Controller, control system, and method

Abstract

To readily achieve irradiation of light to the surroundings of a moving apparatus.SOLUTION: A controller includes a communication unit that receives position information on a moving apparatus having a moving feature from the moving apparatus, and transmits an irradiation instruction concerning irradiation of light to an irradiation apparatus that is mounted in the moving apparatus and has an irradiation feature, a memory unit that stores information indicating plural pairs of a moving apparatus and an irradiation apparatus, an identification unit that references the memory unit to identify an irradiation apparatus to be paired with a moving apparatus serving as a transmission source of the position information on the basis of the fact that the position information has been received by the communication unit, and a transmission control unit that controls transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation apparatus identified by the identification unit on the basis of the position information received from the transmission source moving apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a control system and a method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, autonomous mobile robots have been developed to automate security and transportation tasks in transportation facilities, commercial facilities, etc. Autonomous movement is the ability of a robot to move autonomously from its current location to its destination without human intervention, and an autonomous mobile robot is a robot that has the ability to move autonomously.

[0003] When operating an autonomous mobile robot indoors, there are many obstacles between the autonomous mobile robot and people. For example, a wall at a corner of a passageway is an example of an obstacle. If such an obstacle exists, it is difficult for a person to notice the approach of the autonomous mobile robot, and as a result, there is a risk of a collision between the autonomous mobile robot and the person.

[0004] In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle that irradiates a road surface with a laser light. A person who sees the laser light irradiated onto the road surface can recognize the approach of a vehicle even if he or she cannot see the vehicle directly. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-220257 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] By customizing the autonomous mobile robot, it is possible to add an irradiation function to an autonomous mobile robot that does not have an irradiation device. However, adopting such a customization method has concerns in terms of cost and delivery time.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that makes it possible to more easily illuminate the surroundings of a mobile device with light. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control device including: a communication unit that receives, from a mobile device having a moving function, location information of the mobile device, and transmits an irradiation instruction for irradiating light to an irradiation device having an irradiation function mounted on the mobile device; a storage unit that stores information indicating a plurality of combinations of mobile devices and irradiation devices; an identification unit that, based on the location information received by the communication unit, identifies an irradiation device that is paired with the mobile device that is a sender of the location information by referring to the storage unit; and a transmission control unit that controls transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device identified by the identification unit, based on the location information received from the mobile device that is the sender.

[0009] The memory unit stores area condition information associated with a designated area, an operating condition indicating entry or exit, and information indicating an action plan consisting of one or more actions, and the transmission control unit may control the transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device in accordance with the action plan associated with the designated area when the mobile device of the sending source performs an operation indicated by the operating condition with respect to the designated area.

[0010] The mobile device may move autonomously in accordance with a set movement action, and the transmission control unit may control the transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device when the mobile device performs an operation indicated by the operating condition for the designated area during the process of autonomously moving in accordance with the movement action.

[0011] The transmission control unit may cause the communication unit to send an instruction to the mobile device to interrupt the movement action when the mobile device performs an action indicated by the action condition in the designated area while moving autonomously in accordance with the movement action.

[0012] The memory unit may store information associating the mobile device with the area condition information, and the transmission control unit may control the transmission of the irradiation instruction to an irradiation device paired with the source mobile device based on area condition information associated with the source mobile device among the multiple pieces of area condition information.

[0013] The information processing device may further include an operation detection unit that detects an operation by a user, and a display control unit that generates a setting screen for setting the area condition information in accordance with the operation detected by the operation detection unit.

[0014] Further, according to another aspect of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, there is provided a control system including an irradiation device and a control device, wherein the irradiation device includes an irradiation unit that irradiates light, a receiving unit that receives an irradiation instruction regarding irradiation of light from the control device, and an irradiation control unit that controls irradiation of light by the irradiation unit according to the irradiation instruction, and the control device includes a communication unit that receives position information of a mobile device having a moving function from the mobile device and transmits an irradiation instruction regarding irradiation of light to an irradiation device having an irradiation function mounted on the mobile device, a storage unit that stores information indicating a plurality of combinations of a mobile device and an irradiation device, an identification unit that identifies an irradiation device that is paired with a mobile device that is a sender of the position information by referring to the storage unit based on the position information received by the communication unit, and a transmission control unit that controls transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device identified by the identification unit based on the position information received from the mobile device that is the sender.

[0015] The irradiation device may include an engagement portion that is detachably engaged with the moving device.

[0016] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention to solve the above problem, there is provided a method executed by a computer, including: receiving location information of a mobile device having a mobility function from the mobile device; based on the reception of the location information, identifying an irradiation device paired with the mobile device that transmitted the location information by referring to information indicating a plurality of combinations of mobile devices and irradiation devices that are stored in advance; and controlling transmission of an irradiation instruction for irradiating light to the identified irradiation device based on the location information received from the mobile device that transmitted the location information. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to more easily realize irradiation of the surroundings of a mobile device with light. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram that shows a schematic diagram of an autonomous mobile device 10 equipped with a road surface illumination device 20. FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of combination information stored in the control server 30. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of irradiation of laser light by a road surface irradiation device 20. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of setting a designated area Z. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of setting a designated area Z. [Figure 7] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a road surface illumination device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a control server 30 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an action plan. [Figure 11]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of area condition information. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a traveling environment of the autonomous mobile device 10. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of device-specific area information. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration 90. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0020] In addition, in this specification and drawings, multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration may be distinguished by adding different alphabets after the same reference numeral. For example, multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration or logical meaning are distinguished as necessary, such as road surface illumination devices 20A, 20B, and 20C. However, when there is no need to particularly distinguish each of multiple components having substantially the same functional configuration, only the same reference numeral is given to each of the multiple components. For example, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between the road surface illumination devices 20A, 20B, and 20C, each road surface illumination device is simply referred to as the road surface illumination device 20.

[0021] <Control system overview> An embodiment of the present invention relates to a control system for controlling irradiation of a road surface with laser light by a road surface irradiation device mounted on an autonomous mobile device. An overview of the control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6.

[0022] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the control system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of autonomous mobile devices 10, a plurality of road surface illumination devices 20, and a control server 30.

[0023] The autonomous mobile devices 10 and the road surface illumination devices 20 are connected to a control server 30 via a communication network 12. The communication network 12 is a wired or wireless transmission path for information transmitted from devices connected to the communication network 12. For example, the communication network 12 may include public line networks such as the Internet, a telephone line network, and a satellite communication network, as well as various LANs (Local Area Networks) including Ethernet (registered trademark), and WANs (Wide Area Networks). The communication network 12 may also include a dedicated line network such as an IP-VPN (Internet Protocol-Virtual Private Network).

[0024] (Autonomous mobile device 10) The autonomous mobile device 10 has a mobile mechanism. The mobile mechanism may be a mechanism that enables the device to travel on the ground, such as wheels, legs, leg-wheels, crawlers, or air cushions. The mobile mechanism may also be a mechanism that enables the device to travel in the air, such as a propeller or a jet mechanism.

[0025] The autonomous mobile device 10 has a function of estimating a current location. The autonomous mobile device 10 transmits information indicating the estimated current location to the control server 30. Since each autonomous mobile device 10 has an autonomous mobile device identifier that is a unique identifier, the control server 30 can identify each autonomous mobile device 10 based on the autonomous mobile device identifier.

[0026] Furthermore, the autonomous mobile device 10 executes an action according to an instruction for an action received from the control server 30. An example of an action is movement to a specified position. When the autonomous mobile device 10 receives an instruction to move to a specified position as an instruction for an action, the autonomous mobile device 10 autonomously moves to the specified position. Other examples of the action include various operations such as pausing, changing direction, cleaning, and outputting an alarm sound.

[0027] In this specification, an example is described in which the autonomous mobile device 10 is mainly used for autonomous movement indoors, but the embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to autonomous movement outdoors. In addition, in this specification, an example is mainly described in which the embodiments of the present invention are applied to the autonomous mobile device 10 that moves autonomously, but the autonomous mobile device 10 is one example of a mobile device, and the embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to a non-autonomous mobile device that moves according to remote control in real time.

[0028] (road irradiation device 20) The road surface illumination device 20 is an example of an illumination device having an illumination function of emitting light. The road surface illumination device 20 is detachably mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10. For this purpose, the road surface illumination device 20 includes an engagement part that detachably engages with the autonomous mobile device 10. The engagement part may be configured to engage with the autonomous mobile device 10 by magnetic force, or may be configured to engage with the autonomous mobile device 10 by a mechanical structure such as screwing or fitting. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the road surface illumination device 20A is mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10A, the road surface illumination device 20B is mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10B, and the road surface illumination device 20C is mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10C. By mounting the road surface illumination device 20 on the autonomous mobile device 10, the road surface illumination device 20 moves along with the movement of the autonomous mobile device 10.

[0029] The road surface illumination device 20 executes an action according to an instruction for an action received from the control server 30. For example, the action is to start emitting laser light (start of road surface illumination) or to end irradiation of laser light (end of road surface illumination). When the road surface illumination device 20 receives an instruction to start emitting laser light as an instruction for an action, it starts road surface illumination, emitting laser light toward the road surface. Each road surface illumination device 20 has an illumination device identifier that is a unique identifier, so that the control server 30 can identify each road surface illumination device 20 based on the illumination device identifier.

[0030] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic diagram of an autonomous mobile device 10 equipped with a road surface illumination device 20. The road surface illumination device 20 illuminates one or more laser beams in the traveling direction of the road surface illumination device 20. An operator may attach the road surface illumination device 20 to the autonomous mobile device 10 while adjusting the angle and direction of illumination so that the distance d from the road surface illumination device 20 to the tip of the laser beam on a flat surface matches the detection range for the road surface illumination device 20 to perform an operation to avoid a person. The road surface illumination device 20 may blink some or all of the laser beams among the multiple laser beams.

[0031] (Control Server 30) The control server 30 is an example of a control device that controls the operation of the autonomous mobile device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20. The control server 30 stores information indicating a combination of the autonomous mobile device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20. For example, the control server 30 stores a pair of the autonomous mobile device identifier of the autonomous mobile device 10 and the illumination device identifier of the road surface illumination device 20 mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10 as combination information.

[0032] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of combination information stored by the control server 30. FIG. 3 shows a pair of an autonomous mobile device identifier DA and an irradiation device identifier LA, and a pair of an autonomous mobile device identifier DB and an irradiation device identifier LB. When the autonomous mobile device identifier of the autonomous mobile device 10A is the autonomous mobile device identifier DA and the irradiation device identifier of the road surface illumination device 20A is the irradiation device identifier LA, it is understood from the combination shown in FIG. 3 that the road surface illumination device 20A is mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10A. Similarly, when the autonomous mobile device identifier of the autonomous mobile device 10B is the autonomous mobile device identifier DB and the irradiation device identifier of the road surface illumination device 20B is the irradiation device identifier LB, it is understood that the road surface illumination device 20B is mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10B.

[0033] In addition, such combination information can be registered in advance by various methods. For example, the combination information may be registered by manually inputting each identifier. Or, when information indicating each identifier is formed in the autonomous mobile device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20, the combination information may be registered based on reading the information. In addition, when the autonomous mobile device 10 has a camera, the control server 30 may instruct the road surface illumination device 20 to illuminate the laser light in a specific pattern, and register a pair of the illumination device identifier of the road surface illumination device 20 and the autonomous mobile device identifier of the autonomous mobile device 10 that captured the image in which the laser light illuminated in the specific pattern is detected.

[0034] A control server 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention, when receiving information indicating the current position of the autonomous mobile device 10 from the autonomous mobile device 10, identifies the road surface illumination device 20 mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10 based on information indicating the combination of the autonomous mobile device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20. Furthermore, the control server 30 controls the transmission of an instruction for an action related to the irradiation of laser light to the identified road surface illumination device 20 based on the current position of the autonomous mobile device 10.

[0035] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of irradiation of laser light by the road surface illumination device 20. As shown in FIG. 4, when the autonomous mobile device 10 enters a designated area Z on a passage sandwiched between obstacles, the control server 30 transmits an instruction to start emitting laser light to the road surface illumination device 20 mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10. As a result, the road surface illumination device 20 starts illuminating the road surface. In addition, when the autonomous mobile device 10 exits the designated area Z, the control server 30 may transmit an instruction to end irradiation of laser light to the road surface illumination device 20 mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10. As a result, the road surface illumination device 20 ends road surface illumination.

[0036] By such control, the road surface illumination device 20 can illuminate the road surface while the autonomous mobile device 10 is in the designated area Z. This control is particularly useful when the autonomous mobile device 10 approaches a corner with poor visibility, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

[0037] 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams showing an example of setting the designated area Z. As shown in FIG. 5, the designated area Z may be set near a corner with poor visibility. In this case, when the autonomous mobile device 10 equipped with the road surface illumination device 20 enters the designated area Z, the road surface illumination device 20 starts illuminating the road surface as shown in FIG. 6. This allows passersby who cannot directly see the autonomous mobile device 10 due to an obstacle to recognize the presence of the autonomous mobile device 10, and therefore collisions between the autonomous mobile device 10 and passersby can be avoided.

[0038] The outline of the control system according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Next, the configurations of the autonomous mobile device 10, the road surface illumination device 20, and the control server 30 included in the control system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0039] <Configuration of Autonomous Mobile Device> 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous moving device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the autonomous moving device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 110, a sensor unit 120, a map information storage unit 130, a moving mechanism 140, a control unit 150, and a power supply unit 170.

[0040] (Communication unit 110) The communication unit 110 wirelessly communicates various information with the control server 30. For example, the communication unit 110 transmits information indicating the current position of the autonomous mobile device 10 to the control server 30. In addition, the communication unit 110 receives an instruction for an action transmitted from the control server 30.

[0041] (Sensor unit 120) The sensor unit 120 is at least one type of sensor capable of sensing an image or parameters of the traveling environment of the autonomous mobile device 10. The sensor unit 120 may be, for example, an RGB camera, an RGB-D camera, a monochrome camera, or a stereo camera that captures an image of the traveling environment in front of the autonomous mobile device 10, or may be a ToF (Time of flight) sensor, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), or a millimeter wave radar that senses the distance between the autonomous mobile device 10 and the surrounding environment. The image or parameters of the traveling environment sensed by the sensor unit 120 are used for autonomous movement control of the autonomous mobile device 10.

[0042] (Map information storage unit 130) The map information storage unit 130 stores map information of the location where the autonomous mobile device 10 is located. The map information may be information that expresses the traveling environment of the autonomous mobile device 10 as a metric map on a two-dimensional plane. More specifically, the map information may have an occupancy grid map format that is expressed as a grid.

[0043] (Movement mechanism 140) The moving mechanism 140 is a mechanism for moving the autonomous moving device 10. The moving mechanism 140 operates under control of the control unit 150. As described above, the moving mechanism 140 may be a mechanism capable of traveling on the ground, such as wheels, legs, leg-wheels, crawlers, or air cushions. The moving mechanism 140 may also be a mechanism capable of traveling in the air, such as a propeller or a jet mechanism.

[0044] (Control unit 150) The control unit 150 controls the overall operation of the autonomous moving device 10. For example, the control unit 150 may estimate the current position of the autonomous moving device 10 based on an image or parameters (e.g., distance measurement information) of the traveling environment of the autonomous moving device 10 acquired by the sensor unit 120. Specifically, the control unit 150 may estimate the current position of the autonomous moving device 10 using a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technique. As another example, the control unit 150 may estimate the current position of the autonomous moving device 10 on a map by measuring the latitude and longitude of the autonomous moving device 10 based on a GNSS signal received by a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver mounted on the autonomous moving device 10.

[0045] The control unit 150 causes the communication unit 110 to transmit information indicating the estimated current position of the autonomous mobile device 10 to the control server 30. In addition, the control unit 150 controls the mobile mechanism 140 in accordance with the action instruction received from the control server 30 by the communication unit 110.

[0046] (Power supply section 170) The power supply unit 170 supplies power to each component of the autonomous mobile device 10. The power supply unit 170 may be, for example, a rechargeable secondary battery.

[0047] The autonomous moving device 10 may have other configurations not shown in Fig. 7 depending on the use of the autonomous moving device 10. For example, if the use of the autonomous moving device 10 is cleaning, the autonomous moving device 10 has a mechanism for cleaning. Also, if the use of the autonomous moving device 10 is security, the autonomous moving device 10 has a mechanism for security.

[0048] <Road illumination device> Next, the configuration of the road surface illumination device 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0049] 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a road surface illumination device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the road surface illumination device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a communication unit 210, an illumination unit 230, a control unit 250 and a power supply unit 270.

[0050] (Communication unit 210) The communication unit 210 communicates various information with the control server 30. For example, the communication unit 210 has a function as a receiving unit that receives, as an action instruction from the control server 30, for example, an irradiation instruction regarding light irradiation, and a function as a transmitting unit that transmits a response to the action instruction to the control server 30.

[0051] (Irradiation unit 230) The irradiation unit 230 irradiates the road surface with laser light under the control of the control unit 250. In FIG. 4, an example is shown in which there are two laser lights formed on the road surface, each having a linear shape. The number of laser lights formed on the road surface may be other, and the laser lights may have other shapes, such as a curved or figured shape. In addition, the number and shape of the laser lights formed on the road surface may change over time.

[0052] (Control unit 250) The control unit 250 controls the overall operation of the road surface illumination device 20. For example, the control unit 250 has a function as an illumination control unit that controls the illumination of laser light by the illumination unit 230 in accordance with an instruction for an action received from the control server 30 by the communication unit 210. The control unit 250 also has a function as a communication control unit that controls communication between the communication unit 210 and the control server 30.

[0053] (Power supply section 270) The power supply unit 270 supplies power to each component of the road surface illumination device 20. The power supply unit 270 may be, for example, a rechargeable secondary battery.

[0054] <Control Server> Next, the configuration of the control server 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0055] 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the control server 30 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the control server 30 according to one embodiment of the present invention has a communication unit 310, a user interface unit 320, a storage unit 330, and a control unit 350.

[0056] (Communication unit 310) The communication unit 310 communicates various information with the autonomous moving device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20. For example, the communication unit 310 receives information indicating the current position of the autonomous moving device 10 from the autonomous moving device 10. In addition, the communication unit 310 transmits action instructions to the autonomous moving device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20 under the control of the control unit 350.

[0057] (User interface unit 320) The user interface unit 320 has a function as an operation detection unit that detects an operation from a user, and a function as a display unit that displays a display screen. For example, the user interface unit 320 displays a setting screen for setting combination information, an action plan and area condition information (to be described later), and detects an operation by the user on the setting screen.

[0058] (Storage unit 330) The storage unit 330 stores various information used for the operation of the control server 30. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 9, the storage unit 330 stores map information, device position information, combination information, action plans, and area condition information.

[0059] The map information indicates a map of the location where the autonomous moving device 10 is located. When multiple autonomous moving devices 10 are located in different locations, the storage unit 330 stores multiple pieces of map information. The device position information is position information indicating the current location of each autonomous moving device 10. As described with reference to FIG. 3, the combination information indicates a pair of the autonomous moving device identifier of the autonomous moving device 10 and the illumination device identifier of the road surface illumination device 20 mounted on the autonomous moving device 10.

[0060] An action plan is information that describes in sequence the operations (actions) to be executed by the autonomous mobile device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20. Specifically, an action plan includes one or more ordered atomic actions. An atomic action is composed of an action of the autonomous mobile device 10 or the road surface illumination device 20 and an execution condition. One or more action plans are associated with each autonomous mobile device 10.

[0061] Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing specific examples of action plans, which show an action plan AP1 with an action plan identifier AP1, an action plan AP2 with an action plan identifier AP2, an action plan AP7 with an action plan identifier AP7, an action plan AP8 with an action plan identifier AP8, and an action plan AP9 with an action plan identifier AP9.

[0062] Action plan AP1 and action plan AP2 are associated with the autonomous moving device 10A, whose autonomous moving device identifier is DA. That is, action plan AP1 and action plan AP2 are action plans for the autonomous moving device 10A. Action plan AP7 is associated with the autonomous moving device 10B, whose autonomous moving device identifier is DB. That is, action plan AP7 is an action plan for the autonomous moving device 10B.

[0063] On the other hand, the action plan AP8 and the action plan AP9 are associated with ALL as an autonomous mobile device identifier. ALL indicates that all the autonomous mobile devices 10 are targets. In other words, the action plan AP8 and the action plan AP9 are action plans for all the autonomous mobile devices 10.

[0064] Alternatively, an identifier indicating that a group of multiple autonomous mobile devices 10 is the target may be used as the autonomous mobile device identifier.

[0065] As described above, each action plan includes one or more atomic actions each consisting of an execution condition and an action. For example, the action plan AP1 includes an atomic action each consisting of an execution condition 1-1 and an action 1-1. In the action plan AP1, when the execution condition 1-1 is satisfied, the autonomous mobile device 10 or the road surface illumination device 20 is instructed to execute the action 1-1.

[0066] The execution condition may be any condition, such as the current time being a specific time, or a specific object being detected. Information indicating that there is no condition (for example, NULL) may be set as the execution condition. In this case, the action corresponding to the execution condition is executed unconditionally.

[0067] Examples of actions include moving to a specified position, pausing, changing direction, performing a cleaning operation, outputting an alarm sound, starting illumination of the road surface, or ending illumination of the road surface.

[0068] The area condition information is information indicating the designated area Z and an action plan to be applied when entering or leaving the designated area Z. The area condition information is linked to any of the map information stored in the storage unit 330.

[0069] Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of area condition information. As shown in Fig. 11, the area condition information includes an area condition information identifier, a designation method, area information, an operation condition, and an action plan identifier.

[0070] The designation method is set to a method of indicating the designated area Z. For example, the designation method is set to indicate the inside or outside of a rectangular area formed by four points as the designated area Z. The area information is set to vertex coordinates indicating the designated area Z.

[0071] The operating condition is set to be entering or exiting the designated area Z. The action plan identifier is set to the action plan identifier of the action plan to be executed among the action plans shown in FIG. 10.

[0072] 11, area condition information SA1, whose area condition information identifier is SA1, includes designation method 1, area information 1, an action condition "enter", and an action plan identifier "AP8". According to this area condition information, when the autonomous mobile device 10 enters the designated area Z indicated by designation method 1 and area information 1, action plan AP8 is executed.

[0073] (Control unit 350) The control unit 350 controls the overall operation of the control server 30. For example, the control unit 350 can register combination information, action plans, area condition information, and the like in the storage unit 330 based on a user's operation on the user interface unit 320. In addition, the control unit 350 stores position information indicating the current position of the autonomous moving device 10 received from the autonomous moving device 10 by the communication unit 310 in the device position information of the storage unit 330.

[0074] The control unit 350 also has a function as a transmission control unit that causes the communication unit 310 to transmit an instruction for an action to the autonomous mobile device 10 based on the action plan stored in the storage unit 330. For example, the control unit 350 causes the communication unit 310 to transmit an instruction for an action 1-1 to the autonomous mobile device 10A whose autonomous mobile device identifier is DA based on the fact that the execution condition 1-1 of the action plan AP1 is satisfied according to the action plan shown in FIG. 10. Thereafter, based on the fact that the execution condition 1-2 is satisfied, the control unit 350 causes the communication unit 310 to transmit an instruction for an action 1-2 to the autonomous mobile device 10A. The control unit 350 executes a determination as to whether the execution condition is satisfied for all the atomic actions included in the action plan AP1 in the same manner, and controls the transmission of the instruction for the action.

[0075] The control unit 350 also has a function as an identification unit that identifies the road surface illumination device 20 that is paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 that is the source of the location information received by the communication unit 310, based on the combination information stored in the storage unit 330. The control unit 350 controls the transmission of an illumination instruction to the identified road surface illumination device 20, based on the location information received by the communication unit 310.

[0076] More specifically, the control unit 350 judges whether the autonomous mobile device 10 that transmitted the position information has performed an operation indicated by an operation condition of the area condition information for a designated area Z indicated by any area condition information, based on the position information received by the communication unit 310 and the area condition information stored in the storage unit 330. When it is judged that the autonomous mobile device 10 that transmitted the position information has performed an operation indicated by an operation condition of the area condition information for a designated area Z indicated by a certain area condition information, the control unit 350 causes the communication unit 310 to transmit an illumination instruction to the road surface illumination device 20 that is paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 that transmitted the position information, in accordance with the action plan indicated by the area condition information.

[0077] For example, when it is determined that the autonomous mobile device 10 that has transmitted the position information has entered the designated area Z indicated by the designation method 1 and area information 1 of the area condition information SA1 shown in Fig. 11, the control unit 350 causes the communication unit 310 to transmit an illumination instruction to the road surface illumination device 20 that is paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 that transmitted the position information, according to the action plan AP8 indicated by the area condition information SA1. Note that, when the autonomous mobile device 10 that transmitted the position information is performing another action, the control unit 350 may cause the communication unit 310 to transmit an instruction to the autonomous mobile device 10 to interrupt the other action.

[0078] <Operation> The configurations of the autonomous mobile device 10, road surface illumination device 20, and control server 30 according to one embodiment of the present invention have been described above. Next, the operation of the control system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be summarized with reference to Figs. 12 and 13.

[0079] 12 and 13 are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the control system according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, the control unit 350 of the control server 30 registers area condition information SA1 and SA2 in the storage unit 330 (S204). Then, the autonomous mobile device 10 repeatedly transmits the position information of the autonomous mobile device 10 to the control server 30 (S208).

[0080] Thereafter, when an instruction to execute the action plan AP1 is input to the control server 30 (S212), the communication unit 310 of the control server 30 transmits an instruction to execute the action 1-1 included in the action plan AP1 to the autonomous mobile device 10 under the control of the control unit 350 (S216). Based on the reception of the instruction to execute the action 1-1, the autonomous mobile device 10 starts executing the action 1-1 (S220). The action 1-1 is, for example, movement to a specific position.

[0081] When the control unit 350 of the control server 30 recognizes, based on the position information of the autonomous moving device 10 repeatedly transmitted from the autonomous moving device 10, that the autonomous moving device 10 has entered the designated area Z indicated in the area condition information SA1 (S224), the communication unit 310 transmits an instruction to interrupt action 1-1 to the autonomous moving device 10 under control of the control unit 350 (S228). Then, when the autonomous moving device 10 interrupts action 1-1, it transmits a notification indicating that action 1-1 has been interrupted to the control server 30 (S232).

[0082] Next, the communication unit 310 of the control server 30 transmits an instruction to execute action 8-1 included in the action plan AP8 indicated by the area condition information SA1 to the autonomous mobile device 10 under control of the control unit 350 (S236). Based on receiving the instruction to execute the action 8-1, the autonomous mobile device 10 starts executing the action 8-1 (S240). The action 8-1 is, for example, a temporary stop for a predetermined time.

[0083] Furthermore, the control unit 350 of the control server 30 specifies the road surface illumination device 20 that will be paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 based on the combination information stored in the storage unit 330. Then, the communication unit 310 of the control server 30 transmits an execution instruction for the action 8-2 included in the action plan AP8 indicated by the area condition information SA1 to the road surface illumination device 20 that has been specified as the paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 under the control of the control unit 350 (S244). The road surface illumination device 20 executes the action 8-2 based on the reception of the execution instruction for the action 8-2 (S248). Then, the road surface illumination device 20 transmits an execution completion notification for the action 8-2 to the control server 30 (S252). The action 8-2 is, for example, the start of road surface illumination.

[0084] Thereafter, when the control server 30 receives a notification from the autonomous mobile device 10 that the execution of action 8-1 has been completed (S256), since all actions included in the action plan AP8 indicated by the area condition information SA1 have been completed, the control server 30 sends an instruction to the autonomous mobile device 10 to resume the suspended action 1-1 (S260).

[0085] Then, when the control unit 350 of the control server 30 recognizes, based on the position information of the autonomous moving device 10 repeatedly transmitted from the autonomous moving device 10, that the autonomous moving device 10 has exited the designated area Z indicated in the area condition information SA2 (S264), the communication unit 310 transmits an instruction to interrupt action 1-1 to the autonomous moving device 10 under control of the control unit 350 (S268). Then, when the autonomous moving device 10 interrupts action 1-1, it transmits a notification indicating that action 1-1 has been interrupted to the control server 30 (S272).

[0086] Next, the control unit 350 of the control server 30 specifies the road surface illumination device 20 that will be paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 based on the combination information stored in the storage unit 330. Then, the communication unit 310 of the control server 30 transmits an execution instruction for the action 9-1 included in the action plan AP9 indicated by the area condition information SA2 to the road surface illumination device 20 specified as the paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 under the control of the control unit 350 (S276). The road surface illumination device 20 executes the action 9-1 based on the reception of the execution instruction for the action 9-1 (S278). Then, the road surface illumination device 20 transmits an execution completion notification for the action 9-1 to the control server 30 (S280). The action 9-1 is, for example, the end of road surface illumination.

[0087] Thereafter, since all actions included in the action plan AP9 indicated by the area condition information SA2 have been completed, the control server 30 transmits an instruction to resume the suspended action 1-1 to the autonomous mobile device 10 (S282). Then, when the autonomous mobile device 10 completes action 1-1 and transmits a completion notification of action 1-1 to the control server 30 (S284), the control server 30 transmits an instruction to execute the next action 1-2 in the action plan AP1 to the autonomous mobile device 10 (S286), and the autonomous mobile device 10 starts executing action 1-2 (S288). Thereafter, actions up to action 1-N included in the action plan AP1 are executed in the same manner in sequence.

[0088] In the above, an example has been described in which the start and end of road surface illumination are realized by two actions, action 8-2 to start road surface illumination and action 9-1 to end road surface illumination, but the start and end of road surface illumination can also be realized by other methods. For example, by setting the content of action 8-2 to "execute road surface illumination for a specified period of time," it is possible to start and end road surface illumination with a single action 8-2.

[0089] <Action and effect> According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, various operational effects can be obtained. For example, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to realize road surface illumination around the autonomous mobile device 10 without implementing a new function in the autonomous mobile device 10. Therefore, business operators can easily introduce a control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0090] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the autonomous mobile device 10 can start or end road surface illumination when the autonomous mobile device 10 enters the designated area Z or when the autonomous mobile device 10 exits the designated area by using the area condition information. This allows power consumption to be reduced compared to when road surface illumination is always performed. Furthermore, by using the area condition information, it is possible to simplify the setting of an action plan compared to when area condition information is not used. This point will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 14.

[0091] Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a traveling environment of the autonomous moving device 10. Fig. 14 shows point A which is the current position of the autonomous moving device 10, point B which is the destination position of the autonomous moving device 10, route 1 and route 3 heading from point A to point B, route 2 and route 4 heading from point B to point A, point C which is a position where the autonomous moving device 10 enters the designated area Z if the autonomous moving device 10 proceeds along route 1, and point D which is a position where the autonomous moving device 10 exits the designated area Z if the autonomous moving device 10 proceeds along route 1.

[0092] In such a driving environment, an action plan for the autonomous mobile device 10 to move from point A to point B and then return to point A consists of 10 actions as follows, if area condition information is not used.

[0093] Action 1: Move from point A to point C Action 2: Start of road illumination Action 3: Move from point C to point D Action 4: End of road illumination Action 5: Move from point D to point B Action 6: Move from point B to point D Action 7: Start of road illumination Action 8: Move from point D to point C Action 9: End of road illumination Action 10: Move from point C to point A

[0094] On the other hand, when area condition information is used, it is sufficient to have an action plan consisting of two actions, movement from point A to point B and movement from point B to point A, and an action plan consisting of actions to start and end road surface illumination. In this case, the autonomous mobile device 10 may take either route 1 or route 3, and road surface illumination starts when it enters designated area Z, and ends when it exits designated area Z. It is not necessary to set area condition information for each autonomous mobile device 10 placed in the same driving environment.

[0095] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, when the autonomous mobile device 10 enters a designated area Z during autonomous movement according to an action plan, the control server 30 transmits an instruction to interrupt the action being executed by the autonomous mobile device 10, and then transmits an instruction related to road surface illumination. With this configuration, the road surface illumination device 20 can more reliably execute the operation related to road surface illumination at a position desired by the user.

[0096] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the user can use the user interface unit 320 of the control server 30 to set area condition information as appropriate according to the purpose, application, and the like.

[0097] <Modification> An embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In the following, some modified examples of the above-described embodiment will be described. Note that each modified example described below may be applied alone to the above-described embodiment, or may be applied in combination to the above-described embodiment. Also, each modified example may be applied in place of the configuration of the above-described embodiment, or may be applied in addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

[0098] For example, a place where it is not desirable to perform road surface illumination may be set as the designated area Z. If the road surface on which the autonomous mobile device 10 travels is translucent like glass, the laser light irradiated by the road surface illumination device 20 may hit a person on a lower floor. Also, if the road surface on which the autonomous mobile device 10 travels reflects light like a mirror or a puddle, the laser light irradiated by the road surface illumination device 20 may be reflected and hit a person. For this reason, by setting a place where the road surface is translucent or reflects light as the designated area Z and setting the area condition information so that road surface illumination is not performed in the designated area Z, it is possible to prevent the laser light from hitting a person.

[0099] In addition, the area condition information to be applied may be different for each autonomous mobile device 10. In this case, when a certain autonomous mobile device 10 enters a certain area, the road surface illumination device 20 mounted on the autonomous mobile device 10 illuminates the road surface, but even if another autonomous mobile device 10 enters the area, the road surface illumination device 20 mounted on the other autonomous mobile device 10 does not illuminate the road surface. For this purpose, the storage unit 330 may store area information by device.

[0100] FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of device-specific area information. As shown in FIG. 15, the device-specific area information includes an autonomous mobile device identifier, which is an identifier of the autonomous mobile device 10, an application condition, and an area condition information identifier. The device-specific area information shown in FIG. 15 includes an autonomous mobile device identifier DA, an application condition 1, and an area condition information identifier SA4. This indicates that when the application condition 1 is satisfied, the area condition information SA4, whose area condition information identifier is SA4, is applied to the autonomous mobile device 10A, whose autonomous mobile device identifier is DA. The application condition may be, for example, a condition that the autonomous mobile device 10 is equipped with a road surface illumination device 20, a condition related to weather, a condition related to the amount of passersby, or the like. In addition, there may be no application condition.

[0101] By using such device-specific area information, it is possible to realize the operation of road surface illumination suitable for each autonomous mobile device 10.

[0102] <Hardware configuration> Above, each embodiment of the present invention has been described. Information processing such as identifying the road surface illumination device 20 that is paired with the autonomous mobile device 10 and instructing the autonomous mobile device 10 and the road surface illumination device 20 to take an action is realized by cooperation between software and hardware. Below, a hardware configuration example that can be applied to the autonomous mobile device 10, the road surface illumination device 20, and the control server 30 will be described.

[0103] 16 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration 90. The hardware configuration 90 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 902, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 903, and a host bus 904. The hardware configuration 90 also includes a bridge 905, an external bus 906, an interface 907, an input device 908, a display device 909, an audio output device 910, a storage device (HDD) 911, a drive 912, and a network interface 915.

[0104] The CPU 901 functions as an arithmetic processing device and a control device, and controls the overall operation according to various programs. The CPU 901 may also be a microprocessor. The ROM 902 stores programs and arithmetic parameters used by the CPU 901. The RAM 903 temporarily stores programs used in the execution of the CPU 901 and parameters that change appropriately during the execution. These are connected to each other by a host bus 904 that is composed of a CPU bus and the like. The functions of the control unit 150, the control unit 250, the control unit 350, and the like can be realized by the cooperation of the CPU 901, the ROM 902, and the RAM 903 with software.

[0105] The host bus 904 is connected to an external bus 906, such as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect / Interface) bus, via a bridge 905. It is not necessary to configure the host bus 904, bridge 905, and external bus 906 separately, and these functions may be implemented in a single bus.

[0106] The input device 908 is composed of input means for the user to input information, such as a mouse, keyboard, touch panel, button, microphone, sensor, switch, and lever, and an input control circuit that generates an input signal based on the user's input and outputs it to the CPU 901. The user can input various data and instruct processing operations by operating the input device 908.

[0107] The display device 909 includes, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, a projector device, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) device, a lamp, etc. Furthermore, the audio output device 910 includes an audio output device such as a speaker and a headphone.

[0108] The storage device 911 is a device for storing data configured as an example of a storage unit according to this embodiment. The storage device 911 may include a storage medium, a recording device for recording data in the storage medium, a reading device for reading data from the storage medium, and a deleting device for deleting data recorded in the storage medium. The storage device 911 is configured, for example, with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), or a memory having equivalent functions. This storage device 911 drives the storage and stores the programs executed by the CPU 901 and various data.

[0109] The drive 912 is a reader / writer for a storage medium, and is built into or externally attached to the hardware configuration 90. The drive 912 reads out information recorded in a removable storage medium 84, such as an attached magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory, and outputs the information to the RAM 903 or the storage device 911. The drive 912 can also write information to the removable storage medium 84.

[0110] The network interface 915 is, for example, a communication interface configured with a communication device for connecting to the communication network 12. The network interface 915 may be a communication device compatible with a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), or a wired communication device that performs wired communication.

[0111] <Supplementary Information> Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such an example. It is clear that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modified or altered examples within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0112] For example, the steps in the processing of the control system in this specification do not necessarily have to be processed in chronological order according to the order described in the sequence diagram. For example, the steps in the processing of the control system may be processed in an order different from the order described in the sequence diagram, or may be processed in parallel.

[0113] It is also possible to create a computer program for causing hardware such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM built into the autonomous mobile device 10, the road surface illumination device 20, and the control server 30 to perform functions equivalent to those of the above-mentioned autonomous mobile device 10, the road surface illumination device 20, and the control server 30. A non-transitory storage medium in which the computer program is stored is also provided. [Explanation of symbols]

[0114] 10 Autonomous Mobile Device 110 Communications Department 120 Sensor section 130 Map information storage unit 140 Moving mechanism 150 Control section 170 Power supply section 20 Road illumination device 210 Communications Department 230 Irradiation unit 250 Control section 270 Power supply section 30 Control Server 310 Communications Department 320 User Interface Section 330 Storage section 350 Control section

Claims

1. a communication unit that receives location information of a mobile device having a moving function from the mobile device and transmits an irradiation instruction regarding irradiation of light to an irradiation device having an irradiation function mounted on the mobile device; A storage unit that stores information indicating a plurality of combinations of the moving device and the irradiation device; an identification unit that identifies an irradiation device paired with a mobile device that is a transmission source of the position information by referring to the storage unit based on the position information received by the communication unit; a transmission control unit that controls transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device identified by the identification unit based on location information received from the mobile device that is the transmission source; A control device comprising:

2. the storage unit stores area condition information in which a designated area, an action condition indicating entry or exit, and information indicating an action plan consisting of one or more actions are associated with each other; The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission control unit controls the transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device in accordance with an action plan associated with the designated area when the mobile device that is the transmission source performs an operation indicated by the operation condition for the designated area.

3. the mobile device moves autonomously in accordance with a set movement action; The control device according to claim 2 , wherein the transmission control unit controls transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device when the mobile device performs an action indicated by the action condition on the designated area during autonomous movement in accordance with the movement action.

4. The control device according to claim 3 , wherein the transmission control unit causes the communication unit to transmit an instruction to the mobile device to interrupt the movement action when the mobile device performs an action indicated by the action condition in the designated area during autonomous movement in accordance with the movement action.

5. the storage unit stores information associating the mobile device with the area condition information; The control device according to claim 4 , wherein the transmission control unit controls the transmission of the irradiation instruction to an irradiation device paired with the mobile device of the source of the transmission, based on area condition information associated with the mobile device of the source of the transmission, among the plurality of area condition information.

6. an operation detection unit that detects an operation by a user; a display control unit that generates a setting screen for setting the area condition information in accordance with the operation detected by the operation detection unit; The control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising:

7. A control system comprising an irradiation device and a control device, The irradiation device includes: An irradiation unit that irradiates light; a receiving unit that receives an irradiation instruction regarding irradiation of light from the control device; an irradiation control unit that controls the irradiation of light by the irradiation unit in accordance with the irradiation instruction; Equipped with The control device includes: a communication unit that receives location information of a mobile device having a moving function from the mobile device and transmits an irradiation instruction regarding irradiation of light to an irradiation device having an irradiation function mounted on the mobile device; A storage unit that stores information indicating a plurality of combinations of the moving device and the irradiation device; an identification unit that identifies an irradiation device paired with a mobile device that is a transmission source of the position information by referring to the storage unit based on the position information received by the communication unit; a transmission control unit that controls transmission of the irradiation instruction to the irradiation device identified by the identification unit based on location information received from the mobile device that is the transmission source; A control system comprising:

8. The control system according to claim 7 , wherein the irradiation device includes an engagement portion that detachably engages with the moving device.

9. receiving location information of a mobile device from the mobile device having a mobility function; Based on the received location information, identifying an irradiation device paired with the mobile device that is a source of the location information by referring to information indicating a plurality of combinations of the mobile device and the irradiation device that are stored in advance; Controlling transmission of an illumination instruction regarding illumination of light to the identified illumination device based on location information received from the mobile device that is the transmission source; A computer-implemented method comprising:

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