System, device, and method

Abstract

To provide a technique for efficiently and accurately positioning a first device movable in the water to a second device.SOLUTION: A system comprises a first device 100 movable in the water and a second device 200. The second device includes a second laser unit 220 including a plurality of second laser irradiation parts emitting laser beams, and a second control part causing the plurality of second laser irradiation parts to emit laser beams. The first device includes: a first laser unit 120 including a plurality of first laser receiving parts receiving laser beams; and a first control part detecting the second laser unit on the basis of laser beams received by at least any of the plurality of first laser receiving parts, estimating a relative direction of the second laser unit with the first laser unit as reference on the basis of reception status of the laser beams by the plurality of first laser receiving parts, and controlling a movement mechanism of the first device so as to position the first laser unit to the second laser unit on the basis of the relative direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to systems, devices, and methods. [Background technology]

[0002] A control method has been known in which multiple submersibles share information such as their positions with each other through acoustic communication and align the optical axes of their optical wireless communication devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art document] [Patent documents] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6792686 Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system. The system may include a first device movable underwater. The system may include a second device. The second device may include a second laser unit including a plurality of second laser emitting units that emit laser light. The second device may include a second control unit that controls the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light. The first device may include a first laser unit including a plurality of first laser receiving units that receive laser light. The first device may include a first control unit that detects the second laser unit based on laser light received by at least one of the plurality of first laser receiving units, estimates a relative direction of the second laser unit based on a position of the first laser unit based on a state of reception of the laser light by the plurality of first laser receiving units, and controls a movement mechanism of the first device to align the first laser unit with the second laser unit based on the relative direction.

[0004] In the system, the plurality of second laser emitting units may be arranged in a matrix, the second control unit may control the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light in a predetermined first two-dimensional pattern, and the first control unit may estimate a relative direction of the second laser unit based on a position of the first laser unit based on the first two-dimensional pattern and a light receiving pattern received by the plurality of first laser receiving units. The predetermined two-dimensional pattern may be a cross shape.

[0005] Any of the systems may further include a third device. The third device may have a third laser unit including a plurality of third laser emitting units arranged in a matrix and emitting laser light. The third device may have a third control unit that controls the plurality of third laser emitting units to emit laser light. The third control unit may control the plurality of third laser emitting units to cause the third laser unit to emit laser light in a second two-dimensional pattern different from the first two-dimensional pattern. The first control unit may identify a device emitting laser light received by the plurality of first laser receiving units based on the first two-dimensional pattern, the second two-dimensional pattern, and a light reception pattern received by the plurality of first laser receiving units.

[0006] In any of the above systems, the second control unit may cause the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light in sequence, and the first control unit may estimate a relative direction of the second laser unit based on a position of the first laser unit based on a time-series state of laser light reception by the plurality of first laser receiving units. The plurality of second laser emitting units may be arranged in a circle, and the second control unit may control the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light in the order of the circular arrangement.

[0007] In any of the above systems, the second device may further include a second distance measuring unit that measures the distance between the second device and a measurement object. The second control unit may adjust the spread angle and / or irradiation direction of the laser light irradiated by the plurality of second laser irradiators according to the distance between the second device and the first device measured by the second distance measuring unit.

[0008] In any of the above systems, the second device may further have a second laser light reflecting unit that receives laser light and reflects the laser light in the same direction as the direction in which the laser light was received, and the first laser unit may further include a plurality of first laser irradiating units that irradiate laser light, and the first control unit may cause the plurality of first irradiating units to irradiate laser light, and estimate the relative direction of the second laser unit based on the position of the first laser unit based on the reception status of the reflected light of the laser light reflected by the second laser light reflecting unit by the plurality of first laser receiving units.

[0009] In any of the above systems, the first laser unit may further include a plurality of first laser emitting units that irradiate laser light, and the second laser unit may further include a plurality of second laser receiving units that receive laser light, and the second control unit may detect the first laser unit based on the laser light received by at least any of the plurality of second laser receiving units, estimate the relative direction of the first laser unit based on the position of the second laser unit based on the reception status of the laser light by the plurality of second laser receiving units, and control the movement mechanism of the second device to align the first laser unit and the second laser unit based on the relative direction.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an underwater mobile device. The device may include a first laser unit including a plurality of first laser receiving units that receive laser light. The device may further include a first control unit that detects the second laser unit of another device, the second laser unit including a plurality of second laser emitting units that emit laser light based on the laser light received by at least one of the plurality of first laser receiving units, and a second control unit that controls the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light, estimates a relative direction of the second laser unit based on the position of the first laser unit based on the laser light reception status of the plurality of first laser receiving units, and controls a movement mechanism of the device to align the first laser unit and the second laser unit based on the relative direction.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a control method executed by a first control unit of an apparatus movable underwater and including a first laser unit including a plurality of first laser receiving units that receive laser light, and a first control unit. The control method may include a detection step of detecting the second laser unit of another apparatus including a second laser unit including a plurality of second laser emitting units that emit laser light based on the laser light received by at least one of the plurality of first laser receiving units, and a second control unit that controls the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light. The control method may include an estimation step of estimating a relative direction of the second laser unit based on the position of the first laser unit, based on a state of laser light reception by the plurality of first laser receiving units. The control method may include a movement mechanism control step of controlling a movement mechanism of the apparatus to align the first laser unit and the second laser unit based on the relative direction.

[0012] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also constitute inventions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] An example of a system 10 is shown schematically. [Figure 2] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a two-dimensional pattern. [Figure 3] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a two-dimensional pattern. [Figure 4] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a two-dimensional pattern. [Figure 5] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a two-dimensional pattern. [Figure 6] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a two-dimensional pattern. [Figure 7] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. FIG. [Figure 9] An example of a system 10 is shown schematically. [Figure 10] An example of a laser unit 220 is shown schematically. [Figure 11] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. FIG. [Figure 14] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. FIG. [Figure 15] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. FIG. [Figure 16] An example of a system 10 is shown schematically. [Figure 17] An example of a system 10 is shown schematically. [Figure 18] An example of a system 10 is shown schematically. [Figure 19] An example of the hardware configuration of a computer 1200 that functions as the control unit 180 or the control unit 280 is shown in schematic form. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0015] Light attenuation is significant underwater. For example, sunlight barely reaches the ocean. At a depth of around 70 meters, light attenuation is approximately 0.1% of that at the surface, and at a depth of around 200 meters, it is imperceptible to humans. This means that cameras can only capture light at close range. Furthermore, it is difficult to use precise positioning techniques using radio waves, sound waves, etc. underwater. This makes it difficult to achieve effective tracking technology for moving underwater vehicles. It is desirable to provide a tracking method that can actively capture and track moving underwater vehicles using light (lasers), which is not affected by external disturbances (multipath) caused by diffuse reflections from obstacles, as is the case with radio waves and sound waves. The system of this embodiment contributes to solving these problems by providing optical tracking technology that captures and tracks the position of an underwater vehicle using, for example, multiple laser emitters and multiple laser receivers arranged in a matrix.

[0016] 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a system 10. The system 10 includes a device 100 and a device 200 that are disposed underwater. The device 100 may be an example of a first device. The device 200 may be an example of a second device.

[0017] In the example shown in Fig. 1, the device 100 has the function of moving through water by itself. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the device 200 does not have the function of moving through water by itself. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the device 200 is fixed to a ship 40. The device 200 may be fixed to any location other than the ship 40.

[0018] The apparatus 200 includes a laser unit 220. The laser unit 220 may be an example of a second laser unit. As shown in the lower right of Fig. 1, the laser unit 220 includes a plurality of laser irradiation units 230. The laser irradiation units 230 may be an example of a second laser irradiation unit.

[0019] 1, the laser unit 220 has a plurality of laser irradiation sections 230 arranged in a matrix. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the matrix of the laser unit 220 is a square with 5 rows and 5 columns, and the laser unit 220 has 25 laser irradiation sections 230. The number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the matrix are not limited to these, and the number of laser irradiation sections 230 is not limited to 25.

[0020] The number of rows in the matrix may be less than 5. For example, the number of rows in the matrix may be 4, 3, and 2. The number of columns in the matrix may be more than 5. The number of columns in the matrix may be less than 5. For example, the number of columns in the matrix may be 4, 3, and 2. The number of columns in the matrix may be more than 5.

[0021] The shape of the matrix may be rectangular. The number of rows and columns of the matrix may be different. The number of rows and columns of the matrix may be the same. The shape of the matrix may be any shape, for example, a triangle or a polygon with pentagons or more sides.

[0022] The arrangement of the plurality of laser irradiation sections 230 of the laser unit 220 does not have to be in a matrix form. For example, the arrangement of the plurality of laser irradiation sections 230 may be in a circular or elliptical form, or the like.

[0023] The laser irradiation unit 230 irradiates the laser light 22. The laser irradiation unit 230 may irradiate the laser light 22 in the direction of the device 100. The direction of the device 100 may be the direction in which the device 100 is assumed to be located. The direction of the device 100 does not have to completely match the direction in which the device 100 is located. The laser irradiation unit 230 may irradiate the laser light 22 in a direction slightly deviated from the direction in which the device 100 is located. The irradiation direction of the laser light 22 from the laser irradiation unit 230 may be changeable.

[0024] The apparatus 100 includes a laser unit 120. The laser unit 120 may be an example of a first laser unit. As shown in the lower left of Fig. 1, the laser unit 120 includes a plurality of laser receiving units 150. The laser receiving units 150 may be an example of a first laser receiving unit.

[0025] 1, the laser unit 120 has a plurality of laser receiving sections 150. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of laser receiving sections 150 are arranged in a matrix. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the matrix of the laser unit 120 is a square with 5 rows and 5 columns, and the laser unit 120 has 25 laser receiving sections 150. The number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the matrix are not limited to these, and the number of laser receiving sections 150 is not limited to 25. The number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the matrix are the same as those described above for the laser unit 220, and can be understood by those skilled in the art by replacing the laser emitting section 230 with the laser receiving section 150.

[0026] The number of rows in the matrix of the laser unit 120 may be the same as the number of rows in the matrix of the laser unit 220. The number of columns in the matrix of the laser unit 120 may be the same as the number of columns in the matrix of the laser unit 220. The shape of the matrix of the laser unit 120 may be the same as the shape of the matrix of the laser unit 220. The number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the laser unit 120 may be the same as the number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the matrix of the laser unit 220.

[0027] In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the laser unit 120 are a square of 5 rows x 5 columns, and the number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the matrix of the laser unit 220 are a square of 5 rows x 5 columns will be mainly described as an example.

[0028] The laser receiving unit 150 receives the laser light 22. The laser receiving unit 150 may receive the laser light 22 from the direction of the device 200. The direction of the device 200 may be the direction in which the device 200 is assumed to be located. The direction of the device 200 does not have to completely match the direction in which the device 200 is located. The laser receiving unit 150 may be configured to receive the laser light 22 incident from a direction slightly deviated from the direction in which the device 200 is located. The laser receiving unit 150 may be configured to receive the laser light 22 from a direction that completely matches the direction in which the device 200 is located. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the laser receiving unit 150 receives the laser light 22 irradiated from the laser irradiating unit 230.

[0029] The device 200 includes a control unit 280. The control unit 280 may be an example of a second control unit. The control unit 280 executes various controls in the device 200. For example, the control unit 280 controls the irradiation of the laser beam 22 by the multiple laser irradiation units 230. The control unit 280 may control the on / off of the irradiation of the laser beam 22 by each of the multiple laser irradiation units 230. As a specific example, the control unit 280 may control the multiple laser irradiation units 230 to cause the laser unit 220 to irradiate the laser beam in a predetermined two-dimensional pattern. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the two-dimensional pattern is a cross. As another specific example, the control unit 280 may control the multiple laser irradiation units 230 to irradiate the laser beam 22 in sequence. The control unit 280 may control the multiple laser irradiation units 230 to irradiate the laser beam 22 one by one.

[0030] The device 100 has a control unit 180. The control unit 180 may be an example of a first control unit. The control unit 180 executes various controls in the device 100. For example, the control unit 180 controls the detection of the laser unit 220. For example, the control unit 180 detects the laser unit 220 based on the laser light 22 received by at least one of the multiple laser receiving units 150. As a specific example, when at least one of the multiple laser receiving units 150 receives the laser light 22, the control unit 180 determines that the laser unit 220 is present in the light receiving direction.

[0031] For example, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 with reference to the position of the laser unit 120. For example, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 with reference to the position of the laser unit 120 based on the reception status of the laser beam 22 by the multiple laser receiving units 150. As a specific example, the control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction based on which of the multiple laser receiving units 150 has received the laser beam 22. For example, the control unit 180 estimates that the laser unit 220 is located in the direction of the laser receiving unit 150 that received the laser beam 22.

[0032] As a specific example, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 with respect to the position of the laser unit 120, based on a predetermined two-dimensional pattern and a light reception pattern received by the plurality of laser light receiving units 150. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 with respect to the position of the laser unit 120, based on a predetermined cross-shaped pattern and a light reception pattern received by the plurality of laser light receiving units 150 shown in the lower left of Fig. 1.

[0033] As another specific example, the control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction based on the time-series reception status of the laser beam 22 by the multiple laser receiving units 150. For example, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction based on the chronological order in which the multiple laser receiving units 150 received the laser beam 22. For example, the control unit 180 estimates that the laser unit 220 is located in the direction of the laser receiving unit 150 that first received the laser beam 22. The control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction based on the cumulative received intensity of the laser beam 22 per unit time for each of the multiple laser receiving units 150. For example, the control unit 180 estimates that the laser unit 220 is located in the direction of the laser receiving unit 150 that has the greatest cumulative received intensity of the laser beam 22 per unit time.

[0034] The control unit 180 controls the movement mechanism 182 of the device 100 to align the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220 based on the estimated relative direction. As a result, the control unit 180 may adjust the positions of the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220 to a range where they face each other directly. The movement mechanism 182 is a mechanism that allows the device 100 to move underwater. Although a screw is illustrated as the movement mechanism 182 in FIG. 1, the movement mechanism 182 may be any mechanism that allows the device 100 to move underwater.

[0035] The two-dimensional pattern in the example shown in FIG. 1 is a cross, and the cross is formed by lines parallel to the rows of the matrix and lines parallel to the columns of the matrix intersecting at the center of the matrix. However, the configuration of the cross is not limited to this. For example, the intersection of the cross does not have to be at the center of the matrix. For example, as in the example shown in FIG. 2, the cross may be formed by two diagonal lines of the matrix intersecting. The cross may also be X-shaped.

[0036] The two-dimensional pattern does not have to be a cross. The two-dimensional pattern may have any shape as long as the control unit 180 can estimate the relative direction of the laser unit 220 based on the position of the laser unit 120. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the two-dimensional pattern is a hollow square. In the example shown in Fig. 4, the two-dimensional pattern is a hollow diamond.

[0037] The two-dimensional pattern may be formed to include a plurality of outermost points forming a matrix. The two-dimensional pattern may be formed to include points at the four corners of the matrix. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the two-dimensional pattern has a shape obtained by adding four points at the four corners of the matrix to the cross shape shown in FIG. 1. As a result, compared to the example shown in FIG. 1, the outer edge of the two-dimensional pattern irradiated by the laser irradiation unit 230 is wider, which increases the possibility that the laser light 22 will be received by the laser unit 120, and ultimately widens the range over which the device 100 can track the device 200.

[0038] Of the multiple laser irradiation units 230 forming a matrix, the time series pattern of laser irradiation of some of the laser irradiation units 230 may be different from the time series pattern of laser irradiation of the remaining laser irradiation units 230. In the example shown in FIG. 6, only the time series pattern of laser irradiation of the laser irradiation unit 230 located at the center of the matrix is ​​different from the time series patterns of the remaining laser irradiation units 230. For example, only the time series pattern of laser irradiation of the laser irradiation unit 230 located at the center of the matrix is ​​a blinking pattern, and the time series patterns of the other laser irradiation units 230 are lighting patterns. This makes it easier to identify the position on the matrix of the laser irradiation unit 230 that serves as the reference for alignment, and also improves the probability of correct identification, thereby enabling efficient and accurate alignment.

[0039] The wavelength, phase, and intensity of the laser light 22 emitted by the laser irradiation unit 230 are not particularly limited. The wavelength of the laser light 22 may be selected so that the laser light 22 is minimally attenuated in the liquid in which the system 10 is actually operated. For example, a sample of the liquid in which the system 10 is actually operated may be obtained and measured with a spectrophotometer to obtain an absorption spectrum, and the wavelength band of the laser light 22 may be selected from a wavelength band with minimal absorbance. This can reduce the effect of attenuation of the laser light 22 due to dissolved or dissipated substances in seawater, for example, when the system 10 is operated in a specific sea area. The wavelength of the laser light 22 may be selected from visible light. For example, the wavelength of the laser light 22 may be selected from the range of 360 nm to 830 nm. The wavelength of the laser light 22 may be selected from the wavelengths of blue and green light within the visible light. For example, the wavelength of the laser light 22 may be selected from the range of 440 nm to 550 nm.

[0040] The wavelength, phase, and intensity of the laser light received by the laser receiving unit 150 are not particularly limited. The wavelength of the laser light received by the laser receiving unit 150 may be limited to a specific wavelength. For example, the laser receiving unit 150 may be filtered so as to receive only laser light in the same wavelength range as the laser light 22 emitted by the laser emitting unit 230 and not receive laser light in a wavelength range different from that of the laser light 22. This reduces the influence of light received by the laser receiving unit 150 other than the laser light 22 emitted from the laser emitting unit 230, allowing the control unit 180 to detect the position of the laser unit 220 more accurately.

[0041] The irradiation period during which each of the plurality of laser irradiation sections 230 irradiates the laser light 22 may be adjustable.

[0042] For example, when the distance between the device 100 and the device 200 is large and the intensity of the laser light 22 received by the laser receiving unit 150 is relatively small, the irradiation period of the laser light 22 may be lengthened to increase the cumulative intensity of the laser light 22 per unit time. This increases the probability that the device 100 can capture the device 200. When the distance between the device 100 and the device 200 is small and the intensity of the laser light 22 received by the laser receiving unit 150 is relatively large, the irradiation period of the laser light 22 may be shortened to reduce the amount of movement of the device 100 and the device 200 due to currents, etc., during the period when one laser emitting unit 230 is emitting the laser light 22. This makes it easier for the device 100 to estimate the accurate position of the device 200. In this way, a balanced adjustment can be made depending on the distance between the device 100 and the device 200, prioritizing the probability of capture when the distance is large and prioritizing the accuracy of position estimation when the distance is small. As a specific example, the control unit 280 controls the laser beam 22 so that the longer the distance between the device 100 and the device 200, the longer the emission period of the laser beam 22. When the distance between the device 100 and the device 200 is shorter than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 280 may control the laser beam 22 to be emitted for a predetermined first irradiation period, and when the distance between the device 100 and the device 200 is longer than the predetermined threshold, the control unit 280 may control the laser beam 22 to be emitted for a second irradiation period longer than the first irradiation period.

[0043] In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the device 200 may communicate with the device 100 using a two-dimensional pattern formed by the multiple laser irradiation units 230. For example, the device 200 may communicate with the device 100 by predetermining specific meanings for the shape of the two-dimensional pattern and the combination of time-series irradiation patterns. The shape of the two-dimensional pattern may be, for example, a cross, an X, a hollow square, a hollow diamond, or the like. The time-series irradiation pattern of the two-dimensional pattern may be, for example, an irradiation pattern configured by changing the laser light irradiation time of the two-dimensional pattern, the interval period between laser irradiations of the two-dimensional pattern, the laser light irradiation time of each of the multiple laser irradiation units 230 when the multiple laser irradiation units 230 are caused to sequentially irradiate the laser light 22, or the interval period between laser irradiations of each of the multiple laser irradiation units 230 when the multiple laser irradiation units 230 are caused to sequentially irradiate the laser light 22. The time-series irradiation pattern of the two-dimensional pattern may be, for example, a Morse code. Furthermore, the two-dimensional time-series irradiation pattern may be, for example, any pattern previously determined between the parties involved.

[0044] In the example shown in FIG. 1, device 200 may further have an optical communication unit including an optical antenna, and device 100 may further have an optical communication unit including an optical antenna. In the example shown in FIG. 1, device 200 and device 100 may perform optical communication. Specifically, optical communication may be performed between the optical communication unit of device 200 and the optical communication unit of device 100. The optical communication unit of device 200 may be referred to as a second optical communication unit. The optical antenna included in the second optical communication unit may be referred to as a second optical antenna. The optical communication unit of device 100 may be referred to as a first optical communication unit. The optical antenna included in the first optical communication unit may be referred to as a first optical antenna.

[0045] The laser irradiation unit 230 may irradiate the laser light 22 in the direction of optical communication of the second optical communication unit. The direction of optical communication of the second optical communication unit may be the orientation direction of optical communication of the second optical communication unit. The direction of optical communication does not have to completely match the direction of optical communication. The laser irradiation unit 230 may irradiate the laser light 22 in a direction that completely matches the direction of optical communication of the second optical communication unit. The laser irradiation unit 230 may irradiate the laser light 22 in a direction that is slightly deviated from the direction of optical communication of the second optical communication unit.

[0046] The laser receiving unit 150 may receive laser light from the direction of optical communication of the first optical communication unit. The direction of optical communication of the first optical communication unit may be the orientation direction of optical communication of the first optical communication unit. The laser receiving unit 150 may be configured to receive laser light 22 from a direction that completely matches the direction of optical communication of the first optical communication unit. The laser receiving unit 150 may also be configured to receive laser light 22 from a direction that is slightly offset from the direction of optical communication of the first optical communication unit.

[0047] The first optical communication unit and the second optical communication unit may be disposed in the device 100 and the device 200, respectively, so that the directions of optical communication match when the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220 are aligned. As described above, the control unit 180 mainly aligns the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220, thereby enabling stable optical communication between the device 100 and the device 200.

[0048] The control unit 280 may be the main controller for aligning the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. For example, the control unit 280 may receive information indicating the reception status of the laser light 22 by at least one of the multiple laser receiving units 150 from the device 100 via optical communication. The control unit 280 may estimate the relative direction of the laser unit 220 based on the position of the laser unit 120 based on the received information. The control unit 280 may control the movement mechanism of the device 100 to align the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. For example, the control unit 280 may control the movement mechanism 182 by sending a control signal to the device 100 via optical communication. The device 100 and the device 200 may further include communication means other than optical communication. The device 100 may communicate with the device 200 via other communication means. For example, the other communication means may be acoustic wave communication. If a problem occurs in the optical communication, the device 100 may receive control from the device 200 via other communication means.

[0049] 7 and 8 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the alignment of laser unit 120 and laser unit 220. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 schematically show the positional relationship between laser unit 120 and laser unit 220. For the sake of convenience of explanation, parts of apparatus 100 other than laser unit 120 and parts of apparatus 200 other than laser unit 220 are omitted from the illustration.

[0050] In Figures 7 and 8, when laser unit 120 and laser unit 220 are in the positions shown in stage C, a large deviation in the position of laser unit 120 indicates a low degree of alignment between the positions of laser unit 120 and laser unit 220, and a small deviation in the position of laser unit 120 and laser unit 220 indicates a high degree of alignment between laser unit 120 and laser unit 220.

[0051] In the example shown in Figures 7 and 8, laser unit 120 includes multiple laser receiving sections, namely laser receiving section 151, laser receiving section 152, laser receiving section 153, laser receiving section 154, laser receiving section 155, laser receiving section 156, laser receiving section 157, laser receiving section 158, laser receiving section 159, laser receiving section 160, laser receiving section 161, laser receiving section 162, laser receiving section 163, laser receiving section 164, laser receiving section 165, laser receiving section 166, laser receiving section 167, laser receiving section 168, laser receiving section 169, laser receiving section 170, laser receiving section 171, laser receiving section 172, laser receiving section 173, laser receiving section 174, and laser receiving section 175.

[0052] In the example shown in Figures 7 and 8, laser unit 220 includes multiple laser irradiation sections, namely laser irradiation section 221, laser irradiation section 222, laser irradiation section 223, laser irradiation section 224, laser irradiation section 225, laser irradiation section 226, laser irradiation section 227, laser irradiation section 228, laser irradiation section 229, laser irradiation section 230, laser irradiation section 231, laser irradiation section 232, laser irradiation section 233, laser irradiation section 234, laser irradiation section 235, laser irradiation section 236, laser irradiation section 237, laser irradiation section 238, laser irradiation section 239, laser irradiation section 240, laser irradiation section 241, laser irradiation section 242, laser irradiation section 243, laser irradiation section 244, and laser irradiation section 245.

[0053] 7 and 8, laser irradiation portions that are not irradiated with laser beam 22 are shown without hatching, and laser irradiation portions that are irradiated with laser beam 22 are shown with hatching. In Fig. 7 and 8, laser receiving portions that are not receiving laser beam 22 are shown without hatching, and laser receiving portions that are receiving laser beam 22 are shown with hatching.

[0054] 7, the alignment of laser unit 120 and laser unit 220 will be described using an example in which the predetermined pattern is a cross shape. In stages A, B, and C, among the multiple laser irradiation units 230 of laser unit 220, laser irradiation unit 223, laser irradiation unit 228, laser irradiation unit 231, laser irradiation unit 232, laser irradiation unit 233, laser irradiation unit 234, laser irradiation unit 235, laser irradiation unit 238, and laser irradiation unit 243 irradiate laser light 22, thereby forming a two-dimensional cross pattern shown on the right side of stage A, and irradiating laser light 22.

[0055] Stage A represents a state in which the laser unit 120 detects the laser unit 220 and starts alignment. In Stage A, of the multiple laser emitting units 130 of the laser unit 120, only the laser receiving unit 155 receives the laser light 22. In Stage A of this example, the laser receiving unit 155 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by the laser emitting unit 243.

[0056] In stage A, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 with respect to the laser unit 120, based on a predetermined two-dimensional cross-shaped pattern and a light reception pattern received by the plurality of laser irradiation units 130 included in the laser unit 120. In stage A, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser unit 220 is located in the direction of the laser light receiving unit 155 as seen from the laser light receiving unit 163, which is the center of the matrix of the laser unit 120, based on the fact that only the laser light receiving unit 155 of the plurality of laser light receiving units 150 has received the laser light 22. Specifically, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser unit 220 is located in the relative direction of the vector 30 obtained by connecting the laser light receiving unit 163, which is the center of the matrix of the laser unit 120, and the laser light receiving unit 155, and may control the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100.

[0057] In stage B, in response to the movement of device 100 in stage A, the position of laser unit 120 approaches the position of laser unit 220. In stage B, laser receiving unit 151 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 231, laser receiving unit 152 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 232, laser receiving unit 153 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 233, laser receiving unit 154 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 234, laser receiving unit 155 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 235, laser receiving unit 158 ​​receives the laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 238, and laser receiving unit 163 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 243.

[0058] In stage B, the control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction in which the laser unit 220 is located, based on the fact that the laser receiving units 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 158, and 163 among the multiple laser receiving units have received the laser light 22. Specifically, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser unit 220 is located in the relative direction of the vector 30 obtained by combining multiple vectors obtained by connecting the laser receiving unit 163, which is the center of the matrix of the laser unit 120, with each of the multiple laser receiving units that have received the laser light 22, and control the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100.

[0059] As another specific example, the control unit 180 may estimate the laser emitting unit that received the laser beam 22 irradiated by the laser emitting unit 233 at the center of the laser unit 220, based on a predetermined two-dimensional pattern and a light reception pattern by the plurality of laser receiving units of the laser unit 120. In step B, based on the fact that the predetermined two-dimensional pattern is a cross and that the light reception pattern by the plurality of laser receiving units of the laser unit 120 is a T-shape, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser emitting unit that received the laser beam 22 irradiated from the laser emitting unit 233 at the center of the laser unit 220 is the laser receiving unit 153 located at the intersection of the T-shape. The control unit 180 may control the moving mechanism 182 to move the device 100 in the relative direction of the vector 30 obtained by connecting the laser receiving unit 163 at the center of the laser unit 120 and the laser receiving unit 153 estimated to have received the laser beam 22 irradiated from the center of the laser unit 220. The control unit 180 may control the moving mechanism 182 of the device 100 so as to align the position of the laser receiving unit 163, which is the center of the laser unit 120, with the position of the laser receiving unit 153 that is estimated to have received the laser light 22 irradiated from the center of the laser unit 220.

[0060] Phase C represents a state in which the position of laser unit 120 is aligned with the position of laser unit 220 in response to the movement of apparatus 100 in phase B.

[0061] 8, the alignment of laser unit 120 and laser unit 220 will be described using an example in which the predetermined pattern is X-shaped. In stages A, B, and C, among the multiple laser irradiation units 230 of laser unit 220, laser irradiation unit 221, laser irradiation unit 225, laser irradiation unit 227, laser irradiation unit 229, laser irradiation unit 233, laser irradiation unit 237, laser irradiation unit 239, laser irradiation unit 241, and laser irradiation unit 245 irradiate laser light 22, thereby forming an X-shaped two-dimensional pattern shown on the right side of stage A, and irradiating laser light 22.

[0062] Stage A represents a state in which the laser unit 120 detects the laser unit 220 and starts alignment. In Stage A, of the multiple laser emitting units 130 of the laser unit 120, only the laser receiving unit 155 receives the laser light 22. In Stage A of this example, the laser receiving unit 155 receives the laser light 22 irradiated by the laser emitting unit 243.

[0063] In stage A, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 with respect to the laser unit 120, based on a predetermined X-shaped two-dimensional pattern and a light reception pattern received by the plurality of laser irradiation units 130 included in the laser unit 120. In stage A, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser unit 220 is located in the direction of the laser light receiving unit 155 as seen from the laser light receiving unit 163, which is the center of the matrix of the laser unit 120, based on the fact that only the laser light receiving unit 155 of the plurality of laser light receiving units 150 has received the laser light 22. Specifically, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser unit 220 is located in the relative direction of the vector 30 obtained by connecting the laser light receiving unit 163, which is the center of the matrix of the laser unit 120, and the laser light receiving unit 155, and may control the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100.

[0064] In stage B, in response to the movement of device 100 in stage A, the position of laser unit 120 approaches the position of laser unit 220. In stage B, laser receiving unit 155 receives laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 233, laser receiving unit 159 receives laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 237, and laser receiving unit 163 receives laser light 22 irradiated by laser irradiating unit 241.

[0065] In stage B, the control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction in which the laser unit 220 is located, based on the fact that the laser receiving units 155, 159, and 163, among the multiple laser receiving units, have received the laser light 22. Specifically, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser unit 220 is located in the relative direction of vector 30 obtained by combining multiple vectors obtained by connecting laser receiving unit 163, which is the center of the matrix of the laser units 120, with each of the multiple laser receiving units that have received the laser light 22, and may control the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100. For example, if the multiple vectors obtained in this manner are all vectors in the same direction, the control unit 180 may estimate that the laser unit 220 is located in the relative direction of the vector with the largest magnitude and control the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100.

[0066] As another specific example, the control unit 180 may estimate the laser emitting unit that received the laser beam 22 irradiated by the laser emitting unit 233 at the center of the laser unit 220, from a predetermined two-dimensional pattern and the light reception pattern by the plurality of laser receiving units of the laser unit 120. In stage B, based on the fact that the predetermined two-dimensional pattern is X-shaped and that the light reception pattern by the plurality of laser receiving units of the laser unit 120 is a diagonal straight line whose length is equal to or longer than the length including the center of the X, it can be estimated that the laser emitting unit that received the laser beam 22 irradiated from the laser emitting unit 233 at the center of the laser unit 220 is the laser receiving unit 155 located at the upper right point of the diagonal straight line. For example, the control unit 180 may control the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100 in the relative direction of the vector 30 obtained by connecting the laser receiving unit 163 at the center of the laser unit 120 and the laser receiving unit 155 estimated to have received the laser beam 22 irradiated from the center of the laser unit 220. The control unit 180 may control the movement mechanism 182 of the device 100 to align the position of the laser receiving unit 163 at the center of the laser unit 120 with the position of the laser receiving unit 155 estimated to have received the laser beam 22 irradiated from the center of the laser unit 220.

[0067] In step C, in response to the movement of the apparatus 100 in step B, the position of the laser unit 120 is aligned with the position of the laser unit 220.

[0068] There may be cases where multiple laser receiving units 150 receive laser light 22 emitted from one laser emitting unit 230. In this case, the light receiving pattern received by the multiple laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 will be thicker than a predetermined two-dimensional pattern. In such a case, the relative positions of the corresponding multiple laser emitting units 230 may be estimated by performing processing according to the received light intensity for each of the multiple laser receiving units 150. The processing according to the received light intensity may, for example, calculate coordinates that are weighted by the received light intensity from the coordinates of each of the multiple laser receiving units 150 on the matrix and the received light intensity of the laser light 22 of each of the multiple laser receiving units 150, and set these coordinates as the coordinates at which the device 100 received laser light from the device 200.

[0069] Fig. 9 schematically illustrates an example of the system 10. In this example, differences from the example illustrated in Fig. 1 will be mainly described, and descriptions of parts common to the example illustrated in Fig. 1 will be omitted. In the example illustrated in Fig. 9, the system 10 further includes a device 300. The device 300 may be an example of a third device.

[0070] 9, the device 300 does not have the ability to move through water by itself. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the device 300 is fixed to a vessel 41 that is different from the vessel 40. The device 300 may be fixed to any location other than the vessel 41. The device 300 may also be fixed to the same vessel 40 as the device 200.

[0071] The apparatus 300 includes a laser unit 320. The laser unit 320 may be an example of a third laser unit. As shown in the lower left of Fig. 9, the laser unit 320 includes a plurality of laser irradiation units 330. The laser irradiation units 330 may be an example of a third laser irradiation unit.

[0072] In this example, the laser unit 320 has a plurality of laser irradiation sections 230 arranged in a matrix. In this example, the matrix of the laser unit 320 is a square with 5 rows and 5 columns. The number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the matrix are not limited to these, and the number of laser irradiation sections 330 is not limited to 25. The number of rows, the number of columns, and the shape of the matrix are the same as those of the laser unit 220, and can be understood by those skilled in the art by replacing the laser irradiation sections 230 in the above description of the laser unit 220 with the laser irradiation sections 330.

[0073] The laser irradiation section 330 irradiates the laser light 22. The configuration of the laser irradiation section 330 may be the same as the configuration of the laser irradiation section 230.

[0074] The device 300 includes a control unit 380. The control unit 380 may be an example of a third control unit. The configuration of the control unit 380 is similar to that of the control unit 280.

[0075] 9, the control unit 380 may control the multiple laser irradiation units 330 to cause the laser unit 320 to irradiate laser light in a predetermined two-dimensional pattern that is different from the two-dimensional pattern used by the laser unit 220. In this example, the two-dimensional pattern used by the laser unit 220 is a cross, and the two-dimensional pattern used by the laser unit 320 is a hollow square.

[0076] In the upper part of FIG. 9 , device 100 faces device 200, and control unit 180 may identify device 200 as the device emitting the laser light received by the plurality of laser receiving units 150 based on a two-dimensional cross-shaped pattern predetermined for device 200 to use and the cross-shaped light-receiving pattern received by the plurality of laser receiving units 150. In the lower part of FIG. 9 , device 100 faces device 300, and control unit 180 may identify device 300 as the device emitting the laser light received by the plurality of laser receiving units 150 based on a two-dimensional hollow square pattern predetermined for device 300 to use and the hollow square light-receiving pattern received by the plurality of laser receiving units 150. This enables device 100 to identify each of the plurality of tracking targets. Consequently, it becomes possible to select a specific tracking target from the plurality of tracking targets depending on the identification result.

[0077] 9, the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 220 is a cross, and the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 320 is a hollow square, but these are not limited to this. As long as the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 220 and the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 320 are different from each other, the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 220 and the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 320 may be any two-dimensional pattern.

[0078] The time-series irradiation pattern of the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 220 may be different from the time-series irradiation pattern of the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 320. For example, the irradiation time and / or interval of the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 220 may be different from the irradiation time and / or interval of the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 320. This enables device 100 to identify each of the multiple tracking targets. Ultimately, it becomes possible to select a specific tracking target from the multiple tracking targets depending on the identification result. In this case, the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 220 may be different from the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 320, or the two-dimensional pattern used by laser unit 220 may be the same.

[0079] 9, the system 10 may further include a plurality of devices similar to the device 200 and the device 300. For example, the system 10 may include four, five, six, seven, or eight devices similar to the device 200 and the device 300.

[0080] FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an example of a matrix of the laser unit 220. In this example, the matrix is ​​rhombic. In this example, the number of laser emission units 230 on each of the two diagonals of the rhombic is five, which is equal to each other, but the number of laser emission units 230 on each of the two diagonals of the rhombic is not limited to this. The number of laser emission units 230 on each of the two diagonals of the rhombic does not have to be five, and may be different from each other. In this example, only the structure of the laser unit 220 will be described, but the structure of the laser unit 120 may be similar. For example, the laser unit 120 may have a structure in which the laser emission units 230 of the laser unit 220 are replaced with laser receiving units 150.

[0081] The control unit 280 may cause the multiple laser emitting units 230 to emit laser light in sequence. The control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction of the laser unit 220 based on the position of the laser unit 120, based on the time-series laser light reception status by the laser receiving unit 150.

[0082] 11 to 15 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the alignment of the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220. In the example shown in FIGS. 11 to 15, the multiple laser irradiation units of the laser unit 220 are arranged in a circle. The multiple laser irradiation units may be arranged at equal intervals around the circle. In this example, the laser unit 220 has eight laser irradiation units 230, but the number of laser irradiation units 230 is not limited to this. The number of laser irradiation units 230 may be fewer than eight. For example, the number of laser irradiation units 230 may be 7, 6, 5, 4, or 3. The number of laser irradiation units 230 may be more than eight. Multiple laser irradiation units 230 may be integrated. For example, the multiple laser irradiation units 230 may be integrated to form a ring shape as a whole, and laser light may be emitted from different positions around the ring. In other words, the multiple laser irradiation units 230 may be a group of devices capable of emitting laser light from different positions, or a single device.

[0083] In this example, the multiple laser receiving units of the laser unit 120 are arranged in a circle. In this example, the laser unit 120 has eight laser receiving units 150, but the number of laser receiving units 150 is not limited to this. The number of laser receiving units 150 may be fewer than eight. For example, the number of laser receiving units 150 may be 7, 6, 5, 4, or 3. The number of laser receiving units 150 may be more than eight. Multiple laser receiving units 150 may be integrated. For example, multiple laser receiving units 150 may be integrated to form a ring shape as a whole, and laser light may be received at different positions on the circumference of the ring. In other words, the multiple laser receiving units 150 may be a group of devices capable of receiving laser light from different positions, or a single device.

[0084] 11 to 15 schematically show the positional relationship between laser unit 120 and laser unit 220 when device 200 is viewed from the side where device 100 is located. For ease of explanation, parts of device 100 other than laser unit 120 and parts of device 200 other than laser unit 220 are omitted from illustration.

[0085] In Figures 11 to 15, a small overlap between laser unit 120 and laser unit 220 indicates a low degree of alignment between the position of laser unit 120 and laser unit 220, and a large overlap between laser unit 120 and laser unit 220 indicates a high degree of alignment between laser unit 120 and laser unit 220.

[0086] In the example shown in Figures 11 to 15, the laser unit 120 includes multiple laser receiving sections, namely, laser receiving section 152, laser receiving section 154, laser receiving section 156, laser receiving section 158, laser receiving section 160, laser receiving section 162, laser receiving section 164, and laser receiving section 166.

[0087] In the examples shown in Figures 11 to 15, the laser unit 220 includes multiple laser irradiation sections, namely, laser irradiation section 232, laser irradiation section 234, laser irradiation section 236, laser irradiation section 238, laser irradiation section 240, laser irradiation section 242, laser irradiation section 244, and laser irradiation section 246.

[0088] 11 represents a state in which the laser unit 120 does not detect the laser unit 220. In stage A, the laser emitting unit 232 emits laser light 22, but none of the multiple laser receiving units of the laser unit 120 receives the laser light 22. In this example, the laser light 22 is not a completely collimated light but has a divergence angle, and the irradiation range of the laser light 22 expands by the divergence angle. Therefore, the range of the circle indicating the irradiation range of the laser light 22 is wider than the range of the laser emitting unit 232.

[0089] After laser irradiation unit 232 irradiates laser beam 22, laser irradiation unit 234 irradiates laser beam 22. Thereafter, laser irradiation unit 236, laser irradiation unit 238, and laser irradiation unit 240 irradiate laser beam 22 in the order of clockwise circular arrangement. In any of these cases, none of the multiple laser receiving units of laser unit 120 receives laser beam 22.

[0090] Stage B in Fig. 11 shows the state where laser unit 120 detects laser unit 220 for the first time and the first sequence begins. In stage B, laser receiving unit 158 ​​and laser receiving unit 156 receive laser light 22 emitted by laser emitting unit 242. In Figs. 11 to 15, the laser receiving units receiving laser light 22 are indicated by dense diagonal lines. In this stage, control unit 180 does not control movement mechanism 182, and device 100 does not move.

[0091] Stage C in Fig. 11 shows the state immediately after stage B. In stage C, the laser beam 22 irradiated by the laser irradiating unit 244 is received by the laser receiving unit 156 and the laser receiving unit 154. Here, the laser receiving unit 158 ​​is outside the irradiation range of the laser beam 22, but has a history of receiving the laser beam 22. In Figs. 11 to 15, the laser receiving units that have a history of receiving the laser beam 22 within the same sequence are indicated by sparse diagonal lines.

[0092] 12 shows a state in which the order of irradiating laser beam 22 has been completed and laser irradiating unit 232 is again irradiating laser beam 22. Although laser irradiating unit 232 is irradiating laser beam 22, none of the multiple laser receiving units of laser unit 120 has received laser beam 22. Laser receiving unit 158, laser receiving unit 156, and laser receiving unit 154 have a history of receiving laser beam 22 during the first sequence.

[0093] After the laser irradiation unit 232 irradiates the laser beam 22, the laser irradiation units 236, 238, and 240 irradiate the laser beam 22 in the order of the circular arrangement, clockwise. In any of these cases, none of the multiple laser receiving units of the laser unit 120 receives the laser beam 22.

[0094] Stage E in FIG. 12 shows a state in which the laser unit 120 detects the laser unit 220 again, and the second sequence begins. The laser beam 22 emitted by the laser emitting unit 242 is received by the laser receiving unit 158 ​​and the laser receiving unit 156. In stage E, the control unit 180 estimates the position of the laser unit 220 based on the state of the laser beam 22 received by the multiple laser receiving units of the laser unit 120 during the first sequence. In stage E, the three laser receiving units, the laser receiving unit 158, the laser receiving unit 156, and the laser receiving unit 154, have a history of receiving the laser beam 22. The control unit 180 may estimate that the device 100 is located in the relative direction of the vector 30 obtained by combining the vectors of the multiple laser receiving units that have the history of receiving the laser beam, and control the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100.

[0095] 12, in response to the movement of the device 100 in stage E, the position of the laser unit 120 approaches the position of the laser unit 220. In stage F, the laser light 22 irradiated by the laser irradiating unit 244 is received by the laser receiving units 156, 154, and 152.

[0096] 13 shows a state in which the order of irradiating laser beam 22 has gone through another cycle, and laser irradiating unit 232 is again irradiating laser beam 22. Although laser irradiating unit 232 is irradiating laser beam 22, none of the multiple laser receiving units of laser unit 120 has received laser beam 22. Laser receiving unit 158, laser receiving unit 156, laser receiving unit 154, and laser receiving unit 152 have a history of receiving laser beam 22.

[0097] Stage H in FIG. 13 shows a state in which the laser unit 120 detects the laser unit 220 again and the third sequence begins. The laser beam 22 emitted by the laser emitting unit 242 is received by the laser receiving units 158, 156, and 154. In stage H, the control unit 180 estimates the position of the laser unit 220 based on the state of the laser beam 22 received by the multiple laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 during the second sequence. In stage H, the four laser receiving units, i.e., the laser receiving units 158, 156, 154, and 152, have a history of receiving the laser beam 22. The control unit 180 may control the moving mechanism 182 to move the device 100 in the direction of the vector 30 obtained by combining the vectors of the multiple laser receiving units that have a history of receiving the laser beam.

[0098] 13, the laser unit 120 has come closer to the laser unit 220 due to the movement of the device 100 in stage H. In stage I, the laser light 22 irradiated by the laser emitting unit 244 is received by the laser receiving unit 160, the laser receiving unit 158, the laser receiving unit 156, the laser receiving unit 154, and the laser receiving unit 152.

[0099] 14 shows a state in which the order of irradiation of the laser beam 22 has gone through another cycle, and the laser irradiation unit 232 is again irradiating the laser beam 22. The laser receiving unit 154 and the laser receiving unit 156 receive the laser beam 22 irradiated by the laser irradiation unit 232.

[0100] Stage K in FIG. 14 shows a state in which the laser unit 120 detects the laser unit 220 again and the fourth sequence begins. The laser beam 22 emitted by the laser emitting unit 242 is received by the laser receiving unit 160, the laser receiving unit 158, and the laser receiving unit 156. In stage K, the control unit 180 estimates the position of the laser unit 220 based on the state of the laser beam 22 received by the multiple laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 during the third sequence. In stage K, five laser receiving units, namely the laser receiving unit 160, the laser receiving unit 158, the laser receiving unit 156, the laser receiving unit 154, and the laser receiving unit 152, have a history of receiving the laser beam 22. The control unit 180 may control the moving mechanism 182 to move the device 100 in the direction of the vector 30 obtained by combining the vectors of the multiple laser receiving units that have a history of receiving the laser beam.

[0101] 14 , as a result of the movement of the device 100 in stage K, the laser unit 120 has come closer to the laser unit 220. In stage L, the center of the circle of the laser unit 120 overlaps within the circle of the laser unit 220. When the laser units 120 and 220 overlap to this extent, for example, when optical antennas are installed at the center of the circle of the laser unit 120 and the center of the circle of the laser unit 220, adjustment of the optical wireless communication between the optical antennas can be started. In stage L, the laser light 22 irradiated by the laser emitting unit 244 is received by the laser receiving unit 166, the laser receiving unit 164, the laser receiving unit 162, the laser receiving unit 160, the laser receiving unit 158, the laser receiving unit 156, the laser receiving unit 154, and the laser receiving unit 152.

[0102] 15 shows a state in which the order of irradiation of the laser beam 22 has gone through another cycle, and the laser irradiating unit 232 is again irradiating the laser beam 22. The laser receiving unit 152, the laser receiving unit 154, and the laser receiving unit 156 receive the laser beam 22 irradiated by the laser irradiating unit 232.

[0103] 15 shows a state in which laser unit 120 detects laser unit 220 again and the fifth sequence begins. Laser light 22 emitted by laser emitting unit 242 is received by laser receiving units 162, 160, 158, and 156. In stage N, control unit 180 estimates the position of laser unit 220 based on the state of laser light 22 received by the multiple laser receiving units 150 of laser unit 120 during the fourth sequence.

[0104] In stage N, all eight laser receiving units 150 included in laser unit 120 have a history of receiving laser beam 22. In this case, the direction in which laser unit 220 is located cannot be estimated solely based on the presence or absence of a history of receiving laser beam 22. Therefore, control unit 180 may estimate vector 30, for example, by further using the chronological order in which the multiple laser receiving units received laser beam 22. In the fourth sequence, the chronological order in which the multiple laser receiving units received laser beam 22 is as follows: First, in stage K, laser receiving units 160, 158, and 156 receive laser beam 22. Next, in stage L, laser receiving units 166, 164, 160, 154, and 152 receive laser beam 22. The control unit 180 may estimate the vector 30 in the direction of the laser receiving unit that received the laser beam 22 earliest in the time series. As another example, the control unit 180 may estimate the vector 30 by further using the cumulative intensities of the laser beam 22 received by the multiple laser receiving units during the fourth sequence. The multiple laser receiving units are listed in descending order of the cumulative intensities of the laser beam 22 received during the fourth sequence: laser receiving unit 156 receives five intensities, laser receiving unit 154 receives four intensities, laser receiving unit 158 ​​receives three intensities, laser receiving unit 152 and laser receiving unit 160 receive two intensities, and laser receiving unit 162, laser receiving unit 164, and laser receiving unit 166 receive one intensities. The control unit 180 may estimate the vector 30 in the direction of the laser receiving unit that received the laser beam 22 with the highest cumulative intensity during the fourth sequence, for example. In step N, the control unit 180 estimates a vector 30 in the direction of the laser receiving unit 156. In step N, the control unit 180 controls the movement mechanism 182 to move the device 100 in the direction of the vector 30.

[0105] 15, the laser unit 120 has moved closer to the laser unit 220 due to the movement of the apparatus 100 in the stage N. In the stage O, the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220 are almost overlapping. In response to detecting this state, the control unit 180 may stop controlling the movement mechanism 182. The control unit 180 may continue to control the movement mechanism 182 regardless of whether or not the control unit 180 has detected this state.

[0106] In the examples shown in FIGS. 11 to 15 , the control unit 280 causes the multiple laser emitting units to emit laser light 22 in the order of the circular arrangement. The control unit 280 may control the multiple laser emitting units to emit laser light one by one in the order of the circular arrangement. In this case, the multiple laser emitting units do not emit laser light 22 simultaneously, and only one laser emitting unit emits laser light 22 at a given timing. Therefore, the control unit 180 can identify which of the multiple laser emitting units 230 emitted the laser light 22 received by the laser receiving unit. Furthermore, compared to when multiple laser emitting units emit laser light 22 simultaneously, the number of patterns of the time series order in which the multiple laser receiving units 150 receive the laser light 22 increases. This allows the control unit 180 to more accurately estimate the direction in which the laser unit 220 is located.

[0107] The control unit 280 may control the laser irradiation unit 234 to irradiate the laser beam 22 while the laser irradiation unit 232 continues to irradiate the laser beam 22, rather than irradiating each of the laser irradiation units one by one. For example, the control unit 280 may control the laser irradiation unit 234 to irradiate the laser beam 22 while the laser irradiation unit 232 continues to irradiate the laser beam 22. In this case, multiple laser irradiation units irradiate the laser beam 22 simultaneously. Therefore, at a given moment, the irradiation range of the laser beam 22 irradiated by the laser unit 220 is wider than when the laser irradiation units irradiate the laser beam 22 one by one. Furthermore, the cumulative intensity of the laser beam 22 received by the multiple laser receiving units is greater than when the laser irradiation units irradiate the laser beam 22 one by one. Therefore, the probability that the laser receiving unit 150 can receive the laser beam 22 increases, particularly when the distance between the device 100 and the device 200 is large and the attenuation of the laser beam 22 is large. This allows the control unit 180 to detect the laser unit 220 with a higher probability.

[0108] 11 to 15 , the alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220 has been described using an example in which the laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 are arranged in a circle and the laser emitting units 230 of the laser unit 220 are arranged in a circle. However, a person skilled in the art will understand that the alignment between the laser unit 120 and the laser unit 220 can be performed in a similar manner even when the laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 are arranged in a matrix and the laser emitting units 230 of the laser unit 220 are arranged in a matrix. For example, among the laser emitting units 230 arranged in a matrix, the laser emitting units 230 located on the periphery of a predetermined polygon may be irradiated with the laser light 22 in the order of their arrangement on the periphery. For example, the polygon may be an octagon, a heptagon, a hexagon, a rectangle, or a triangle.

[0109] Fig. 16 schematically illustrates an example of system 10. In the example illustrated in Fig. 16, differences from the example illustrated in Fig. 1 will be mainly described, and descriptions of common parts with the example illustrated in Fig. 1 will be omitted. In Fig. 16, device 200 further includes a distance measuring unit 284 that measures the distance between device 200 and the measurement target. Distance measuring unit 284 may be an example of a second distance measuring unit.

[0110] The distance measurement method used by the distance measurement unit 284 is not particularly limited, and may be TOF (Time Of Flight), LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), or the like. When the TOF method is used, the device 200 may have a light emitting device and a light receiving device for TOF. The device 200 may not have its own TOF light emitting device, but may use a light emitting device that is included in the device 200. For example, the distance measurement unit 284 uses at least one of the multiple laser emission units 230. When LiDAR is used, the device 200 may have a light emitting device and a light receiving device for LiDAR. The method of mounting these light emitting devices and light receiving devices on the device 200 is not particularly limited. For example, these light emitting devices and light receiving devices are arranged in the spaces between the multiple laser emission units 230 that form a matrix. For example, the light emitting device and light receiving device are arranged by replacing at least one of the multiple laser emission units 230 that form the matrix.

[0111] In the example shown in FIG. 16 , the distance measuring unit 284 measures the distance between the device 200 and the device 100. Stage A illustrates a situation in which the distance between the device 200 and the device 100 is relatively short. In Stage A, the control unit 280 may adjust the spread angle of the laser beams 22 irradiated by the plurality of laser irradiation units 230 to be smaller in response to the relatively short distance between the device 200 and the device 100. In Stage A, the control unit 280 may adjust the irradiation direction of the laser beams 22 irradiated by the plurality of laser irradiation units 230 to be closer to a direction perpendicular to the surfaces constituting the matrix in response to the relatively short distance between the device 200 and the device 100. As a specific example, when the distance between the device 200 and the device 100 is shorter than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 280 adjusts the irradiation direction of the laser beams 22 irradiated by the plurality of laser irradiation units 230 to be closer to a direction perpendicular to the surfaces constituting the matrix.

[0112] Stage B shows a situation in which the apparatus 100 has moved away from the apparatus 200 from the situation in Stage A. Here, the control unit 280 adjusts the spread angle of the laser beam 22 irradiated by the plurality of laser emitting units 230 according to the distance between the apparatus 200 and the apparatus 100. Specifically, the control unit 280 increases the spread angle of the laser beam 22 as the distance between the apparatus 200 and the apparatus 100 increases, within a range in which the light receiving state in which the plurality of laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 receive the laser beam 22 can be recognized. For example, the control unit 280 increases the spread angle of the laser beam 22 as the distance between the apparatus 200 and the apparatus 100 increases, within a range in which the light receiving pattern in which the plurality of laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 receive the laser beam 22 can be recognized. This can improve the resolution of recognizing the light receiving situation and the light receiving pattern when the device 100 receives the laser beam 22 when the distance between the device 100 and the device 200 is short, and can widen the spatial range in which the device 100 can continue tracking the device 200 when the distance between the device 100 and the device 200 is long. For example, the control unit 280 may adjust the divergence angle of the laser beam 22 by further considering the reach of the laser beam 22. For example, when the reach of the laser beam 22 is prioritized over the reach of the laser beam 22 and the irradiation range of the laser beam 22, the divergence angle of the laser beam 22 may be adjusted to be smaller, and when the irradiation range is prioritized, the divergence angle of the laser beam 22 may be adjusted to be larger. The adjustment of the divergence angle of the laser beam 22 may be performed by adjusting the type and focal length of the collimator lens of the laser irradiation unit 230.

[0113] Stage C shows a situation in which the device 100 has moved away from the device 200 from the situation in Stage A. Here, the control unit 280 adjusts the irradiation direction of the laser beam 22 irradiated by the multiple laser emitting units 230 depending on the distance between the device 200 and the device 100. Specifically, the control unit 280 adjusts the irradiation direction of the laser beam 22 away from the direction passing through the center of the matrix and perpendicular to the surfaces constituting the matrix as the distance between the device 200 and the device 100 increases within a range in which the light receiving pattern in which the multiple laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 receive the laser beam 22 can be recognized. For example, the control unit 280 adjusts the irradiation direction of the laser beam 22 away from the direction passing through the center of the matrix and perpendicular to the surfaces constituting the matrix as the distance between the device 200 and the device 100 increases within a range in which the light receiving pattern in which the multiple laser receiving units 150 of the laser unit 120 receive the laser beam 22 can be recognized. This makes it possible to improve the resolution of recognizing the light receiving situation and light receiving pattern when device 100 receives laser light 22 when the distance between device 100 and device 200 is short, and to expand the spatial range in which device 100 can continue tracking device 200 when the distance between device 100 and device 200 is long.

[0114] The control unit 280 may adjust only one of the divergence angle of the laser beam 22 and the irradiation direction of the laser beam 22. The control unit 280 may adjust both the divergence angle of the laser beam 22 and the irradiation direction of the laser beam 22.

[0115] FIG. 17 schematically illustrates an example of the system 10. The following mainly describes the differences between the example illustrated in FIG. 1 and the example illustrated in FIG. 1, and omits a description of the commonalities between the example illustrated in FIG. 1 and the example illustrated in FIG. 1. In this example, the device 200 further includes a laser beam reflector 286. The laser beam reflector 286 reflects the laser beam 22 in the same direction as the direction in which the laser beam 22 was received. In the example illustrated in FIG. 17, the laser beam reflector 286 reflects the rightward-facing laser beam 22 received from the left side to the left along the same optical axis direction. The laser beam reflector 286 may be, for example, a corner cube reflector. In this example, the laser unit 120 further includes multiple laser irradiation units 130 that irradiate laser beams. Specifically, the laser unit 120 may include multiple laser beam irradiating and receiving units 190 that are capable of both receiving and irradiating laser beams. The laser light emitting / receiving unit 190 may be realized by branching the optical paths of the laser emitting unit 130 and the laser receiving unit 150 on the same optical axis. The laser light emitting / receiving unit 190 may also be realized by arranging the laser emitting unit 130 and the laser receiving unit 150 adjacent to each other.

[0116] 17 , the control unit 180 causes a plurality of laser emitting units to emit laser light 22, and estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 with respect to the position of the laser unit 120 based on how the reflected light of the laser light 22 reflected by the laser light reflecting unit 286 is received by the plurality of laser receiving units 150. As a specific example, the control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction based on which of the plurality of laser receiving units 150 has received the reflected light. For example, the control unit 180 estimates that the laser unit 220 is located in the direction of the laser receiving unit 150 that received the reflected light.

[0117] As a specific example, the control unit 180 estimates the relative direction of the laser unit 220 based on the position of the laser unit 120, based on a predetermined two-dimensional pattern and the light reception pattern of the reflected light received by the plurality of laser light receiving units 150. In the example shown in Fig. 17, the two-dimensional pattern is a cross.

[0118] The control unit 180 may estimate the relative direction of the laser unit 220 based on the position of the laser unit 120 by using, in addition to the laser light 22 emitted by the multiple laser irradiation units 230, the reflected light of the laser light 22 emitted by the multiple laser irradiation units 130 of the laser unit 120 and reflected by the laser light reflection unit 286.

[0119] FIG. 18 schematically illustrates an example of the system 10. The following mainly describes the differences between the example illustrated in FIG. 1 and the example illustrated in FIG. 1, and omits the description of the common parts. In this example, the device 200 has the ability to move underwater by itself. In this example, the laser unit 120 further includes a plurality of laser emitting units 130 that emit laser light 22. Specifically, the laser unit 120 may include a plurality of laser light emitting / receiving units 190 that are capable of both receiving laser light and emitting laser light. The laser light emitting / receiving units 190 may be realized by branching the optical paths of the laser emitting units 130 and the laser receiving units 150 on the same optical axis. The laser light emitting / receiving unit 190 may be realized by arranging the laser emitting units 130 and the laser receiving units 150 adjacent to each other. In this example, the laser unit 220 further includes a plurality of laser receiving units that receive the laser light 22. Specifically, the laser unit 220 may have a plurality of laser light emitting / receiving units 290 that are capable of both receiving laser light and emitting laser light. The laser light emitting / receiving units 290 may be realized by branching the optical paths of the laser emitting unit 230 and the laser receiving unit on the same optical axis. The laser light emitting / receiving unit 290 may also be realized by arranging the laser emitting unit 230 and the laser receiving unit adjacent to each other.

[0120] 18, the control unit 280 detects the laser unit 120 based on the laser light 22 received by at least one of the plurality of laser receiving units. The control unit 280 may estimate the relative direction of the laser unit 120 based on the position of the laser unit 220 based on the reception status of the laser light 22 by the plurality of laser receiving units, and control the movement mechanism 282 of the device 200 to align the laser unit 120 with the laser unit 220 based on the relative direction. The control method by the control unit 280 in this example may be the same as the control method by the control unit 180 in the example shown in FIG.

[0121] 19 schematically illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 1200 functioning as the control unit 180 or the control unit 280. A program installed on the computer 1200 can cause the computer 1200 to function as one or more "units" of an apparatus according to the present embodiment, or can cause the computer 1200 to perform operations associated with the apparatus according to the present embodiment or one or more "units," and / or can cause the computer 1200 to perform a process according to the present embodiment or steps of the process. Such a program can be executed by the CPU 1212 to cause the computer 1200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0122] The computer 1200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 1212, a RAM 1214, and a graphics controller 1216, which are interconnected by a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 also includes input / output units such as a communications interface 1222, a storage device 1224, a DVD drive, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 1210 via an input / output controller 1220. The DVD drive may be a DVD-ROM drive, a DVD-RAM drive, or the like. The storage device 1224 may be a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive, or the like. The computer 1200 also includes a ROM 1230 and legacy input / output units such as a keyboard, which are connected to the input / output controller 1220 via an input / output chip 1240.

[0123] The CPU 1212 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 1230 and the RAM 1214, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller 1216 acquires image data generated by the CPU 1212 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 1214 or into the graphics controller itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 1218.

[0124] The communication interface 1222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The storage device 1224 stores programs and data used by the CPU 1212 in the computer 1200. The DVD drive reads programs or data from a DVD-ROM or the like and provides them to the storage device 1224. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0125] The ROM 1230 stores therein a boot program or the like that is executed by the computer 1200 upon activation, and / or programs that depend on the hardware of the computer 1200. The input / output chip 1240 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 1220 via a USB port, a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, etc.

[0126] The programs are provided by a computer-readable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable storage medium, installed in the storage device 1224, RAM 1214, or ROM 1230, which are also examples of computer-readable storage media, and executed by the CPU 1212. Information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 1200, and causes cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured by implementing operations or processing of information in accordance with the use of the computer 1200.

[0127] For example, when communication is performed between the computer 1200 and an external device, the CPU 1212 may execute a communication program loaded into the RAM 1214 and instruct the communication interface 1222 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of the CPU 1212, the communication interface 1222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in the RAM 1214, the storage device 1224, a DVD-ROM, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes reception data received from the network to a reception buffer area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0128] Furthermore, the CPU 1212 may cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored in an external recording medium such as the storage device 1224, a DVD drive (DVD-ROM), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 1214, and may perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may then write back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0129] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on the recording medium and may undergo information processing. The CPU 1212 may perform various types of processing on data read from the RAM 1214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequences of the programs, and write the results back to the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. on the recording medium. For example, if multiple entries, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, are stored on the recording medium, the CPU 1212 may search for an entry whose attribute value of the first attribute matches a specified condition from among the multiple entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0130] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium on or near the computer 1200. A recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can also be used as a computer-readable storage medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 1200 via the network.

[0131] The blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams in the present embodiments may represent stages of a process in which an operation is performed or "parts" of an apparatus responsible for performing the operation. Particular stages and "parts" may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and / or a processor provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuits, including integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. The programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuits, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and programmable logic arrays (PLAs), including AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, and memory elements.

[0132] A computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by an appropriate device, such that a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture, including instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable storage media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, etc. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc, memory stick, integrated circuit card, etc.

[0133] The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

[0134] Computer-readable instructions may be provided to a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or another programmable data processing device, or a programmable circuit, either locally or via a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, so that the processor of the programmable data processing device, such as a computer, or the programmable circuit executes the computer-readable instructions to generate means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Here, the computer may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a smartphone, a workstation, a server computer, a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or the like, or may be a computer system in which multiple computers are connected. Such a computer system in which multiple computers are connected is also called a distributed computing system, and is a broad definition of computers. In a distributed computing system, multiple computers collectively execute a program by each executing a portion of the program and passing data between the computers as needed during program execution.

[0135] Examples of processors include computer processors, central processing units, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc. A computer may have one processor or multiple processors. In a multiprocessor system with multiple processors, each processor executes a portion of a program and passes data between processors as needed during program execution, allowing the multiple processors to collectively execute a program. For example, in multitasking, each of the multiple processors may execute a portion of each task in small chunks by switching tasks at time slice intervals. In this case, which portion of a program each processor executes changes dynamically. Which portion of a program each of the multiple processors executes may also be statically determined by multiprocessor-aware programming.

[0136] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0137] It should be noted that the execution order of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and that the processes can be performed in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that the processes must be performed in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0138] 10 system, 22 laser light, 30 vector, 40, 41 ship, 100 device, 120 laser unit, 130 laser irradiation unit, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175 laser receiving unit, 180 control unit, 182 moving mechanism, 200 device, 220 Laser unit, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245 laser irradiation unit, 280 control unit, 282 moving mechanism, 284 distance measurement unit, 286 laser light reflection unit, 300 device, 320 laser unit, 330 laser irradiation unit, 380 control unit, 1200 computer, 1210 host controller, 1212 CPU, 1214 RAM, 1216 graphic controller, 1218 display device, 1220 input / output controller, 1222 communication interface, 1224 storage device, 1230 ROM, 1240 input / output chip

Claims

1. a first device movable underwater; A second device Equipped with The second device is a second laser unit including a plurality of second laser irradiation units that irradiate laser light; a second control unit that controls the plurality of second laser irradiation units to irradiate laser light; and The first device is a first laser unit including a plurality of first laser light receiving portions that receive laser light; a first control unit that detects the second laser unit based on laser light received by at least one of the plurality of first laser light receiving units, estimates a relative direction of the second laser unit based on a position of the first laser unit based on a state of reception of the laser light by the plurality of first laser light receiving units, and controls a movement mechanism of the first device to align the first laser unit and the second laser unit based on the relative direction; having system.

2. the plurality of second laser irradiation units are arranged in a matrix, the second control unit controls the plurality of second laser irradiation units to cause the second laser units to irradiate laser light in a predetermined first two-dimensional pattern; The system of claim 1, wherein the first control unit estimates the relative direction of the second laser unit based on the position of the first laser unit based on the first two-dimensional pattern and the light receiving patterns received by the plurality of first laser receiving units.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the predetermined two-dimensional pattern is a cross.

4. Further comprising a third device, The third device is a third laser unit including a plurality of third laser irradiation units arranged in a matrix and emitting laser light; a third control unit that controls the plurality of third laser irradiation units to irradiate laser light; and the third control unit controls the plurality of third laser irradiation units to cause the third laser unit to irradiate laser light in a second two-dimensional pattern different from the first two-dimensional pattern; 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first control unit identifies a device irradiating the laser light received by the plurality of first laser receiving units based on the first two-dimensional pattern, the second two-dimensional pattern, and the light receiving patterns received by the plurality of first laser receiving units.

5. the second control unit causes the plurality of second laser irradiation units to irradiate laser light in sequence; The system described in claim 1, wherein the first control unit estimates the relative direction of the second laser unit based on the position of the first laser unit based on the time-series laser light reception status by the multiple first laser receiving units.

6. the plurality of second laser irradiation units are arranged in a circle, The system according to claim 5 , wherein the second control unit controls the second laser irradiation units to irradiate the laser light in the order of the circular arrangement.

7. the second device further includes a second distance measuring unit that measures a distance between the second device and a measurement target, 7. The system described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second control unit adjusts the divergence angle and / or irradiation direction of the laser light irradiated by the plurality of second laser irradiation units according to the distance between the second device and the first device measured by the second distance measuring unit.

8. the second device further includes a second laser beam reflector that receives the laser beam and reflects the laser beam in the same direction as the direction in which the laser beam was received; the first laser unit further includes a plurality of first laser irradiation units that irradiate laser light, 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first control unit causes the plurality of first laser emitting units to emit laser light, and estimates the relative direction of the second laser unit based on the position of the first laser unit based on the reception status of the reflected light of the laser light reflected by the second laser light reflecting unit by the plurality of first laser receiving units.

9. the first laser unit further includes a plurality of first laser irradiation units that irradiate laser light, the second laser unit further includes a plurality of second laser receiving units that receive laser light, 7. The system described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second control unit detects the first laser unit based on the laser light received by at least one of the plurality of second laser receiving units, estimates the relative direction of the first laser unit based on the position of the second laser unit based on the laser light reception status by the plurality of second laser receiving units, and controls the movement mechanism of the second device to align the first laser unit and the second laser unit based on the relative direction.

10. A device capable of moving through water, a first laser unit including a plurality of first laser light receiving portions that receive laser light; a first control unit that detects the second laser unit of another device having a second laser unit including a plurality of second laser emitting units that emit laser light based on laser light received by at least one of the plurality of first laser receiving units, and a second control unit that controls the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light, estimates a relative direction of the second laser unit based on a position of the first laser unit based on a state of laser light reception by the plurality of first laser receiving units, and controls a movement mechanism of the device to align the first laser unit and the second laser unit based on the relative direction; An apparatus comprising:

11. A control method executed by a first control unit of an apparatus having a first laser unit movable underwater and including a plurality of first laser receiving units that receive laser light, and a first control unit, comprising: a detection step of detecting the second laser unit of another device having a second laser unit including a plurality of second laser emitting units that emit laser light based on the laser light received by at least one of the plurality of first laser receiving units, and a second control unit that controls the plurality of second laser emitting units to emit laser light; an estimation step of estimating a relative direction of the second laser unit based on a position of the first laser unit based on a state of reception of laser light by the plurality of first laser light receiving units; a movement mechanism control step of controlling a movement mechanism of the apparatus to align the first laser unit and the second laser unit based on the relative directions; A control method comprising:

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