Maintenance task support device and maintenance task support method

Abstract

To appropriately assign an operator and a working robot to a maintenance work, while restricting a frequency of the maintenance work.SOLUTION: In a maintenance task support device (2), a judgement section (21) judges whether maintenance is necessary or not on the basis of input data that is at least either sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses a state of a maintenance object, or a maintenance implementation request for a maintenance object. A determination section (22) extracts, as dispatch candidates, a staff member who is associated with an area to which an attention maintenance object judged to be require maintenance belongs, from among staff members composed of operators and self-propelled working robots, and decides, if one or more working robots are included as dispatch candidates, one of the working robots as a dispatch staff member to be dispatched to the attention maintenance object and decides, if the dispatch candidates are composed of the operators only, one of the operators as the dispatch staff member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a maintenance work support device and the like for supporting maintenance work.

Background Art

[0002] In facilities such as office buildings and commercial facilities, generally, for example, workers are dispatched to maintenance targets such as passageways, rooms, toilets, windows, stairs, and various facilities, and maintenance work such as cleaning, replacement, inspection, and maintenance is performed.

[0003] Regarding cleaning, for example, a technique for determining a cleaner to be dispatched to a place where cleaning is requested is disclosed (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Recently, self-propelled work robots capable of performing maintenance work have emerged. However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not consider work allocation when both dispatchable workers and work robots exist.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention aims to appropriately allocate workers and work robots to maintenance work while suppressing the frequency of maintenance work.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a maintenance work support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention acquires sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of implementation requirements for maintenance in the maintenance target, and a determination unit that determines whether maintenance is required in the maintenance target based on the input data, and a determination unit that determines a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots, and each of the staff is associated with one or more corresponding operations and one or more dispatchable areas, and the determination unit extracts the staff for which the operation required for maintenance in the target maintenance target is associated and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs is associated as dispatch candidates, and when one or more of the work robots are included in the dispatch candidates, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatch staff, and when the dispatch candidates are only the workers, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatch staff.

[0008] Furthermore, a maintenance operation support device according to still another aspect of the present invention acquires sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of the implementation requirements of maintenance in the maintenance target, and determines whether maintenance is required in the maintenance target based on the input data. A determination unit, a determination unit that determines a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots, and a people flow information acquisition unit that acquires people flow information indicating the people flow at the location where the maintenance target is located. Each of the staff is associated with one or more operations that can be performed and one or more areas to which they can be dispatched. The determination unit extracts the staff associated with the work required for maintenance in the target maintenance target and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs as dispatch candidates. When the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidates, when the degree of the people flow in the target maintenance target exceeds a predetermined threshold, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatch staff, and when the degree of the people flow in the target maintenance target is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatch staff. When the dispatch candidate is only the worker, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatch staff, and when the dispatch candidate is only the work robot, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatch staff.

[0009] Moreover, a maintenance work support device according to still another aspect of the present invention acquires sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of a maintenance implementation requirement in the maintenance target, and determines whether maintenance is required in the maintenance target based on the input data. A determination unit, a determination unit that determines a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots, a position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff, and a crowd flow information acquisition unit that acquires crowd flow information indicating the flow of people at each of a plurality of predetermined points included in an area where the staff can move. Each of the staff is associated with one or more operations that can be performed and one or more areas to which the staff can be dispatched. The determination unit further determines the urgency of maintenance in the maintenance target based on the input data. The determination unit extracts the staff associated with the work required for maintenance in the target maintenance target and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs as dispatch candidates. When the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidates, when the urgency of maintenance in the target maintenance target is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatch staff. When the urgency exceeds the predetermined threshold, the shorter the required time for the movement calculated based on the distance from the current position to the target maintenance target and the crowd flow information at the predetermined points on the movement route, the higher the priority of the staff, and the dispatch staff is determined. When the dispatch candidate is only the worker, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatch staff. When the dispatch candidate is only the work robot, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatch staff.

[0010] In addition, a maintenance work support device according to another aspect of the present invention acquires sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of the implementation requirements of maintenance on the maintenance target, and determines whether maintenance is required on the maintenance target based on the input data. A determination unit, a determination unit that determines a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots, and a position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff. Each of the staff is associated with one or more corresponding operations and one or more dispatchable areas. The determination unit extracts the staff associated with the work required for maintenance on the target maintenance target and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs as dispatch candidates, and gives priority to the dispatch candidates with shorter required time for moving from the current position to the target maintenance target, and determines the dispatch staff. The required time of the work robot is calculated based on the moving speed of the work robot determined for each type of the work robot and the distance from the current position of the work robot to the target maintenance target. The required time of the worker is calculated based on the distance from the current position of the worker to the target maintenance target.

[0011] Furthermore, a maintenance operation support device according to still another aspect of the present invention acquires sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of the implementation requirements of maintenance in the maintenance target, and determines whether maintenance is required in the maintenance target based on the input data. A determination unit, a determination unit that determines a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots, a position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff, and a people flow information acquisition unit that acquires people flow information indicating the people flow at each of predetermined points included in the area where the staff can move. Each of the staff is associated with one or more operations that can be handled and one or more areas to which the staff can be dispatched. The determination unit extracts the staff associated with the operation required for maintenance in the target maintenance target and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs as dispatch candidates. When the dispatch candidates include the work robot and the worker, for the work robot included in the dispatch candidates, the distance from the current position to the target maintenance target and the shortest time required for the movement calculated based on the people flow information at the predetermined points on the movement route exceed a predetermined threshold value. In this case, any one of the workers included in the dispatch candidates is determined as the dispatch staff. When the shortest time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the work robot that moves in the shortest time is determined as the dispatch staff.

Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately allocate workers and work robots to maintenance work while suppressing the frequency of maintenance work.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in each embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0015] 〔Embodiment 1〕 An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

[0016] (Maintenance Work Support System) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of the maintenance work support system according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support system 1 of the present embodiment supports maintenance work in various facility PLs such as office buildings, factories, and commercial facilities. The above-mentioned maintenance work includes various maintenance methods according to various maintenance target MOs in the above facilities, such as cleaning of floors, toilets, stairs, handrails, etc., collection of garbage in trash cans, replacement of toilet paper, window wiping, lawn mowing, room tidying, inspection and maintenance of various facilities.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance work support system 1 includes a maintenance work support device 2, a sensor 3, an implementation request terminal 5 (information terminal), and a staff terminal 6. The maintenance work support device 2 determines the necessity of maintenance in the maintenance target MO based on various data acquired from the maintenance target MO via the sensor 3 and the implementation request terminal 5. Hereinafter, the maintenance target MO determined to require the above-mentioned maintenance may be referred to as "attention maintenance target MOI".

[0018] Next, the maintenance work support device 2 determines a dispatched staff to be dispatched to the attention maintenance target MOI from among the staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots 6b. Then, the maintenance work support device 2 instructs the maintenance work in the attention maintenance target MOI to the staff terminal 6 of the above-mentioned dispatched staff among the worker terminal 6a and the staff terminal 6 composed of the above-mentioned work robot 6b. As a result, the above-mentioned dispatched staff moves to the attention maintenance target MOI and performs maintenance work.

[0019] The maintenance work support device 2 is communicably connected to the sensor 3 and the implementation request terminal 5 via a communication network (not shown) such as the Internet. Also, the maintenance work support device 2 is communicably connected to the staff terminal 6 via a communication network (not shown) such as the Internet.

[0020] The staff terminal 6 preferably detects its current position using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), an indoor positioning system such as IPS (Indoor Positioning System), or the like, and transmits data indicating the current position to the maintenance work support device 2. Further, the worker terminal 6a preferably acquires the work status of maintenance by the worker through the operation of the worker and transmits it to the maintenance work support device 2. Further, the work robot 6b preferably transmits the work status of maintenance to the maintenance work support device 2 periodically. The work robot 6b may be a vacuum robot, a scrubber robot, a toilet cleaning robot, a staircase cleaning robot, a window wiping robot, a lawn mowing robot, etc., according to the type of maintenance.

[0021] The sensor 3 senses the state of the maintenance target MO. Typical examples of the sensor 3 are a dust sensor, a water wetting sensor, an odor sensor, etc. The sensor 3 transmits the sensor data obtained by the above sensing to the maintenance work support device 2. The sensor 3 may be a sensor provided in the work robot 6b, or a sensor installed in the vicinity of the maintenance target MO. Further, the sensor 3 may be a camera, and in this case, the above sensor data may be image data obtained by photographing the state of the maintenance target MO with the above camera.

[0022] Furthermore, the sensor 3 includes a crowd flow sensor that detects the crowd flow at the location where the maintenance target MO is located and a people count sensor that counts the number of people. Note that a camera may be provided in place of the crowd flow sensor or the people count sensor, and the maintenance work support device 2 may process the image of the camera to detect the crowd flow or the number of people.

[0023] Note that inspection result data obtained by inspecting the degree of contamination of the MO to be maintained may be transmitted to the maintenance work support device 2. The above inspection may be a wiping inspection. The above wiping inspection may be an ATP wiping inspection that quantifies based on the amount of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

[0024] In addition, the above wiping inspection may be an inspection that quantifies based on the amount of at least one of ATP, ADP (adenosine diphosphate), and AMP (adenosine monophosphate), or the total amount of at least two of them. Further, the above wiping inspection may be an inspection that quantifies based on the number of microorganisms. Further, the above inspection may be an inspection that uses a particle counter to count the particles in the space of the MO to be maintained. Note that the wiping inspection may be performed by a person or by the work robot 6b.

[0025] The implementation request terminal 5 is for receiving an operation for requesting maintenance on the MO to be maintained. When the implementation request terminal 5 receives the above operation, it transmits a maintenance implementation request for the MO to be maintained to the maintenance work support device 2. The implementation request terminal 5 may be a fixed terminal installed near the MO to be maintained, or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. In the case of a mobile terminal, the above operation may be received by the mobile terminal reading an information code (for example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark)) installed near the MO to be maintained. Further, the above operation may be received by a dedicated application executed on the implementation request terminal 5. Further, the implementation request terminal 5 may receive the content of the above maintenance (such as cleaning and garbage collection) from the user and transmit the content of the above maintenance to the maintenance work support device 2.

[0026] Hereinafter, the above sensor data and the above maintenance implementation request are collectively referred to as "input data".

[0027] (Maintenance Work Support Device) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the maintenance work support apparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance work support apparatus 2 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 11, and a communication unit 12.

[0028] The control unit 10 comprehensively controls the operations of various components of the maintenance work support apparatus 2, and is configured by, for example, a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory. Then, the operation control of various components is performed by causing the computer to execute a control program. The details of the control unit 10 will be described later.

[0029] The storage unit 11 records information and is configured by a storage device such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The communication unit 12 transmits and receives information to and from the sensor 3, the implementation request terminal 5, and the staff terminal 6 via a communication network (not shown). The communication unit 12 includes a communication device such as a transmission and reception circuit.

[0030] In the present embodiment, the control unit 10 includes a data acquisition unit 20, a determination unit 21, and a decision unit 22. The storage unit 11 stores a maintenance table 30 and a staff table 31.

[0031] (Maintenance Table) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the maintenance table 30 in a tabular format. As shown in FIG. 3, for each sensor 3, the maintenance table 30 includes, as maintenance data, the identification information (ID) of the sensor 3, the name of the sensor 3, the area AR including the maintenance target MO that is the detection target of the sensor 3, the maintenance target MO, the type of the necessity of maintenance obtained by the sensor 3, the implementation conditions of the maintenance, and the work required for the maintenance. Note that the maintenance target MO may include information on the area AR.

[0032] The necessity degree of the above-mentioned maintenance indicates the degree of necessity for maintenance. As an example, the above necessity degree may be expressed in 100 levels. In this case, the case where maintenance is not required may be set as 0, and the case where maintenance is definitely required may be set as 100. The necessity degree of the above-mentioned maintenance includes the degree of dust deposition on the floor, stairs, etc., the degree of dirt on the floor, toilet, stairs, handrails, etc., the degree of garbage deposition in the trash can, the degree of decrease (remaining amount) of toilet paper, the degree of decrease (remaining amount) of liquid soap for hand washing, etc.

[0033] For example, the above deposition degree and the above dirt degree may be obtained based on the comparison result between the current image and the past image captured by the camera which is the sensor 3. Also, the above deposition degree and the above dirt degree may be obtained based on the sensor data of the dust sensor installed in the work robot 6b that performs the cleaning work. For example, the above garbage deposition degree may be obtained based on the sensor data of the level sensor which is the sensor 3 installed in the above trash can (in the example of FIG. 3, the trash can sensor). Also, the above degree of decrease of the toilet paper may be obtained based on the sensor data of the level sensor which is the sensor 3 installed in the above toilet paper (in the example of FIG. 3, the toilet sensor). Also, the above degree of decrease of the liquid soap for hand washing may be obtained based on the sensor data of the level sensor which is the sensor 3 installed in the container of the above liquid soap.

[0034] The above maintenance implementation conditions are the necessity degree conditions for implementing the above maintenance. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, when the dust deposition degree from the sensor A is 90% or more, cleaning maintenance will be implemented at the entrance where the sensor A is located.

[0035] In addition, for each of the above fixed terminals for implementation requirements, the maintenance table 30 includes the ID of the above solid terminal, the name of the above fixed terminal, the area AR including the maintenance target MO where the above fixed terminal is located, the above maintenance target MO, the type of necessity, the implementation conditions of maintenance, and the work required for the above maintenance. Further, for each of the above information codes for implementation requirements, the maintenance table 30 includes the ID of the above information code, the name of the above information code, the area AR including the maintenance target MO where the above information code is located, the above maintenance target MO, the type of necessity, the implementation conditions of maintenance, and the work required for the above maintenance.

[0036] In the example of FIG. 3, the work robot A uses a dust sensor to obtain the degree of floor contamination before the work robot A performs cleaning and the degree of contamination when the work robot A only moves without performing cleaning. When the degree of contamination is equal to or higher than the threshold value (80%), the maintenance work support device 2 determines that it is necessary to clean the floor of the area AR including the position of the work robot A.

[0037] In addition, the work robot B uses a dust sensor to obtain the degree of floor contamination immediately after the work robot B performs cleaning. When the degree of contamination is equal to or higher than the threshold value (30%), the maintenance work support device 2 determines that the cleaning by the work robot B was insufficient and that it is necessary to clean the floor of the area AR including the position of the work robot B. At this time, the maintenance work support device 2 may instruct the work robot B to perform cleaning again, or may instruct a work robot having a higher cleaning ability than the work robot B to perform cleaning.

[0038] In the case of the above implementation requirements, the type of the above necessity level is the number of implementation requirements per day. For example, the users of the meeting room are relatively few and easy to identify. Therefore, the implementation requirements from the meeting room have a relatively high reliability. Thus, in the example of FIG. 3, for the implementation requirement A where the area AR is Meeting Room 1, the maintenance implementation condition is set such that the number of implementation requirements per day is 1 or more. Therefore, when the maintenance service support device 2 receives the implementation requirement A from Meeting Room 1, it determines that maintenance is necessary.

[0039] On the other hand, the users of the toilet are numerous and difficult to identify. Therefore, the implementation requirements from the toilet have a relatively low reliability. Thus, in the example of FIG. 3, for the implementation requirement B where the area AR is Toilet A, the maintenance implementation condition is set such that the number of implementation requirements per day is 3 or more. Therefore, when the maintenance service support device 2 receives the implementation requirement B from Toilet A three times a day, it determines that maintenance is necessary.

[0040] (Staff Table) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the staff table 31 in tabular form. As shown in FIG. 4, the staff table 31 includes, for each staff, the ID, name, dispatchable area, applicable target, and applicable work of the above staff as staff data. The above dispatchable area is one or more areas AR where the above staff can be dispatched. The above applicable target is one or more maintenance targets MO where the above staff can be applicable. The above applicable work is one or more maintenance works where the above staff can be applicable.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 4, working robots 6b such as vacuum robots and scrubber robots are restricted in the dispatchable area, the applicable targets, and the applicable operations. For example, since it is difficult for the working robot 6b to move between floors, the dispatchable area is often limited to the floor where the working robot 6b is located. In addition, a scrubber robot can handle hard floors such as flooring and tiles, but has difficulty handling soft floors such as carpets and tatami mats. Also, the dispatchable area of a toilet cleaning robot is limited to the toilet. On the other hand, although workers often do not have such restrictions, the dispatchable area and applicable operations may be restricted depending on proficiency, ability, gender, etc.

[0042] (Data acquisition unit) The data acquisition unit 20 acquires input data that is at least one of sensor data from the sensor 3 and a maintenance implementation request from the implementation request terminal 5. The data acquisition unit 20 sends the input data to the determination unit 21. The sensor data includes the ID of the sensor 3 and the degree of necessity of maintenance obtained by the sensor 3. The implementation request includes the ID of the fixed terminal or the ID of the identification code.

[0043] (Determination unit) The determination unit 21 refers to the maintenance table 30 stored in the storage unit 11 and determines whether maintenance is required for the maintenance target MO based on the input data from the data acquisition unit 20. The determination unit 21 sends the determination result to the decision unit 22.

[0044] Specifically, the determination unit 21 refers to the maintenance table 30 and extracts maintenance data corresponding to the ID included in the input data from the data acquisition unit 20. Next, the determination unit 21 determines that the maintenance is required when the degree of necessity of maintenance in the maintenance data satisfies the maintenance implementation conditions in the maintenance data.

[0045] (Decision unit) The determination unit 22 determines the dispatched staff to be dispatched to the target MOI for maintenance that has been determined by the determination unit 21 to require maintenance from among the staff composed of workers and work robots. The determination unit 22 instructs the staff terminal 6 of the dispatched staff via the communication unit 12 to perform maintenance work on the target MOI for maintenance.

[0046] In the present embodiment, the determination unit 22 first refers to the maintenance table 30 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts the area to which the target MOI for maintenance belongs and the work required for maintenance on the target MOI for maintenance. Next, the determination unit 22 refers to the staff table 31 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts, as dispatch candidates, the staff who include the above work as work that can be handled and include the above area as an area to which dispatch is possible.

[0047] Next, when one or more work robots 6b are included in the dispatch candidates, the determination unit 22 refers to the staff table 31 and determines any one of the work robots 6b as the dispatched staff. On the other hand, when the dispatch candidates are only the above workers, the determination unit 22 determines any one of the workers as the dispatched staff.

[0048] According to the above configuration, the dispatched staff is dispatched only to the target MOI for maintenance that has been determined to require maintenance. As a result, the occurrence of inefficient maintenance work such as insufficient maintenance or excessive maintenance is suppressed, and the frequency of maintenance work is optimized. Moreover, according to the above configuration, when a work robot 6b is included in the dispatch candidates, even if a worker is included in the dispatch candidates, any one of the work robots 6b is determined as the dispatched staff, so the worker is not dispatched. Therefore, the dispatch frequency of the worker can be reduced, and consequently, the number of workers to be secured for the maintenance work can be reduced.

[0049] (Maintenance work support process) Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the maintenance work support process (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support apparatus 2 of the present embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, first, the data acquisition unit 20 acquires input data that is at least one of sensor data from the sensor 3 and a maintenance execution request from the execution request terminal 5 (S10).

[0050] Next, the determination unit 21 refers to the maintenance table 30 in the storage unit 11 and extracts maintenance data corresponding to the ID included in the input data (S11). Next, when the necessity of maintenance in the maintenance data satisfies the maintenance execution conditions in the maintenance data, the determination unit 21 determines that the maintenance is required (S12).

[0051] Next, the determination unit 22 refers to the maintenance table 30 in the storage unit 11 and extracts the area to which the target MOI for the maintenance to be performed belongs and the work required for the maintenance on the target MOI for the maintenance to be performed (S13). Next, the determination unit 22 refers to the staff table 31 in the storage unit 11 and extracts, as dispatch candidates, staff members who include the work as work that can be handled and include the area as an area where dispatch is possible (S14).

[0052] Next, the determination unit 22 determines whether one or more work robots 6b are included in the dispatch candidates (S15). If one or more work robots 6b are included in the dispatch candidates (YES in S15), the determination unit 22 determines one of the work robots 6b as the dispatched staff (S16). Then, the process proceeds to step S18. On the other hand, if the dispatch candidates are only workers (NO in S15), the determination unit 22 determines one of the workers who are the dispatch candidates as the dispatched staff (S17). Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0053] In step S18, the determination unit 22 instructs the staff terminal 6 of the dispatched staff to perform maintenance work on the maintenance target MOI of interest. After that, the above maintenance work support process ends.

[0054] (Modification Example 1-1) The data acquisition unit 20 (crowd flow information acquisition unit) may further acquire crowd flow information indicating the flow of people at the location where the maintenance target MO is located. The crowd flow information may be information that can grasp the degree of congestion at the above location, such as the occupancy rate of toilets, the number of users, etc.

[0055] Also, for each degree of the above crowd flow, the attributes of the suitable work robot 6b may be determined in advance. In this case, when the dispatch candidates include multiple types of work robots 6b, the determination unit 22 may determine, as the above dispatched staff, a work robot 6b having an attribute determined according to the degree of crowd flow in the maintenance target MOI of interest.

[0056] In the example of FIG. 4, the vacuum robot is a work robot 6b having a vacuum function as an attribute, and the scrubber robot is a work robot 6b having a scrubber function as an attribute. Also, the vacuum robot and the scrubber robot can handle floor cleaning. And assuming that the maintenance required for the maintenance target MOI of interest is the cleaning of the floor at the entrance. In this case, the determination unit 22 will include the vacuum robot and the scrubber robot in the above dispatch candidates.

[0057] The scrubber robot has a higher cleaning effect than the vacuum robot, but since water residue is likely to occur, the floor after cleaning may be slippery. Therefore, cleaning by the scrubber robot in a crowded place is not desirable.

[0058] Therefore, when the degree of the flow of people in the target MOI for maintenance is higher than a predetermined threshold value with reference to the people flow information from the data acquisition unit 20, the determination unit 22 determines the vacuum robot as the above dispatch staff. On the other hand, when the degree of the flow of people in the target MOI for maintenance is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value, the determination unit 22 determines the scrubber robot as the above dispatch staff.

[0059] (Modification Example 1-2) When the determination unit 21 further determines the necessity of maintenance in the target MO for maintenance based on the above input data, and when the attributes of the suitable work robot 6b are predetermined for each degree of necessity, if the dispatch candidates include multiple types of work robots 6b, the determination unit 22 may determine, as the above dispatch staff, the work robot 6b having an attribute determined according to the degree of necessity in the target MOI for maintenance.

[0060] For example, when the degree of necessity in the target MOI for maintenance from the determination unit 21 is higher than a predetermined threshold value, the determination unit 22 determines the scrubber robot as the above dispatch staff. On the other hand, when the degree of necessity in the target MOI for maintenance is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value, the determination unit 22 determines the vacuum robot as the above dispatch staff.

[0061] [Embodiment 2] Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0062] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the maintenance work support device 2 in the maintenance work support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment is different from the maintenance work support device 2 shown in FIG. 2 in that the control unit 10 further includes a position acquisition unit 23 and the control unit 10 includes a determination unit 24 instead of the determination unit 22, and the other configurations are the same.

[0063] The position acquisition unit 23 acquires the current position of each staff member from the staff terminal 6 via the communication unit 12. The position acquisition unit 23 sends the acquired current position of each staff member to the determination unit 24. The determination unit 24 is different in that when determining the dispatched staff, it gives priority to the dispatch candidates with shorter distances to move from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI compared to the determination unit 22 shown in FIG. 2, and other operations are the same.

[0064] According to the above configuration, the dispatched staff can be quickly dispatched to the target maintenance object MOI.

[0065] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the maintenance work support process (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment. The maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 7 is different in that steps S20 and S21 are provided instead of steps S16 and S17 compared to the maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 5, and other processes are the same.

[0066] In step S20, similar to step S16, when one or more work robots 6b are included in the above dispatch candidates (YES in S15), the determination unit 24 determines any one of the work robots 6b as the dispatched staff. At this time, the determination unit 24 gives priority to the dispatch candidates with shorter distances to move from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI. Then, it proceeds to step S18.

[0067] In step S21, similar to step S17, when the above dispatch candidates are only workers (NO in S15), the determination unit 24 determines any one of the workers who are the above dispatch candidates as the dispatched staff. At this time, the determination unit 24 gives priority to the dispatch candidates with shorter distances to move from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI. Then, it proceeds to step S18.

[0068] (Modification Example 2-1) The determination unit 24 may determine the dispatch candidate with the shortest distance to move from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI as the dispatched staff.

[0069] (Modification Example 2-2) When a plurality of work robots 6b are included in the above-mentioned dispatch candidates, the determination unit 24 calculates the required time for each of the plurality of work robots 6b to move from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI, and gives priority to the work robot 6b with the shorter required time, and may determine it as the above-mentioned dispatch staff.

[0070] Furthermore, when the data acquisition unit 20 (crowd flow information acquisition unit) acquires crowd flow information indicating the crowd flow at each predetermined point included in the area AR where the work robot 6b can move, the determination unit 24 calculates the required time based on the movement speed of the work robot 6b determined for each type of work robot 6b, the distance from the current position of the work robot 6b to the target maintenance object MOI, and the crowd flow information at the above-mentioned predetermined point on the moving route.

[0071] For example, when the crowd flow is small (0 to 40%), the required time may be the normal required time calculated from the above-mentioned movement speed and the above-mentioned distance. Also, when the crowd flow is normal (41 to 70%), the required time may be twice the normal required time. Also, when the crowd flow is large (71 to 100%), the required time may be three times the normal required time.

[0072] 〔Embodiment 3〕 Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0073] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the maintenance work support device 2 in the maintenance work support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment is different from the maintenance work support device 2 shown in FIG. 2 in that the control unit 10 further includes a work status acquisition unit 25 and the control unit 10 includes a determination unit 26 instead of the determination unit 22, and the other configurations are the same.

[0074] The work status acquisition unit 25 acquires the current work status of each of the above-mentioned staff from the staff terminal 6 via the communication unit 12. The work status acquisition unit 25 sends the acquired work status of each staff to the determination unit 26. The determination unit 26 is different from the determination unit 22 shown in FIG. 2 in that when extracting the above-mentioned dispatch candidates, the above-mentioned staff who are working are excluded from the above-mentioned dispatch candidates, and other operations are the same.

[0075] According to the above configuration, among the above-mentioned dispatch candidates, since the staff who are not currently working can be determined as the above-mentioned dispatched staff, the staff can be quickly dispatched to the target MOI for attention maintenance.

[0076] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the maintenance work support process (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment. The maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 9 is different from the maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 5 in that step S22 is provided instead of step S14, and other processes are the same.

[0077] In step S22, similarly to step S14, the determination unit 26 refers to the staff table 31 in the storage unit 11 and extracts, as dispatch candidates, the staff who include the above work as work that can be handled and include the above area as an area where dispatch is possible. At this time, the determination unit 26 excludes the above-mentioned staff who are working from the above-mentioned dispatch candidates.

[0078] (Modification Example 3-1) When all of the above-mentioned dispatch candidates are working, the determination unit 26 may determine, with higher priority, the above-mentioned staff whose estimated arrival time at the target MOI for attention maintenance is earlier after completing the work in progress as the above-mentioned dispatched staff. The details of this process will be described in the next embodiment.

[0079] 〔Embodiment 4〕 Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0080] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a maintenance work support device 2 in a maintenance work support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment is different from the maintenance work support device 2 shown in FIG. 2 in that the storage unit 11 further stores a work plan DB (database) 33, the control unit 10 further includes a schedule acquisition unit 27, and the control unit 10 includes a determination unit 28 instead of the determination unit 22. Other configurations are the same.

[0081] The work plan DB 33 includes a maintenance work plan for each maintenance target MO. The work plan includes, for example, the staff and time zone of the work schedule.

[0082] The schedule acquisition unit 27 refers to the work plan DB 33 of the storage unit 11 and acquires the work schedule of each of the above staff. The schedule acquisition unit sends the acquired work schedule of each staff to the determination unit 28.

[0083] The determination unit 28 is different from the determination unit 22 shown in FIG. 2 in that within the period of the free time zone in the work schedule, the staff who can move to the target maintenance object MOI of interest and complete the maintenance work is specified, and the estimated completion time is calculated for each of the above staff. The staff with an earlier estimated completion time is given priority and extracted as the above dispatch candidate. Other operations are the same.

[0084] According to the above configuration, staff can be quickly dispatched to the target maintenance object MOI of interest.

[0085] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of maintenance work support processing (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment. The maintenance work support processing shown in FIG. 11 is different from the maintenance work support processing shown in FIG. 5 in that step S23 is provided instead of step S14. Other processes are the same.

[0086] In step S23, similar to step S14, the determination unit 28 refers to the staff table 31 in the storage unit 11, extracts, as dispatch candidates, the staff who include the above work as work that can be handled and include the above area as an area where dispatch is possible. At this time, the determination unit 28 prioritizes the above staff with an earlier estimated completion time among the above staff who can move to the target MOI for maintenance and complete the maintenance work within the period of the free time zone in the work schedule of each staff acquired from the work plan DB 33 in the storage unit 11 by the schedule acquisition unit 27.

[0087] 〔Embodiment 5〕 Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

[0088] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the maintenance work support device 2 in the maintenance work support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment is different in that the control unit 10 includes a determination unit 40 instead of the determination unit 24 as compared with the maintenance work support device 2 shown in FIG. 6, and other configurations are the same.

[0089] The determination unit 40 determines the dispatch staff to be dispatched to the target MOI for maintenance determined by the determination unit 21 to require maintenance from among the staff composed of workers and work robots. The determination unit 40 instructs the staff terminal 6 of the above dispatch staff via the communication unit 12 to perform maintenance work on the target MOI for maintenance.

[0090] In the present embodiment, the determination unit 40 first refers to the maintenance table 30 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts the area to which the target MOI for maintenance belongs and the work required for maintenance on the target MOI for maintenance. Next, the determination unit 40 refers to the staff table 31 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts, as dispatch candidates, the staff who include the above work as work that can be handled and include the above area as an area where dispatch is possible.

[0091] Next, based on the current positions of the respective staff members from the position acquisition unit 23, the determination unit 40 calculates the required time for moving from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on, and determines the dispatch candidates with shorter required times as the dispatched staff members with higher priority. At this time, the required time of the work robot 6b is calculated based on the moving speed of the work robot 6b determined for each type of the work robot 6b and the distance for moving from the current position of the work robot 6b to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on. On the other hand, the required time of the worker is calculated based on the distance for moving from the current position of the worker to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on.

[0092] For example, when it is necessary to urgently perform maintenance work on the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on, generally, it is preferable to dispatch the staff members who can arrive at the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on as soon as possible.

[0093] According to the above configuration, the dispatched staff members are determined in consideration of the shortness of the required time for moving from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on. Furthermore, since the required time of the work robot 6b is calculated in consideration of the moving speed for each type, the difference in the required time between the work robots 6b is appropriately considered.

[0094] Therefore, according to the above configuration, for example, when it is necessary to urgently perform maintenance work on the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on, etc., it is possible to appropriately dispatch the worker or the work robot 6b that can arrive at the target maintenance object to be focused on in the shortest time.

[0095] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the maintenance work support process (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support apparatus 2 of the present embodiment. The maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 13 is different in the process between step S14 and step S18 compared to the maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 7, and the other processes are the same.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 13, after step S14, the determination unit 40 selects one of the extracted dispatch candidates (S30), and determines whether the selected dispatch candidate is the work robot 6b (S31). When the dispatch candidate is the work robot 6b (YES in S31), the determination unit 40 calculates the required time of the work robot 6b based on the moving speed of the work robot 6b determined for each type of the work robot 6b and the distance from the current position of the work robot 6b to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on (S32). Then, it proceeds to step S34.

[0097] On the other hand, when the dispatch candidate is not the work robot 6b, that is, when the dispatch candidate is a worker (NO in S31), the determination unit 40 calculates the required time of the worker based on the distance from the current position of the worker to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on (S33). Then, it proceeds to step S34.

[0098] In step S34, until all of the above dispatch candidates are selected (NO in S34), steps S30 to S33 are repeated. When all of the dispatch candidates are selected (YES in S34), the determination unit 40 determines the dispatch candidate with a shorter required time as the dispatch staff with higher priority (S35). Then, it proceeds to step S18.

[0099] (Modification Example 5-1) When the data acquisition unit 20 (human flow information acquisition unit) acquires human flow information indicating the human flow at each predetermined point included in the area AR where the above staff can move, the required time of the work robot 6b calculated by the determination unit 40 and the required time of the worker may be further calculated based on the human flow information at the above predetermined points on the route from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on.

[0100] [Embodiment 6] Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15.

[0101] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a maintenance work support device 2 in the maintenance work support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment is different from the maintenance work support device 2 shown in FIG. 12 in that the control unit 10 further includes a people flow information acquisition unit 41 and the control unit 10 includes a determination unit 42 instead of the determination unit 40, and the other configurations are the same.

[0102] The people flow information acquisition unit 41 acquires, from a people flow sensor which is a sensor 3 via the communication unit 12, people flow information indicating the people flow at each predetermined point included in an area AR where staff can move. The people flow information acquisition unit 41 sends the acquired people flow information to the determination unit 42.

[0103] The determination unit 42 determines a dispatched staff member to be dispatched to a target maintenance object MOI that is determined by the determination unit 21 to require maintenance from among the staff members composed of workers and work robots. The determination unit 42 instructs the staff terminal 6 of the dispatched staff member via the communication unit 12 to perform maintenance work on the target maintenance object MOI of interest.

[0104] In the present embodiment, the determination unit 42 first refers to the maintenance table 30 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts the area to which the target maintenance object MOI of interest belongs and the work required for maintenance on the target maintenance object MOI of interest. Next, the determination unit 42 refers to the staff table 31 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts, as dispatch candidates, staff members who include the above work as work that can be handled and include the above area as an area to which dispatch is possible.

[0105] Next, when the work robot 6b and a worker are included in the above dispatch candidates, the determination unit 42 calculates the required time for the work robot 6b included in the above dispatch candidates to move from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI of interest. At this time, the required time of the work robot 6b is calculated based on the distance from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI of interest and the people flow information at the above predetermined points on the moving route.

[0106] Next, when the shortest time among the above required times exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the determination unit 42 determines any one of the workers included in the above dispatch candidates as the above dispatch staff. On the other hand, when the shortest time among the above required times is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the work robot 6b that moves in the shortest time is determined as the above dispatch staff.

[0107] For example, when it is necessary to urgently perform maintenance work on the target MOI for attention, generally, it is preferable to dispatch the staff who can arrive at the target MOI for attention as soon as possible.

[0108] According to the above configuration, the dispatch staff is determined from among the staff composed of workers and the self-propelled work robot 6b. When the shortest time among the required times for the work robot 6b to move from the current position to the target MOI for attention exceeds the predetermined threshold value, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatch staff. When the shortest time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the work robot 6b that moves in the shortest time is determined as the dispatch staff. Here, the self-propelled work robot 6b generally has a collision avoidance function of stopping or detouring when a person approaches in order to avoid collisions with people, and the collision avoidance function is executed more as the flow of people on the route is larger. According to the above configuration, since the flow of people is considered when calculating the required time of the work robot 6b, the required time for the work robot 6b to move to the target MOI for attention is accurately calculated.

[0109] As described above, according to the above configuration, when the work robot 6b can move to the target MOI for attention within the predetermined threshold value, the work robot 6b is dispatched, and if not, a worker is dispatched. Therefore, the worker and the work robot 6b can be appropriately assigned to the maintenance work.

[0110] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of the maintenance work support process (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support apparatus 2 of the present embodiment. The maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 15 differs in the process between step S14 and step S18 compared to the maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 5, and the other processes are the same.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 15, after step S14, the determination unit 42 determines whether or not the dispatch candidate includes both the work robot 6b and the worker (S40). When the dispatch candidate includes both the work robot 6b and the worker (YES in S40), the determination unit 42 calculates, for the work robot 6b included in the dispatch candidate, the required time required to move from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI based on the distance from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI and the crowd flow information at the predetermined point on the moving route (S41).

[0112] Next, the determination unit 42 determines whether or not the shortest time among the required times exceeds a predetermined threshold (S42). When the shortest time exceeds the predetermined threshold (YES in S42), the determination unit 42 determines any one of the workers included in the dispatch candidate as the dispatch staff (S43). Then, the process proceeds to step S18. On the other hand, when the shortest time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold (NO in S42), the determination unit 42 determines the work robot 6b that moves in the shortest time as the dispatch staff (S44). Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0113] On the other hand, when the dispatch candidate includes either the work robot 6b or the worker (NO in S40), the determination unit 42 determines the dispatch staff based on a predetermined priority order, such as giving priority to the dispatch candidate with a shorter required time or giving priority to the dispatch candidate with a shorter distance from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI (S45). Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0114] [Embodiment 7] Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

[0115] Figure 16 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the maintenance work support device 2 in the maintenance work support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment is different in that the control unit 10 includes a determination unit 43 and a decision unit 44 instead of the determination unit 21 and the decision unit 42 as shown in FIG. 14, and the other configurations are the same.

[0116] The determination unit 43 is different from the determination unit 21 shown in FIG. 14 in that it further determines the urgency of maintenance for the maintenance target MO based on the input data from the data acquisition unit 20, and the other operations are the same. For example, the urgency of maintenance may be set relatively high in a predetermined time zone such as the working hours, the time zone including the working hours and one hour before and after it. Also, the urgency of maintenance may be set relatively high for a predetermined area such as a meeting room where a customer is met, a toilet, etc. Further, the urgency of maintenance according to the implementation requirement may be set relatively high.

[0117] The decision unit 44 determines a dispatched staff member to be dispatched to the target maintenance object MOI determined by the determination unit 43 to require maintenance from among the staff members composed of workers and work robots. The decision unit 44 instructs the staff terminal 6 of the dispatched staff member via the communication unit 12 to perform maintenance work on the target maintenance object MOI.

[0118] In the present embodiment, the decision unit 44 first refers to the maintenance table 30 stored in the storage unit 11 to extract the area to which the target maintenance object MOI belongs and the work required for maintenance on the target maintenance object MOI. Next, the decision unit 44 refers to the staff table 31 stored in the storage unit 11 to extract, as dispatch candidates, staff members who include the above work as work that can be handled and include the above area as an area to which dispatch is possible.

[0119] Next, when both the work robot 6b and the worker are included in the above-mentioned dispatch candidate, if the urgency of maintenance in the target MOI for attention from the determination unit 43 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value, the determination unit 44 determines any one of the work robots 6b as the above-mentioned dispatch staff. On the other hand, when the urgency exceeds the above-mentioned predetermined threshold value, the determination unit 44 calculates the required time for moving from the current position to the target MOI for attention, and determines as the above-mentioned dispatch staff, giving priority to the staff with a shorter required time. The required time is calculated based on the distance from the current position from the position acquisition unit 23 to the target MOI for attention and the above-mentioned crowd flow information at the above-mentioned predetermined point on the moving route from the crowd flow information acquisition unit 41.

[0120] On the other hand, when the above-mentioned dispatch candidate is only a worker, the determination unit 44 determines any one of the workers as the above-mentioned dispatch staff. Also, when the above-mentioned dispatch candidate is only the work robot 6b, any one of the work robots 6b is determined as the above-mentioned dispatch staff. Examples of the case where the above-mentioned dispatch candidate is only the work robot 6b include the case where the area to which the target MOI for attention belongs is an area where entry of workers is prohibited, the case where the target MOI for attention is a women's toilet and the workers are only men, etc.

[0121] When the urgency of maintenance in the target MIO for attention exceeds a predetermined threshold value (that is, the urgency is high), generally, the dispatch staff is required to arrive at the target MOI for attention as soon as possible. On the other hand, when the urgency of maintenance in the target MOI for attention is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value (that is, the urgency is low), generally, the dispatch staff does not necessarily need to arrive at the target for attention immediately.

[0122] According to the above configuration, when the dispatch candidates include a work robot and a worker, if the urgency of maintenance is below a predetermined threshold, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatch staff, and if the urgency of maintenance exceeds the predetermined threshold, the staff with a shorter required time for movement is given priority and determined as the dispatch staff. Therefore, a worker or a work robot can be appropriately dispatched according to the urgency of maintenance in the target MOI for maintenance of interest.

[0123] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of the maintenance work support process (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support apparatus 2 of the present embodiment. The maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 17 is different in the process between step S14 and step S18 compared to the maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 15, and the other processes are the same.

[0124] As shown in FIG. 17, after step S14, the determination unit 42 determines whether any one or both of the work robot 6b and a worker are included in the above dispatch candidates (S50). If only the work robot 6b is included in the above dispatch candidates, the process proceeds to step S52. On the other hand, if only a worker is included in the above dispatch candidates, the process proceeds to step S54. And when both the work robot 6b and a worker are included in the above dispatch candidates, the determination unit 44 determines whether the urgency of maintenance in the target MOI for maintenance of interest is below a predetermined threshold (S51). When the urgency is below the predetermined threshold (YES in S51), the process proceeds to step S52. On the other hand, when the urgency exceeds the predetermined threshold (NO in S51), the process proceeds to step S53.

[0125] In step S52, the determination unit 44 determines any one of the work robots 6b as the dispatch staff. Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0126] In step S53, the determination unit 44 determines, as the dispatched staff, the staff member who requires a shorter required time for the above movement, which is calculated based on the distance from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on and the pedestrian flow information at a predetermined point on the path of the movement, with higher priority. Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0127] In step S54, the determination unit 44 determines any one of the above workers as the dispatched staff. Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0128] [Embodiment 8] Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19.

[0129] FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a maintenance work support device 2 in the maintenance work support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance work support device 2 of the present embodiment is different from the maintenance work support device 2 shown in FIG. 14 in that the position acquisition unit 23 is omitted and the control unit 10 includes a determination unit 45 instead of the determination unit 42, and other configurations are the same.

[0130] The determination unit 45 determines a dispatched staff member to be dispatched to the target maintenance object MOI to be focused on, which is determined by the determination unit 21 to require maintenance, from among the staff members composed of workers and work robots. The determination unit 45 instructs the staff terminal 6 of the dispatched staff member to perform maintenance work on the target maintenance object MOI via the communication unit 12.

[0131] In the present embodiment, the determination unit 45 first refers to the maintenance table 30 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts the area to which the target maintenance object MOI belongs and the work required for maintenance on the target maintenance object MOI. Next, the determination unit 45 refers to the staff table 31 stored in the storage unit 11 and extracts, as dispatch candidates, the staff members who include the above work as work that can be handled and include the above area as an area where dispatch is possible.

[0132] Next, when both the work robot 6b and the worker are included in the above dispatch candidate, if the degree of the flow of people in the target maintenance object MOI from the people flow information acquisition unit 41 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 45 determines any one of the above workers as the above dispatch staff. On the other hand, when the degree of the flow of people is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, any one of the work robots 6b is determined as the above dispatch staff.

[0133] On the other hand, when the above dispatch candidate is only a worker, the determination unit 45 determines any one of the workers as the above dispatch staff. Further, when the above dispatch candidate is only the work robot 6b, any one of the work robots 6b is determined as the above dispatch staff.

[0134] In addition, when there are a plurality of dispatch candidates that can be determined as dispatch staff, the determination unit 45 may determine the above dispatch staff based on the criteria described in other embodiments, such as the distance from the current position to the target maintenance object MOI and the required time for the above movement.

[0135] Generally, the self-propelled work robot 6b has a collision avoidance function of stopping or detouring when a person approaches in order to avoid collision with a person. Therefore, compared with a worker, the work efficiency of the maintenance work in the target maintenance object MOI of the work robot 6b decreases as the flow of people in the target maintenance object increases.

[0136] According to the above configuration, when both the work robot 6b and the worker are included in the dispatch candidate, if the degree of the flow of people in the target maintenance object MOI exceeds a predetermined threshold, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatch staff. On the other hand, when the degree of the flow of people in the target maintenance object MOI is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, any one of the work robots 6b is determined as the dispatch staff. Therefore, a worker or the work robot 6b can be appropriately dispatched according to the degree of the flow of people in the target maintenance object MOI.

[0137] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of the maintenance work support process (maintenance work support method) in the maintenance work support apparatus 2 of the present embodiment. The maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 19 is different in the process between step S14 and step S18 compared to the maintenance work support process shown in FIG. 15, and the other processes are the same.

[0138] As shown in FIG. 19, after step S14, the determination unit 42 determines whether either or both of the work robot 6b and the worker are included in the above dispatch candidate (S60). If only the work robot 6b is included in the above dispatch candidate, the process proceeds to step S62. On the other hand, if only the worker is included in the above dispatch candidate, the process proceeds to step S63. And when both the work robot 6b and the worker are included in the above dispatch candidate, the determination unit 44 determines whether the degree of the flow of people in the target maintenance object MOI of interest is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (S61). When the degree of the flow of people is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold (YES in S61), the process proceeds to step S62. On the other hand, when the above urgency exceeds the predetermined threshold (NO in S61), the process proceeds to step S63.

[0139] In step S62, the determination unit 44 determines any one of the work robots 6b as the dispatch staff. Then, the process proceeds to step S18. In step S63, the determination unit 44 determines any one of the above workers as the dispatch staff. Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0140] (Supplementary Notes) A part of the process executed by the maintenance work support apparatus 2 may be executed by another information processing apparatus (computer). That is, the execution subject of each process described in each of the above embodiments can be appropriately changed, and the maintenance work support system 1 according to the present invention can be realized with various system configurations. For example, each process shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 may be executed in a form of being shared by a plurality of information processing apparatuses (computers).

[0141] 〔Example of Realization by Software〕 The functions of the maintenance operation support device 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "device") are programs for causing a computer to function as the device, and can be realized by programs for causing a computer to function as each control block of the device (especially each part included in the control unit 10).

[0142] In this case, the above device includes a computer having at least one control device (for example, a processor) and at least one storage device (for example, a memory) as hardware for executing the above program. By executing the above program with this control device and storage device, each function described in the above embodiments is realized.

[0143] The above program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporarily. This recording medium may or may not be provided in the above device. In the latter case, the above program may be supplied to the above device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0144] Also, part or all of the functions of each of the above control blocks can be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit functioning as each of the above control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition to this, for example, it is also possible to realize the functions of each of the above control blocks by a quantum computer.

[0145] Also, each process described in the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI may operate in the above control device, or may operate in another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server, etc.).

[0146] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Symbols

[0147] 1 Maintenance Business Support System 2 Maintenance Business Support Device 3 Sensor 5 Terminal for Implementation Requirements (Information Terminal) 6 Staff Terminal 6a Operator Terminal 6b Work Robot 10 Control Unit 11 Memory Unit 12 Communication Unit 20 Data Acquisition Unit 21, 43 Judgment Unit 22, 24, 26, 28, 40, 42, 44, 45 Decision Unit 23 Position Acquisition Unit 25 Work Status Acquisition Unit 27 Schedule Acquisition Unit 30 Maintenance Table 31 Staff Table 33 Work Plan DB 41 Pedestrian Flow Information Acquisition Unit

Claims

1. An input data acquisition unit that acquires sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of the maintenance execution requirements in the maintenance target, and a determination unit that determines whether maintenance is required in the maintenance target based on the input data; A determination unit that determines a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance object determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; Each of the staff is associated with one or more corresponding operations and one or more dispatchable areas; The determination unit: Extracts the staff associated with the work required for maintenance in the target maintenance object and the area to which the target maintenance object belongs as dispatch candidates; When one or more of the work robots are included in the dispatch candidates, determines any one of the work robots as the dispatch staff; When the dispatch candidates are only the workers, determines any one of the workers as the dispatch staff; A maintenance work support device.

2. Further includes a position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff; The determination unit determines the dispatch staff with higher priority for the dispatch candidates with shorter distances from the current position to the target maintenance object; The maintenance work support device according to claim 1.

3. Further includes a position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff; When a plurality of the work robots are included in the dispatch candidates, the determination unit determines the dispatch staff with higher priority for the work robots with shorter required times for moving from the current position to the target maintenance object among the plurality of work robots; The maintenance work support device according to claim 1.

4. Further includes a crowd flow information acquisition unit that acquires crowd flow information indicating the crowd flow at each predetermined point included in the area where the work robot can move; The required time is: The moving speed of the work robot determined for each type of the work robot, The distance from the current position of the work robot to the target maintenance object, and Calculated based on the crowd flow information at the predetermined point on the moving route; The maintenance work support device according to claim 3.

5. It further includes a flow information acquisition unit that acquires flow information indicating the flow of people at the location where the maintenance target is located. For each degree of the flow of people, appropriate attributes of the work robot are predetermined. When a plurality of types of the work robots are included in the dispatch candidates, the determination unit determines, as the dispatch staff, the work robot having an attribute determined according to the degree of the flow of people at the target maintenance target. The maintenance work support device according to claim 1.

6. The maintenance required for the target maintenance target is floor cleaning. The dispatch candidates include the work robot having a vacuum function as an attribute and the work robot having a scrubber function as an attribute. The determination unit When the degree of the flow of people at the target maintenance target is higher than a predetermined threshold, it determines the work robot having a vacuum function as the dispatch staff. When the degree of the flow of people at the target maintenance target is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold, it determines the work robot having a scrubber function as the dispatch staff. The maintenance work support device according to claim 5.

7. The determination unit further determines the necessity of maintenance at the maintenance target based on the input data. For each degree of necessity, appropriate attributes of the work robot are predetermined. When a plurality of types of the work robots are included in the dispatch candidates, the determination unit determines, as the dispatch staff, the work robot having an attribute determined according to the degree of necessity at the target maintenance target. The maintenance work support device according to claim 1.

8. The maintenance required for the target maintenance target is floor cleaning. The dispatch candidates include the work robot having a vacuum function as an attribute and the work robot having a scrubber function as an attribute. The determination unit When the degree of necessity at the target maintenance target is higher than a predetermined threshold, it determines the work robot having a scrubber function as the dispatch staff. When the degree of necessity at the target maintenance target is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold, it determines the work robot having a vacuum function as the dispatch staff. The maintenance work support device according to claim 7.

9. It further includes a work status acquisition unit that acquires the current work status of each of the staff. The determination unit excludes the staff who are working from the dispatch candidates, The maintenance work support device according to claim 1.

10. further comprising a work status acquisition unit that acquires the current work status of each of the staff, When all of the dispatch candidates are working, the determination unit determines, with higher priority given to the staff with an earlier expected arrival time at the target maintenance item after completing the ongoing work, as the dispatched staff. The maintenance work support device according to claim 1.

11. further comprising a schedule acquisition unit that acquires the work schedule of each of the staff, The determination unit extracts, with higher priority given to the staff with an earlier expected completion time, from among the staff who can move to the target maintenance item and complete the maintenance work within the period of the free time zone in the work schedule, as the dispatch candidates. The maintenance work support device according to claim 1.

12. acquiring input data that is at least one of sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of the maintenance target and a request for performing maintenance on the maintenance target, and determining whether maintenance is required on the maintenance target based on the input data; a determination unit; a determination unit that determines dispatched staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance item determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; and a crowd flow information acquisition unit that acquires crowd flow information indicating the crowd flow at the location where the maintenance target is located. Each of the staff has one or more corresponding operations and one or more dispatchable areas associated therewith. The determination unit extracts, as dispatch candidates, the staff for whom the work required for maintenance on the target maintenance item is associated and the area to which the target maintenance item belongs is associated. When the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidates, when the degree of the crowd flow at the target maintenance item exceeds a predetermined threshold, determines any one of the workers as the dispatched staff; when the degree of the crowd flow at the target maintenance item is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, determines any one of the work robots as the dispatched staff. When the dispatch candidate is only the worker, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatched staff, When the dispatch candidate is only the work robot, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatched staff, Maintenance work support device.

13. Input data that is at least one of sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of the maintenance target and a maintenance implementation request in the maintenance target, and a determination unit that determines whether maintenance is required in the maintenance target based on the input data; A determination unit that determines a dispatched staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance object determined to require maintenance from among a staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; A position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff; It includes a crowd flow information acquisition unit that acquires crowd flow information indicating the crowd flow at each predetermined point included in the area where the staff can move, Each of the staff is associated with one or more operations that can be handled and one or more areas where they can be dispatched, The determination unit further determines the urgency of maintenance in the maintenance target based on the input data, The determination unit, Extracts the staff associated with the work required for maintenance in the target maintenance object and the area to which the target maintenance object belongs as dispatch candidates, When the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidate, When the urgency of maintenance in the target maintenance object is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatched staff, When the urgency exceeds the predetermined threshold, the shorter the required time for the movement calculated based on the distance from the current position to the target maintenance object and the crowd flow information at the predetermined point on the path of the movement, the more priority is given to the staff, and it is determined as the dispatched staff, When the dispatch candidate is only the worker, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatched staff, When the dispatch candidate is only the work robot, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatched staff, Maintenance work support device.

14. Obtain sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of the maintenance target and input data that is at least one of the maintenance implementation requirements for the maintenance target, and a determination unit that determines whether maintenance is required for the maintenance target based on the input data; A determination unit that determines a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; A position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff; Each of the staff is associated with one or more corresponding operations and one or more dispatchable areas; The determination unit: Extracts the staff associated with the work required for maintenance in the target maintenance target and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs as dispatch candidates; Determines the dispatch staff with priority given to the dispatch candidates with shorter required times for moving from the current position to the target maintenance target; The required time of the work robot is: Based on the moving speed of the work robot determined for each type of the work robot, and The distance from the current position of the work robot to the target maintenance target; The required time of the worker is calculated based on the distance from the current position of the worker to the target maintenance target; Maintenance work support device.

15. Further comprising a crowd flow information acquisition unit that acquires crowd flow information indicating the crowd flow at each predetermined point included in the area where the staff can move; The required time of the work robot and the required time of the worker are further calculated based on the crowd flow information at the predetermined point on the route from the current position to the target maintenance target; The maintenance work support device according to claim 14.

16. Obtain sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of the maintenance target and input data that is at least one of the maintenance implementation requirements for the maintenance target, and a determination unit that determines whether maintenance is required for the maintenance target based on the input data; A determination unit that determines dispatched staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance item determined to require the maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; A position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of each of the staff; A crowd flow information acquisition unit that acquires crowd flow information indicating the flow of people at each of predetermined points included in the area where the staff can move, and Each of the staff is associated with one or more operations that can be handled and one or more areas to which the staff can be dispatched. The determination unit extracts the staff to which the work required for the maintenance at the target maintenance item is associated and the area to which the target maintenance item belongs as dispatch candidates; When the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidates, if the shortest time among the distance from the current position to the target maintenance item for the work robot included in the dispatch candidates and the time required for the movement calculated based on the crowd flow information at the predetermined points on the movement route exceeds a predetermined threshold, any one of the workers included in the dispatch candidates is determined as the dispatched staff; if the shortest time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, the work robot that moves in the shortest time is determined as the dispatched staff. A maintenance work support device.

17. The state of the maintenance target is sensed by the sensor provided in the work robot. The maintenance work support device according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. The implementation requirement is transmitted from an information terminal that has received an operation requesting maintenance for the maintenance target. The maintenance work support device according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. The state of the maintenance target is sensed by the sensor installed in the vicinity of the maintenance target. The maintenance work support device according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

20. The sensor is a camera, and the sensor data is an image obtained by photographing the state of the maintenance target with the camera. The maintenance work support device according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

21. A maintenance work support method in a maintenance work support device executed by one or more computers, comprising: An input data acquisition step of acquiring sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of a maintenance execution request for the maintenance target, and a determination step of determining whether maintenance is required for the maintenance target based on the input data; A determination step of determining a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; Each of the staff is associated with one or more work that can be handled and one or more areas to which dispatch is possible; The determination step includes: Extracting, as dispatch candidates, the staff associated with the work required for maintenance of the target maintenance target and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs; If one or more of the work robots are included in the dispatch candidates, determining any one of the work robots as the dispatch staff; If the dispatch candidates are only the workers, determining any one of the workers as the dispatch staff; A maintenance work support method.

22. A maintenance work support method in a maintenance work support device executed by one or more computers, comprising: An input data acquisition step of acquiring sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of a maintenance execution request for the maintenance target, and a determination step of determining whether maintenance is required for the maintenance target based on the input data; A determination step of determining a dispatch staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; A pedestrian flow information acquisition step of acquiring pedestrian flow information indicating the pedestrian flow at the location where the maintenance target is located; Each of the staff is associated with one or more work that can be handled and one or more areas to which dispatch is possible; The determination step includes: Staff members to whom the work required for maintenance of the target maintenance item is associated and who are associated with the area to which the target maintenance item belongs are extracted as dispatch candidates. When the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidates, when the degree of the flow of people at the target maintenance item exceeds a predetermined threshold, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatched staff. when the degree of the flow of people at the target maintenance item is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatched staff. when the dispatch candidates are only the workers, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatched staff. when the dispatch candidates are only the work robots, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatched staff. Maintenance work support method.

23. A maintenance work support method in a maintenance work support apparatus executed by one or more computers, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least any one of implementation requirements for maintenance of the maintenance target, and determining whether maintenance is required for the maintenance target based on the input data; a determination step of determining dispatched staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance item determined to require maintenance from among staff members composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; a position acquisition step of acquiring the current position of each of the staff members; a people flow information acquisition step of acquiring people flow information indicating the people flow at each of predetermined points included in the area where the staff members can move, and each of the staff members is associated with one or more operations that can be performed and one or more areas to which they can be dispatched. The determination step further determines the urgency of maintenance for the maintenance target based on the input data. The determination step includes: extracting, as dispatch candidates, the staff members to whom the work required for maintenance of the target maintenance item is associated and who are associated with the area to which the target maintenance item belongs; when the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidates, When the urgency of maintenance for the target maintenance item is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatched staff, when the urgency exceeds the predetermined threshold value, priority is given to the staff with a shorter required time for the movement, which is calculated based on the distance from the current position to the target maintenance item and the flow of people information at the predetermined point on the path of the movement, and the staff is determined as the dispatched staff, when the dispatch candidates are only the workers, any one of the workers is determined as the dispatched staff, when the dispatch candidates are only the work robots, any one of the work robots is determined as the dispatched staff, Maintenance work support method.

24. A maintenance work support method in a maintenance work support device executed by one or more computers, including a determination step of acquiring sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least any one of the implementation requirements of maintenance for the maintenance target, and determining whether maintenance is required for the maintenance target based on the input data; a determination step of determining a dispatched staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance item determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; and a position acquisition step of acquiring the current position of each of the staff, wherein each of the staff is associated with one or more corresponding operations and one or more dispatchable areas, and the determination step extracts the staff associated with the work required for maintenance of the target maintenance item and the area to which the target maintenance item belongs as dispatch candidates, and determines the dispatch candidates with shorter required time for movement from the current position to the target maintenance item as the dispatched staff with higher priority, wherein the required time of the work robot is calculated based on the moving speed of the work robot determined for each type of the work robot and the distance from the current position of the work robot to the target maintenance item, and the required time of the worker is calculated based on the distance from the current position of the worker to the target maintenance item, Maintenance work support method.

25. A maintenance operation support method in a maintenance operation support apparatus executed by one or more computers, comprising: obtaining sensor data obtained from a sensor that senses the state of a maintenance target and input data that is at least one of the implementation requirements of maintenance in the maintenance target, and determining whether maintenance is required in the maintenance target based on the input data; a determining step of determining a dispatched staff to be dispatched to a target maintenance target determined to require maintenance from among staff composed of workers and self-propelled work robots; a position obtaining step of obtaining the current position of each of the staff; a pedestrian flow information obtaining step of obtaining pedestrian flow information indicating the pedestrian flow at each of predetermined points included in an area where the staff can move; each of the staff is associated with one or more operations that can be performed and one or more areas that can be dispatched; the determining step includes: extracting the staff associated with the work required for maintenance in the target maintenance target and the area to which the target maintenance target belongs as dispatch candidates; when the work robot and the worker are included in the dispatch candidate, if the shortest time among the time required for the movement, which is calculated based on the distance from the current position to the target maintenance target for the work robot included in the dispatch candidate and the pedestrian flow information at the predetermined point on the movement route, exceeds a predetermined threshold, determining any one of the workers included in the dispatch candidate as the dispatched staff; if the shortest time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, determining the work robot that moves in the shortest time as the dispatched staff; A maintenance operation support method.

Images