG. 17 is selected.
19 is a view showing a refrigerator compartment contents confirmation menu executed when the browse button is selected after the refrigerator compartment button of FIG. 17 is selected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention and the objects attained by the practice of the invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention, and to the description in the accompanying drawings.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

The present invention provides the terminal of the walking aid robot with the expiration date of the living area, the daily living information of the elderly, meal time, medicine taking method, bath time and weekly number, personal schedule by date, or the contents of the refrigerator which can be easily forgotten. Record it and, at a certain time, actively inform the elderly about their suggestions and schedules. At this time, if the schedule is an outdoor activity, the current weather is received on the Internet and notified to the terminal to help the elderly to actively choose to go out. In addition, the present invention informs the expiration date of the contents of the refrigerator, for example, within 5 days when an elderly person boards a walking aid robot and approaches within a threshold value of the refrigerator radius (for example, 1 (m)) Helps you manage your fridge efficiently.

The present invention can easily find the object by estimating the position of the object using the USN network to display the location information of the object that the elderly can easily forget to assist the memory of the walker assistant robot. In addition, the present invention is to input the schedule in advance to the terminal in advance and to receive the weather information when going out to actively select the outerwear, and to assist the memory by providing easy to forget about taking medicine and the expiration date of the contents of the refrigerator can do. In addition, the terminal included in the walking aid robot of the present invention uses large letters, symbolic icons, and interactive notifications in consideration of that the occupant is an elderly person. As a result of the experiment, the present invention provides a location based on a room to be searched for, and provides an interactive schedule reminder based on data previously inputted to a terminal and assists the elderly's memory.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a memory assisting system 100 of an elderly person using a walking aid robot for supporting daily life of the elderly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the memory assisting system 100 of the elderly using the walking aid robot for supporting the daily life of the elderly includes a walking aid robot 105 and a sensor network 130. The daily life support means to lead an independent life by assisting the elderly walking and memory so that the elderly can perform daily life activities in the indoor / outdoor environment.

The walking assistance robot 105 includes a terminal 110 that supports (helps) walking of elderly people on board and assists the memory of the elderly. The terminal mounted on the walking aid robot 105 may be, for example, a tablet PC, a smart pad, or an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC).

The terminal 110 is a storage auxiliary terminal that manages a schedule (schedule) for the memory assistant of the elderly, and pops up a letter larger than the schedule previously recorded in the storage unit of the terminal 110 through the screen of the terminal 110. And inform the elderly in advance through interactive voice notification. That is, the terminal 110 provides seniors' medication schedule management (drug taking notifications), meal reminders, or schedule reminders, and proposes appropriate actions according to the seniors' schedules and external environment while managing the seniors' schedules. Can help your memory. The program for memory assistance of the elderly implemented in the terminal 110 includes a large text and a concise menu that are easy to recognize so that there is no objection to the elderly. In addition, since the terminal 110 does not want the elderly to receive instructions or commands, the terminal 110 provides a schedule such as medication taking information in the form of a proposal. Therefore, the terminal 110 uses an interactive (suggestion type) voice notification such as "Are you ready to go out?"

When the terminal 110 approaches the refrigerator using a Zigbee module, which is a router 135 of the sensor network 130 attached to the refrigerator, and a Zigbee module of the terminal 110, the terminal 110 accesses the refrigerator. By estimating the distance between the terminal 110 and the refrigerator, the shelf life of the contents included in the refrigerator is provided to the elderly. In addition, the terminal 110 may provide weather information to an elderly person (a user of a walking aid robot) by wired or wirelessly connecting to the Internet 115 when the elderly person's schedule is an outdoor activity.

The terminal 110 is a sensor network 130 (for example, USN (Ubiquitous Sensor Network using Zigbee communication) arranged in the room location information of the object that the elderly can easily forget to assist the memory of the elderly Use) to estimate and mark the location of objects so that you can easily find them.

The terminal 110 mounted on the walking aid robot 105 may include, for example, a ZigBee node included in the sensor network 130, a storage unit (or storage aid) that stores information on an expiration date of contents of a refrigerator. Program), and a monitoring program for requesting and storing its location information from the network management server 145 of the sensor network 130. Accordingly, the terminal 110 may provide the movement route pattern of the elderly, and the walking assistance robot 105 on which the elderly is boarded is disposed in the indoor sensor network 130 and the router 135 of the sensor network 130 is When approaching within a threshold value (eg, 1 (m)) of the attached refrigerator radius, the shelf life of the refrigeration can provide information about the shelf life of the food, for example within 5 days. The distance estimation performed by the terminal 110 may be a distance between a Zigbee node attached to the refrigerator and a Zigbee node mounted on the terminal 110.

2 is a view illustrating a walking aid robot 105 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, since the walk assist robot 105 should be first determined to actively walk the elderly and walk with minimal force, the steering apparatus includes two handlebars 106 with a built-in force sensor. do. The terminal 110 is inserted between the handlebars 106 in consideration of the operation of the elderly and the viewing angle.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the sensor network 130 is a USN (Ubiquitous Sensor Network), which is a location-aware network for supporting indoor living of the elderly and an object (object) location estimation network, for example, indoors (eg, a rehabilitation hospital or silver). In the nursing home of the town), it is used for the location of the walking aid robot 105 and the forgotten items for the elderly. The sensor network 130 obtains the position of the walking aid robot 105 and the position of the elderly person's forgotten object (eg, a TV remote control) and provides it to the terminal 110. The article may incorporate a ZigBee module, which is an enddevice 125. The sensor network 130 may be a short range wireless sensor network such as a Zigbee network, WiFi, Bluetooth, or Ultra Wide Band (UWB). ZigBee network is a communication method that supports short-range communication, and it is easy to extend object nodes in the network, and the standby current consumption of object nodes is low. In addition, ZigBee has a longer communication distance than Bluetooth, relatively low power consumption, low deployment costs, and only one sixth the power of the wireless Internet.

The sensor network 130 includes a network management server 145, a coordinator 140, and a number of routers 135.

The sensor network 130 forms a ZigBee network, for example, between a moving object and an indoor space to support the elderly's indoor daily life, and estimates the positions of ZigBee nodes so that the elderly can easily forget the location of the object. Help the elderly remember by letting them know. In order to simplify the ZigBee network, the sensor network 130 uses a router based positioning reference measurement method and a received signal strength (RSSI) positioning method considering indoor path loss. It can be configured in consideration.

When the sensor network 130 is implemented with a Zigbee wireless communication technology, each of the terminal 110, the end devices 125, the routers 135, and the coordinator of the walking aiding robot 105 may be used. The Zigbee module 140 and the network management server 145 are mounted.

The network management server 145 manages routers 135 included in the sensor network 130. The network management server 145 estimates the location of the end device 125 based on the location information collected from the coordinator 140. Since the server 145 records the location information of the walking assistance robot 105 for each time, the server 145 may check the movement path of the walking assistance robot 105. The movement path verification uses a Kalman Filter Algorithm on the accumulated position estimation data to improve the estimation accuracy. The reason is that even if the location is estimated based on the estimated distance by minimizing the error, the error occurs due to environmental factors.

The object location estimation management server program for the elderly memory assistant installed in the network management server 145 is a server program that manages a ZigBee network and records location information of objects by time. The first function is to record the location information of the walking aid robot, the location information of the object easily forgotten by the elderly by time to request the location information from the user program (monitor program) of the terminal 110 of the walking aid robot 105 It is a function to provide. The second function is to manage the identification number of the connected end devices 125 and routers 135 and the coordinator 140 of the Zigbee network. The third function is a function of exchanging data with a user program of the terminal 110 of the routers 135 and the walking aid robot 105 and recording the data into a file. With this function, since the location of the object is not directly estimated by the terminal 110 when the object location is estimated, the management server 145 has location information, so that a plurality of objects can be estimated simultaneously. In order to simultaneously estimate a plurality of objects, the router 135 estimates the distance of the objects and transmits the estimated value to the coordinator 140. The transmitted data is managed by the server 145 to which the coordinator 140 is attached.

The coordinator 140 is, for example, a data collection device such as a Zigbee coordinator. The coordinator 140 generates and manages the sensor network 130 and collects data (location data of the object).

Each of the routers 135, as an access point (AP), is fixedly located (installed) in the ceiling of a nursing home's room and living room so as to have low interference of radio waves, so as to build an indoor network and end devices. The location data of 125 is collected and transmitted to the coordinator 140.

The router 135 is, for example, a ZigBee node (ZigBee sensor node), which expands the network at a designated location and extracts (estimates) data necessary for location estimation received from the end device 125. And transmits to the router 135 or the coordinator 140.

When wireless communication is made between the end device 120 and the router 135, the router 135 may measure a link quality indicator (LQI) value (or RSSI value), which is a device ( It is used to estimate the distance value between the end device 120 and the router 135. The LQI value means the communication status quality. The value is expressed as an integer between 0 and 255. The higher the value, the better the communication quality.

The end device (terminator) 125 is mounted on an object (eg, a TV remote control, a wallet, a smart key, a cordless phone, or a walking aid robot 105) to be found. The object on which the end device 125 is mounted serves to transmit a radio wave and identification number (ID) information necessary for position data estimation to the neighboring router 135 while performing its respective function. The end device 125 may, for example, comprise a ZigBee module and may be mounted (attached) to an object such as a TV remote control or terminal 110 that the elderly often forget, whose location is estimated in the sensor network 130. There may be a plurality of end devices 125 as shown at 120 in FIG. 1.

An embodiment of the method for estimating the location of an object applied in the memory assistance system 100 of an elderly person and arranged indoors may be estimated using a distance estimated by a fingerprint method (or RSSI method) and a path loss model in consideration of the estimated environment. One distance is used as the final estimated distance by applying weight. Thereafter, the server 145 estimates the location of the three pieces of distance data by trilateration. In another embodiment of the present invention, the server 145 uses three-sided surveying of three pieces of distance data among the walking aid robot 105 and the routers 135 estimated by the RSSI positioning technique. The position of the secondary robot can be estimated, and the server 145 uses the trilateration method to calculate three pieces of distance data among the aged's forgotten items and routers estimated by the RSSI positioning method using the trilateration method. You can estimate the location of things. The three distance data are data extracted in order of increasing LQI values. That is, the data extracted in order of increasing LQI values are data related to the largest LQI value, data related to the second largest LQI value, and data related to the third largest LQI value.

The fingerprint method sets a plurality of sample points (location points) in a space for positioning, stores and stores the characteristic values (RSSI values) of radio waves received from the set sample points, and stores them from the routers 135. A method of extracting a location of an object by matching a characteristic value of a radio wave with a characteristic value of a stored radio wave of the database. Since the fingerprint method uses surrounding environment information for positioning, it can provide an accurate location.

The RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) technique is a method of estimating a distance between wireless nodes (transmitting node (end device) and receiving node) by using a signal strength value received at a receiving node (router). The distance estimation of this technique is based on the phenomenon that the stronger the signal is, the farther the receiving node is from the transmitting node. That is, signal strength is inversely proportional to distance. The signal strength value (RSSI value) may be converted into an LQI value and used. The trilateration method is a method of estimating (calculating) the position of an object using distances between the object and at least three routers knowing the position (coordinate). The distance between the object and the router may be used, such as the RSSI technique. Since the RSSI technique does not require additional hardware (H / W), the structure can be simplified when constructing the position estimation system using the RSSI technique.

An embodiment of the estimation method will now be described in detail. In the first step, a plurality of positioning points are selected based on the routers in the estimation environment before the position estimation, and the sample data (that is, characteristic values of propagation such as signal strength) is databased. In a second step, a plurality of routers receive radio waves transmitted by an object whose location is to be estimated, generate RSSI values, convert the generated RSSI values into LQI values, and convert the converted LQI values into a server 145 (coordinator 140). Collected from). In a third step, the server 145 extracts three LQI values to be used for distance estimation among the collected LQI values. The three LQI values may be extracted in order of magnitude.

In a fourth step, the server 145 may estimate the distance value by converting the extracted LQI value into an RSSI value. In another embodiment of the present invention, the fourth step may estimate the distance value through a path loss model. The indoor environment has a building structure and various obstacles (walls, columns, furniture, people). Therefore, the propagation loss rate depends on whether the structure of the building is a residential environment or an office, and it is also affected by the wall thickness, the type of door, and the height between floors. The path loss model may include an equation regarding a distance value in consideration of the influence of the surrounding environment described above.

In the fifth step, if there is a distance of 4 (m) or more that requires compensation (correction) of the RSSI value of the Zigbee module due to radio interference among the estimated distances, the shortest distance is extracted from the remaining estimated distances (the remaining two estimated distances). . In the sixth step, the sample data of the router measuring the extracted LQI value of the short distance and the estimated distance of 4 (m) or more are estimated as final distances by applying light weight ratios. The weight factor is used in surveying to estimate the negative error to a value close to the true value. Estimation is a measure of how reliable the observed value measured by A is relative to the value measured by B. That is, the standard deviation of the values measured by different methods is determined as a reference. The weight ratio is proportional to the number of observations, inversely proportional to the observation distance, and inversely proportional to the square of the standard deviation. This means that the larger the standard deviation, the smaller the weight ratio of the value and the smaller the contribution to the mean. In the seventh step, the position (coordinate) of the object is estimated by trilateration with the final estimated three distances.

Since the position of the object is estimated based on the temporal propagation intensity (LQI value or RSSI value), the estimated position may include a large error due to the jamming around the measurement. Therefore, the past and present estimates should be compared to minimize the error range in the event of large errors. In order to minimize such an error, the Kalman filter algorithm, the particle filter algorithm, or the like may be used in another embodiment of the present invention. The Kalman filter algorithm estimates predictions based on previous measurements and minimizes errors by considering current measurements and gains (Kalman gain). The Kalman filter algorithm is the most efficient algorithm for recursive estimation of state estimation in real time in linear systems. In general, it can be used to predict changes over time in measurements and to estimate true values from noise.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a system for estimating the position of the elderly person's forgotten item 125 in the elderly person's memory assistance system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The position estimation system of FIG. 3 may be a Zigbee-based position estimation system for indoor position estimation. The position estimating system of FIG. 3 estimates the position of the walking aid robot 105 or the position of the walking aid robot easily forgotten by the elderly, and the shelf life of the refrigerator refrigerated product when the walking assistance robot 105 approaches within the refrigerator 1 (m). It can also be used for alerting techniques.

Referring to FIG. 3, an end device 125 attached to an arbitrary object (for example, a TV remote controller or a walking aid robot 105) performs a function assigned to each of them, and has its network ID and a predetermined time interval. It transmits its own information (current position information data such as radio waves necessary for estimating the current position information of the end device 125) to the neighboring router 135 in a broadcasting manner.

The router 135 accesses a network, expands network function at a designated location, extracts location information data transmitted from the end device 125, and uses the extracted location information data to make the end device 125 and the router 135. Estimate the distances and transmit the estimated distances (LQI value or RSSI value) to the neighboring router 135 or coordinator 140. ID information and location (coordinates) of the routers 135 are stored in the server 145.

The coordinator 140 creates and manages a network, location information data such as the estimated distances from each of the routers 135 or the end device 125, and the ID of the end device 125 and the routers 135. Collects information and is responsible for data communication with the server 145, the router 135, or the end device 125.

The server 145 controls the coordinator 140 to manage the network, collects and stores the location information data of the object 125 to which the end device is attached via the coordinator 140 that can be connected through a USB method. The location of the object (end device) is estimated using the data, and the estimated location is transmitted to the terminal 110 of the walking aid robot 105.

In more detail, the end device 125 transmits a radio wave in a broadcasting manner, and each of the neighboring routers 135 receives the transmitted radio wave to receive the radio wave between the end device 125 and the router 135. The distance is measured and the measured distance estimate value (LQI value or RSSI value) is transmitted to the server 145 through the coordinator 140. The server 145 selects the distance estimates of the three routers from the received estimates in order of being closer to the end device 125, and estimates and stores the positions of the end devices 125 using trilateration from the selected three distance estimates. do. In the present invention, since the number of communication between the router and the object is increased when estimating the position of the plurality of objects, it is necessary to prevent the network collision problem and to estimate the position of the forgotten items of the elderly. 125 transmits the radio wave to the neighboring router 135 in a broadcast manner, the neighboring router 135 transmits the distance estimate to the server 145, and finally the position of the end device 125 at the server 145. Estimate

4 is a view for explaining an embodiment of a procedure for estimating a position of a forgotten item of the elderly in the memory assistance system 100 of the elderly shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, the end device 125 attached to an arbitrary object transmits its network ID and its information (location information data) to a neighboring router 135 at a predetermined time interval in a broadcast manner. .

The router 135 receives the broadcasting data including the location information data and transmits the data to the coordinator 140 directly or through a neighboring router. That is, each of the routers 135 adjacent to the end device 125 extracts a distance estimation value (LQI value or RSSI value) based on the information received from the end device 125 and transmits it to the coordinator 140. ID information and location (coordinates) of the routers 135 are stored in the server 145.

The coordinator 140 transmits all the information transmitted from each of the routers 135 to the server 145.

After the server 145 collects all data including location information data from the coordinator 140, the server 145 compares the collected data and selects three routers in order of being closer to the end device 125. The routers having the highest LQI values among the two routers are estimated and stored as the locations of the remote controllers (end devices) 125. That is, the server 145 is the location of a router (router located in a small room) which has the highest LQI value (LQI information) among the LQI values related to the distance data between the router and the object to which the end device is attached and the old person forgets. Is estimated as the position of the forgotten item of the elderly. Each of the distance data is estimated by RSSI positioning technique.

In summary, the end device 125 transmits its ID information to the neighboring router when the coordinator 140 requests the location information. The adjacent router transmits the measured LQI value to the coordinator 140 and estimates the location of the remote controller 125 by extracting the largest value among the LQI values received from the server 145 to which the coordinator 140 is attached. Done. The number of routers can vary depending on the size of the room.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a process of transmitting and receiving position data (position information) between the server 145 and the walking assistance robot 105 in the memory assistance system 100 of the elderly shown in FIG. 1. 5 illustrates an object location request procedure that a user of the walking assistance robot 105 wants to find.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the monitoring program mounted on the terminal 110 of the walking aid robot 105, all objects such as a remote controller, a wallet, a smart key, or a wireless phone stored in the server 145 are stored. Location estimation information may be requested. The storage aid program stored in the terminal 110 of the walking aid robot requests the server 145 through the routers 135 and the coordinator 140 for location information of an object such as the remote controller 125. At this time, the transmission data is the ID of the object to find. The memory assistance program may include a monitoring program.

When the server 145 has the location information of the requested object, the server 145 transmits the information to the terminal 110 of the walking assistance robot 105. If it does not have the location information to inform the user of the network confirmation via the terminal 110, and estimates the location information of the remote control 125 and transmits. The transmission data is object ID and location information.

The storage aid program stored in the terminal 110 of the walking aid robot 105 displays the position information transmitted from the server 145 on the screen of the terminal 110 for a predetermined time.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a terminal 110 of the walking assistance robot shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 6, the terminal 110 includes an input unit 205, a communication unit 210, a control unit 215, a storage unit 220, a display unit 225, and an output unit 230.

Information of an elderly person or an operation start signal of the terminal 110 may be input through the input unit 205. The elderly person's information may include residence area, wake-up time, meal time, medication method, preferred TV programming, or shower count. In another embodiment of the present invention, the input unit 205 may be disposed on the display unit 225. In this case, the input unit 205 may use a method in which information is input by a user's touch. The button for input may be displayed as a large icon for the convenience of the elderly.

The communication unit 210 includes a Zigbee module for communicating with the sensor network (130 of FIG. 1) and a communication means for connecting to the Internet 115.

The storage unit 220 checks (displays) a memory assistance program for the elderly, data used for the memory assistance program, a monitoring program for finding the location of the elderly person's forgotten item (object search program), or an expiration date of the contents of the refrigerator. You can save the verification program. The memory assisting method for the elderly used in the memory assisting program will be described later. The storage assistant program, the monitoring program, and the confirmation program may be installed in the control unit 215.

The display unit 225 provides a suggestion-type menu or pop-up used for the memory assisting method for the elderly. The output unit 230 outputs an interactive notification voice provided to the elderly.

The controller 215 controls the overall operation of components such as the input unit 205 included in the terminal 110 described above. For example, the control unit 215 controls the memory assisting method of the elderly person stored in the storage unit 220 to be executed in accordance with a signal input from the input unit 205.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a main algorithm of the memory assisting method of the elderly stored in the storage unit 220 of FIG. 6. 7 illustrates an algorithm for managing a function-specific algorithm of the elderly memory assisting method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the main algorithm includes a living area, a meal time, a medicine taking method, a bath time and a number of times per week, a personal schedule for each day, an expiration date of the refrigerator contents that can be easily forgotten, or easily forgotten. The discarded items are recorded in the terminal 110, and the elderly are informed in advance of a schedule in comparison with the current time, thereby assisting the elderly to have an independent and active daily life. At this time, if the schedule is an outdoor activity, the main algorithm is provided by referring to the current weather information of the Internet (115 in Fig. 1) to help the elderly to actively choose to go out.

In addition, when the elderly boarding the walking aid robot 105 approaches the refrigerator radius 1 (m), the shelf life of the contents of the refrigerator to inform the items within 5 days to help efficient refrigerator management. The forecasting method of the main algorithm is a voice alert or a pop-up. In the case of a voice alert, an interactive or suggestive voice alert is provided in consideration of the elderly's control.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a weather alert algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.

Referring to the weather alert algorithm of FIG. 8, when the weather time is matched with the weather time recorded (stored) in the terminal 110, the weather alert is started. In the weather forecasting process, the notification is executed at the same time as the voice and the pop-up window, and if the acceptance button of the pop-up window of the terminal 110 is not pressed within one minute, the forecast is continued at one minute intervals. In case of acceptance, the morning jogging is suggested after 30 minutes, and if the proposal is accepted, the elderly are referred to the voice by referring to the current weather information on the Internet, so that they can actively select the outerwear.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a schedule notification algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.

Referring to the schedule notification algorithm of FIG. 9, when the schedule matches the schedule previously recorded in the terminal 110 by comparing the current time and the schedule, the schedule notification starts. Forecasts are forecasted in three stages: 1 hour ago, 30 minutes ago, 5 minutes ago.

An hour ago forecast is a reminder of the event. If you do not press the Accept button, the forecast will continue until you press Accept in 1 minute increments. If it is accepted, if the schedule is outside, the current weather information is informed to the elderly by referring to the weather information on the Internet, so that they can actively select the go-wear. The 30-minute forecast is an implied reminder that the elderly are preparing their schedule. A five-minute forecast is a forecast that indicates schedule performance. At this time, if the medicine is not taken within 30 minutes, the alarm sounds to bring the medicine.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a meal notification algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 10, a meal notification algorithm is started when a schedule is compared with a schedule previously recorded in the terminal 110 by comparing the current time with a schedule. At this time, the meal forecast is divided into breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the forecast time is made according to the time selected by the elderly. If the medication is taken before the end of the notification process, wait for the confirmation command to record the meal confirmation time. If unverified, the process is in a waiting state, and when confirmed, the process is terminated.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a medicine-taking algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 11, when a schedule is compared with a schedule previously recorded in the terminal 110 by comparing the current time and a schedule, the medication taking notification algorithm is started. The notification proceeds differently depending on how many minutes before and after meals based on the method of taking the medicine previously input to the terminal 110. In the case of a meal before the notification of taking medications, after the meal in consideration of when the process of the notification (process) process based on the time.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm for notifying of a shelf life of contents of a refrigerator included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.

Referring to Figure 12, the notification is associated with the object location estimation for indoor living support of the present invention. When the router 135 attached to the refrigerator of the object location estimation network generates a beacon signal every 30 seconds, and the terminal 110 of the walking aid robot 105 receives the generated beacon signal to estimate a reception distance. If the estimated distance is within 1 (m), an item within 5 days of the shelf life of the contents of the refrigerator is informed so that the elderly can actively manage the contents of the refrigerator.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an information storage and browsing algorithm included in the main algorithm of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 13, this function is a function of reading and confirming a preceding input and input contents in order to implement functions of a schedule notification algorithm, a meal notification algorithm, a medicine taking algorithm, and a refrigerator expiration date notification algorithm. The information items are three items of basic information of users (elderly persons), schedules, and refrigerator contents. The three items can be stored and read in consideration of the ease of use of the elderly.

A summary of the above-described memory assisting method for the elderly is as follows. In the memory assistance gram, the basic information and the schedule information of the elderly are inputted in advance to assist the memory. The schedule reminder compares the current date and time based on the previously entered data. The general schedule notification is divided into 1 hour ago, 30 minutes ago, and 5 minutes ago, and different notifications are made. At this time, if the schedule is out at 1 hour ago, the current weather is received on the Internet and the elderly are notified so that the elderly can actively choose the outerwear.

In addition to general notifications, medication notifications and refrigerator contents notifications are items that older people can easily forget, and they have high support rates. Among them, the notification of taking the medicine assists the memory of the elderly by notifying the notification of taking the medicine 30 minutes after a meal if the pre-intake method is 30 minutes before a meal and 30 minutes after a meal if the meal is previously input. However, if you take the medication after 30 minutes before meals, the meal time should be informed of the meal time 30 minutes after taking the medication, not the time entered. Whether to take the medicine is to receive a confirmation command from the terminal (110). The refrigerator contents notification shows an item having an expiration date of less than 5 days when the walking aid robot 105 is adjacent within 1 (m) near the refrigerator to which the router is attached. At this time, if the expiration date is the same day, a warning message may be notified to assist the elderly.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an execution screen implemented by the storage assistance program of the terminal illustrated in FIG. 1. Fig. 14 shows the main menu by the storage assistance program.

Referring to Fig. 14, the main menu (main function) of the storage assistance program is divided into four categories: object search, information storage / view, environment setting, and termination. When the object search button is clicked, as shown in FIG. 15, the object search menu is executed, and when an icon (remote control or wallet) to be searched is selected, the location of the object to be searched is displayed on the indoor map on the left. When the information storage / reading button is pressed as shown in FIG. 16, it may be configured as a user information, a schedule, and a refrigerator food management menu. In case of environment setting, this menu is used for initial Zigbee network setting. The end button ④ is a program end button.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an object search menu executed when the object search button of FIG. 14 is clicked.

Referring to FIG. 15, when an elderly person selects an item to be found through a right menu (remote control, wallet, smart key, or wireless telephone), the location information is selected in a ZigBee network server program in which the selected object is installed in the server 145. Is received and displayed on the left map.

FIG. 16 illustrates an information storage / view menu executed when the information storage / view button of FIG. 14 is selected.

Referring to FIG. 16, when an elderly person presses a desired menu, the elderly person may move to the corresponding menu. The menu configuration is user information, schedule management, and chilled material management.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a freezer compartment / freezer compartment selection menu of a refrigerator executed when the refrigerated product management menu of FIG. 16 is selected. 17 shows a food management menu in the refrigerator.

Referring to FIG. 17, when an elderly person selects a desired location of a food item (selects it) and selects a save button, the user can register through the registration screen as shown in FIG. 18. When the browse button is selected, items in the refrigerator are displayed as shown in FIG. 19. You can confirm it.

In addition, when the walking aid approaches 1 m around the refrigerator, items in the refrigerator are displayed as shown in FIG. 19. This assists in managing foodstuffs smoothly for the elderly who have difficulty managing foodstuffs due to memory loss.

In the elderly, the recognition of information can be easily performed through an image or a large character having a symbolic meaning. As shown in FIGS. 14 to 19, an icon image or large text is used as the selection item button.

A virtual scenario applied to the memory assistance system 100 of the elderly shown in FIG. 1 is as follows. The scenario assumes a situation that can generally occur in the future due to human life expectancy extension. The model is 78-year-old Hong Gil-dong (male), and he is using the walking aid robot 105 because of poor movement of his knee strength five years ago. Three months ago, at the recommendation of their children, they walked into a nursing home in Silvertown near Seoul, where they could easily visit and walk with each other.

① June 16, 2027 6:30 am morning memory assistant terminal 110 of the walking aid robot sounds a notification sound suggesting the weather and waits to press the OK button. One minute has passed since the alarm sounded but the confirmation button was not executed. Hong Gil-dong wakes up to hear the alarm and press the OK button to stop the alarm. ② Propose to go for a morning walk in 30 minutes. ③ Press Accept and tell the weather today by voice. “Today's weather is mostly sunny. The temperature will be 3 (˚C) and 11 (˚C). ”④ After hearing the weather today, Hong Gil-dong wears a cardigan and walks in a walking aid robot to go out in the morning.

Take a walk, get back in the shower, and look for the TV remote to see the morning news. But I don't see the remote where I left it last night. Hong Gil-dong selects the remote control in the object search menu of the terminal menu. It is assumed that the memory assistant terminal inputs things that Gil-dong often forgets. ⑤ He finds the remote control through the USN network built in the nursing home. The remote has a tiny Zigbee. The map of the object finder tells you that the remote is near the refrigerator. You turned on the TV yesterday, drank water from the refrigerator, and left it. ⑥ As you approach the refrigerator to get the remote control, the item between the walking aid robot and the refrigerator is within 1 (m). The items within the expiration date of the refrigerator are displayed (pop up) on the screen of the terminal. Hong Kil-dong recognizes that yogurt is up to this day, opens the refrigerator, and eats it. ⑦ Take the remote control and come to the TV and watch TV. “I have an appointment at 8:00 in the first hour” while watching, the memory assistant reminds me of the schedule. Hong Gil-dong, who had forgotten his breakfast appointment, finally acknowledged his appointment, pressed the alarm confirmation button, and tried to get ready to go out. He was able to easily and actively decide to go out. ⑨ 30 minutes before the appointment terminal checks whether you are preparing an appointment, "Are you ready to go out?" 5 Tell them “time to go out” five minutes before the appointment. ⑪ Check the alarm and try to go out, the terminal 110 tells you, “Get your medicine!”. My teacher set the breakfast time at around 8:30, but it seems that I have a schedule to go out and get some medicine. Hong Gil-dong didn't seem to have something, but he was a little nervous, but the terminal came out with a comfortable mind.

As described above, the present invention mounts a terminal such as a tablet PC in the walking aid robot and implements (installs) a memory assistance program for supporting daily life of the elderly. In addition, the present invention includes an end device such as a ZigBee node in an object that an elderly person frequently forgets (for example, a TV remote control) to provide a sensor network (USN, Ubiquitous Sensor Network) such as a Zigbee network. Use it to find things (objects) and approach the refrigerator attached to the router to inform the expiration date of the refrigerated goods to assist the elderly to actively manage the refrigerated goods. In addition, the present invention manages the elderly's schedule to assist the elderly's memory through the current weather, medication taking notification, meal reminder, or schedule reminder.

As described above, the embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and specification. Although specific terms are used herein, they are used for the purpose of describing the present invention only and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention described in the claims or the claims. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible from the present invention. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

105: walking aid robot
110: terminal
115: Internet
125: end device
130: sensor network
135: router
140: Coordinator
145: network management server

Claims (11)

A walking aid robot including a terminal supporting a elderly person and supporting the elderly person's memory; And
It includes a sensor network to obtain the location of the forgotten object of the elderly in the room to provide to the terminal,
The terminal informs the previously recorded schedule in advance of the schedule,
The terminal estimates the distance between the terminal and the refrigerator when a walking aid robot including the terminal approaches the refrigerator using a Zigbee module of the sensor network attached to the refrigerator and a Zigbee module of the terminal. By providing a shelf life of the contents contained in the refrigerator,
The terminal provides weather information by accessing the Internet when the schedule of the elderly person is an outdoor activity,
The terminal provides a medication notification, meal notification, or schedule notification as an interactive voice notification,
The server included in the sensor network uses three-sided surveying of three pieces of distance data between the walking aid robot and the routers estimated by a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) positioning technique. To estimate,
The three pieces of distance data are data extracted in the order that LQI (Link Quality Indicator) values are large. delete delete delete delete A walking aid robot including a terminal supporting a elderly person and supporting the elderly person's memory; And
It includes a sensor network to obtain the location of the forgotten object of the elderly in the room to provide to the terminal,
The terminal informs the previously recorded schedule in advance of the schedule,
The terminal estimates the distance between the terminal and the refrigerator when a walking aid robot including the terminal approaches the refrigerator using a Zigbee module of the sensor network attached to the refrigerator and a Zigbee module of the terminal. By providing a shelf life of the contents contained in the refrigerator,
The terminal provides weather information by accessing the Internet when the schedule of the elderly person is an outdoor activity,
The terminal provides a medication notification, meal notification, or schedule notification as an interactive voice notification,
The server included in the sensor network uses the trilateration method to calculate three pieces of distance data among the forgotten items of the elderly and routers estimated by the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) positioning technique. Estimate the location of the discarded items,
The three pieces of distance data are data extracted in the order that LQI (Link Quality Indicator) values are large. A walking aid robot including a terminal supporting a elderly person and supporting the elderly person's memory; And
It includes a sensor network to obtain the location of the forgotten object of the elderly in the room to provide to the terminal,
The terminal informs the previously recorded schedule in advance of the schedule,
The terminal estimates the distance between the terminal and the refrigerator when a walking aid robot including the terminal approaches the refrigerator using a Zigbee module of the sensor network attached to the refrigerator and a Zigbee module of the terminal. By providing a shelf life of the contents contained in the refrigerator,
The terminal provides weather information by accessing the Internet when the schedule of the elderly person is an outdoor activity,
The terminal provides a medication notification, meal notification, or schedule notification as an interactive voice notification,
The server included in the sensor network may determine the location of the router having the highest LQI value among Link Quality Indicator (LQI) values related to the distance data between the router and the object attached to the end device. Presumes the location of the forgotten thing,
Each of the distance data is estimated by the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) positioning technique. In the memory assistance method of the elderly using a walking aid robot for supporting the daily life of the elderly,
(a) the terminal included in the walking assistance robot notifying the elderly person of a previously recorded schedule before the schedule; And
(b) providing a location of the forgotten item of the elderly person by using the sensor network disposed indoors after the terminal informs of the previously recorded schedule;
The terminal estimates the distance between the terminal and the refrigerator when a walking aid robot including the terminal approaches the refrigerator using a Zigbee module of the sensor network attached to the refrigerator and a Zigbee module of the terminal. By providing a shelf life of the contents contained in the refrigerator,
The terminal provides weather information by accessing the Internet when the schedule of the elderly person is an outdoor activity,
The terminal provides a medication notification, meal notification, or schedule notification as an interactive voice notification,
The server included in the sensor network uses three-sided surveying of three pieces of distance data between the walking aid robot and the routers estimated by a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) positioning technique. To estimate,
The three pieces of distance data are data extracted in the order of increasing Link Quality Indicator (LQI) values. delete delete delete

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