Support system

Abstract

To grasp the situation of a person requiring support at an early stage and deliver support supplies as necessary.SOLUTION: A support system for supporting a person requiring support includes: a portable terminal which notifies positional information on the person requiring support; a control section which controls operations of the support system; a first radio transceiver which communicates with a flying object; and a monitor section which outputs at least one of an image and voice acquired from the flying object by communication with the flying object. The control section controls start of the flying object on the basis of positional information on the portable terminal when receiving a message from the portable terminal, controls the image transferred from the flying object to be displayed on the monitor section and controls to enable voice telephone conversation between the flying object and the monitor section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a support system for supporting people who need support due to isolation caused by a disaster or the like. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, a person in need of assistance may become isolated due to the impossibility of using roads due to a disaster such as a landslide or earthquake. Conventionally, assistance is provided to the person in need of assistance after removing the obstacle that caused the isolation.

[0003] Background art in this field includes Patent Document 1 (JP 2020-52594 A). Patent Document 1 describes a disaster prevention information system that includes a disaster prevention information server managed by a local government and a terminal carried by a resident of the local government, in which the terminal holds a personal timeline that is a disaster prevention action plan for the user of the terminal, which is formulated for each disaster phase, and the disaster prevention information server distributes phase information indicating the phase of the disaster, and the terminal displays the personal timeline corresponding to the phase information in response to receiving the phase information from the disaster prevention information server. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-52594 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Conventionally, the obstacles that caused the isolation were removed before the damage situation was investigated and support was provided to those in need of support, so there was a delay in grasping the situation during isolation (number of people, damage situation, etc.), which meant that it took time to remove the obstacles, and in some cases support was delayed, and if isolation continued for a long time, problems such as loss of communication means and shortage of supplies occurred. Furthermore, because the amount of supplies stockpiled for those in need of support was unknown, there was a problem of not knowing what supplies should be delivered to those in need of support.

[0006] In addition, the technology described in the aforementioned Patent Document 1 displays a personal timeline corresponding to phase information to support the execution of the personal timeline, but does not take into consideration early understanding of the situation of those in need of support or the delivery of necessary support supplies.

[0007] The present invention aims to build a system that grasps the situation of those receiving support at an early stage and delivers relief supplies as needed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A representative example of the invention disclosed in this application is as follows: That is, a support system for supporting a person requiring support includes a mobile terminal that notifies the person requiring support of location information, a control unit that controls the operation of the support system, a first wireless device that communicates with an aircraft, and a monitor unit that outputs at least one of an image and a sound acquired from the aircraft through communication with the aircraft, and the control unit, upon receiving a report from the mobile terminal, controls the launch of the aircraft based on the location information of the mobile terminal, controls the monitor unit to display an image transferred from the aircraft, and controls the monitor unit to enable voice communication between the aircraft and the monitor unit.

[0009] In addition, in one example of the support system of the present invention, the mobile terminal notifies the control unit of location information acquired by a built-in positioning device, and the control unit stores the notified location information and information related to the mobile terminal in a database, and controls so that the database can be accessed from multiple monitor units.

[0010] In addition, in one example of the support system of the present invention, the control unit launches the aircraft using the location information of the mobile terminal as a destination, and notifies the mobile terminal of the launch of the aircraft, and the mobile terminal displays the location of the aircraft on a map using a link included in the notification of the launch of the aircraft sent from the control unit.

[0011] In addition, in one example of the support system of the present invention, the aircraft has a camera that photographs the surroundings, a microphone that acquires surrounding sounds, a speaker that outputs sound, and a second radio that communicates with the first radio, and the aircraft transfers images captured by the camera from the second radio to the control unit, outputs acoustic signals transferred from the control unit from the speaker, and transfers sounds acquired by the microphone to the control unit, and the control unit controls the images transferred from the aircraft to be displayed on the monitor unit, outputs the acoustic signals transferred from the aircraft from the monitor unit, and transfers the acoustic signals input to the monitor unit to the aircraft. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, the situation of a person in need of support can be grasped at an early stage, and support materials can be delivered as needed. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a support system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of a process executed by the support system of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a database according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart of a drone launch process according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart of a relief goods delivery process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a drone launch notification screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a drone position display screen in the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a support system according to this embodiment.

[0016] The support system of this embodiment is broadly divided into a mobile terminal 1 and a control unit 3 on the center side, and a database 4, a monitor unit 5, a wireless device 6, and a fire reporting system 20 are connected to the control unit 3. The control unit 3 can communicate with a drone 10 via the wireless device 6. The mobile terminal 1 and the control unit 3 are connected by a wireless communication line 7. The wireless communication line 7 may be a private or public wireless network such as WiFi, LTE, or 5G.

[0017] The mobile terminal 1 is a communication terminal device (e.g., a smartphone) having a positioning device such as GNSS, a radio device such as LTE or 5G, and a computing unit that executes a program. The mobile terminal 1 executes an application 2 that allows a user to report a request for assistance (e.g., a local government app for receiving services provided by a local government, a mountain climbing app that supports mountain climbing and can report information on a person in distress, etc.). A unique ID, name, email address, and phone number are set in the application 2 when the application 2 is first used. These setting information are transmitted to the control unit 3 at the time of reporting, which will be described later. When a user of this application 2 requests assistance, they become a person requiring assistance, and when rescue is required, they become a person requiring rescue.

[0018] The control unit 3 is configured by a computer having a processor (CPU), a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and a communication interface.

[0019] The processor is a computing device that executes programs stored in a memory. The processor executes various programs to realize various functions of the control unit 3. Note that some of the processes performed by the processor by executing the programs may be executed by other computing devices (e.g., hardware such as a GPU, ASIC, or FPGA).

[0020] Memory includes ROM, which is a non-volatile storage element, and RAM, which is a volatile storage element. ROM stores unchanging programs (e.g., BIOS), etc. RAM is a high-speed, volatile storage element such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores programs executed by a processor and data used when executing the programs.

[0021] The auxiliary storage device is, for example, a large-capacity, non-volatile storage device such as a magnetic storage device (HDD) or a flash memory (SSD). The auxiliary storage device also stores data used by the processor when executing a program and the program executed by the processor. That is, the program is read from the auxiliary storage device, loaded into the memory, and executed by the processor to realize each function of the control unit 3.

[0022] The communication interface is a network interface device that controls communication with other devices (mobile terminal 1, drone 10) according to a predetermined protocol.

[0023] The programs executed by the processor are provided to the control unit 3 via removable media (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.) or a network, and are stored in a non-volatile auxiliary storage device, which is a non-transitory storage medium. For this reason, the control unit 3 should preferably have an interface for reading data from removable media.

[0024] The control unit 3 is a computer system configured on one physical computer, or on multiple logically or physically configured computers, and may operate on a virtual computer constructed on multiple physical computer resources. For example, each functional unit may operate on a separate physical or logical computer, or multiple functional units may be combined to operate on a single physical or logical computer.

[0025] The database 4 is a storage area that stores data necessary for the control unit 3 to execute processing to support the rescue recipient. The configuration of the data stored in the database 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0026] The monitor unit 5 is a client device that outputs the results of calculations performed by the control unit 3, and is composed of an interface device that includes a display device that outputs the results of calculations performed by the control unit 3 and images captured by the drone 10, a speaker that outputs sounds collected by the drone 10, an input device operated by an operator on the center side, and a microphone that collects the voice of the operator on the center side. The support system may be configured so that the monitor unit 5 can access the control unit 3 having a web server function using a predetermined protocol (e.g., http). With this configuration, multiple monitor units 5 allow each user to access the database 4 by authenticating each user, and the support status of the person in need of rescue can be shared between users of multiple monitor units 5.

[0027] The radio 6 communicates with the radio 11 of the drone 10 via a private or public wireless network such as WiFi, LTE, or 5G.

[0028] The drone 10 is an air vehicle having a radio 11, a control unit 12, a drive unit 13, a speaker / microphone 14, and a camera 15.

[0029] The wireless device 11 wirelessly communicates with the wireless device 6 on the center side.

[0030] The control unit 12 controls the operation of the drone 10 (e.g., flying, taking images, communicating with people in need of rescue, etc.).

[0031] The drive unit 13 is a mechanical structural part of the drone 10, including the motor and propellers that fly the drone 10, and a mechanism for loading supplies to be transported to people in need of rescue.

[0032] The speaker / microphone 14 is an interface device consisting of a speaker that outputs voice or alarm sounds that have been pre-stored in the drone 10 or pre-stored in the control unit 3 or input to the monitor unit 5, and a microphone that collects sounds around the drone 10.

[0033] The camera 15 is an imaging device that captures images (still images, moving images) of the surroundings of the drone 10.

[0034] The firefighting notification system 20 is a computer system installed in a firefighting agency that receives rescue calls. The control unit 3 transmits to the firefighting notification system 20 information on the person in need of rescue (such as location information and details of the damage) and the destination of the launched drone 10.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of the process executed by the support system of the present embodiment.

[0036] A person requiring rescue, who is a user of the mobile terminal 1, starts up the application 2 on the mobile terminal 1 (S101) and reports a request for rescue (S102). The report screen of the application 2 has a situation input field, and after the person requiring rescue inputs the situation, a request for assistance is reported to the local government by operating the report button. The application 2 transmits a report to the control unit 3, including the setting information of the application 2 (unique ID, name, email address, phone number), the situation input by the person requiring rescue, and the location information acquired by the positioning device.

[0037] When the control unit 3 receives a report from the mobile terminal 1, it stores the contents of the report in the database 4 and determines the rescue request location stored in the database 4 as the destination of the drone 10 (S103).

[0038] Then, the control unit 3 transmits a launch command to the drone 10 to start flying toward the determined destination (S104), and notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has launched (S105). This drone launch notification may be sent to the application 2 by push notification, or may be sent by e-mail to an e-mail address stored in the database 4. Furthermore, a short message may be sent to a telephone number stored in the database 4. The drone launch notification may display that the drone 10 is heading toward the destination, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, and may further include a link to display the position of the drone 10. When the link to display the position of the drone 10 is selected, the position of the drone 10 and the position of the person requiring rescue (the rescue request position stored in the database 4 or the current position of the mobile terminal 1) are displayed on a map, as shown in FIG. 7, and an image captured by the camera 15 of the drone 10 is displayed.

[0039] When the drone 10 receives the departure command, it starts flying toward the destination (S106), and when it arrives at the destination, it transmits an arrival report to the control unit 3 (S107).

[0040] When the control unit 3 receives an arrival report from the drone 10, it notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has arrived at the destination (S108).

[0041] When the drone 10 arrives at the destination, it takes an image of the surroundings and transmits the taken image to the control unit 3 (S109). This image taking may be performed autonomously by the drone 10, or the drone 10 may take the image by determining the shooting direction according to an instruction from the control unit 3 (monitor unit 5).

[0042] The drone 10 also starts a session for voice data transfer with the control unit 3 (monitor unit 5) and starts a voice call (S110). This voice call may be started automatically by the drone 10 after arriving at the destination, or may be started according to a command from the control unit 3 (monitor unit 5). If the wireless device 11 of the drone 10 is a mobile phone terminal, the control unit 3 (monitor unit 5) and the drone 10 may be connected via a mobile phone line to realize the voice call. Instead of a voice call, a video call in which images and voice are transferred in both directions may also be used.

[0043] The control unit 3 refers to the database 4, determines the relief supplies to be delivered to the person in need of rescue, and instructs the drone 10 which relief supplies to load (S111). When the operator of the drone 10 loads the instructed relief supplies onto the drone 10, he or she operates the drone 10 to notify the control unit 3 that loading of the relief supplies is complete (S113). When the control unit 3 receives a notification that loading of the relief supplies onto the drone 10 is complete, it transmits a takeoff instruction to the drone 10 to start flying towards the destination (S114), and notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has departed (S115).

[0044] When the drone 10 receives the departure command, it starts flying toward the destination (S116), and when it arrives at the destination, it transmits an arrival report to the control unit 3 (S117).

[0045] When the control unit 3 receives an arrival report from the drone 10, it notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has arrived at the destination (S118).

[0046] When the drone 10 arrives at the destination, it may take an image of the surroundings and transmit it to the control unit 3, or may start a voice call with the control unit 3 (monitor unit 5).

[0047] In this way, the situation of the person in need of rescue can be grasped by viewing images of the person's surroundings and by talking to the person in need of rescue, and the necessary supplies can be delivered by drone 10.

[0048] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the database 4 in this embodiment.

[0049] Database 4 is a database that stores data necessary for the control unit 3 to execute processes to support the person in need of rescue, and stores data such as a unique ID, name, email address, telephone number, location of the rescue request, situation, required relief supplies, and contact information for family members.

[0050] The unique ID is an identification number uniquely assigned to the mobile terminal 1. The unique ID may be an identification number uniquely assigned to the application 2, or an identification number uniquely assigned to the user of the application 2. The name, email address, and phone number are the name, email address, and phone number of the user of the application 2, respectively. The family contact information is the status contact information such as the phone number and email address of the user's family. As described above, the unique ID, name, email address, and phone number are set when the use of the application 2 is started.

[0051] The rescue request location is location information of the mobile terminal 1 when the user (person requiring rescue) of the mobile terminal 1 reports a rescue request, and is expressed, for example, as latitude and longitude. The situation and necessary relief supplies are information that the user (person requiring rescue) of the mobile terminal 1 inputs into the screen of the application 2 when reporting the rescue request.

[0052] The database 4 may store images captured by the drone 10 (or link information for accessing the image data).

[0053] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the drone launch process executed by the control unit 3.

[0054] The control unit 3 waits for a rescue request from the mobile terminal 1 (application 2) (S201). When the control unit 3 receives a rescue request, it searches the database 4 with the unique ID included in the received rescue request, and writes information that was not registered at the start of use (location information, situation, necessary relief supplies) into the database 4 (S202). The latest information included in the received rescue request (unique ID, name, email address, phone number, location information, situation, necessary relief supplies, and family contact information) may be written into the database 4.

[0055] Then, the control unit 3 determines the location information included in the rescue request as the destination of the drone 10 (S203).

[0056] Then, the control unit 3 determines whether the automatic launch of the drone 10 is set (S204). The automatic launch of the drone 10 is set when the support system is constructed.

[0057] Then, if automatic launch of the drone 10 is set, the control unit 3 proceeds to step S205; if automatic launch of the drone 10 is not set, the control unit 3 requests the operator to approve the destination set in step S203, and after the operator approves the launch to the destination (S209), the control unit 3 proceeds to step S205.

[0058] Then, the control unit 3 sends a take-off instruction to the drone 10 to start flying toward the determined destination (S205), and notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has taken off (S206).

[0059] Then, the control unit 3 waits for an arrival report from the drone 10 (S207). When the control unit 3 receives the arrival report from the drone 10, it notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has arrived at the destination (S208).

[0060] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the relief goods delivery process executed by the control unit 3.

[0061] The control unit 3 refers to the database 4 and determines the relief supplies to be delivered to the person in need of help (S211). An operator at the center may determine the relief supplies by calling the disaster area or viewing images.

[0062] Then, the control unit 3 determines the location information included in the rescue request as the destination of the drone 10 (S212).

[0063] Then, the control unit 3 instructs the drone 10 which support supplies to load (S213), and waits for a loading completion notification from the drone 10 (S214). Upon receiving the loading completion notification, the control unit 3 transmits a take-off instruction to the drone 10 to start flying toward the destination (S215), and notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has taken off (S216).

[0064] Then, the control unit 3 waits for an arrival report from the drone 10 (S217). When the control unit 3 receives the arrival report from the drone 10, it notifies the mobile terminal 1 that the drone 10 has arrived at the destination (S218).

[0065] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modified examples and equivalent configurations within the spirit of the appended claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the configurations described. Furthermore, a part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Furthermore, the configuration of another embodiment may be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, a part of the configuration of each embodiment may be added, deleted, or replaced with another configuration.

[0066] In addition, each of the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware, for example by designing some or all of them as an integrated circuit, or may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function.

[0067] Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a storage device such as a memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive), or in a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

[0068] In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines necessary for implementation. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1. Mobile devices 2. Application 3. Control Unit 4 Database 5 Monitor section 6. Radio 7. Wireless communication lines 10. Drone 11 Radio 12 Control section 13 Drive unit 14 Speaker / Microphone 15 Camera 20 Fire reporting system

Claims

1. A support system for supporting a person in need of support, A mobile device that notifies the location information of a person requiring assistance; A control unit for controlling an operation of the assistance system; a first radio for communicating with the air vehicle; a monitor unit that outputs at least one of an image and a sound acquired from the aircraft through communication with the aircraft; The control unit is When receiving a report from the mobile terminal, control the launch of the aircraft based on location information of the mobile terminal; Controlling the monitor unit to display an image transferred from the aircraft; A support system characterized by controlling so that voice communication is possible between the flying object and the monitor unit.

2. The support system according to claim 1, the mobile terminal notifies the control unit of location information acquired by a built-in positioning device; The control unit is storing the notified location information and information related to the mobile terminal in a database; A support system characterized by controlling so that a plurality of said monitor sections can access said database.

3. The support system according to claim 2, The control unit is launching the aircraft with the location information of the mobile terminal as a destination; Notifying the mobile terminal of the departure of the aircraft The support system is characterized in that the mobile terminal displays the position of the aircraft on a map using a link included in a notification of the launch of the aircraft sent from the control unit.

4. 4. The support system according to claim 1, The aircraft has a camera that captures images of the surroundings, a microphone that captures sounds from the surroundings, a speaker that outputs sounds, and a second radio that communicates with the first radio; The flying object is An image captured by the camera is transferred from the second wireless device to the control unit; outputting an acoustic signal transferred from the control unit from the speaker; The sound captured by the microphone is transferred to the control unit. The control unit is Controlling the monitor unit to display an image transferred from the aircraft; An acoustic signal transferred from the flying object is output from the monitor unit; A support system characterized in that an acoustic signal input to the monitor unit is transferred to the flying object.

Images