WO2017126552A1

WO2017126552A1 - Positioning device and positioning method

Info

Publication number: WO2017126552A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/001546
Authority: WO
Inventors: 駿介中井; 卓紀夫山岡
Original assignee: 株式会社メガチップス
Priority date: 2016-01-19
Filing date: 2017-01-18
Publication date: 2017-07-27
Also published as: JPWO2017126552A1; JP6965165B2

Abstract

A positioning device is provided with a storage device for storing reference position information and parameter information, an observation device for acquiring observation information, a first positioning unit for acquiring relative position information on the basis of the observation information and the parameter information, a second positioning unit for acquiring absolute position information, a position computation unit for computing position information that indicates the position where the positioning apparatus is present on the basis of the reference position information and the relative position information, a situation determination unit for estimating the situation on the basis of the observation information, and a data updating unit for updating the parameter information on the basis of the position information and the absolute position information in accordance with the result of estimation by the situation determination unit. The observation device includes a motion detection sensor for acquiring motion information that pertains to movement of the positioning apparatus and including the motion information in the observation information.

Description

Positioning device and positioning method

The present invention relates to a technique for correcting a position obtained by autonomous navigation by intermittently performing absolute position measurement while observing a movement trajectory of a pedestrian by autonomous navigation.

A technique is known in which a portable terminal device is carried by a pedestrian, and the movement trajectory of the pedestrian is observed and recorded by autonomous navigation. However, autonomous navigation using an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like has a problem in that errors accumulate with time and position accuracy decreases. Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which absolute position measurement is intermittently performed to correct a position obtained by autonomous navigation. Such techniques are described in, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3.

JP 2012-117975 A JP 2011-058896 A JP 2011-007736 A

However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 uses the timing when the pedestrian changes the traveling direction as the timing of absolute position measurement. Then, at the timing, the pedestrian is considered to be present at a corner position on the route, and the position of the corner is determined as an absolute position. Therefore, the technique described in Patent Document 3 is a technique on the premise that a pedestrian walks on a predetermined route, and has a problem of lack of versatility.

Also, in the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when the position obtained by autonomous navigation is corrected by the position by absolute position measurement, the pedestrian's stride is also corrected. Therefore, for example, when the actual stride of the pedestrian changes after the position is corrected, there is a problem that the accuracy of the position obtained by the subsequent autonomous navigation is lowered.

In addition, the techniques described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 have a problem that the timing of absolute positioning is fixed at a constant time interval, thereby fixing the correction timing. Therefore, when the positioning accuracy by autonomous navigation is lowered, there is a problem that the position accuracy is lowered. However, if the time interval for absolute position positioning is set short in advance in order to guarantee the position accuracy, there is a problem that the number of times of absolute position positioning increases and power consumption increases. Since a portable device is usually driven by a battery, it is particularly necessary to reduce power consumption.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a positioning device carried by a pedestrian, a storage means for storing reference position information and parameter information, an observation means for obtaining observation information, First positioning means for acquiring relative position information indicating the relative position of the positioning device based on observation information and the parameter information; and second positioning means for acquiring absolute position information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device. Position calculation means for calculating position information indicating the position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information, situation determination means for estimating a situation based on the observation information, and the situation In accordance with the estimation result by the determination means, the data update means for updating the parameter information stored in the storage means based on the position information and the absolute position information, Serial observation means obtains motion information about the motion of the positioning device comprises a motion detection means including the observation information.

The invention of claim 2 is the positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage means stores distance information, calculates a moving distance based on the relative position information, and the moving distance. And a timing control means for causing the second positioning means to acquire the absolute position information according to the distance information.

The invention according to claim 3 is the positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the data updating means updates the distance information stored in the storage means in accordance with an estimation result by the situation judging means. To do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the positioning apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the position information is corrected by the absolute position information in accordance with the acquisition of the absolute position information by the second positioning means. The data updating unit determines whether the parameter information needs to be updated according to the estimation result regardless of whether the position information is corrected by the correcting unit.

Further, the invention of claim 5 is a positioning device carried by a pedestrian, a storage means for storing reference position information, parameter information and distance information, an observation means for obtaining observation information, and the observation information And first positioning means for acquiring relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the parameter information, and second positioning means for acquiring absolute position information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device; Position calculating means for calculating position information indicating the position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information, and acquired according to the acquisition of the absolute position information of the second positioning means. A correction unit that corrects the position information based on the absolute position information, a situation determination unit that estimates a situation based on the observation information, and the storage unit according to an estimation result by the situation determination unit A data updating means for updating the distance information stored in the computer, a movement distance is calculated based on the relative position information, and the absolute position information is stored in the second positioning means in accordance with the movement distance and the distance information. Timing control means for acquiring, and the observation means includes movement detection means for acquiring movement information relating to movement of the positioning device and including it in the observation information.

The invention of claim 6 is the positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage means stores map information around the positioning apparatus, and the situation determination means includes the map information. Based on the situation.

The invention according to claim 7 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the observation means includes a barometric sensor that observes the atmospheric pressure and acquires it as observation information, and the situation determination means includes the observation information. The situation is estimated based on the fluctuation of the atmospheric pressure shown in.

The invention according to claim 8 is the positioning device according to claim 6, wherein the situation determination means specifies whether or not the stairs are moving based on the observation information.

Further, the invention of claim 9 is the positioning device according to claim 6, wherein the situation determination means specifies whether or not the escalator is moving based on the observation information.

Further, the invention of claim 10 is the positioning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the situation determination means specifies whether or not the vehicle is moving by an elevator based on the observation information.

The invention according to claim 11 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the situation determination means indicates a state in which the positioning device is possessed based on the motion information included in the observation information. presume.

The invention according to claim 12 is the positioning device according to claim 11, wherein the observation means includes an illuminance sensor that observes illuminance and acquires it as observation information, and the situation determination means includes the observation information. Based on the illuminance shown in Fig. 4, the state in which the positioning device is carried is estimated.

The invention according to claim 13 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the situation determination means obtains the magnitude of the fluctuation of the walking cycle based on the motion information included in the observation information. Estimate the situation when moving on a rough road.

The invention according to claim 14 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the situation determination means estimates a situation in which a crowd is moving based on the exercise information included in the observation information. .

The invention according to claim 15 is the positioning device according to claim 14, wherein the situation determination means obtains a change frequency of the traveling direction based on the movement information included in the observation information, thereby causing crowding. Estimate the situation when you are moving.

The invention according to claim 16 is the positioning device according to claim 14, wherein the observation means includes a microphone that observes voice and acquires it as observation information, and the situation determination means includes the observation information. By analyzing the displayed voice, the situation in which the crowd is moving is estimated.

The invention according to claim 17 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the observation means includes a magnetic sensor that observes magnetism and acquires it as observation information, and the situation determination means includes the observation information. The status of geomagnetic anomalies is estimated based on the magnetism shown in.

Further, the invention according to claim 18 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the data updating unit updates the distance information according to a power supply status to the positioning device.

The invention according to claim 19 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the data updating means determines whether the position indicated by the position information is a position visited in the past or not. Update.

Further, the invention of claim 20 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the data updating means updates the distance information according to the distinction between day and night.

Further, the invention according to claim 21 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the data updating means updates the distance information according to the distinction between indoor and outdoor.

Further, the invention according to claim 22 is the positioning device according to claim 18, wherein the data updating means updates the distance information in accordance with an instruction from the pedestrian.

The invention according to claim 23 is the positioning device according to claim 5, wherein the data updating unit is configured to perform the estimation according to the estimation result regardless of whether the correction unit corrects the position information. Determine whether parameter information needs to be updated.

Further, the invention of claim 24 is the positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the position information includes a past position of the positioning device.

The invention of claim 25 is a positioning method executed by a positioning device carried by a pedestrian, the step of storing reference position information and parameter information in the storage means, and the observation information is acquired by the observation means. A step of acquiring relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the observation information and the parameter information by first positioning means, and absolute position information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device. Is obtained by the second positioning means, the position information indicating the position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information is calculated by the position calculating means, and the observation information is used. The step of estimating the situation by the situation determination means, and the memory device based on the position information and the absolute position information according to the estimation result by the situation judgment means The observation information the parameter information stored and a step of updating by the data updating means includes motion information regarding movement of the positioning device.

The invention of claim 26 is a positioning method executed by a positioning device carried by a pedestrian, the step of storing reference position information, parameter information and distance information in a storage means, and observation information A step of acquiring by means of means, a step of acquiring relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the observation information and the parameter information by the first positioning device, and indicating an absolute position of the positioning device. A step of acquiring absolute position information by a second positioning means, a step of calculating position information indicating the position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information by a position calculating means; In response to the acquisition of the absolute position information by the positioning means, a step of correcting the position information by the correction means based on the acquired absolute position information, and based on the observation information Based on the relative position information, the step of estimating the situation by the situation determination unit, the step of updating the distance information stored in the storage unit by the data update unit according to the estimation result by the situation determination unit Calculating a moving distance, and causing the second positioning means to acquire the absolute position information by a timing control means according to the moving distance and the distance information, and the observation information includes the positioning device Contains exercise information about movement.

The inventions according to claims 1 to 4 and claim 25 acquire relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the observation information and the parameter information, and change the situation based on the observation information. The parameter information can be optimized by updating the parameter information while estimating.

The inventions of claims 5 to 24 and claim 26 allow the second positioning means to acquire the absolute position information according to the relative position information and the distance information, and also estimate the situation based on the observation information. By updating, the timing of absolute position positioning by the second positioning means can be optimized.

It is an external view of a positioning device. It is a block diagram of a positioning device. It is a figure which shows the functional block with which a positioning apparatus is provided with the flow of data. It is a figure which shows an example of the estimated walking locus and an actual walking locus. It is a flowchart which shows the positioning method by a positioning apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the positioning method by a positioning apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an update process. It is a flowchart which shows an update process.

1 Positioning device 10 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 1st positioning part 101 Position calculating part 102 Situation determination part 103 Timing control part 104 Data update part 105 Correction | amendment part 11 Memory | storage device 110 Program 111 Reference | standard position information 112 Distance information 113 Parameter information 114 Map information 115 Observation information 116 Motion information 117 Relative Position information 118 Position information 12 Operation section 13 Display section 14 Observation device 140 Barometric pressure sensor 141 Illuminance sensor 142 Microphone 143 Motion detection sensor 144 Gyro sensor 145 Acceleration sensor 146 Magnetic sensor 15 Second positioning section 150 Absolute position information

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, unless otherwise specified in the following description, descriptions of directions and orientations correspond to the drawings for the convenience of the description, and do not limit, for example, a product, a product, or a scope of rights.

In addition, this application claims the benefit of Patent Application No. 2016-007529 filed in Japan on January 19, 2016, and the contents of the application are incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a positioning device 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning device 1 is configured as a portable device. As such a positioning device 1, in addition to a dedicated terminal device, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a tablet, or the like is assumed. However, it is not limited to the apparatus mentioned here.

In the following description, a person who carries the positioning device 1 is referred to as a “pedestrian”. Further, when the pedestrian is stopped, the position of the pedestrian does not change. On the other hand, for example, when a pedestrian who has stopped swings his / her arm carrying the positioning device 1, strictly speaking, the position of the positioning device 1 varies. Although details are omitted below, the positioning device 1 determines the position of the positioning device 1 so as to cancel the fine movement of the position of the positioning device 1 (movement of the position that is not regarded as a change in the position of the pedestrian). Therefore, in the following description, unless otherwise specified, the “position of the positioning device 1” is assumed to be the position of the pedestrian carrying the positioning device 1.

Although the details will be described later, the positioning device 1 is configured as a device that acquires and displays position information 118 (see FIG. 3) indicating the position of the own device. And the presence position of the positioning apparatus 1 is a position of the pedestrian who has the positioning apparatus 1 as mentioned above. Therefore, the positioning device 1 can acquire and display the position of the pedestrian carrying the positioning device 1. Moreover, the movement locus | trajectory of the said pedestrian can also be recorded by continuing recording the position of a pedestrian.

As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning device 1 includes an operation unit 12 and a display unit 13.

The operation unit 12 is hardware that is operated by the pedestrian so that the pedestrian inputs information for giving various instructions to the positioning device 1. The operation unit 12 corresponds to various buttons, keys, a rotary selector, a touch panel, or the like.

The display unit 13 has a function of outputting by displaying various information. That is, the display unit 13 is hardware that outputs information in a state that a pedestrian visually perceives. In particular, the display unit 13 of the positioning device 1 displays the position information 118 described above. Therefore, the pedestrian can confirm his / her presence position by visually recognizing the display unit 13. The display unit 13 corresponds to, for example, a liquid crystal panel, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a lamp, or an LED.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the positioning device 1. The positioning device 1 includes a CPU 10, a storage device 11, an observation device 14, and a second positioning unit 15 in addition to the operation unit 12 and the display unit 13 that have already been described.

The CPU 10 reads and executes the program 110 stored in the storage device 11, and performs various data calculations, control signal generation, and the like. Thereby, CPU10 has a function which calculates and produces various data while controlling each structure with which the positioning apparatus 1 is provided. That is, the positioning device 1 is configured as a general computer.

The storage device 11 provides a function of storing various data in the positioning device 1. In other words, the storage device 11 stores information electronically fixed in the positioning device 1. In particular, the storage device 11 in the present embodiment is used to store the program 110, the reference position information 111, the distance information 112, the parameter information 113, the map information 114, and the observation information 115. However, the information stored in the storage device 11 is not limited to the information shown here.

As the storage device 11, a RAM or buffer used as a temporary working area of the CPU 10, a read-only ROM, a non-volatile memory (such as a NAND memory), a hard disk for storing a relatively large amount of data, a dedicated memory A portable storage medium (such as a PC card, an SD card, or a USB memory) mounted on the reading apparatus is applicable. In FIG. 2, the storage device 11 is illustrated as if it were one structure. However, the storage device 11 is normally composed of a plurality of types of devices that are employed as necessary among the various devices (or media) exemplified above. That is, the storage device 11 is a general term for a group of devices having a function of storing data.

Further, the actual CPU 10 is an electronic circuit having a RAM that can be accessed at high speed. However, the storage device included in the CPU 10 is also included in the storage device 11 for convenience of explanation. That is, in the following description, it is assumed that the storage device 11 also stores data temporarily stored by the CPU 10 itself.

The program 110 is a set of commands that can be read by the CPU 10 (computer). The program 110 is stored in a non-volatile recording medium among the recording media constituting the storage device 11. Therefore, even when the power of the positioning device 1 is turned off, the program 110 is not lost from the positioning device 1 (storage device 11). The program 110 is read and executed by the CPU 10 as necessary.

The reference position information 111 shown in FIG. 2 is information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device 1 at the reference point. The reference point is a point where the positioning device 1 exists, and may be a point at any time as long as the absolute position is known. However, as will be described later in detail, in order to create the position information 118, an absolute position at any point is required. Therefore, in the following description, it is assumed that the reference position information 111 is information indicating the absolute position of the point where the pedestrian has instructed to display the position information 118 (the point where the start of creation of the position information 118 is instructed). . In response to an instruction from a pedestrian, the positioning device 1 defines the position of the positioning device 1 at that time as a reference point, acquires the absolute position of the reference point, and stores it in the storage device 11 as reference position information 111. It shall be memorized.

The parameter information 113 is information used by the positioning device 1 to obtain the relative position of the positioning device 1. The parameter information 113 includes, for example, a pedestrian's stride value. The positioning device 1 causes the pedestrian to input the height of the pedestrian in advance, and sets the value obtained by subtracting 1 [m] from the height as the parameter information 113 as the initial value of the stride. However, the pedestrian may directly input the stride value. Further, an average value of a person's stride may be recorded as an initial value until a pedestrian inputs. Further, in the following description, the stride included in the parameter information 113 is referred to as “step stride L”. In addition to the step length L, the positioning device 1 uses the error angle θ and the expansion / contraction ratio γ as parameter information 113. Although the details will be described later, the initial value of the error angle θ is “0”, and the initial value of the expansion / contraction ratio γ is “1”.

The map information 114 is image information that visually represents the state around the positioning device 1 (an arbitrary range). Although details will be described later, the positioning device 1 includes information indicating whether or not a pedestrian has visited in the past in the map information 114. Further, the map information 114 is displayed on the display unit 13 together with the position information 118.

Note that the distance information 112 and the observation information 115 shown in FIG. 2 will be described later. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the positioning device 1 includes a timer, and can acquire and store information related to time.

Observation device 14 is a general term for devices having a function of acquiring observation information 115. In the example shown here, the positioning device 1 includes an atmospheric pressure sensor 140, an illuminance sensor 141, a microphone 142, and a motion detection sensor 143 as the observation device 14.

The atmospheric pressure sensor 140 is a device that measures the ambient atmospheric pressure and records it as observation information 115. The movement of the positioning device 1 in the vertical direction can be detected by the observation information 115 acquired by the atmospheric pressure sensor 140.

The illuminance sensor 141 is a device that observes ambient illuminance (brightness) and records it as observation information 115.

The microphone 142 is a device that converts surrounding sound waves into electrical signals and records them as sound information (observation information 115).

The motion detection sensor 143 is a generic name for devices having a function of acquiring motion information 116 relating to the motion of the positioning device 1. The motion detection sensor 143 shown here includes a gyro sensor 144, an acceleration sensor 145, and a magnetic sensor 146.

The gyro sensor 144 measures the angular velocity in the positioning device 1. The gyro sensor 144 shown here is configured as a so-called three-axis gyro sensor, measures angular velocities around three axial directions perpendicular to each other, and outputs the measured values as motion information 116.

The acceleration sensor 145 detects the acceleration in the positioning device 1. The acceleration sensor 145 creates an output value expressed according to the three axes defined for the positioning device 1 as the motion information 116.

The magnetic sensor 146 detects the surrounding geomagnetism. Information on the geomagnetism (movement information 116) acquired by the magnetic sensor 146 is used to determine the direction.

The second positioning unit 15 has a function of acquiring absolute position information 150 indicating the absolute position of the positioning device 1. In the positioning device 1, the second positioning unit 15 performs absolute positioning (acquisition of the absolute position information 150) according to the control signal transmitted from the CPU 10. That is, the absolute position information 150 is information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device 1 at the time when the second positioning unit 15 performs absolute positioning. Accordingly, the absolute position information 150 also records the time when the absolute position information 150 is acquired. In the following description, a control signal transmitted from the CPU 10 in order to cause the second positioning unit 15 to perform absolute positioning is referred to as a “timing signal”.

Although not shown in detail, the positioning device 1 shown here includes a GPS receiving unit as the second positioning unit 15. In other words, the positioning device 1 can employ the GPS receiving unit as the second positioning unit 15.

The GPS receiver receives a radio wave transmitted from a satellite and analyzes the received signal to obtain a reception position (absolute position information 150). Since the conventional technology can be adopted as appropriate for the configuration and function of the GPS receiver, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

In the following description, “obtain absolute position” is assumed to be executed by the GPS receiver unless otherwise specified. However, the positioning device 1 is configured such that the absolute position can be acquired by the CPU 10 and the operation unit 12.

For example, the CPU 10 collates the feature points on the assumed route of the pedestrian in the map information 114 (for example, the departure point and the corner) and the feature points on the observation route (for example, the start point and the route change point). Thereby, the CPU 10 can obtain the absolute position information 150 by regarding the position of the feature point on the assumed route as the absolute position of the feature point on the observation route. That is, if the absolute position information 150 is acquired by the CPU 10 according to the situation, the CPU 10 is included in the second positioning unit 15.

Also, if the pedestrian operates the operation unit 12 and inputs his / her presence position (absolute position), the absolute position information 150 is acquired by the operation unit 12. That is, if the absolute position information 150 is acquired by the operation unit 12 according to the situation, the operation unit 12 is included in the second positioning unit 15. As already described, the reference position information 111 may be acquired in this way.

However, the apparatus constituting the second positioning unit 15 is not limited to these. For example, a beacon signal receiver may be provided to receive a signal transmitted from a beacon installed outside and acquire the absolute position information 150. Alternatively, the absolute position information 150 may be acquired by receiving a signal transmitted from an access point for WiFi communication. Alternatively, a digital camera (imaging unit) may be provided to capture a subject (such as a marker or a code image) whose absolute position is known, and acquire the absolute position information 150.

As described above, the positioning device 1 is configured to be able to acquire the absolute position information 150 even by a configuration other than the GPS receiving unit. Therefore, for example, even when the GPS positioning accuracy is reduced, the positioning device 1 can acquire the absolute position information 150. In the following description, a point indicated by the absolute position information 150 is referred to as an “observation point”.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks provided in the positioning device 1 together with a data flow. The first positioning unit 100, the position calculation unit 101, the situation determination unit 102, the timing control unit 103, the data update unit 104, and the correction unit 105 illustrated in FIG. 3 are functions realized by the CPU 10 operating according to the program 110. It is a block.

The first positioning unit 100 acquires the relative position information 117 by creating the relative position information 117 indicating the relative position of the positioning device 1 based on the observation information 115 and the parameter information 113. In other words, the relative positioning information 117 is acquired in the positioning device 1 by the first positioning unit 100 creating the relative positioning information 117. More specifically, the first positioning unit 100 refers to the exercise information 116 included in the observation information 115 when creating the relative position information 117. Conversely, of the information included in the observation information 115, the information used by the first positioning unit 100 to create the relative position information 117 is the exercise information 116.

Suppose that the positioning device 1 in the present embodiment initializes the relative position information 117 when the position information 118 is created based on the relative position information 117. That is, the relative position information 117 is information temporarily created to create the position information 118. The creation of the relative position information 117 by the first positioning unit 100 can adopt a conventional technique as appropriate for autonomous navigation (relative positioning), and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

The position calculation unit 101 calculates position information 118 based on the reference position information 111 and the relative position information 117. More specifically, the position calculation unit 101 uses the reference position information 111 to convert the relative position information 117 into an absolute position, and creates position information 118. Thereafter, the position information 118 is continuously updated by calculating new position information 118 based on the new relative position information 117 as a relative position with respect to the position information 118.

Note that the positioning device 1 according to the present embodiment records not only the current location of the positioning device 1 but also the past location in the location information 118. Thereby, the position information 118 becomes information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device 1 from the reference point to the present. Further, when these positions are connected in time series order, a pedestrian's walking trajectory from the reference point to the current position is obtained. Therefore, by displaying the position information 118 on the display unit 13, the pedestrian can check not only his current position but also a walking locus, for example.

In the position information 118, a section from the latest observation point to the end point of the current position information 118 is a section in which position correction by the correction unit 105 described later is not performed. In the following description, the section may be referred to as an “uncorrected section”. Each position constituting the uncorrected section is converted to an absolute position by the position calculation unit 101. However, the absolute position in the uncorrected section is a relative position from the latest observation point.

Also, the length of the walking trajectory in the uncorrected section indicates the distance that the pedestrian has moved from the latest observation point (position where absolute positioning was performed immediately before) to the present. In the following description, the distance is referred to as “movement distance δ”.

The situation determination unit 102 estimates the situation based on the observation information 115 (including the exercise information 116). Further, the situation estimation unit 102 has a function of transmitting the estimation result to the data update unit 104.

Specific situations (situations where relative positioning accuracy is predicted to be reduced) detected by the situation determination unit 102 in the present embodiment include situations where a person is walking on stairs, vehicles (elevators, escalators, moving walks, etc.) ), Walking on a rough road, abnormal geomagnetic field, walking in a crowded area, and “hand gesture state” as a possessed state. When these situations are not detected, the situation determination unit 102 estimates that the relative positioning reliability by the first positioning unit 100 is high.

When the pedestrian is walking on the stairs, the situation is different from the normal walking state. More specifically, it is predicted that the pedestrian's stride changes and the reliability of the set stride value decreases. Therefore, the situation determination unit 102 detects a situation where a pedestrian is walking on the stairs as a situation where the accuracy of relative positioning is lowered.

Specifically, based on the observation information 115 observed by the atmospheric pressure sensor 140, the situation determination unit 102 determines whether or not the movement in the vertical direction (vertical direction) is greater than or equal to a threshold value in the walking motion. And when the movement to an up-down direction is more than a threshold value, it determines with walking the stairs. Further, when walking on a slope or a slope, it is determined that it is the same as when walking on stairs. When the movement in the vertical direction is large and the calculated step length (described later) is large, it is determined that the situation is different (described later).

The situation where a pedestrian is on a vehicle is different from the normal walking state depending on the movement of the vehicle. Therefore, the situation determination unit 102 detects the situation on the vehicle as a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy decreases. Here, an escalator, a moving walk, and an elevator are assumed as vehicles used in the walking motion.

Specifically, the situation determination unit 102 first determines the presence or absence of movement in the vertical direction by detecting a change in atmospheric pressure based on the observation information 115 observed by the atmospheric pressure sensor 140. Next, by dividing the distance traveled during a period by the number of steps observed during that period, the stride between them is obtained, and it is determined whether the stride is longer, shorter, or within the expected step length of the person. To do.

Thereby, the situation determination unit 102 determines that the pedestrian is on the escalator when the vertical movement is detected and the calculated stride value is abnormally large. In addition, the situation determination unit 102 determines that the pedestrian is on the elevator when the movement in the vertical direction is detected and the obtained step length is abnormally small (indicating that the movement distance is small). Furthermore, the situation determination unit 102 determines that the pedestrian is on the moving walk when the movement in the vertical direction is not detected and the calculated stride value is abnormally large. In addition, when it is determined that the vehicle is on the vehicle, when the periodic motion due to the walking motion is observed based on the motion information 116, the situation determination unit 102 causes the pedestrian to walk on the vehicle. It is determined that

In a situation where a pedestrian is walking on a rough road, the pedestrian is expected to walk carefully. In such a situation, for example, the pedestrian's stride is reduced, which is different from the normal walking state. Therefore, the situation determination part 102 detects the situation which is walking on a bad road as a situation where the accuracy of relative positioning falls.

Specifically, the situation determination unit 102 determines that the pedestrian is walking on a rough road when the fluctuation of the walking cycle in the walking motion is large (when the walking cycle is not stable).

Note that the situation determination unit 102 obtains the travel distance, the walking cycle, and the like by calculation based on the observation information 115. However, for example, the moving distance, the walking cycle, and the like may be acquired based on information obtained in the process in which the first positioning unit 100 creates the relative position information 117. In this case, you may comprise so that such information may be transmitted from the 1st positioning part 100 as needed.

Also, the map information 114 indicates the location of the stairs, the location of the vehicle such as the escalator, and the location of the bad road. Therefore, the situation determination unit 102 refers to the position information 118 and collates with the map information 114 to determine whether the pedestrian is walking on the stairs, using the vehicle, or the bad road. It is also possible to determine whether or not walking. Or you may use such determination together.

In a situation where there is a magnetic body around the pedestrian and the geomagnetism observed by the magnetic sensor 146 is abnormal, it is difficult to obtain the absolute direction, and it is predicted that the accuracy of relative positioning will also decrease. Therefore, the situation determination unit 102 detects a geomagnetic abnormality situation as a situation where the accuracy of relative positioning decreases.

Specifically, the rotation angle obtained by the gyro sensor 144 and the rotation angle obtained by the magnetic sensor 146 are compared. If the error between these values is large, the situation determination unit 102 determines that the output value of the magnetic sensor 146 is an unreliable situation (a geomagnetic abnormality situation).

In a situation where pedestrians are walking in crowds, the stride is predicted to be small to avoid surrounding people. Further, since it is predicted that the course is frequently changed, errors relating to the traveling direction (direction) are likely to be accumulated. Therefore, the situation determination unit 102 detects a situation where a pedestrian is walking in a crowd as a situation where the accuracy of relative positioning is reduced.

Specifically, the situation determination unit 102 determines whether or not the frequency of change in the traveling direction in the walking motion is equal to or higher than a threshold based on the observation information 115 (exercise information 116). In the process of obtaining the relative position information 117 using the movement information 116, a method for obtaining the pedestrian's traveling direction has been known. Therefore, the situation determination unit 102 can detect the change in the traveling direction every moment by comparing the traveling directions obtained in this way. That is, it is possible to detect the change frequency of the traveling direction.

Also, the situation determination unit 102 analyzes the observation information 115 (voice information) observed by the microphone 142, recognizes the surrounding speech and the like, and determines whether or not it is a hustle and bustle. Further, if the map information 114 specifies a place where the crowd is formed on a daily basis, the situation determination unit 102 compares the position information 118 with the map information 114 so that the pedestrian exists at the place where the crowd is formed. It can be determined whether or not.

The possessed state is a state when the positioning device 1 is possessed by a pedestrian. For example, it is assumed that the positioning device 1 is carried by a pedestrian so as to be inserted into a pocket or a holder, or is held in a handheld state. In addition, even if it is held in the hand, it is also possible to distinguish whether it is walking while shaking the hand held back and forth (hand shaking state) or walking while holding it in front of the face (viewing state). is assumed.

Whether the positioning device 1 is inserted into a pocket or a holder can be determined according to the observation information 115 output from the illuminance sensor 141, for example.

When the positioning device 1 is held in a hand-shaking state, the position of the positioning device 1 (the position in this case includes a position that cannot be regarded as a pedestrian position) is large, and what is a normal walking state? It becomes a different situation. Therefore, the situation determination unit 102 detects a situation in which the hand is in a hand-shaking state among the possessed states as a situation in which the accuracy of relative positioning is lowered.

Specifically, the situation determination unit 102 detects a hand gesture state by referring to the motion information 116 in the observation information 115 and analyzing the walking motion.

The timing control unit 103 generates a timing signal according to the position information 118 and the distance information 112. More specifically, the timing control unit 103 obtains the movement distance δ (length of the uncorrected section) while referring to the position information 118. Then, while monitoring the movement distance δ, a timing signal is generated when the movement distance δ reaches the distance D _t indicated by the distance information 112 (δ = D _t ). Further, the timing control unit 103 causes the second positioning unit 15 to acquire the absolute position information 150 by transmitting the generated timing signal to the second positioning unit 15.

Each position constituting the uncorrected section in the position information 118 is a position obtained based on the relative position information 117. Therefore, the timing control unit 103 has a function of calculating the movement distance δ based on the relative position information 117 and causing the second positioning unit 15 to acquire the absolute position information 150 according to the movement distance δ and the distance information 112. Have.

Thereby, the positioning device 1 executes absolute positioning according to the moving distance δ of the pedestrian instead of a fixed time interval. Therefore, for example, when the pedestrian stops without moving, the positioning device 1 does not perform absolute positioning.

The data update unit 104 updates the parameter information 113 based on the position information 118 and the absolute position information 150 according to the estimation result by the situation determination unit 102.

When a relatively large positioning error occurred between the pedestrian position obtained by relative positioning and the pedestrian position obtained by absolute positioning, it was used for relative positioning as the cause. The parameter may be abnormal. Therefore, when it is detected that such a positioning error has occurred, it is preferable to change the parameter information 113 in a direction to reduce the positioning error.

Here, an example of the principle of updating the parameter information 113 by the data updating unit 104 will be described.

Although detailed description is omitted, the first positioning unit 100 obtains the number of steps n of the pedestrian during the time t based on the exercise information 116, and calculates (n × L) / t, thereby calculating the pedestrian's number. Find the speed ν ₀ . The first positioning unit 100 estimates the current position in relative positioning based on the traveling direction φ ₀ and the speed ν ₀ while estimating the traveling direction φ ₀ of the pedestrian based on the motion information 116. In this way, relative positioning is performed by the first positioning unit 100, and the relative position information 117 is created.

The walking trajectory (movement trajectory) estimated by relative positioning is close to the similar shape of the actual walking trajectory. In other words, the accumulation error in the measurement of the gyro sensor 144 and the acceleration sensor 145 becomes obvious in such a form. Therefore, for example, if rotation processing and expansion / contraction processing are performed on the estimated walking locus, it is expected to match the actual walking locus.

That is, when the error angle θ and the expansion / contraction ratio γ included in the parameter information 113 are used, Expressions 1 and 2 are established for the actual traveling direction φ _a and the speed ν _a .

φ _a = φ ₀ + θ Equation 1

ν _a = γ × ν ₀ Formula 2

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an estimated walking trajectory and an actual walking trajectory.

T1 and T2 shown in FIG. 4 are observation points. The observation point T2 is the latest observation point, and the observation point T1 is a past observation point other than the latest observation point. In the present embodiment, an example in which the previous (immediately preceding) observation point is used as the past observation point T1 will be described. However, the past observation point T1 is not limited to the previous observation point.

4 is a walking trajectory estimated by relative positioning. A solid line L2 is an actual walking locus.

Each position constituting the broken line L1 is converted to an absolute position using the observation point T1, and corresponds to the position information 118. That is, the broken line L1 coincides with the movement locus in the uncorrected section. The point P1 is an end point in the position information 118 at the time when the observation point T2 was obtained. In other words, the point P1 is a current position estimated as a relative position from the observation point T1 by relative positioning.

From the above, the data updating unit 104 can refer to the observation point T2, the observation point T1, and the point P1 by referring to the absolute position information 150 and the position information 118.

Furthermore, a straight line L3 shown in FIG. 4 is a straight line connecting the observation point T1 and the observation point T2. A straight line L4 shown in FIG. 4 is a straight line connecting the observation point T1 and the point P1.

Defining such a straight line L3, L4, error angle θ necessary for the calculation of the traveling direction phi _a reality, can be obtained as an angle formed between the straight line L3 and the straight line L4. Further, the expansion / contraction ratio γ required for obtaining the actual speed ν _a is obtained from the ratios of the lengths of the straight lines L3 and L4 as d ₁ and d ₂ , respectively. That is, γ = d ₁ / d ₂ .

As described above, the data updating unit 104 in the present embodiment refers to the absolute position information 150 and the position information 118 to obtain the error angle θ and the expansion / contraction ratio γ, and updates the parameter information 113.

However, the update of the parameter information 113 by the data updating unit 104 is not limited to the above principle. That is, other conventional techniques may be adopted as appropriate.

However, such updating of the parameter information 113 corresponds to correcting a relative position estimated in the future by so-called feedback control. Therefore, depending on the situation, parameters (error angle θ and expansion / contraction ratio γ in the example shown here) are used. In some cases, this change may maintain (or increase) the positioning error.

For example, when an abnormal situation in which the pedestrian's stride becomes small (for example, ascending or descending stairs) occurs, if the relative position information 117 is obtained using the normal stride L recorded in the parameter information 113, it is absolute. A large positioning error occurs between the position by positioning and the position by relative positioning. When such a large positioning error is detected, if the expansion / contraction ratio γ is immediately changed to a small value, the relative position is changed by the slow speed ν _a after the change even after the abnormal situation returns to the normal situation. Information 117 is obtained. Then, despite the adjustment of the parameter information 113, the positioning error between the position based on absolute positioning and the position based on relative positioning is still not eliminated.

Therefore, the data update unit 104 updates the parameter information 113 with reference to the estimation result by the situation determination unit 102 when an abnormality of the parameter used for relative positioning is assumed. Here, the situation in which the data updating unit 104 updates the parameter information 113 is a situation in which a positioning error has occurred and the cause of the positioning error is not found except for parameter abnormality.

In the positioning device 1 according to the present embodiment, the data updating unit 104 compares the absolute position information 150 and the position information 118 to determine whether or not a positioning error has occurred. However, the situation determination unit 102 may execute the determination.

The data updating unit 104 in the present embodiment updates the parameter information 113 by determining that a situation in which the accuracy of relative positioning is lowered is not detected even though a positioning error has occurred, as a parameter abnormal situation. To do. Specifically, the situation of walking on stairs, riding on a vehicle, walking on a rough road, abnormal geomagnetic field, walking in a crowded area, The situation is none of them. As described above, these situations are estimated by the situation determination unit 102 and transmitted to the data update unit 104.

Further, the data update unit 104 also has a function of updating the distance information 112 stored in the storage device 11 according to the estimation result by the situation determination unit 102.

As already described, the positioning device 1 generates the timing signal by the timing control unit 103 when the movement distance δ (length of the uncorrected section) becomes the distance D _t (distance information 112), and the second The positioning unit 15 executes absolute positioning. Therefore, when the data update unit 104 dynamically changes the distance information 112 (distance D _t ), the absolute positioning timing in the positioning device 1 can be dynamically changed.

Data updating unit 104, when the state determination unit 102 a situation where the accuracy of the relative positioning of the first positioning portion 100 is lowered is detected, and updates the distance information 112 in a direction to reduce the distance D _t.

The data updating unit 104 compares the position indicated in the absolute position information 150 with the position in the position information 118 corresponding to the absolute position information 150 (current position by relative positioning), and the error between these positions. When the distance is large, the distance information 112 may be updated as a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy decreases. In the example shown in FIG. 4, it may be determined whether or not the distance between the point P1 and the observation point T2 exceeds the threshold value.

In addition, the data update unit 104 according to the present embodiment subtracts a certain value (adjustment range) from the distance information 112 regardless of the detected situation (a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy decreases), thereby obtaining the distance information. 112 is updated. However, the adjustment range by the data updating unit 104 may be changed according to the detected situation.

Here, the distance D _t is a value of “0” or more, and “0” is also assumed as the lower limit value. However, in the positioning device 1, the distance _Dt of “0” means that absolute positioning is performed even when the pedestrian does not move, and means that absolute positioning is continuously performed.

Absolute positioning is abandoned when the distance D _{t is set} to “0” and the absolute positioning is intermittently executed when the relative positioning accuracy is reduced and it is no longer reliable. Switching to is also worth considering as an example. However, the positioning device 1 of this embodiment, the lower limit is provided at a distance D _t, the distance D _t is assumed to prohibit be shorter than the lower limit value.

On the other hand, the data updating unit 104, when the reliability of the relative positioning of the first positioning portion 100 is higher situation is detected, to extend the distance D _t. Specifically, the distance information 112 is updated in a direction in which the distance _Dt is extended when the situation determination unit 102 has not detected a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy by the first positioning unit 100 decreases.

Note that the data updating unit 104 in the present embodiment updates the distance information 112 by adding a certain value (adjustment width) to the distance information 112. However, the adjustment range by the data updating unit 104 may be changed according to the detected situation.

Here, the value of the distance D _t is increased, accordingly, it extends the interval absolute positioning is performed. Thereby, power consumption can be suppressed. However, errors in the motion detection sensor 143 are accumulated even when a situation in which the accuracy of relative positioning decreases is not detected. Therefore, relative positioning by the first positioning unit 100 requires calibration by absolute positioning at an interval of a certain constant or less.

There is also a situation when a GPS receiver is employed as the second positioning unit 15. In the GPS, when the positioning interval becomes long, the stored information (for example, information on the orbit of the satellite) becomes invalid, and there is a situation that the amount of calculation necessary for positioning increases. That is, if absolute positioning by the GPS receiver is not executed at a certain time interval or less, the power consumption increases due to an increase in calculation amount.

Therefore, the data update unit 104 does not make the distance information 112 larger than the predetermined upper limit value even if a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy is lowered is not detected. That is, the status determination unit 102, the distance D _t is assumed to prohibit be extended from the upper limit value.

Moreover, the data updating unit 104, a distance not only whether updating by upper or lower limit of the D _t, also determines whether the updated by other circumstances.

The data update unit 104 updates the distance information 112 according to the power supply status to the positioning device 1 with reference to the remaining battery level and whether or not the power adapter is attached. For example, even if the accuracy of relative positioning is lowered, when the battery remaining amount is low, priority is given to the suppression of power consumption over the accuracy, and the value of the distance _Dt is not reduced. Thereby, the timing of positioning by the second positioning unit 15 can be optimized according to the actual power supply state.

In addition, the data update unit 104 refers to the map information 114 and the position information 118 to determine whether or not the position indicated by the position information 118 is a position where a pedestrian has visited in the past, and according to the determination result, The distance information 112 is updated. For example, for a place where a pedestrian has visited in the past, even if the accuracy of relative positioning is lowered, there may be a case where it does not become a serious problem. Therefore, when the position indicated by the position information 118 is a position where a pedestrian has visited in the past, the distance information 112 is set to a larger value than in other cases.

Further, the data update unit 104 updates the distance information 112 according to the distinction between day and night while referring to the time information obtained by a timer (not shown). For example, in the daytime, even if the relative positioning accuracy is reduced, the pedestrian can easily observe the surroundings, so that there may be no serious problem. Therefore, the data updating unit 104 sets the distance information 112 to a larger value in the daytime than in the nighttime.

Also, the data update unit 104 refers to the map information 114 and the position information 118 to determine whether the current position is indoor or outdoor, and updates the distance information 112 according to the distinction between indoor and outdoor. For example, if it is indoor, even if the accuracy of relative positioning is lowered, it is expected that there is a relatively large amount of other information for specifying the position in the surrounding area, and there may be no serious problem. Therefore, when the current position is indoor, the data update unit 104 sets the distance information 112 to a larger value than in other cases.

However, updating the distance information 112 according to the power supply status, whether the location has been visited in the past, day / night distinction, indoor / outdoor distinction, etc. is inconvenient if the positioning device 1 automatically determines it. It can happen. Therefore, when these conditions are detected, the data update unit 104 finally updates the distance information 112 in accordance with a pedestrian instruction. Specifically, regarding the update of the distance information 112, the detected situation and a message for requesting whether or not the pedestrian is required are displayed on the display unit 13, and whether or not the update is possible is determined according to an instruction input by the pedestrian. .

The correction unit 105 corrects the position information 118 with the acquired absolute position information 150 in response to the acquisition of the absolute position information 150 of the second positioning unit 15. More specifically, the position information 118 is corrected by replacing the end point of the uncorrected section (the current position by relative positioning) with the absolute position information 150.

The correction unit 105 in the present embodiment is configured to always perform correction on the position information 118 when the absolute position information 150 with high reliability is acquired. However, for example, the correction unit 105 compares the absolute position information 150 and the position information 118 and indicates the position indicated by the absolute position information 150 and the position information 118 at the time when the absolute position information 150 is acquired. The position information 118 may be corrected only when an error from the position is obtained and the error is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the example shown in FIG. 4 demonstrates, you may correct | amend only when the distance of the point P1 and the observation point T2 exceeds the threshold value.

Further, the correction unit 105 also retroactively corrects the uncorrected section of the positions recorded in the position information 118 and sets it as the past existing position of the positioning device 1. In this case, the correction unit 105 corrects each position in the uncorrected section using the error angle θ and the expansion / contraction ratio γ while referring to the parameter information 113 (not shown in FIG. 3). As a result, the uncorrected section is canceled and the section becomes a corrected section.

The above is description of the structure and function of the positioning apparatus 1 in this Embodiment. Next, a positioning method realized by the positioning device 1 will be described.

5 and 6 are flowcharts showing a positioning method by the positioning device 1.

In addition, each process shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 shall be started by the pedestrian start instruction with respect to the positioning apparatus 1. FIG. That is, each process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is started when the pedestrian desires to record a walking locus and operates the operation unit 12 to input an instruction to start recording the walking locus. Unless otherwise specified, each process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is executed by the CPU 10 executing the program 110. Further, it is assumed that the process of storing the distance information 112 and the parameter information 113 in the storage device 11 is executed before each process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is started.

First, the positioning device 1 acquires the reference position information 111 (step S1) and stores it in the storage device 11. In the present embodiment, when a pedestrian inputs a start instruction, a signal indicating that the input has been made is transmitted from the operation unit 12 to the timing control unit 103, and the timing control unit 103 generates a timing signal, This is transmitted to the second positioning unit 15.

Thereby, the positioning device 1 acquires the reference position information 111 by the second positioning unit 15 (GPS receiving unit) positioning the absolute position of the reference point. However, if there is a situation where GPS signals cannot be received or reliability cannot be expected, the pedestrian may input the reference position information 111 by operating the operation unit 12.

Although not shown in FIG. 5, acquisition of the observation information 115 by the observation device 14 is started in parallel with the acquisition of the reference position information 111. As a result, the motion detection sensor 143 (the gyro sensor 144, the acceleration sensor 145, and the magnetic sensor 146) is activated, and the acquisition of the motion information 116 necessary for relative positioning is also started. Thereafter, the observation device 14 continues to acquire the observation information 115.

Next, the first positioning unit 100 performs relative positioning based on the exercise information 116 (step S2), and acquires relative position information 117. Then, the position calculation unit 101 creates position information 118 based on the relative position information 117 and the reference position information 111 (step S3).

Thereafter, when step S3 is executed, the reference position information 111 is not referred to, and the position calculation unit 101 determines the position information based on the end position in the position information 118 at that time and the relative position information 117. 118 is created by updating.

When step S3 is executed, the situation determination unit 102 determines whether or not a situation in which the accuracy of relative positioning is reduced occurs based on the observation information 115 (step S4).

The situation detected by the situation determination unit 102 as a situation where the accuracy of relative positioning is reduced, as described above, is a situation where a person is walking on a stairs, a situation where he is riding a vehicle, or a situation where he is walking on a rough road The situation of abnormal geomagnetism, the situation of walking in a crowd, and the possession state are the states of hand-shaking.

It can be determined in step S4 by referring to the observation information 115 that is output information from the atmospheric pressure sensor 140 whether or not it is walking on the stairs, or whether it is on an escalator or elevator (however, It is difficult to distinguish between these situations.) Whether or not the user is walking on a rough road, whether or not the geomagnetic abnormality is present, or whether or not the hand is shaking can be determined in step S4 by referring to the motion information 116. In addition, whether or not the user is walking in a crowd can be determined based on the exercise information 116 and the observation information 115 that is output information from the microphone 142.

However, when step S4 is executed, the uncorrected section is gradually extended, and the absolute position information 150 for calibrating the uncorrected section has not yet been acquired. In this situation, a positioning error between the position in the absolute position information 150 and the position in the position information 118 cannot be detected. Therefore, it is not possible to determine whether or not the vehicle is on a moving walk (whether the average stride is abnormally long) using the positioning error as a detection index when the step S4 is executed.

If another situation that cannot be detected at the stage where step S4 is executed has occurred, if the distance _Dt is extended, the correction by the absolute position information 150 is delayed, and the accuracy of the position information 118 decreases. Therefore, even when it is determined No in step S4, the data updating unit 104 immediately it does not extend the distance D _t. And the positioning apparatus 1 transfers to the process of step S11.

On the other hand, when it determines with Yes in step S4, the condition determination part 102 sets a detection flag to ON (step S5), and transmits to the data update part 104. FIG. The detection flag is a flag indicating whether or not it has been detected that a situation in which the accuracy of relative positioning is lowered has occurred. When it is “OFF”, it indicates that it has not been detected, and when it is “ON”, it has been detected. Indicates. Note that the initial value of the detection flag is “OFF”.

When Step S5 is executed, the data updating unit 104 determines whether to shortening the distance D _t (step S6).

First, in step S6, the data updating unit 104 determines whether or not the distance _Dt has already reached the lower limit value. As already described, if the distance D _t has reached the lower limit value, the distance D _t should not be further shortened, and the data updating unit 104 determines No in step S6.

Next, in step S6, the data update unit 104 determines whether the power supply is in danger, whether the current position has been visited in the past, daytime, or whether the current position is indoors. When any of these situations is detected, the data update unit 104 inquires about the detected situation and whether or not the absolute positioning interval should be narrowed (whether or not the distance D _t should be shortened). The message is displayed on the display unit 13. Furthermore, the data update part 104 determines with No in step S6, when the instruction | indication of the pedestrian with respect to the said message is No.

If the data update unit 104 described above does not correspond to any of the situations determined as “No”, the data update unit 104 determines Yes in step S6.

If Yes at step S6, the data updating unit 104, to shorten the distance _{D t} (step S7) by, it updates the distance information 112.

On the other hand, when the data updating unit 104 described above is applicable to any of the determined status "No", the data updating unit 104 is not possible to shorten the distance D _t (skips step S7. ).

Accordingly, the positioning device 1, when a situation where the accuracy of the relative positioning is reduced occurs, the distance is shortened to D _t it is possible to increase the frequency of the absolute positioning. On the other hand, the positioning device 1, the frequency of the absolute positioning distance D _t is shortened can be prevented from rising carelessly.

Next, the timing control unit 103 refers to the position information 118 to acquire the movement distance δ, and determines whether or not the acquired movement distance δ has reached the distance D _t indicated in the distance information 112 (step S1). S11).

If the moving distance δ has not reached the distance _{D t} (No. in step S11), and the positioning device 1, the process returns to step S2. That is, relative positioning (step S2) is repeated without performing absolute positioning.

If the movement distance δ has reached the distance _{D t} (Yes. In step S11), and the timing controller 103 generates a timing signal, and transmits to the second positioning portion 15. Thereby, positioning (absolute positioning) by the 2nd positioning part 15 is performed (step S12). As already described, in the positioning device 1, absolute positioning is performed by the GPS receiver. Therefore, the process of step S12 is a positioning process using GPS.

Next, the second positioning unit 15 determines whether or not the position acquired in step S12 (the position obtained by absolute positioning) is reliable (whether or not it is highly accurate) (step S13).

And when the said position is reliable (in step S13 Yes), the 2nd positioning part 15 produces the absolute position information 150 (step S14), and memorize | stores it in the memory | storage device 11. FIG.

On the other hand, if the position is not reliable (No in step S13), the absolute position information 150 is not created, and the positioning device 1 returns to step S2 and repeats the process.

In the update process described later, the correction unit 105 corrects the position information 118 using the absolute position information 150. At this time, the correction unit 105 corrects the position information 118 on the assumption that the absolute position information 150 is highly accurate without evaluating the absolute position information 150. Therefore, even if the accuracy of the acquired absolute position information 150 is low, if the update process is performed, the accuracy of the position information 118 may be reduced. In particular, when the method of acquiring the absolute position information 150 uses GPS, the absolute position information 150 with low reliability may be acquired due to the influence of the state of the GPS signal or the like.

However, the positioning device 1 does not execute the update process until reliable absolute position information 150 is acquired by executing step S13. As a result, even when the absolute position information 150 with low accuracy is acquired, it is possible to prevent a decrease in accuracy of the position information 118 due to inappropriate update processing being executed.

In the present embodiment, in step S13, the second positioning unit 15 (GPS reception unit) analyzes the additional information included in the GPS signal (included in the GPS signal format), thereby obtaining the GPS signal. The reliability of the system shall be determined.

When step S14 is executed and the absolute position information 150 is recorded, the positioning device 1 executes an update process (step S15).

7 and 8 are flowcharts showing the update process.

When the update process is started, the situation determination unit 102 starts a process related to situation estimation for updating the distance information 112.

First, the situation determination unit 102 determines whether or not the detection flag is “ON” (step S21). When step S21 is executed, the case where the detection flag is already “ON” indicates that step S5 has been executed. Then, after the step S5 is executed, since the step S7 is executed, the adjustment to the distance D _t is already running (or the distance should not be shortened D _t situation.). In this case, state determination unit 102, by skipping the processing of S27 to not step S22, a further adjustment of the distance D _t is not performed.

On the other hand, when the detection flag is “OFF” (No in step S <b> 21), the situation determination unit 102 determines, based on the observation information 115, whether or not a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy is reduced has occurred. (Step S22).

In the process of step S22 in the present embodiment, the situation determination unit 102 determines only whether the pedestrian is on a moving walk as a situation that could not be detected in step S4. However, for example, when a situation where the positioning error is large is regarded as a situation where the relative positioning accuracy is reduced, such a determination may be performed in step S22.

If it determines with No in step S22, the condition determination part 102 will transmit that to the data update part 104. FIG. Thus, the data updating unit 104, a distance D _t already determined whether the upper limit value (step S23), the distance D _t is still only if not the upper limit value, to extend the distance D _t (step S24).

The case where it is determined No in step S22 is a case where the situation determination unit 102 has not been able to detect a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy ultimately decreases. Therefore, in such a case, the data updating unit 104, by extending the distance D _t indicated in the distance information 112, by extending an interval to perform absolute positioning, suppressing the power consumption of the positioning apparatus 1 .

On the other hand, if it determines with Yes in step S22, the condition determination part 102 will transmit that to the data update part 104. FIG. Thereby, the data update unit 104 executes steps S25 to S27. In addition, since the process of step S25 thru | or S27 can be performed similarly to the process of step S5 thru | or S7, description is abbreviate | omitted.

In the update process, when the process of steps S21 to S27 is finished and the process related to the update of the distance information 112 is completed, the positioning device 1 starts the process related to the update of the parameter information 113.

First, the data update unit 104 compares the current positions of both based on the absolute position information 150 and the position information 118, and obtains a positioning error between the absolute positioning and the relative positioning. Next, the data update unit 104 determines whether or not the positioning error is equal to or greater than a threshold value (step S31).

If the positioning error is smaller than the threshold value (No in step S31), the data update unit 104 considers that there is no need to change the parameter information 113, and skips the processes of steps S32 and S33. Thereby, the parameter information 113 is not changed when the relative positioning position is obtained with relatively high accuracy. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the relative positioning accuracy from deteriorating due to unnecessary parameter changes.

On the other hand, when the positioning error is equal to or larger than the threshold (Yes in Step S31), the data update unit 104 determines whether or not the detection flag is “ON” (Step S32).

When step S32 is executed, the case where the detection flag is “ON” indicates a case where the situation determination unit 102 detects a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy decreases. Therefore, in such a case, it is preferable that the data update unit 104 considers that the positioning error is due to a decrease in the accuracy of relative positioning, and does not change the parameter.

Therefore, when it is determined Yes in step S32, the data update unit 104 skips step S33 and does not change the parameter information 113.

On the other hand, if it is determined No in step S32, the data update unit 104 has a positioning error that is greater than or equal to the threshold value even though a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy decreases is not detected. It is determined that the situation is present, and the parameter information 113 is updated (step S33). Note that how the data updating unit 104 changes the parameter information 113 (the error angle θ and the expansion / contraction ratio γ) has already been described, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

When the process related to the change of the parameter information 113 is completed, the correction unit 105 corrects the position information 118 based on the absolute position information 150 and the position information 118 (step S34). Thereby, the uncorrected section in the position information 118 is eliminated, and the end point in the position information 118 becomes the latest observation point and the position indicated in the absolute position information 150. Since the correction in step S34 has already been described, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

When step S34 is executed and the correction for the position information 118 is completed, the positioning device 1 initializes the detection flag to “OFF” (step S35), completes the update process, and returns to the process shown in FIG. Further, when the update process is completed and the process returns to the process shown in FIG. 6, the positioning apparatus 1 returns to step S2 shown in FIG. 5 and repeats the process.

As described above, the positioning device 1 carried by the pedestrian includes the storage device 11 that stores the reference position information 111 and the parameter information 113, the observation device 14 that acquires the observation information 115, the observation information 115, and the parameter information. 113, a first positioning unit 100 that acquires relative position information 117 that indicates the relative position of the positioning device 1, and a second positioning unit 15 that acquires absolute position information 150 that indicates the absolute position of the positioning device 1. A position calculation unit 101 that calculates position information 118 indicating the position of the positioning device 1 based on the reference position information 111 and the relative position information 117, a situation determination unit 102 that estimates a situation based on the observation information 115, The parameter information 11 stored in the storage device 11 based on the position information 118 and the absolute position information 150 according to the estimation result by the situation determination unit 102. And a data updating unit 104 for updating the observation device 14 acquires the movement information 116 regarding the motion of the positioning apparatus 1 comprises a motion detection sensor 143 including observation information 115. Thereby, parameter information can be optimized.

The storage device 11 stores distance information 112, calculates a movement distance based on the relative position information 117, and stores absolute position information in the second positioning unit 15 according to the movement distance and the distance information 112. The timing control unit 103 for acquiring 150 is further provided. Thereby, since the timing of absolute position positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be determined based on distance, the said timing can be optimized compared with the case where it determines based on time.

Further, the data update unit 104 updates the distance information 112 stored in the storage device 11 according to the estimation result by the situation determination unit 102. Thereby, the timing of absolute position positioning by the second positioning unit 15 can be further optimized.

Further, the storage device 11 stores map information 114 around the positioning device 1, and the situation determination unit 102 estimates the situation based on the map information 114. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Further, the observation device 14 includes an atmospheric pressure sensor 140 that observes atmospheric pressure and acquires it as observation information 115, and the situation determination unit 102 estimates the situation based on the fluctuation of the atmospheric pressure indicated in the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Also, the situation determination unit 102 specifies whether or not the stairs are moving based on the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Also, the situation determination unit 102 specifies whether or not the escalator is moving based on the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Also, the situation determination unit 102 specifies whether or not the elevator is moving based on the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Also, the situation determination unit 102 estimates a state in which the positioning device 1 is held based on the exercise information 116 included in the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

In particular, the observation device 14 includes an illuminance sensor 141 that observes illuminance and acquires it as observation information 115, and the situation determination unit 102 is in a state where the positioning device 1 is possessed based on the illuminance indicated in the observation information 115. Is estimated. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Also, the situation determination unit 102 estimates the situation of moving on a rough road by obtaining the magnitude of fluctuation of the walking cycle based on the exercise information 116 included in the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Also, the situation determination unit 102 estimates a situation where the crowd is moving based on the exercise information 116 included in the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

In particular, the situation determination unit 102 estimates the situation in which the crowd is moving by obtaining the change frequency of the traveling direction based on the exercise information 116 included in the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

In addition, the observation device 14 includes a microphone 142 that observes voice and acquires it as observation information 115, and the situation determination unit 102 analyzes the voice indicated in the observation information 115 to detect a situation where the crowd is moving. presume. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

The observation device 14 includes a magnetic sensor 146 that observes magnetism and acquires it as observation information 115, and the situation determination unit 102 estimates a geomagnetic abnormality situation based on the magnetism indicated in the observation information 115. Thereby, the situation which influences the positioning by the 1st positioning part 100 can be estimated correctly, and the timing of the positioning by the 2nd positioning part 15 can be optimized more.

Further, the data updating unit 104 updates the distance information 112 according to the power supply status to the positioning device 1. Thereby, the timing of positioning by the second positioning means can be optimized according to the actual power supply state.

Further, the data update unit 104 updates the distance information 112 according to whether or not the position indicated by the position information 118 has been visited in the past. Thereby, for example, in a place where the user has already visited once, it is possible to realize a versatile process such as suppressing the frequency of absolute positioning.

Further, the data update unit 104 updates the distance information 112 according to the distinction between day and night. Thus, for example, in a situation where the target (object effective for specifying the position) is relatively easy to see, such as during the daytime, versatile processing such as suppressing the frequency of absolute positioning is performed. Can be realized.

Further, the data update unit 104 updates the distance information 112 according to the distinction between indoor and outdoor. As a result, for example, in a situation where there are relatively many targets (objects effective for specifying positions) such as indoors, it is possible to realize versatile processing such as suppressing the frequency of absolute positioning. it can.

In addition, the data update unit 104 can prevent the distance information 112 from being inadvertently updated by updating the distance information 112 in accordance with a pedestrian's instruction.

Further, the data update unit 104 determines whether or not the parameter information 113 needs to be updated according to the estimation result by the situation determination unit 102 regardless of whether or not the position information 118 is corrected by the correction unit 105. Thereby, the time when the position information 118 should be corrected and the time when the parameter information 113 should be updated can be handled independently. Therefore, it is possible to optimally cope with the situation.

Further, the position information 118 includes the past position of the positioning device 1 so that, for example, a walking locus can be recorded.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

For example, each process shown in the above embodiment is merely an example, and is not limited to the order and contents shown above. That is, as long as the same effect can be obtained, the order and contents may be changed as appropriate.

Further, it has been described that the functional blocks (for example, the first positioning unit 100 and the timing control unit 103) shown in the above-described embodiment are realized as software by the CPU 10 operating according to the program 110. However, some or all of these functional blocks may be configured by a dedicated logic circuit and realized in hardware.

In addition, it has been described that the positioning device 1 in the above embodiment repeats relative positioning when the absolute position acquired by the GPS receiving unit is not reliable. However, for example, when a plurality of second positioning units 15 that perform absolute positioning are provided, a reliable one may be selected from the plurality of second positioning units 15. Thereby, the situation where the absolute position information 150 is not created can be suppressed.

In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the correction process for the position information 118 and the update process for the distance information 112 and the parameter information 113 are performed without referring to the past correction results and update results. However, it is also possible to record correction processes and update processes executed in the past, evaluate their suitability, and use them as a reference for the next correction process or update process. Such feedback control can also improve accuracy.

Further, the device group included in the observation device 14 in the above embodiment is an example. Therefore, the positioning device 1 may include other devices as the observation device 14. The device employed as the observation device 14 can be determined according to an event to be observed (an event that affects positioning), required accuracy, allowable power consumption, cost, and the like. Other devices that can be employed as the observation device 14 include, for example, a temperature sensor that observes the ambient temperature, a humidity sensor that observes humidity, a digital camera that images the surrounding subject, and observation information 115 from an external device. A communication device is assumed. For example, the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor can determine the surrounding weather. In addition, by analyzing the image captured by the digital camera (imaging unit), it is possible to distinguish whether the route of the pedestrian is a bad road (country road), to distinguish between indoors and outdoors, the degree of congestion in crowds, positioning devices 1 holding state and the like can be determined. In addition, if the positioning device 1 is configured to acquire information that is difficult to observe in real time (for example, big data or weather) from an external device through a communication device, it is possible to make a more versatile situation determination. Become.

Also, which of the devices included in the observation device 14 is included in the motion detection sensor 143 is arbitrary. For example, when a movement trajectory in the vertical direction (height direction) is also recorded as the movement trajectory of the pedestrian, information observed by the atmospheric pressure sensor 140 may be included in the motion information 116 as information related to the movement in the height direction. . Alternatively, if the observation result of the magnetic sensor 146 is not used for autonomous navigation (relative positioning), the magnetic sensor 146 is not included in the motion detection sensor 143, and simply the observation device 14 (for situation determination) for observing surrounding magnetism ) Only. That is, the motion detection sensor 143 is a device that acquires information used for autonomous navigation (which information of the observation information 115 is used is arbitrary) among the devices employed as the observation device 14. It is a name for convenience.

Also, the data update unit 104 updates the error angle θ and the expansion / contraction ratio γ among the parameters included in the parameter information 113, thereby suppressing the measurement error in the sensor and improving the accuracy of future relative positioning. However, the parameters updated by the data updating unit 104 are not limited to these. For example, the data update unit 104 may update the stride L included in the parameter information 113. For example, the parameter information 113 may be updated so that γ × L becomes a new stride L.

In addition, the data updating unit 104 in the above embodiment determines that a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy is reduced but does not detect a situation where a positioning error has occurred is a parameter abnormality situation, and parameter information 113 Explained to update. However, the parameter information 113 may be updated depending on the situation even when a situation in which the relative positioning accuracy decreases is detected. For example, the case where the bad road continues is assumed.

Further, when updating the parameter information 113, only one of the parameter indicating the traveling direction and the parameter indicating the stride may be updated. For example, it is assumed that it is determined that a staircase has been passed between the correction timing and the correction timing. After passing the stairs, it is determined that the parameter positioning is not a situation where the relative positioning is lowered, but the parameter information 113 is updated. In this case, only the parameter indicating the traveling direction is selectively selected. It is preferable to update.

Claims

A positioning device carried by a pedestrian,
Storage means for storing reference position information and parameter information;
Observation means for obtaining observation information;
First positioning means for acquiring relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the observation information and the parameter information;
Second positioning means for acquiring absolute position information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device;
Position calculating means for calculating position information indicating an existing position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information;
Situation determination means for estimating the situation based on the observation information;
Data updating means for updating the parameter information stored in the storage means based on the position information and the absolute position information according to the estimation result by the situation determination means;
With
The said observation means is a positioning apparatus provided with the movement detection means which acquires the movement information regarding the movement of the said positioning apparatus, and includes it in the said observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The storage means stores distance information,
A positioning device further comprising timing control means for calculating a movement distance based on the relative position information and causing the second positioning means to acquire the absolute position information according to the movement distance and the distance information.
The positioning device according to claim 2,
The data updating unit is a positioning device that updates the distance information stored in the storage unit according to an estimation result by the situation determination unit.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
In accordance with the acquisition of the absolute position information of the second positioning means, further comprising a correction means for correcting the position information by the absolute position information,
The positioning device determines whether or not to update the parameter information according to the estimation result regardless of whether or not the position information is corrected by the correction unit.
A positioning device carried by a pedestrian,
Storage means for storing reference position information, parameter information, and distance information;
Observation means for obtaining observation information;
First positioning means for acquiring relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the observation information and the parameter information;
Second positioning means for acquiring absolute position information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device;
Position calculating means for calculating position information indicating an existing position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information;
Correction means for correcting the position information by the acquired absolute position information in response to the acquisition of the absolute position information of the second positioning means;
Situation determination means for estimating the situation based on the observation information;
Data updating means for updating the distance information stored in the storage means according to the estimation result by the situation determination means;
A timing control means for calculating a movement distance based on the relative position information, and causing the second positioning means to acquire the absolute position information according to the movement distance and the distance information;
With
The said observation means is a positioning apparatus provided with the movement detection means which acquires the movement information regarding the movement of the said positioning apparatus, and includes it in the said observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The storage means stores map information around the positioning device,
The situation determination means is a positioning device that estimates a situation based on the map information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The observation means includes an atmospheric pressure sensor that observes atmospheric pressure and acquires it as observation information,
The situation determination means is a positioning device that estimates a situation based on a change in atmospheric pressure indicated in the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 6,
The situation determination means is a positioning device that specifies whether or not the stairs are moving based on the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 6,
The status determination unit is a positioning device that specifies whether or not the escalator is moving based on the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 6,
The status determination unit is a positioning device that specifies whether or not the vehicle is moving by an elevator based on the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The status determination unit is a positioning device that estimates a state in which the positioning device is carried based on the motion information included in the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 11,
The observation means includes an illuminance sensor that observes illuminance and acquires it as observation information,
The status determination unit is a positioning device that estimates a state in which the positioning device is carried based on illuminance indicated in the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The position determination means is a positioning device that estimates a state of moving on a rough road by obtaining a magnitude of fluctuation of a walking cycle based on the motion information included in the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The positioning device is a positioning device that estimates a situation where a crowd is moving based on the exercise information included in the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 14,
The positioning device is a positioning device that estimates a situation in which a crowd is moving by obtaining a change frequency of a traveling direction based on the exercise information included in the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 14,
The observation means includes a microphone that observes voice and acquires it as observation information;
The positioning device is a positioning device that estimates a situation where a crowd is moving by analyzing the voice indicated by the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The observation means includes a magnetic sensor for observing magnetism and obtaining as observation information,
The status determination means is a positioning device that estimates the status of a geomagnetic abnormality based on magnetism indicated by the observation information.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The data updating means is a positioning device that updates the distance information according to a power supply status to the positioning device.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The data updating means is a positioning device that updates the distance information according to whether or not the position indicated by the position information has been visited in the past.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The data updating means is a positioning device that updates the distance information according to the distinction between day and night.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The data updating means is a positioning device that updates the distance information according to the distinction between indoor and outdoor.
The positioning device according to claim 18, comprising:
The data updating means is a positioning device that updates the distance information in accordance with an instruction from the pedestrian.
The positioning device according to claim 5,
The positioning device determines whether or not to update the parameter information according to the estimation result regardless of whether or not the position information is corrected by the correction unit.
The positioning device according to claim 1,
The position information includes a past position of the positioning device.
A positioning method performed by a positioning device carried by a pedestrian,
Storing reference position information and parameter information in a storage means;
Obtaining observation information by observation means;
Acquiring relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the observation information and the parameter information by a first positioning means;
Obtaining absolute position information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device by a second positioning means;
Calculating position information indicating the position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information by a position calculating means;
Estimating the situation based on the observation information by the situation judging means;
Updating the parameter information stored in the storage unit based on the position information and the absolute position information according to an estimation result by the situation determination unit, by a data updating unit;
And the observation information includes movement information related to movement of the positioning device.
A positioning method performed by a positioning device carried by a pedestrian,
Storing reference position information, parameter information, and distance information in a storage means;
Obtaining observation information by observation means;
Acquiring relative position information indicating a relative position of the positioning device based on the observation information and the parameter information by a first positioning means;
Obtaining absolute position information indicating the absolute position of the positioning device by a second positioning means;
Calculating position information indicating the position of the positioning device based on the reference position information and the relative position information by a position calculating means;
In accordance with the acquisition of the absolute position information of the second positioning means, the step of correcting the position information by means of the acquired absolute position information,
Estimating the situation based on the observation information by the situation judging means;
A step of updating the distance information stored in the storage unit by a data updating unit according to an estimation result by the situation determination unit;
Calculating a moving distance based on the relative position information, and causing the second positioning means to acquire the absolute position information by a timing control means according to the moving distance and the distance information;
Have
The said observation information is a positioning method containing the exercise | movement information regarding the motion of the said positioning apparatus.