Action estimation device, action estimation method, program, and action estimation system

Abstract

To detect the positional information of staff at higher accuracy, and make it possible to estimate action of the staff more appropriately.SOLUTION: An action estimation system 100 that estimates action of care workers who works in a nursing home comprises: UWB tags 10 which are provided at predetermined positions of the nursing home; a care worker terminal 20 having a sensor part 21 which performs UWB-method radio communication to acquire distance measurement information showing a distance and a direction between the care workers and the UWB tags 10; an action estimation device 30 which calculates the positional information of the care workers on the basis of distance measurement information acquired from the sensor part 21, and estimates action of the care workers; and a manager terminal 40. The action estimation device 30 is equipped with a control part 31 having a distance measurement information acquisition part 311, a positional information calculation part 312, an action estimation part 313, an action estimation result output part 314 and an action recording creation part 315.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a behavior estimation device, a behavior estimation method, a program, and a behavior estimation system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are known techniques for estimating the behavior of staff working in a facility based on the detection results of various sensors (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3, etc.). Patent Document 1 describes a behavior estimation device in which beacons are installed in each room of a care facility, signals emitted by each beacon are received by a receiver carried by a caregiver who is a staff member, and care behavior is estimated based on the reception results. Patent Document 2 describes a behavior estimation device that receives acceleration data output from an acceleration sensor worn by the caregiver and estimates care behavior based on the reception results. Patent Document 3 describes a behavior estimation device in which sensors are installed in patient rooms, etc. in a hospital, nurses carry transmitters, and the behavior of the nurses is estimated based on the reception results of the sensors. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-149242 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-79069 A [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 7137840 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Short-distance wireless devices such as beacons used in Patent Document 1 have low distance measurement accuracy, making it difficult to identify the location of a caregiver in a location where the straight-line distance is short, such as adjacent rooms. Acceleration sensors used in Patent Document 2 also make it difficult to accurately grasp the actions of a caregiver (the actions of a caregiver that can be accurately grasped are very limited). For this reason, these conventional technologies may not be able to properly estimate what care actions were performed for which care recipient and at which location. The technology described in Patent Document 3 requires expensive sensors to be installed in multiple locations, which increases the introduction cost and makes it possible to introduce it only in limited facilities.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to detect position information of staff such as caregivers with higher accuracy and to more appropriately estimate the actions of the staff. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the behavior inference device of the present disclosure is a behavior inference device that infers the behavior of staff working in a facility. This behavior inference device includes a control unit that acquires distance measurement information including a distance and a direction to one or more UWB tags, which is acquired by one or more sensor units carried by the staff members through wireless communication using a UWB system with one or more UWB tags provided at predetermined positions in the facility, calculates position information of the staff members based on the acquired distance measurement information, and infers the behavior of the staff members based on the calculated position information. Effect of the Invention

[0007] By configuring in this manner, it is possible to detect staff position information with higher accuracy and to more appropriately estimate staff behavior. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a behavior inference system including a behavior inference device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2]1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of installation of UWB tags in a care facility in the behavior estimation system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Diagram 3] Schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of the memory unit, where (a) is the data structure of the caregiver information memory unit, (b) is the data structure of the tag information memory unit, (c) is the data structure of the behavior pattern information memory unit, (d) is the data structure of the acquired information memory unit, and (e) is the data structure of the behavior estimation information memory unit. [Figure 4] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a calculation procedure of position information of a caregiver; FIG. [Diagram 5] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a calculation procedure of position information of a caregiver; FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a calculation procedure of position information of a caregiver; FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the behavior inference device. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of a position information calculation process. [Figure 9] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation procedure for the caregiver's location information, where (a) is the calculation procedure when the distance and direction to the UWB tag can be obtained, (b) is the calculation procedure when only the distance to the UWB tag can be obtained and the caregiver is in a shielded space, and (c) is the calculation procedure when only the distance to multiple UWB tags can be obtained and the caregiver is in an unshielded space. [Figure 10] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation procedure for the caregiver's location information, where (a) is the calculation procedure when only the distance to one UWB tag can be obtained and the caregiver is in an unshielded space, and (b) is the calculation procedure when the UWB tag cannot be detected. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] (First embodiment) The behavior estimation system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described as follows with reference to the drawings. The behavior estimation system 100 according to the first embodiment is a system that estimates the care behavior (assistance behavior) of a caregiver (caregiver) who is a staff member performing care work in a care facility 1. Furthermore, the behavior estimation system 100 according to the first embodiment is a system that creates a care record, which is a behavior record, based on the estimated behavior.

[0010] The field to which the behavior estimation system of the present disclosure is applied is not limited to nursing care, but can be applied to various fields such as medicine, childcare, customer service, and sales. For example, in the case of medicine, the behavior estimation system can be a system that estimates medical behavior performed by staff members such as doctors and nurses at a medical facility such as a hospital, toward patients, etc. In the case of childcare, the behavior estimation system can be a system that estimates childcare behavior performed by staff members such as childcare workers at a childcare facility toward children, etc. In the case of customer service, the system can be a system that estimates customer service behavior performed by customer service staff at commercial facilities, tourist facilities, etc. toward customers, etc. In the case of sales, the system can be a system that estimates sales behavior performed by sales staff at commercial facilities, etc. toward customers, etc.

[0011] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the behavior inference system 100 according to the first embodiment mainly includes a UWB tag 10, a caregiver terminal (staff terminal) 20 having a sensor unit 21, a behavior inference device 30, and an administrator terminal 40.

[0012] The UWB tag 10 is a tag that performs UWB wireless communication (ultra-wideband wireless communication) with the sensor unit 21. The communication range of UWB wireless communication is set to a radius of about 10 m, but it is capable of high-speed communication and distance measurement with centimeter-order accuracy. In addition, since the sensor unit 21 is a technology that uses a very wide band, it has very high discrimination performance between radio waves that arrive via multiple paths (multipath), such as radio waves that arrive directly and radio waves that arrive after being reflected by obstacles such as walls. Therefore, the sensor unit 21 can acquire distance measurement information with higher accuracy than when a beacon or Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the UWB tags 10 are installed at predetermined positions (e.g., walls, ceilings, etc.) in a plurality of locations in the nursing facility 1. More specifically, UWB tags 101-109 are installed on walls of rooms (1)-(9). UWB tags 110-112 are installed on walls of toilets (1)-(3). UWB tags 113-114 are installed on walls of bathrooms (1)-(2). UWB tag 115 is installed on walls of a rest room, UWB tag 116 is installed on walls of a linen room, and UWB tag 117 is installed on walls of a service station, etc. UWB tag 118 is installed on walls near an elevator, UWB tag 119 is installed on walls of stairs, and UWB tag 120 is installed on walls of a storeroom, etc. UWB tags 121-124 are installed on ceilings of common areas (1)-(4) such as corridors, lobbies, and dining rooms.

[0014] Living rooms, toilets, bathrooms, rest rooms, linen rooms, stairs, and storerooms are shielded spaces separated by walls and doors. However, when the doors of these rooms are open, they become unshielded spaces. In contrast, service stations, common areas, and areas near elevators are unshielded spaces because there are no walls or the like that block adjacent UWB tags 10.

[0015] The UWB tag 10 stores a tag ID, and transmits UWB radio waves including this tag ID within a predetermined detection range.

[0016] The caregiver terminal 20 is a terminal carried by the caregiver, and by receiving UWB radio waves from the UWB tag 10, it acquires distance measurement information including the distance and direction from the UWB tag 10, and transmits information including the distance measurement information to the behavior estimation device 30. The caregiver terminal 20 is composed of a smartphone. Note that the caregiver terminal 20 is not limited to a smartphone, and may be an information terminal such as a tablet terminal as long as the caregiver can carry it while performing care behavior, and may be a device equipped with only the sensor unit 21.

[0017] The caregiver terminal 20 is pre-installed with behavior estimation application software for the caregiver terminal 20. The caregiver terminal 20 is connected to the behavior estimation device 30 via short-distance wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or a telephone line so that they can transmit and receive information to and from each other.

[0018] The caregiver terminal 20 mainly comprises the aforementioned sensor unit 21, caregiver terminal control unit 22, distance measurement information memory unit 23, caregiver terminal display unit 24, and caregiver terminal input unit 25, but also comprises other components that are typically provided in a smartphone.

[0019] The sensor unit 21 is made up of a UWB sensor, and performs UWB wireless communication with the UWB tag 10 to obtain distance measurement information indicating the distance and direction to the UWB tag, as well as the tag ID.

[0020] The caregiver terminal control unit 22 is composed of a processor such as a CPU or MPU built into the smartphone. The caregiver terminal control unit 22 executes pre-installed behavior estimation application software and controls the operation of the caregiver terminal 20. The caregiver terminal control unit 22 stores the distance measurement information acquired by the sensor unit 21 in the distance measurement information storage unit 23 by linking it with a tag ID. In addition, the caregiver terminal control unit 22 transmits the tag ID, the distance measurement information, the acquisition time of the distance measurement information, and the terminal ID to the behavior estimation device 30. Furthermore, the caregiver terminal control unit 22 causes the caregiver terminal display unit 24 to display an operation menu operated by the caregiver and a care record generated by the behavior estimation device 30.

[0021] The distance measurement information storage unit 23 is composed of a memory or the like built into the smartphone, and the distance measurement information acquired by the sensor unit 21 is stored in the memory in association with the tag ID by the caregiver terminal control unit 22. The caregiver terminal display unit 24 is composed of a touch panel display, and displays an operation menu operated by the caregiver and care records under the control of the caregiver terminal control unit 22. This touch panel display also functions as the caregiver terminal input unit 25. The caregiver terminal input unit 25 accepts input of operations by the caregiver and outputs an operation signal to the caregiver terminal control unit 22.

[0022] The administrator terminal 40 is a device operated by a staff member of the nursing facility or a system administrator, and is set in a service station of the nursing facility or in a separate office. The administrator terminal 40 may be an information terminal such as a notebook PC or a desktop PC, but may also be a mobile information terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone. The administrator terminal 40 is connected to the behavior inference device 30 via a communication network such as the Internet so that they can transmit and receive information to and from each other.

[0023] The administrator terminal 40 includes an administrator terminal control unit 41, an administrator terminal storage unit 42, an administrator terminal display unit 43, and an administrator terminal input unit 44. In addition to the above, the administrator terminal 40 also includes devices that an information terminal includes, such as a microphone, a speaker, a camera, an A / D converter, a communication device, and a printer.

[0024] The administrator terminal control unit 41 is composed of a processor such as a CPU, an MPU, etc. The administrator terminal control unit 41 controls the operation of the administrator terminal 40. The administrator terminal 40 can access the behavior estimation device 30 via a communication network by using a general-purpose browser or by starting pre-installed behavior estimation application software, and can use the behavior estimation service.

[0025] The administrator terminal storage unit 42 is composed of semiconductor memories such as ROM and RAM, storage media such as memory cards, etc. The administrator terminal storage unit 42 temporarily or non-temporarily stores various programs and various data used for various operations in the administrator terminal 40.

[0026] The manager terminal display unit 43 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays an operation menu operated by the caregiver and care records under the control of the manager terminal control unit 41. The manager terminal input unit 44 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and receives input of operations by the manager, etc., and outputs an operation signal to the manager terminal control unit 41.

[0027] The behavior estimation device 30 is a device that calculates the caregiver's location information based on ranging information including the distance and direction to the UWB tag 10 and the tag ID acquired by the sensor unit 21 of the caregiver terminal 20 carried by the caregiver, and estimates the caregiver's behavior based on the calculated location information.

[0028] The behavior inference device 30 may be a cloud server (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "server") that uses a cloud computing service. The behavior inference device 30 may be a server owned by a provider that provides a behavior inference service, a company's own server, or a rental server. The behavior inference device 30 may be, for example, one or more server PCs or general-purpose server computers (mainframes), but is not limited to these.

[0029] The behavior inference device 30 mainly includes a control unit 31 and a storage unit 32, and also includes devices included in a server, such as a communication device.

[0030] The storage unit 32 is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a RAM, a storage medium such as a memory card, etc. The storage unit 32 temporarily or non-temporarily stores various programs and various data used for various operations in the behavior inference device 30. The storage unit 32 also includes a caregiver information storage unit 321, a tag information storage unit 322, a behavior pattern information storage unit 323, an acquired information storage unit 324, and a behavior inference information storage unit 325. (a) to (e) of Fig. 3 are schematic diagrams showing examples of data structures of the storage units (321 to 325).

[0031] As shown in Fig. 3(a), the caregiver information storage unit 321 stores a terminal ID for identifying the caregiver terminal 20, and caregiver information including the name or caregiver ID of the caregiver carrying each caregiver terminal 20. As shown in Fig. 3(b), the tag information storage unit 322 stores a tag ID for identifying the UWB tag 10, the location where each UWB tag 10 is installed (e.g., each location shown in Fig. 2, such as room (1) and room (2)), position coordinates that are position information of the location, tag information including a shielded state flag indicating whether the space is a shielded space, and a radio wave change feature amount at the location. For example, a flag indicating a shielded space and a flag indicating an unshielded space are set as the shielded state flag, and further, a flag indicating a place that is a shielded space when the door is closed but becomes an unshielded space when the door is opened, and a flag indicating a shared space that is basically an unshielded space but has been made a shielded space by installing a movable partition or the like can also be set.

[0032] The behavior pattern information storage unit 323 stores behavior pattern information (schedule information) of behaviors (care work) in the care facility 1. The behavior pattern information includes the time and the content of all behaviors in a day at the care facility 1, such as "10:00, toilet assistance for A" and "11:00, bath assistance for B" as shown in FIG. 3(c). Note that the behavior pattern information is not limited to this, and may include, for example, care recipient information such as a care recipient ID for each care recipient, and the time and the content of the behavior performed for each care recipient. Alternatively, the behavior pattern information may include, for each caregiver, caregiver information such as a caregiver ID, and the care recipient, time, and the content of the behavior that each caregiver performs.

[0033] The information in the caregiver information storage unit 321, the tag information storage unit 322, and the behavior pattern information storage unit 323 is registered by an administrator, a service provider, or the like from the administrator terminal 40 at the time of initial setting such as introduction or maintenance of the behavior estimation service.

[0034] 3(d), the acquired information storage unit 324 stores acquired information including the date and time when the distance measurement information acquisition unit 311, which will be described later, acquired the distance measurement information, and the position information acquired by the position information calculation unit 312 based on the distance measurement information. The acquired information is stored in the acquired information storage unit 324 by the position information calculation unit 312 for each caregiver.

[0035] 3(e), the behavior estimation information storage unit 325 stores behavior estimation information including the content of the behavior estimated by the behavior estimation unit 313 (behavior estimation result), which will be described later. The behavior estimation information is stored in the behavior estimation information storage unit 325 by the behavior estimation unit 313 for each caregiver, but may be stored for each care recipient. In addition, the behavior estimation information can be modified or added by input from the manager terminal 40 or the caregiver terminal 20.

[0036] The control unit 31 is configured with a processor such as a CPU, an MPU, etc. The control unit 31 may include a GPU, an FPGA, an ASIC, etc. The control unit 31 comprehensively controls the operation of the behavior inference device 30 by expanding a computer program stored in advance in the storage unit 32, for example, on the RAM of the storage unit 32.

[0037] In addition, by executing the behavior estimation program stored in the memory unit 32, the control unit 31 functions as a distance measurement information acquisition unit 311, a location information calculation unit 312, a behavior estimation unit 313, a behavior estimation result output unit 314, and a behavior record creation unit 315, as shown in Figure 1.

[0038] The distance measurement information acquisition unit 311 acquires the acquisition date and time, terminal ID, tag ID, distance measurement information, etc. from each caregiver terminal 20. The acquisition date and time is the date and time when the sensor unit 21 of the caregiver terminal 20 acquired the distance measurement information. The terminal ID is an identifier of the caregiver terminal 20. The tag ID is an identifier of the UWB tag 10 acquired from the UWB tag 10 by the sensor unit 21. The distance measurement information is information including the distance and direction to the UWB tag 10 acquired by the sensor unit 21.

[0039] The distance measurement information acquisition unit 311 acquires these pieces of information from the caregiver terminal 20 at a predetermined interval, for example, but not limited to, one minute intervals. The distance measurement information acquisition unit 311 may acquire these pieces of information at appropriate intervals, such as 30 second intervals, 10 minute intervals, 30 minute intervals, etc., may acquire these pieces of information almost continuously at shorter intervals, or may acquire them all at once after work is completed, etc.

[0040] The position information calculation unit 312 calculates the position information (position coordinates) of the caregiver carrying the caregiver terminal 20, based on the terminal ID, tag ID, and distance measurement information acquired by the distance measurement information acquisition unit 311. The position information calculation unit 312 stores the calculated position information and acquisition time in the acquired information storage unit 324 for each terminal ID (caregiver).

[0041] The position information calculation unit 312 acquires position information through the following acquisition procedure. First, the position information calculation unit 312 searches the caregiver information storage unit 321 using the terminal ID as a key to acquire caregiver information. Next, for example, when the caregiver terminal 20 acquires distance measurement information from one UWB tag 10 at a certain date and time, the position information calculation unit 312 searches the tag information storage unit 322 using the tag ID as a key to acquire the tag information of the UWB tag 10, and calculates the position information of the caregiver based on the position coordinates in the tag information and the distance and direction of the distance measurement information.

[0042] When the caregiver terminal 20 acquires tag IDs and distance measurement information from multiple UWB tags 10 at the same time, the position information calculation unit 312 calculates the position information of the caregiver based on the UWB tag 10 that is closest in distance. In another embodiment, the position information calculation unit 312 may calculate position information based on the acquired information of all UWB tags 10, and store the calculated multiple pieces of position information in the acquired information storage unit 324. In this case, the behavior estimation unit 313 may estimate a care behavior based on the multiple pieces of position information, and determine the degree of agreement of the estimated care behavior.

[0043] However, when the UWB tag 10 is installed at a predetermined location in the facility, it is difficult to obtain the location coordinates of the installation location in advance, and it is difficult to accurately grasp the location information of the caregiver at the coordinate level. In addition, since the caregiver terminal 20 carried by the caregiver is a smartphone, the antenna of the sensor unit 21 is provided on the back side of the smartphone. For this reason, if the antenna is not facing the direction of the UWB tag 10, the distance measurement information may not be properly acquired. In order to properly acquire the distance measurement information, the caregiver needs to point the antenna toward the UWB tag 10 every time he or she approaches the UWB tag 10. However, since the caregiver does not hold the caregiver terminal 20 in his or her hand during care work, but stores it in a pocket or the like, it is not realistic to always point the antenna toward the UWB tag 10.

[0044] To solve such problems, the position information calculation unit 312 of this embodiment calculates the position information of the caregiver as follows: When the caregiver terminal 20 detects a UWB tag 10 and then detects another UWB tag 10 a specific time later (e.g., several seconds), the range in which a caregiver or other staff member can move within that time is limited, so the tag distance between the two UWB tags 10 is narrowed down to a specific value.

[0045] 4, the area within a circle of radius R1 centered on the position of UWB tag 10 is the range in which UWB tag 10 can be detected by sensor unit 21. Then, after sensor unit 21 can no longer detect UWB tag 10, the area in which the caregiver may be present within the elapsed time S seconds is outside the detectable range, within a circle of radius R2 centered on the position of UWB tag 10, as shown in FIG. 4, from which the following formula (1) is derived. R2 = R1 + S × V (1) In the above formula, V is the walking speed of the caregiver.

[0046] As shown in Fig. 5, the distance between two UWB tags 10 (tags a and b in Fig. 5) is assumed to be X. If the caregiver terminal 20 detects tag b S seconds after it is no longer able to detect tag a, the following formula (2) can be derived from the positional relationship between tags a and b shown in Fig. 5. R1 + R1 ≦ X ≦ R2 + R1 (2)

[0047] By applying the above-mentioned formula (1) to the above formula (2), the distance between the two UWB tags 10 is narrowed down to the following formula (3). The position information calculation unit 312 calculates the relative coordinates between the UWB tags 10 based on this formula (3). 2R1 ≦ X ≦ 2R1 + S × V (3)

[0048] Similarly, by narrowing down the distances between multiple UWB tags 10, the angles between tags a and b and between tags a and c can also be narrowed down, as shown in Figure 6. As a result, the range in which tags b and c exist can also be identified. By doing this for various combinations of UWB tags 10 and narrowing down the distances between each UWB tag 10, the relative coordinates between each UWB tag 10 can be calculated.

[0049] Therefore, even if the distance measurement information to the UWB tag 10 cannot be properly acquired, the position information calculation unit 312 can calculate the position information (position coordinates) of the caregiver based on the relative coordinates between the UWB tags 10 calculated as described above. Specifically, "distance measurement information cannot be properly acquired" means, for example, that the distance measurement information cannot be acquired, that only the distance of the distance measurement information can be acquired but not the direction, etc. The details of the calculation procedure for the position information of the caregiver will be described in detail later.

[0050] The location information calculation unit 312 stores the calculated location information and acquisition date and time for each terminal ID (caregiver) in the acquired information storage unit 324. In the example of Fig. 3(d), for example, in the first record in the acquired information storage unit 324, the date and time is set to "2023 / 4 / 20 10:12", and the location information (location coordinates) indicating "A's room (1)" is stored.

[0051] The behavior estimation unit 313 estimates the behavior (care behavior) of the caregiver based on the acquired information including the position information of the caregiver calculated by the position information calculation unit 312. The behavior estimation unit 313 compares the date and time and position information of the acquired information with the behavior pattern information of the behavior pattern information storage unit 323 to estimate the care recipient for whom the caregiver performed the care behavior and the care behavior. For example, from the acquired information of "A's room (1) on 4 / 20 / 2023 at 10:12," "A's room (1) on 4 / 20 / 2023 at 10:18," and "A's room (1) on 4 / 20 / 2023 at 10:25" in FIG. 3(d) and the behavior pattern information of "A's excretion assistance at 10:00" in FIG. 3(c), the behavior estimation unit 313 estimates that the caregiver performed excretion assistance for the care recipient A from 10:12 to 10:25. The behavior estimation unit 313 stores the behavior estimation result in the behavior estimation information storage unit 325 (see FIG. 3(e)).

[0052] In addition, as another different embodiment, when a plurality of pieces of acquired information are acquired at the same date and time by a certain caregiver (caregiver terminal 20), the behavior estimation unit 313 can estimate each of the actions for the plurality of pieces of acquired information. Next, the behavior estimation unit 313 can calculate the degree of agreement between the plurality of estimated actions based on weighting or past actions, or by using AI, and estimate the action with the high degree of agreement as the action at the relevant date and time.

[0053] In addition, the behavior estimation unit 313 can update the behavior estimation information storage unit 325 when the behavior estimation information is corrected or added by an input from the manager terminal 40 or the caregiver terminal 20. This makes it possible to make the estimated care behavior more appropriate.

[0054] The behavior estimation result output unit 314 transmits the behavior estimation result by the behavior estimation unit 313 to the administrator terminal 40, and displays it on the administrator terminal display unit 43 of the administrator terminal 40. The behavior estimation result output unit 314 acquires behavior estimation information from the behavior estimation information storage unit 325, and transmits the terminal ID, the acquisition date and time of the behavior estimation information, and the behavior estimation result to the administrator terminal 40 for each terminal ID (caregiver). The administrator terminal 40 displays, for example, for each caregiver, the same content as the behavior estimation result information in FIG. 3(e), that is, the date and time when the care behavior was performed, and a list of the care recipient and the care behavior performed for the care recipient, on the administrator terminal display unit 43. The behavior estimation result may also be transmitted to the caregiver terminal 20 and displayed on the caregiver terminal display unit 24.

[0055] The administrator can check the behavior estimation result displayed on the administrator terminal display unit 43, and can also modify or add to the behavior estimation result from the administrator terminal input unit 44. The modified and added behavior estimation result is transmitted to the behavior estimation device 30 together with the terminal ID, and the behavior estimation unit 313 updates the behavior estimation information storage unit 325.

[0056] The behavior record creation unit 315 creates a behavior record based on the behavior estimation information estimated by the behavior estimation unit 313. Since the behavior estimation system 100 of this embodiment is a system for estimating nursing behavior in the nursing facility 1, a nursing record is created as a behavior record. In this embodiment, the nursing record is created by each nursing service provider for their own business, such as grasping the actual situation of the business, improving and streamlining, and reporting to the user's family, in order to provide better nursing services. Note that some nursing records are required to be created and submitted in order to claim nursing insurance premiums under the Nursing Care Insurance Act, and the nursing record created by the behavior record creation unit 315 can be used when creating such nursing records.

[0057] Conventionally, when a caregiver creates a care record, they usually write down notes by hand while or immediately after providing care, and then transcribe them into the care record system at the end of the workday. This means that there is a double effort of writing by hand and entering the notes into the care record system, which is not efficient. In addition, because it is difficult for caregivers to write detailed notes while providing care, there are many cases where they are unable to enter accurate records.

[0058] In contrast, in the behavior estimation system 100 of this embodiment, the behavior estimation unit 313 estimates the caregiving behavior of the caregiver based on the caregiving behavior of the caregiver. Therefore, the behavior record creation unit 315 can automatically generate a care record using the estimated caregiving behavior. Therefore, the behavior estimation system 100 of this embodiment can save the effort of handwriting and the effort of inputting into the caregiving record system, and can create a more accurate caregiving record based on the behavior of the caregiver. For example, the behavior record creation unit 315 can create a caregiving record in which the caregiving behaviors performed for all care recipients are described in a list, or a caregiving record for each care recipient, and can create a desired caregiving record corresponding to the care facility 1.

[0059] The created care record is transmitted to the manager terminal 40 and stored in the manager terminal storage unit 42, displayed on the manager terminal display unit 43, or printed from a printer provided in the manager terminal 40. The care record may also be transmitted to the caregiver terminal 20 and displayed on the caregiver terminal display unit 24.

[0060] An example of the operation executed by the behavior estimation system 100 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. When operating the behavior estimation system 100, it is assumed that UWB tags 10 are installed in each area of ​​the care facility 1, and that the power of each device, such as the caregiver terminal 20, the behavior estimation device 30, and the manager terminal 40, is ON. It is also assumed that a behavior estimation program is running in each device, and that the caregiver terminal 20 and the manager terminal 40 are connected to the behavior estimation device 30 so as to be able to transmit and receive data to and from each other.

[0061] First, an initial setting is performed when the behavior estimation system 100 is introduced or maintained. In the initial setting, caregiver information, tag information, and behavior pattern information are registered. That is, the manager, etc., inputs, from the manager terminal input unit 44 of the manager terminal 40, the terminal ID, the caregiver name, etc., which are caregiver information, the tag ID, the position coordinates, the obstruction state flag, etc., which are tag information, and the time and behavior information, which are pattern information.

[0062] Each piece of input information is transmitted to the behavior inference device 30. The control unit 31 of the behavior inference device 30 stores the input caregiver information in the caregiver information storage unit 321, stores the input tag information in the tag information storage unit 322, and stores the input behavior pattern information in the behavior pattern information storage unit 323.

[0063] A plurality of caregivers in the care facility 1 perform care activities while carrying the caregiver terminal 20 provided to each of them. During the care activities, when a sensor unit 21 built into each caregiver terminal 20 detects UWB radio waves from the UWB tag 10, the sensor unit 21 acquires the distance and direction to the UWB tag 10 as distance measurement information. A caregiver terminal control unit 22 of the caregiver terminal 20 stores the acquired distance measurement information and the acquisition time in a distance measurement information storage unit 23. The caregiver terminal control unit 22 transmits the distance measurement information and the acquisition time stored in the distance measurement information storage unit 23 to the behavior estimation device 30 every minute.

[0064] An example of the flow of the operation (behavior estimation method) of the behavior inference device 30 will be described as follows, using the flowcharts shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. In step S1 shown in the flowchart in Fig. 7, the distance measurement information acquisition unit 311 acquires distance measurement information, acquisition time, and tag ID from the caregiver terminal 20, and stores them in the acquired information storage unit 324.

[0065] In the next step S2, the position information calculation unit 312 calculates the position information of the caregiver based on the distance measurement information, acquisition time, and tag ID acquired in step S1. Details of this step S2 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 8 and Figs. 9 to 10.

[0066] In step S101 shown in the flowchart of Fig. 8, the position information calculation unit 312 determines whether a UWB tag 10 has been detected. This determination can be made based on whether the caregiver terminal 20 has acquired distance measurement information of any UWB tag 10 at a certain time. If it is determined that a UWB tag 10 has been detected (distance measurement information has been acquired) (YES), the program proceeds to step S102. If it is determined that a tag has not been detected (distance measurement information cannot be acquired) (NO), the program proceeds to step S109.

[0067] In step S102, the location information calculation unit 312 determines whether it has acquired the distance and direction to the UWB tag 10. If the distance and direction have been acquired, the program proceeds to step S103, and if only the distance has been acquired, the program proceeds to step S104.

[0068] In step S103, the position information calculation unit 312 identifies the specific position information (position coordinates) of the caregiver based on the acquired distance and direction. More specifically, the position information calculation unit 312 searches the tag information storage unit 322 using the tag ID as a key to acquire the position coordinates of the installation location corresponding to the tag ID, and identifies the position coordinates of the caregiver based on the position coordinates and the position and direction of the distance measurement information. For example, as shown in Fig. 9(a), if the caregiver is in the room (7) and the distance and direction to the UWB tag 107 have been acquired, the position information calculation unit 312 can identify the position information of the caregiver with high accuracy.

[0069] In step S104, the position information calculation unit 312 determines whether the installation location of the UWB tag 10 is obstructed based on the tag ID. More specifically, the position information calculation unit 312 searches the tag information storage unit 322 using the tag ID as a key, and determines whether the installation location corresponding to the tag ID is obstructed based on a flag indicating the obstruction state of the installation location. If it is determined that the installation location is obstructed (YES), the program proceeds to step S105, and if it is determined that the installation location is not obstructed (NO), the program proceeds to step S106.

[0070] Step S105 is a process for acquiring the position information of the caregiver when only the distance to the UWB tag 10 can be acquired and the installation location of the UWB tag 10 is shielded. For example, in a place shielded by a wall or a door, such as the bathroom (2) shown in FIG. 9(b), the state of the UWB radio wave changes as it passes through the wall or due to fixtures, equipment, etc. placed in the space. Therefore, the characteristics of the change are acquired for each shielded space and recorded in the tag information storage unit 322. From the characteristic amount of the radio wave change for each shielded space, the sensor unit 21 can appropriately identify the UWB radio wave from the UWB tag 10 installed in the shielded space. Therefore, even if only the distance can be acquired and the direction cannot be acquired, if it is known that the UWB tag 10 is installed in a shielded place, it is possible to identify that the caregiver is present at the place where the UWB tag 10 is installed. The position information calculation unit 312 acquires the position coordinates of the place corresponding to the tag ID from the tag information storage unit 322, and sets the position coordinates as the position coordinates of the caregiver.

[0071] In step S106, the position information calculation unit 312 determines whether the caregiver terminal 20 has detected multiple UWB tags 10. If it is determined that multiple UWB tags 10 have been detected (YES), the program proceeds to step S107, and if only one UWB tag 10 has been detected (YES), the program proceeds to step S108.

[0072] Step S107 is a process for acquiring position information of the caregiver when only the distance to the UWB tag 10 can be acquired, the UWB tag 10 is not blocked, and multiple UWB tags 10 are detected. Such a situation is, for example, when the caregiver is in a hallway (shared area), which is an unblocked space, as shown in Fig. 9(c).

[0073] In step S107, the position information calculation unit 312 calculates the positional relationship (relative coordinates) between the UWB tags 10 based on the obtained detection results of the multiple UWB tags 10 using the method described above with reference to Figures 5 and 6. The position information calculation unit 312 can calculate the position information of the caregiver based on the relative coordinates between the obtained UWB tags 10 (118, 123, 124) and the distances to each UWB tag 10 obtained by the sensor unit 21 using, for example, a three-point positioning method.

[0074] Step S108 is a process for acquiring location information of the caregiver when only the distance to the UWB tag 10 can be acquired, the UWB tag 10 is not blocked, and only one UWB tag 10 is detected. Such a situation is, for example, as shown in Fig. 10(a), when the caregiver is in a service station, which is an unblocked space, and immediately before that, in the living room (6).

[0075] In this step S108, the location information calculation unit 312 can calculate the location information of the caregiver using the method described above in Figures 4 to 6 based on the distance between the acquired UWB tag 10 (117) and the caregiver and the distance between the UWB tag 10 (107) detected immediately before detecting the UWB tag 10.

[0076] Step S109 is a process for acquiring the position information of the caregiver when the sensor unit 21 does not detect the UWB tag 10. Such a situation is, for example, as shown in Fig. 10(b), when the caregiver is located away from the detection range of the UWB tag 10 (121) installed in a corridor (shared area (1)) near a shielded space such as a room (1), or when the sensor unit 21 is not facing the UWB tag 10. Even when the UWB tag 10 cannot be detected in this way, the position information calculation unit 312 can calculate the current position information of the caregiver by multiplying the range in which the caregiver can move from the position of the caregiver detected (calculated) immediately before by the range in which none of the UWB tags 10 can be detected.

[0077] More specifically, the position information calculation unit 312 can use the method described above using Figures 5 to 6 to calculate the position information of the caregiver most recently acquired, that is, based on the detection range of the UWB tag 10 (121) in the shared area (1) (the range of the circle shown with diagonal lines in Figure 10(b)) and the range within which the caregiver can move from the position of the caregiver calculated based on the distance and direction from the UWB tag 10 (the range of the circle shown with dotted lines in Figure 10(b)).

[0078] The position information calculation unit 312 stores the acquired information, which links the position information of the caregiver calculated as described above with date and time, in the acquired information storage unit 324. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 3(d), the acquired information is stored as "Date and time: 2023 / 4 / 20 10:12, location information: A's room (1)", "Date and time: 2023 / 4 / 20 10:18, location information: toilet (1)", and "Date and time: 2023 / 4 / 20 10:25, location information: A's room (1)".

[0079] After the position information is acquired by the above steps S101 to S109, the program returns to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the behavior estimation unit 313 estimates the behavior of the caregiver. More specifically, the behavior estimation unit 313 estimates the behavior of the caregiver based on the position information of the caregiver acquired in step S2 and the behavior pattern information of the behavior (care work) in the care facility 1 stored in advance in the behavior pattern information storage unit 323. The behavior estimation unit 313 stores the estimated behavior of the caregiver in the behavior estimation information storage unit 325 in chronological order. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3(e), "Assisting with excretion for Mr. A from 10:12 to 10:20" is estimated from the acquired information exemplified in step S2 and "Assisting with excretion for Mr. A at 10:00" in the behavior pattern information storage unit 323 shown in FIG. 3(c).

[0080] In the next step S4, the behavior estimation result output unit 314 outputs the estimated information estimated in step S3. More specifically, the behavior estimation result output unit 314 acquires the estimated information from the behavior estimation information storage unit 325 in response to a request from the manager terminal 40, generates an estimated result screen to be displayed on the manager terminal display unit 43, for example, for each caregiver or each care recipient, and transmits it to the manager terminal 40. Upon receiving the input of this estimated result screen, the manager terminal control unit 41 displays the estimated result screen on the manager terminal display unit 43 and outputs it from a printer based on a print instruction. This allows the manager to check the behavior of each caregiver on the screen or on printed matter.

[0081] The administrator can also input an instruction to create and display a care record from the administrator terminal input unit 44 to the behavior estimation device 30. An operation signal by this input is transmitted to the administrator terminal control unit 41 or the control unit 31 of the behavior estimation device 30. Upon receiving the input of this operation signal, in step S5, the behavior record creation unit 315 creates a care record based on the behavior estimation information stored in the behavior estimation information storage unit 325. The care record is transmitted to the administrator terminal 40 and further to the caregiver terminal 20, and is displayed on the administrator terminal display unit 43 and the caregiver terminal display unit 24. The administrator and the caregiver can check whether the care was provided appropriately. The administrator can print and store the care record. The administrator can also appropriately process these care records and submit them to a government office or the like as "care records" under the Nursing Care Insurance Act.

[0082] Furthermore, the manager can modify or add to the care record from the manager terminal input unit 44 while checking the care record displayed on the manager terminal display unit 43. The input results of these modifications and additions are output from the manager terminal control unit 41 to the behavior inference device 30, and the behavior inference information storage unit 325 is updated by the control unit 31. Furthermore, the care record is displayed on the caregiver terminal display unit 24 of the caregiver terminal 20, and the caregiver may modify or add to it.

[0083] As described above, the behavior estimation device 30 of the first embodiment is a behavior estimation device that estimates the behavior of a staff member (caregiver) working in a facility (care facility 1). The behavior estimation device 30 includes a control unit 31 that acquires distance measurement information including a distance and a direction to a UWB tag 10 acquired by performing UWB wireless communication with one or more UWB tags 10 provided at predetermined positions in the care facility 1 using one or more sensor units 21 carried by the caregiver, calculates position information of the caregiver based on the acquired distance measurement information, and estimates the behavior of the caregiver based on the calculated position information. The control unit 31 includes a distance measurement information acquisition unit 311 that acquires distance measurement information, a position information calculation unit 312 that calculates position information of the caregiver based on the distance measurement information, a behavior estimation unit 313 that estimates the behavior of the caregiver based on the calculated position information, a behavior estimation result output unit 314 that outputs the estimated behavior estimation information to an external device (caregiver terminal 20, manager terminal 40, etc.), and a behavior record creation unit 315 that creates a care record based on the behavior estimation information.

[0084] The behavior estimation method of the first embodiment is a behavior estimation method executed by a control unit 31 of a behavior estimation device 30. This behavior estimation method includes a step of acquiring distance measurement information including a distance and a direction to a UWB tag, which is acquired by one or more sensor units 21 carried by a caregiver through wireless communication using the UWB system with one or more UWB tags provided at predetermined positions in a facility, a step of calculating position information of the caregiver based on the acquired distance measurement information, and a step of estimating the behavior of the staff member based on the calculated position information.

[0085] The program of the first embodiment is a program that causes a computer to execute each step of the behavior estimation method described above.

[0086] The behavior inference system 100 of the first embodiment is a behavior inference system that infers the behavior of a caregiver working in a care facility 1. This behavior inference system 100 includes one or more UWB tags 10 that are provided at predetermined positions in the care facility 1 and perform UWB wireless communication, one or more sensor units 21 that are carried by a caregiver and perform UWB wireless communication with the UWB tag 10 to acquire distance measurement information including the distance and direction to the UWB tag 10, and the behavior inference device 30 of the first embodiment described above.

[0087] Therefore, the behavior estimation device 30, behavior estimation method, program, and behavior estimation system 100 of the first embodiment can improve distance measurement accuracy by using UWB wireless communication, compared with indoor positioning technology and services using beacons, Bluetooth, etc. As a result, the behavior estimation device 30, behavior estimation method, program, and behavior estimation system 100 of the first embodiment can detect position information of the caregiver with higher accuracy and estimate the behavior of the caregiver more appropriately.

[0088] Furthermore, since the behavior inference device 30 etc. of the first embodiment are equipped with relatively inexpensive UWB tags 10 installed in various locations instead of expensive sensor units 21, the introduction cost for the facility that introduces the behavior inference system 100 of the first embodiment can be reduced.

[0089] Furthermore, the behavior estimation device 30 of the first embodiment and the like can acquire the positional relationship (relative coordinates) between the UWB tags 10 by having the caregiver carry the caregiver terminal 20 equipped with the sensor unit 21 and move around the care facility 1. As a result, even if the sensor unit 21 is not properly facing the UWB tag 10 and distance measurement information cannot be acquired, the behavior estimation device 30 of the first embodiment and the like can estimate the positional information of the caregiver in a situation where the UWB tag 10 cannot be detected with high accuracy from the range estimated from the positional information of the caregiver calculated based on the distance measurement information of the UWB tag 10 detected immediately before and the range where none of the UWB tags 10 can be detected. Therefore, the behavior estimation device 30 of the first embodiment and the like can detect the positional information of the caregiver with high accuracy and estimate the behavior of the caregiver more appropriately.

[0090] Although an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes that do not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure are included in the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 1: Nursing home 10: UWB tag 21: Sensor unit 30: Behavior estimation device 31: Control unit 100: Behavior estimation system 101~124: UWB tag

Claims

1. A behavior estimation device that estimates the behavior of staff working in a facility, One or more sensor units carried by the staff acquire distance measurement information including a distance and a direction to one or more UWB tags provided at predetermined positions in the facility through UWB wireless communication, Calculating position information of the staff member based on the acquired distance measurement information; A control unit is provided for estimating the behavior of the staff member based on the calculated position information. A behavior inference device comprising:

2. The facility is a care facility, and the staff are caregivers who perform care activities at the care facility. The behavior inference system according to claim 1 .

3. When the control unit acquires only the distance of one of the UWB tags as the distance measurement information and the UWB tag is installed in a shielded space, the control unit sets the position information of the shielded space as the position information of the staff member. The behavior inference system according to claim 1 .

4. When only the distances between the UWB tags are acquired as the distance measurement information and the UWB tags are installed in an unshielded space, the control unit calculates relative coordinates between the UWB tags based on the acquired distances, and calculates the position information of the staff member based on the calculated relative coordinates. The behavior inference system according to claim 1 .

5. When only the distance of one of the UWB tags is acquired as the distance measurement information and the UWB tag is installed in an unshielded space, the control unit calculates the position information of the staff member based on the distance measurement information of the other UWB tag acquired immediately before. The behavior inference system according to claim 1 .

6. When the control unit is unable to acquire the distance measurement information, the control unit calculates the position information of the staff member based on the distance measurement information of the UWB tag acquired immediately before, the elapsed time from when the distance measurement information was acquired until the present, and the walking speed of the staff member. The behavior inference system according to claim 1 .

7. A behavior inference device executed by a control unit of the behavior inference device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, a step of acquiring distance measurement information including a distance and a direction to one or more UWB tags provided at predetermined positions in the facility by one or more sensor units carried by the staff member through UWB wireless communication; calculating position information of the staff member based on the acquired distance measurement information; and estimating the behavior of the staff member based on the calculated position information. A behavior estimation method comprising:

8. A program executed by a computer, A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the behavior estimation method according to claim 7.

9. A behavior estimation system for estimating the behavior of staff working in a facility, comprising: One or more UWB tags that are installed at predetermined positions in the facility and that perform UWB wireless communication; one or more sensor units carried by the staff and configured to perform UWB wireless communication with the UWB tag to obtain distance measurement information including a distance and a direction to the UWB tag; The behavior inference device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A behavior estimation system comprising:

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