Information processing system, information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing system, an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can accurately determine the type or state of deposits.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes a sensor that receives electromagnetic waves radiated from deposits, and a determination unit that determines the type or state of the deposits based on the radiation intensity of the received electromagnetic waves.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] On road surfaces or skating surfaces, for example, objects such as snow, ice, water, and mud (hereinafter referred to as deposits) may accumulate or adhere, which may cause slip accidents or stack accidents. In order to efficiently prevent such accidents, it is necessary to accurately determine the presence or absence of deposits and their types. In this regard, techniques for measuring the state on the road surface are known for the purpose of road or skating rink management (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the conventional technology, the type or state of deposits could not be accurately determined.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing system, an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can accurately determine the type or state of sediment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing system including a sensor that receives electromagnetic waves radiated from sediment, and a determination unit that determines the type or state of the sediment based on the radiation intensity of the received electromagnetic waves.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, the type or state of sediment can be accurately determined.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the information processing system, information processing device, information processing method, and program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] [Configuration of Information Processing System] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in the figure, the information processing system 1 includes a sensor 10 and an information processing apparatus 100. These apparatuses are connected to a network NW. The network NW is, for example, a WAN (Wide Area Network) or a LAN (Local Area Network). When not distinguishing any one of a plurality of sensors 10-1 to 10-n, these sensors 10-1 to 10-n are collectively referred to as the sensor 10 for explanation.

[0012] The sensor 10 is, for example, a microwave scanning radiometer (MSR) capable of receiving or detecting microwaves. The microwaves referred to here are electromagnetic waves in a wavelength band from about 1 m to about 1 mm. A plurality of sensors 10 typically receive microwaves of different frequencies and polarization states. For example, the sensor 10-1 is configured to receive microwaves of frequency f1, and the sensor 10-2 is configured to receive microwaves of frequency f2.

[0013] For example, the sensor 10 may be installed on the roof of an airport terminal or on a telegraph pole near a road or a railway line. Further, the sensor 10 may be installed on a portable support such as a tripod. The sensor 10 receives weak microwaves radiated from deposits deposited or adhered to a runway, a road, a railway line, etc. from the installed location. The deposits are, for example, snow, ice, water, mud, soil, volcanic ash, sand, or a combination thereof.

[0014] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are diagrams schematically showing how the sensor 10 according to the embodiment receives microwaves. In the figures, reference numeral 20 represents a road surface such as a runway, a road, or a railway track, and reference numeral 30 represents a deposit. In the example of FIG. 2, microwaves naturally radiated from the road surface 20 are received by the sensor 10 without being blocked by the deposit 30. On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 3, microwaves naturally radiated from the road surface 20 are attenuated or amplified by scattering when passing through the deposit 30.

[0015] When the sensor 10 receives microwaves, it transmits sensor data indicating the radiation intensity of the received microwaves to the information processing apparatus 100 via the network NW.

[0016] The radiation intensity of microwaves may be represented by, for example, brightness temperature (TB). Brightness temperature is an index that can be expressed as the product of the emissivity ε of microwaves by deposits and the physical temperature Ts (TB = ε·Ts).

[0017] [Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in the figure, the information processing apparatus 100 includes, for example, a communication interface 110, an input interface 120, an output interface 130, a storage unit 140, and a processing unit 150.

[0018] The communication interface 110 includes, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) and a wireless communication module including a receiver and a transmitter. The communication interface 110 communicates with an external device via the network NW. The external device is, for example, the above-described sensor 10 or other devices. Further, the external device may include an aircraft using a runway where the sensor 10 is installed, a vehicle using a road where the sensor 10 is installed, a railway vehicle using a railway track where the sensor 10 is installed, and the like.

[0019] In addition, the external device may include an observation device that observes the surrounding environment of the location where the sensor 10 is installed, that is, the location where the sediment exists, and a providing device that provides weather data based on a weather model. The observation device may observe various weathers such as, for example, temperature, humidity, and wind speed, or may observe the temperature of the place where the sensor 10 is installed (for example, the road surface temperature of a runway or a road). In this case, the communication interface 110 may acquire various observation information from the observation device.

[0020] The input interface 120 receives various input operations from the user, converts the received input operations into electrical signals, and outputs them to the processing unit 150. For example, the input interface 120 includes a mouse, a keyboard, a trackball, a switch, a button, a joystick, a touch panel, etc. The input interface 120 may be a voice user interface that receives voice input including, for example, a microphone.

[0021] The output interface 130 includes, for example, a display and a speaker. The display displays an image generated by the processing unit 150, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for receiving various input operations from the user, etc. For example, the display is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, etc. The speaker outputs the information input from the processing unit 150 as sound.

[0022] The storage unit 140 is realized by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a flash memory, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 140 stores various programs such as firmware and application programs.

[0023] The processing unit 150 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 151, a calculation unit 152, a determination unit 153, and an output control unit 154.

[0024] The components of the processing unit 150 are realized, for example, by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) executing a program stored in the storage unit 140. Also, some or all of the components of the processing unit 150 may be realized by hardware such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a SOC (System On Chip), or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware.

[0025] [Processing Flow of Information Processing Apparatus] Hereinafter, a series of processing flows of the information processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a series of processing flows of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The processing of this flowchart may be repeated, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0026] First, the acquisition unit 151 acquires sensor data indicating the microwave radiation intensity from the sensor 10 via the communication interface 110 (step S100). For example, the acquisition unit 151 acquires sensor data indicating the microwave radiation intensity of frequency f1 from the sensor 10-1 and acquires sensor data indicating the microwave radiation intensity of frequency f2 from the sensor 10-2.

[0027] Next, the calculation unit 152 calculates a GR (Gardiation Ratio) and a PR (Polarization Ratio) based on the brightness temperature indicated by the sensor data as the microwave radiation intensity (step S102).

[0028] GR is the difference in the brightness temperature of two microwaves that differ either in frequency or polarization or both in frequency and polarization, as shown in Equation (1). PR is the difference between the polarizations of the brightness temperature of a microwave of a single frequency (the difference between the brightness temperature of the vertical polarization component and the brightness temperature of the horizontal polarization component), as shown in Equation (2). Also, unlike the brightness temperature (TB = ε·Ts) that depends on the physical temperature Ts as described above, GR and PR can be used to know the characteristics of microwave radiation that vary depending on the type of sediment by minimizing the influence of the physical temperature Ts. In the field of earth observation where it is difficult to know the characteristics of wide-area microwave radiation (acquire the physical temperature Ts) at once, GR and PR based on the brightness temperature obtained by satellite-borne microwave radiometers have been widely used for a long time.

[0029] [Number]

[0030] [Number]

[0031] f1 represents an arbitrary frequency, and f2 represents any other arbitrary frequency different from the frequency f1. p represents an arbitrary polarization of either vertical polarization (v) or horizontal polarization (h).

[0032] For example, TB in Equation (1) f1,p represents the brightness temperature that is the f1 frequency component and the p component of an arbitrary polarization. Also, TB in Equation (1) f2,p represents the brightness temperature that is the f2 frequency component and the p component of an arbitrary polarization. That is, GR is an index whose magnitude varies according to the difference (TB f1,p - TB f2,p ) between the brightness temperature TB f1,p of the f1 frequency of an arbitrary polarization p component and the brightness temperature TB f2,p of the f2 frequency of the arbitrary polarization p component.

[0033] GR is an equation (the first term on the right side) that uses the difference in brightness temperature TB as a variable, and can be treated as equivalent to equations (the second and third terms on the right side) that use the product of the microwave emissivity ε and the physical temperature Ts due to the sediment as variables. TB f1,p is an example of the "first brightness temperature". TB f2,p is an example of the "second brightness temperature". Also, the difference (TB f1,p -TB f2,p ) is an example of the "first difference".

[0034] TB in Equation (2) f,v represents the brightness temperature that is an arbitrary frequency f component of either f1 or f2 and is a vertical polarization v component. Also, TB in Equation (2) f,h represents the brightness temperature that is an arbitrary frequency f component and is a horizontal polarization h component. That is, PR is the difference (TB f,v between the brightness temperature TB f,h of the vertical polarization v component at an arbitrary frequency f and the brightness temperature TB f,v -TB f,h ) of the horizontal polarization h component at an arbitrary frequency f, and is an index whose magnitude varies according to this difference.

[0035] PR is an equation (the first term on the right side) that uses the difference between the polarizations of the brightness temperature TB as a variable, and can be treated as equivalent to equations (the second and third terms on the right side) that use the product of the microwave emissivity ε and the physical temperature Ts due to the sediment as variables. The difference (TB f,v -TB f,h ) is an example of the "second difference".

[0036] Next, the determination unit 153 determines the type and state of the sediment of the microwave radiation source received by the sensor 10 based on GR and PR calculated by the calculation unit 152 (step S104).

[0037] Specifically, the determination unit 153 distributes the deposits (objects with unknown types and states) of the microwave radiation source on the feature space with GR and PR as dimensions respectively. On this feature space, objects with known GR and PR are distributed in advance. Furthermore, these objects are clustered into several clusters such as water, slush (semi-melted snow), dry snow, snow cover, ice, or a combination of snow cover and ice (a three-layer structure of snow cover and ice).

[0038] On the feature space of GR and PR where such clusters are formed, the determination unit 153 extracts the cluster closest to the deposit and determines that the cluster is the type and state of the deposit.

[0039] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a comparison method of deposit determination, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the present method of deposit determination.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6, in the comparison method, the type of deposit is determined using the emissivity ε of the vertical polarization component of the 6 GHz microwave and the emissivity ε of the horizontal polarization component of the 36 GHz microwave. In such a determination method using the emissivity ε, although water, slush (semi-melted snow), etc. can be accurately determined, for dry snow, snow cover, ice, a combination of snow cover and ice (a three-layer structure of snow cover and ice), etc., differences in the emissivity ε are unlikely to occur and they cannot be separated.

[0041] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, in the present method, the type of deposit is determined using GR and PR. Therefore, dry snow, snow cover, ice, a combination of snow cover and ice (a three-layer structure of snow cover and ice), which could not be classified by the comparison method, can also be accurately determined. Furthermore, in the present method, even if the road surface is wet or submerged, it is possible to determine whether the deposit on the road surface is water or something else.

[0042] In FIG. 7, for example, the overlapping portion of "snow accumulation" and "ice" may be defined as "semi-snow accumulation" or "semi-ice". Also, it is known that for some microwaves, there are frequencies at which the amount passing through from the deposit to sensor 10 decreases due to the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere or the like. In such a case, acquisition unit 151 may acquire meteorological observation information (such as the amount of water vapor) at the location where the deposit exists and external information such as a radiative transfer model. Then, determination unit 153 may determine the type and state of the deposit using the brightness temperature TB corrected by the acquired external information. Further, acquisition unit 151 may acquire the physical temperature Ts of those locations from contact or non-contact thermometers existing at the location where the deposit exists and its vicinity. In such a case, calculation unit 152 may calculate the emissivity ε from the equation TB = ε·Ts, and calculate GR and PR by substituting the calculated emissivity ε into the above-described equations (1) and (2).

[0043] Returning to the description of the flowchart, next, output control unit 154 outputs the determination result by determination unit 153 (step S106). For example, output control unit 154 may display the determination result on the display of output interface 130, or may transmit the determination result to an external device via communication interface 110. Thus, the processing of this flowchart ends.

[0044] According to the embodiment described above, information processing apparatus 100 acquires sensor data indicating the radiation intensity of microwaves from sensor 10 that receives microwaves radiated from a deposit. Information processing apparatus 100 determines the type or state of the deposit based on the brightness temperature indicated by the sensor data. Specifically, information processing apparatus 100 calculates GR and PR based on the brightness temperatures of two types of microwaves having different frequencies and polarizations from each other, and determines the type or state of the deposit based on those GR and PR. In this way, by using the brightness temperature of microwaves naturally radiated from the deposit, the type or state of the deposit can be accurately determined.

[0045] A microwave radiometer that measures the radiation intensity of microwaves as brightness temperature does not actively irradiate electromagnetic waves. Therefore, in an environment of a radar control entity that irradiates radio waves, such as aircraft operation at an airport, this method is particularly useful. Furthermore, since the microwave radiometer can measure the brightness temperature of sediments regardless of day or night, the information processing device 100 can also distinguish the type and state of sediments regardless of day or night.

[0046] As described above, the embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described using the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0047] 1... Information processing system, 10... Sensor, 20... Road surface, 30... Sediment, 100... Information processing device, 110... Communication interface, 120... Input interface, 130... Output interface, 140... Storage unit, 150... Processing unit, 151... Acquisition unit, 152... Calculation unit, 153... Determination unit, 154... Output control unit

Claims

1. A sensor that receives electromagnetic waves radiated from sediment, A determination unit that determines the type or state of the sediment based on the radiation intensity of the received electromagnetic waves, An information processing system comprising:

2. The sensor is a microwave radiometer that receives one or more microwaves, The determination unit determines the type or state of the sediment based on the brightness temperature indicated as the radiation intensity of the microwaves, The information processing system according to Claim 1.

3. The determination unit is based on a first brightness temperature that is the brightness temperature of the microwaves having a first frequency and a second brightness temperature that is the brightness temperature of the microwaves having a second frequency different from the first frequency. To determine the type or state of the sediment, The information processing system according to Claim 2.

4. The information processing system further includes a calculation unit that calculates a first difference that is a difference between the first brightness temperature and the second brightness temperature and a second difference that is a difference between polarization waves of either one of the first brightness temperature and the second brightness temperature. , The determination unit determines the type or state of the sediment based on the calculated first difference and second difference of the sediment, The information processing system according to Claim 3.

5. The determination unit determines that the sediment is any one of water, sludge, dry snow, snow cover, ice, and a three-layer structure of the snow cover and the ice based on the first difference and the second difference of the sediment. , The information processing system according to Claim 4.

6. An acquisition unit that acquires sensor data of electromagnetic waves radiated from sediment, A determination unit that determines the type or state of the sediment based on the radiation intensity of the electromagnetic waves indicated by the acquired sensor data, An information processing apparatus comprising:

7. A computer, Acquires sensor data of electromagnetic waves radiated from sediment, Determines the type or state of the sediment based on the radiation intensity of the electromagnetic waves indicated by the acquired sensor data, Information processing method.

8. On a computer, Acquiring sensor data of electromagnetic waves radiated from sediment, Determining the type or state of the sediment based on the radiation intensity of the electromagnetic waves indicated by the acquired sensor data, A program for causing the execution.

Images