Abnormality detection system, abnormality detection device, abnormality detection method, and program

Abstract

To detect an abnormality in an animal by a more cost-effective method.SOLUTION: An abnormality detection system includes: one or more radio wave transmission devices attached to an animal and transmitting radio wave; one or more radio wave reception devices provided in an area where the animal takes actions or an action is taken to the animal, receiving the radio wave transmitted by the one or more radio wave transmission devices, and measuring an intensity of the received radio wave; an abnormality detection part for detecting, when any one of the conditions among the abnormality conditions in which a plurality of conditions regarded as abnormal are defined, the animal of the satisfied conditions on the basis of the radio wave intensity measured by each of the one or more radio wave reception devices and time information representing the time of receiving the radio wave; and a providing part for providing the information which can identify the animal detected by the abnormality detection part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an abnormality detection system, an abnormality detection device, an abnormality detection method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for estimating the behavior of an animal to be estimated, which is an animal that is the subject of behavior estimation, has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The technique described in Patent Document 1 detects, from image data obtained by photographing the animal to be estimated, feature points that are visible from the appearance of the animal to be estimated and feature points that are not visible from the appearance of the animal to be estimated, and estimates the behavior of the animal to be estimated based on the positions of the multiple types of feature points detected. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-141876 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Understanding animal behavior is extremely important for preventing animal diseases. For example, animals that are sick or likely to become sick may exhibit abnormal behavior. Therefore, while the above-mentioned methods can be used to understand animal behavior, image data captured by cameras is generally used. Therefore, if there are many target animals and the area in which the target animals move is wide, it is necessary to install many cameras to cover all of them. This has led to the problem of increased system costs.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can detect abnormalities in animals in a less expensive manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an anomaly detection system comprising: one or more radio wave transmitting devices attached to an animal and emitting radio waves; one or more radio wave receiving devices provided at a location where the animal behaves or at a location where an action is taken in relation to the animal and receiving the radio waves transmitted from the one or more radio wave transmitting devices and measuring the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves; an anomaly detection unit that detects an animal that satisfies any of a plurality of abnormal conditions defined to be considered abnormal based on the radio wave intensity measured by each of the one or more radio wave receiving devices and time information indicating the time the radio waves were received; and a provision unit that provides information that can identify the animal detected by the anomaly detection unit when any of the conditions is satisfied.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned information provision system, wherein the abnormality detection unit estimates the area in which the animal is located based on the value of the radio wave intensity, and determines whether any of the abnormal conditions is met based on a combination of the estimated area and the time information.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned information provision system, wherein the abnormality detection unit estimates the area in which the animal is located based on the value of radio wave intensity measured by each of the multiple radio wave receiving devices when the installation spacing of the multiple radio wave receiving devices is within a predetermined range.

[0009] In one aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system, the abnormality detection unit estimates the area in which the animal is located within different ranges depending on the value of the radio wave intensity.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned information provision system, wherein the provision unit provides information that allows identification of the animal detected by the abnormality detection unit by performing at least one of the following methods: a first method of generating a visible alert on the one or more radio wave transmitting devices; a second method of generating a visible alert on the one or more radio wave receiving devices; or a third method of displaying the location of the animal detected by the abnormality detection unit on the screen of a display unit.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is an anomaly detection device that includes an anomaly detection unit that is installed at a location where an animal behaves or at a location where an animal behaves toward an animal, receives radio waves transmitted from one or more radio wave transmitting devices that are attached to the animal and transmit radio waves, and measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves.The anomaly detection unit detects an animal that satisfies any of a plurality of abnormal conditions that are considered to be abnormal based on the radio wave intensity measured by each of the one or more radio wave receiving devices and time information indicating the time the radio waves were received, and provides information that can identify the animal detected by the anomaly detection unit.

[0012] One aspect of the present invention is an anomaly detection method in which one or more radio wave transmitting devices are attached to an animal and transmit radio waves, and one or more radio wave receiving devices are provided at a location where the animal behaves or at a location where an action is taken in relation to the animal, the method receives the radio waves transmitted from the one or more radio wave transmitting devices, measures the radio wave strength of the received radio waves, and, based on the radio wave strength measured by each of the one or more radio wave receiving devices and time information indicating the time the radio waves were received, detects an animal that satisfies one of a plurality of abnormal conditions that define conditions for being considered abnormal, if any of the conditions is satisfied, and provides information that can identify the detected animal.

[0013] One aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute an abnormality detection step of detecting an animal that satisfies one of a plurality of abnormality conditions defined to be considered abnormal based on the radio wave strength measured by one or more radio wave receiving devices that are attached to the animal and transmit radio waves from one or more radio wave transmitting devices that are installed at a location where the animal behaves or that behaves toward the animal, and that measure the radio wave strength of the received radio waves, and time information indicating the time the radio waves were received; and a provision step of providing information that can identify the animal detected in the abnormality detection step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The present invention makes it possible to detect abnormalities in animals in a less expensive manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an anomaly detection system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the configuration of an abnormality detection device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a behavior table according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the process of estimating the position of a cow in an embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the process of estimating the position of a cow in an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating a processing flow of the anomaly detection system according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information provision performed by a providing unit in the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an anomaly detection system 100 according to an embodiment. The anomaly detection system 100 according to an embodiment is a system that grasps the behavior of animals (hereinafter referred to as "target animals") that are targets for behavioral abnormality detection, detects target animals (hereinafter referred to as "animals with abnormal behavior") that meet the conditions for behavioral abnormality, and notifies a manager or the like. The target animals according to the embodiment are animals other than humans, such as four-limbed animals such as cows. The following description will be given taking the case where the target animals are cows as an example.

[0018] In the embodiment, the conditions for behavioral abnormality are a plurality of conditions defined according to a combination of location information and time information. For example, the conditions for behavioral abnormality may be defined as conditions that can identify whether an animal is not performing a specific behavior, or whether the animal is performing the same behavior more than necessary. Examples of an animal not performing a specific behavior include not staying at a certain location for a certain period of time, not visiting a feeding or water source at all, not going to places that should be visited in a certain order in a certain order, or not moving from a certain location (e.g., a feeding or water source). Examples of an animal performing the same behavior more than necessary include visiting a certain location (e.g., a feeding or water source) more than necessary, or staying in the same location for a certain period of time continuously.

[0019] In the anomaly detection system 100 of the embodiment, when any one of the above-described multiple conditions is met, the animal that satisfies any one of the conditions is detected as an animal behaving abnormally. In the embodiment, these behaviors are detected as behaviors that may be indicating that something abnormal is happening to the animal. In particular, if even one condition is met, there is a possibility that the animal may become ill, so the anomaly detection system 100 of the embodiment detects the animal as an animal behaving abnormally even if at least one condition is met. This makes it possible to detect abnormalities in animals at an early stage.

[0020] The anomaly detection system 100 includes an anomaly detection device 10, one or more radio wave transmitting devices D, and one or more radio wave receiving devices 20. The anomaly detection device 10 and each radio wave receiving device 20 are connected via a network by wire or wirelessly. The number of radio wave transmitting devices D and radio wave receiving devices 20 is not particularly limited.

[0021] The abnormality detection device 10 detects abnormally behaving animals based on information received by the radio wave receiving device 20, and provides information that can identify the detected abnormally behaving animal (hereinafter referred to as "identification information") to a manager or the like. The identification information may be any information that can uniquely identify the abnormally behaving animal, and may, for example, generate an alert in the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the abnormally behaving animal, generate an alert in one or more radio wave receiving devices 20, or display the location of the abnormally behaving animal on the screen of a display unit. The abnormality detection device 10 is configured using an information processing device such as a personal computer.

[0022] The radio wave transmitting device D is attached to a part of the body of the target animal. The radio wave transmitting device D may be attached as a collar around the neck of the target animal, attached to the ear of the target animal, or attached to the torso of the target animal. The radio wave transmitting device D emits radio waves at a predetermined timing. The radio waves emitted by the radio wave transmitting device D include identification information that can identify the radio wave transmitting device D. The identification information that can identify the radio wave transmitting device D is information that can uniquely identify the radio wave transmitting device D, for example, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D.

[0023] The radio wave transmitting device D may have a function of generating a visible alert in addition to the function of transmitting radio waves. For example, the radio wave transmitting device D may generate an alert by emitting light (including blinking) in response to an instruction transmitted from the abnormality detection device 10.

[0024] The radio wave receiving device 20 is provided at a place where the target animal behaves or where an action is taken with respect to the target animal. The place where the target animal behaves is, for example, a water area where the target animal drinks water, a feeding area where the target animal eats food, a bathing area where the target animal bathes, a resting area where the target animal rests (e.g., sleeps), a play area where the target animal plays, etc., but this is just one example and various places are assumed depending on the animal. The place where an action is taken with respect to the target animal is, for example, a work area where the target animal is milked, but this is just one example and various places are assumed depending on the animal.

[0025] The radio wave receiving device 20 receives radio waves transmitted from each radio wave transmitting device D and measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves. The radio wave receiving device 20 transmits measurement information including information indicating the measured radio wave intensity, identification information capable of identifying the radio wave transmitting device D, identification information capable of identifying the radio wave receiving device 20, and time information indicating the time the radio waves were received to the abnormality detection device 10 via the network. The identification information capable of identifying the radio wave receiving device 20 is information capable of uniquely identifying the radio wave receiving device 20, such as the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20.

[0026] The radio wave receiving device 20 may have a function of generating a visible alert in addition to the function of receiving radio waves. For example, the radio wave receiving device 20 may generate an alert by emitting (including blinking) a color corresponding to the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the abnormally behaving animal, out of specific colors assigned to each radio wave transmitting device D, in response to an instruction transmitted from the abnormality detection device 10. In this case, the radio wave receiving device 20 has a function of being able to emit light in multiple colors.

[0027] As described above, wireless communication is performed between the radio wave transmitting device D and the radio wave receiving device 20. The wireless communication standard used between the radio wave transmitting device D and the radio wave receiving device 20 is not particularly limited as long as it is a standard that enables communication with low power consumption. For example, the wireless communication standard used between the radio wave transmitting device D and the radio wave receiving device 20 may be Bluetooth (registered trademark) or LPWA (Low Power Wide Area). This can extend the battery life of the radio wave transmitting device D.

[0028] Furthermore, by increasing the interval between radio wave transmissions from the radio wave transmitting device D, it is possible to extend the battery life of the radio wave transmitting device D. The interval between radio wave transmissions from the radio wave transmitting device D may differ depending on the animal to which the radio wave transmitting device D is attached. For example, since a fast-moving animal may change its location at short intervals, it is effective to shorten the interval between radio wave transmissions from the radio wave transmitting device D to determine its location. A fast-moving animal here refers to an animal that moves quickly (walks fast) or an animal that has a tendency to move to various places quickly rather than staying in one place.

[0029] On the other hand, animals that move slowly are unlikely to change their location at short intervals, so it is effective to determine their location while reducing battery consumption by lengthening the radio wave transmission interval of the radio wave transmitting device D. Here, slow-moving animals refer to animals that move slowly (walk slowly) or animals that stay in one place for long periods of time and are unlikely to move to different locations quickly.

[0030] Next, an overview of the processing of the anomaly detection system 100 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows an example in which multiple cows T are located in a work area and a water area. A radio wave receiving device 20-1 is installed on the ceiling of the work area, and a radio wave receiving device 20-2 is installed on the ceiling of the water area. For the sake of simplicity, Fig. 1 shows an example in which one radio wave receiving device 20 is installed in each of the work area and the water area, but multiple radio wave receiving devices 20 may be installed in the same location.

[0031] The radio wave receiving device 20-1 receives radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting device D attached to each of the multiple cows T located in the work area. The radio wave receiving device 20-1 measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves and transmits the measurement information, including information indicating the measured radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-1, and time information, to the abnormality detection device 10 via the network. The radio wave receiving device 20-2 receives radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the cow T located in the water area. The radio wave receiving device 20-2 measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves and transmits the measurement information, including information indicating the measured radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-2, and time information, to the abnormality detection device 10 via the network.

[0032] The abnormality detection device 10 receives and accumulates the measurement information transmitted from each radio wave receiving device 20. The abnormality detection system 100 repeatedly executes the above process for a predetermined period of time. The predetermined period is preferably long enough to grasp the daily behavior of cow T, such as 24 hours, but it may be long enough to obtain a rough grasp. For example, even a period from morning to evening is enough to grasp the daily behavior of cow T to some extent, so there is no particular impact even if it is half a day (e.g., 12 hours).

[0033] As time passes, cow T moves to various locations. For example, it moves from water source to work site, from work site to water site, from water site to work site to water site, from feeding site to work site to water site, etc. During this period, each radio wave receiving device 20 continues to receive radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting device D attached to cow T and transmits the measurement information to the abnormality detection device 10 via the network. As a result, a large amount of measurement information is accumulated in the abnormality detection device 10.

[0034] The abnormality detection device 10 determines whether or not there is a cow T that satisfies the conditions for abnormal behavior for each cow T based on the accumulated measurement information. For example, the abnormality detection device 10 can obtain the measurement information for each cow T by classifying the accumulated measurement information by the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D. The abnormality detection device 10 compares the measurement information for each cow T with the conditions for abnormal behavior and detects the cow T that satisfies the conditions for abnormal behavior as an animal behaving abnormally. As the conditions for abnormal behavior, multiple conditions are defined for determining an abnormality, and it is sufficient if any of the conditions is met. Hereinafter, the conditions for abnormal behavior are referred to as abnormal conditions. The abnormality detection device 10 provides specific information. A zookeeper or the like can identify an animal behaving abnormally by looking at the specific information.

[0035] The radio wave transmitting device D and the radio wave receiving device 20 described above are inexpensive devices compared to cameras, and therefore, it is possible to detect abnormalities in animals in a less expensive manner. A specific configuration for realizing the above processing will be described below.

[0036] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the abnormality detection device 10 according to the embodiment. The abnormality detection device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a display unit 12, an operation unit 13, a control unit 14, and a storage unit 15.

[0037] The communication unit 11 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 11 communicates with the radio wave receiving device 20. The communication unit 11 receives measurement information transmitted from each radio wave receiving device 20. When the abnormality detection device 10 provides specific information to the radio wave transmitting device D or the radio wave receiving device 20, the communication unit 11 transmits the specific information to the radio wave transmitting device D or the radio wave receiving device 20.

[0038] The display unit 12 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, etc. The display unit 12 displays specific information. For example, the display unit 12 displays the position of the abnormally behaving animal on the screen.

[0039] The operation unit 13 is configured using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), buttons, a touch panel, etc. The operation unit 13 is operated by a user when inputting the user's instructions to the abnormality detection device 10. For example, the operation unit 13 accepts input of an execution instruction to execute a process for detecting abnormally behaving animals.

[0040] The control unit 14 controls the entire anomaly detection device 10. The control unit 14 is configured using a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory. The control unit 14 executes a program to realize the functions of an acquisition unit 141, an anomaly detection unit 142, and a provision unit 143.

[0041] Some or all of the acquiring unit 141, the anomaly detecting unit 142, and the providing unit 143 may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of computer-readable recording media include portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs (Read Only Memory), and CD-ROMs, and non-transitory storage media such as storage devices built into a computer system, such as hard disks. The program may be transmitted via a telecommunications line.

[0042] Some of the functions of the acquisition unit 141, the anomaly detection unit 142, and the provision unit 143 do not need to be pre-installed in the anomaly detection device 10, and may be realized by installing additional application programs in the anomaly detection device 10.

[0043] The acquiring unit 141 acquires various types of information. For example, the acquiring unit 141 acquires measurement information.

[0044] When any one of the abnormal conditions is satisfied, the abnormality detection unit 142 detects the cow T that satisfies any one of the conditions as an animal behaving abnormally, based on the information indicating the radio wave intensity included in the measurement information and the time information. Each cow T is attached with a radio wave transmitting device D with a different ID. Therefore, the abnormality detection unit 142 can identify the cow T that has exhibited abnormal behavior from among the multiple cows T based on the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D included in the measurement information.

[0045] Furthermore, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates the area where cow T is located according to the value of radio wave intensity indicated by the information indicating radio wave intensity, and determines whether any of the abnormal conditions is satisfied based on a combination of the estimated area and time information. The value of radio wave intensity becomes weaker as the distance between the radio wave transmitting device D and the radio wave receiving device 20 increases. Therefore, the smaller the value of radio wave intensity, the farther cow T is expected to be located from the location where the radio wave receiving device 20 is installed. Under this assumption, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates a predetermined range according to the value of radio wave intensity as the area where cow T is located. That is, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates different ranges as the area where cow T is located depending on the value of radio wave intensity.

[0046] In the above example, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates the area where the cow T is located based on measurement information transmitted from one radio wave receiving device 20. However, it is also possible that multiple radio wave receiving devices 20 are installed in the same location (for example, the same work area or the same water source). Under such circumstances, if the installation intervals of the multiple radio wave receiving devices 20 are within a predetermined range, the abnormality detection unit 142 may estimate the area where the cow T is located based on the values ​​of radio wave intensity measured by each of the multiple radio wave receiving devices 20. Here, consider a situation where multiple radio wave receiving devices 20 (for example, radio wave receiving devices 20-A and 20-B) are installed in the same location and the cow T is close to the radio wave receiving device 20-B. If the installation intervals of the multiple radio wave receiving devices 20 are within the predetermined range, the distance between the cow T and the radio wave receiving device 20-A is somewhat far, so even if the value of radio wave intensity measured by the radio wave receiving device 20-A is small, the value of radio wave intensity measured by the adjacent radio wave receiving device 20-B will be high because the distance between the cow T and the radio wave receiving device 20-B is close. In this case, the abnormality detection unit 142 can estimate that the cow T is located in an area that is surrounded by both the radio wave receiving device 20-A and the radio wave receiving device 20-B and is closer to the radio wave receiving device 20-B. In this way, the accuracy of estimating the position of the cow T can be improved as the number of radio wave receiving devices 20 that are installed within the predetermined range increases.

[0047] The providing unit 143 provides identification information that is information that can identify the abnormally behaving animal detected by the abnormality detecting unit 142. The providing unit 143 provides the identification information by performing at least one of the following methods: a first method of generating a visible alert in the radio wave transmitting device D; a second method of generating a visible alert in the radio wave receiving device 20; or a third method of displaying the alert on the screen of the display unit 12. Here, important conditions for the identification information are that it can be recognized from a certain distance and that it does not cause discomfort to the animal (for example, does not excite it).

[0048] When generating a visible alert in the radio wave transmitting device D, the providing unit 143 may provide, as provided information, to the radio wave transmitting device D, an instruction to cause the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the abnormally behaving animal to emit light.When generating a visible alert in the radio wave receiving device 20, the providing unit 143 may provide, as provided information, to the radio wave receiving device 20, an instruction to cause the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the abnormally behaving animal to emit light in a color that indicates the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the abnormally behaving animal.When displaying on the screen of the display unit 12, the providing unit 143 may provide, as provided information, to the display unit 12, an instruction to display information indicating the position of the abnormally behaving animal.

[0049] The storage unit 15 stores device information 151, a behavior table 152, and an abnormal condition table 153. The device information 151 is information relating to the radio wave transmitting device D and the radio wave receiving device 20. The information relating to the radio wave transmitting device D includes the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D and information indicating a color by which the radio wave transmitting device D can be identified. The information relating to the radio wave receiving device 20 includes the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20 and the installation location of the radio wave receiving device 20 (location information of the radio wave receiving device 20).

[0050] The behavior table 152 is a table in which information regarding the behavior of cow T is registered. The specific configuration of the behavior table 152 will be described later. The abnormal condition table 153 is a table in which information regarding abnormal conditions is registered. The abnormal condition table 153 will be described later in detail. The memory unit 15 is configured using a memory device such as a magnetic memory device or a semiconductor memory device.

[0051] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the behavior table 152 in an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the behavior table 152 has a plurality of records representing information regarding the behavior of cow T. The records have values ​​of a radio wave transmitting device ID, a radio wave receiving device ID, radio wave intensity, and time information. The radio wave transmitting device ID represents identification information for identifying the radio wave transmitting device D attached to cow T. The radio wave receiving device ID represents identification information for identifying the radio wave receiving device 20. The radio wave intensity represents the received radio wave intensity measured based on the radio waves received by the radio wave receiving device 20. The time information represents the time when the radio waves were received by the radio wave receiving device 20.

[0052] 3, the behavior table 152 registers a plurality of radio wave receiving device IDs, radio wave intensity values, and time information values ​​in association with each other for each radio wave transmitting device D. This is because while the cow T is staying in a location or while the cow T is moving, radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the cow T are received by a nearby radio wave receiving device 20. Therefore, the behavior table 152 registers a plurality of radio wave receiving device IDs, radio wave intensity values, and time information values ​​in association with each other for each radio wave transmitting device D in chronological order.

[0053] The abnormal condition table 153 defines a plurality of conditions for abnormal behavior according to a combination of location information and time information. Location information corresponds to the area described above. As conditions for abnormal behavior according to a combination of location information and time information, conditions that can identify whether an animal is not performing a specific behavior, or whether an animal is performing the same behavior more than necessary, are defined. For example, if an animal needs to be in a certain location (e.g., a workshop for milking) for a predetermined period from time T1, abnormal behavior can be when the animal is not in the workshop during the predetermined period from time T1, or when the animal is in the workshop at a time other than the predetermined period from time T1. Therefore, the abnormal condition table 153 registers a condition for abnormal behavior in which the location information "workplace" is associated with the time information "a time other than the predetermined period from time T1," and a condition for abnormal behavior in which the location information "other than the workshop" is associated with the time information "a predetermined period from time T1." Note that this is just an example,

[0054] Next, the process of estimating the position of cow T will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figures 4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the process of estimating the position of cow T in an embodiment. Figure 4 describes the case where there is one radio wave receiving device 20, and Figure 5 describes the case where there are multiple radio wave receiving devices 20. Figures 4 and 5 show a top view of the location where the radio wave receiving device 20 is installed. Symbols A1, A2, and A3 shown in Figures 4 and 5 represent areas according to differences in radio wave intensity.

[0055] Symbol A1 represents an area with weak radio wave strength, symbol A2 represents an area with medium radio wave strength, and symbol A3 represents an area with strong radio wave strength. The range of radio wave strength values ​​for each area is assumed to be set in advance. If the radio wave strength value obtained by the radio wave receiving device 20 is within the range of an area with strong radio wave strength, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates that cow T is located in area A3. If the radio wave strength value obtained by the radio wave receiving device 20 is within the range of an area with medium radio wave strength, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates that cow T is located in area A2. If the radio wave strength value obtained by the radio wave receiving device 20 is within the range of an area with weak radio wave strength, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates that cow T is located in area A1. In this way, the abnormality detection unit 142 can roughly estimate the location of cow T at each time.

[0056] FIG. 5(A) shows a case where two radio wave receiving devices 20 are close to each other, and FIG. 5(B) shows a case where three radio wave receiving devices 20 are close to each other. In FIG. 5(A), when the radio wave intensity value obtained by one radio wave receiving device 20 (e.g., radio wave receiving device 20-A) is within the range of area A3 where the radio wave intensity is strong, and the radio wave intensity value obtained by another radio wave receiving device 20 (e.g., radio wave receiving device 20-B) is within the range of area A1 where the radio wave intensity is weak, the abnormality detection unit 142 estimates that cow T is located in an area including both area A3 (e.g., radio wave receiving device 20-A) and area A1 (e.g., radio wave receiving device 20-B). A similar estimation can be made when three radio wave receiving devices 20 are close to each other. Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 4, cow T is estimated to be located somewhere within a wide area, whereas in the example shown in FIG. 5, cow T can be estimated to be located within a more limited area than that shown in FIG. 4. That is, the greater the number of nearby radio wave receiving devices 20, the more accurate the estimation of the position of the cow T at each time can be.

[0057] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of the anomaly detection system 100 in an embodiment. In FIG. 6, an example will be described in which a cow T is moving between a work area and a water area. When the cow T is located in the work area, the radio wave receiving device 20-1 provided in the work area receives radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the cow T (step S101). At this time, the radio wave receiving device 20-1 acquires time information when the radio waves are received. The radio wave receiving device 20-1 measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves (step S102).

[0058] At this time, the radio wave receiving device 20-1 also acquires the ID (e.g., ID=A1) of the radio wave transmitting device D that is the source of the radio waves. The radio wave receiving device 20-1 transmits measurement information including information indicating the measured radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-1, and time information to the abnormality detection device 10 via the network (step S103).

[0059] The communication unit 11 of the abnormality detection device 10 receives the measurement information transmitted from the radio wave receiving device 20-1. The acquisition unit 141 acquires information indicating radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-1, and time information included in the measurement information received by the communication unit 11. The acquisition unit 141 associates the acquired information indicating radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-1, and the time information, and registers them in the behavior table 152.

[0060] Assume that cow T moves to a watering place. In this case, the radio wave receiving device 20-2 installed at the watering place receives radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting device D attached to cow T (step S104). At this time, the radio wave receiving device 20-2 acquires time information at which the radio waves are received. The radio wave receiving device 20-2 measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves (step S105). At this time, the radio wave receiving device 20-2 also acquires the ID (e.g., ID=A1) of the radio wave transmitting device D that is the source of the radio waves. The radio wave receiving device 20-2 transmits measurement information including information indicating the measured radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-2, and time information to the abnormality detection device 10 via the network (step S106).

[0061] The communication unit 11 of the abnormality detection device 10 receives the measurement information transmitted from the radio wave receiving device 20-2. The acquisition unit 141 acquires information indicating radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-2, and time information included in the measurement information received by the communication unit 11. The acquisition unit 141 associates the acquired information indicating radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20-2, and the time information, and registers them in the behavior table 152.

[0062] The above-described processing from step S101 to step S106 is repeatedly executed for a predetermined period of time. As a result, in the behavior table 152, a plurality of records in which the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D is "A1" are registered, each record corresponding to information indicating radio wave intensity, the ID of the radio wave receiving device 20, and time information. Note that, for the sake of simplicity, Fig. 6 shows a situation in which the cow T is moving between the work area and the water area, but the same processing is performed even if the cow T is moving to another location.

[0063] After a predetermined period of time has elapsed or in response to an instruction input via the operation unit 13, the abnormality detection unit 142 refers to the behavior table 152 and performs an abnormality detection determination to determine whether or not an abnormally behaving animal is present (step S107). Specifically, the abnormality detection unit 142 acquires information (e.g., radio wave receiving device ID, radio wave intensity, and time information) associated with each radio wave receiving device ID included in the behavior table 152. Next, the abnormality detection unit 142 refers to the abnormality condition table 153 and determines, based on the acquired information (e.g., radio wave receiving device ID, radio wave intensity, and time information), for each radio wave receiving device ID, whether or not the conditions defined in the abnormality condition table 153 are satisfied.

[0064] For example, the abnormality detection unit 142 acquires information (e.g., radio wave receiving device ID, radio wave intensity, and time information) associated with the record of the radio wave transmitting device D whose ID is "A1". Then, the abnormality detection unit 142 refers to the abnormality condition table 153 and determines whether or not the cow T whose radio wave transmitting device D has the ID "A1" satisfies the conditions defined in the abnormality condition table 153 based on the acquired information (e.g., radio wave receiving device ID, radio wave intensity, and time information).

[0065] For example, the abnormality detection unit 142 acquires information (e.g., radio wave receiving device ID, radio wave intensity, and time information) associated with the record of the radio wave transmitting device D whose ID is "B1". Then, the abnormality detection unit 142 refers to the abnormality condition table 153 and determines, based on the acquired information (e.g., radio wave receiving device ID, radio wave intensity, and time information), whether or not the cow T whose radio wave transmitting device D has the ID "B1" satisfies the conditions defined in the abnormality condition table 153. In this way, the abnormality detection unit 142 determines for each cow T whether or not the conditions defined in the abnormality condition table 153 are satisfied.

[0066] Here, it is assumed that cow T, whose radio wave transmitting device D has an ID of "A1", satisfies the conditions defined in the abnormal condition table 153. In this case, the abnormality detection unit 142 detects cow T, whose radio wave transmitting device D has an ID of "A1", as an abnormally behaving animal. The abnormality detection unit 142 outputs information indicating that the radio wave transmitting device D has an ID of "A1" to the providing unit 143. The providing unit 143 generates information to be provided based on the information indicating that the radio wave transmitting device D has an ID of "A1" output from the abnormality detection unit 142, and provides the generated information to be provided (step S108). For example, the providing unit 143 generates information to be provided including an instruction to display information indicating the position of cow T, whose radio wave transmitting device D has an ID of "A1", and provides the generated information to the display unit 12.

[0067] The display unit 12 displays the screen shown in Fig. 7 in accordance with the provided information provided by the providing unit 143. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of information provided by the providing unit 143 in an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 7, information inf indicating the location of the abnormally behaving animal is displayed on the screen of the display unit 12.

[0068] The screen displayed by the display unit 12 is not limited to the screen shown in FIG. 7 . For example, the display unit 12 may display the movement trajectories (e.g., where the animals have been staying or their current locations) of a specific abnormally behaving animal or all animals (including abnormally behaving animals and animals other than the abnormally behaving animals) in chronological order based on the location information of the specific abnormally behaving animal or all animals (including abnormally behaving animals and animals other than the abnormally behaving animals), or may display the movement from a certain point (display start point) to another point (display end point) in animation. In this configuration, the providing unit 143 obtains, from the behavior table 152, the radio wave intensity value and time information corresponding to the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D attached to the animal to be displayed, in response to an instruction input via the operation unit 13. The providing unit 143 obtains, from the behavior table 152, the radio wave intensity value and time information corresponding to the specified time period.

[0069] The providing unit 143 estimates the location of the animal to be displayed according to the acquired radio wave intensity value. Note that if the anomaly detection unit 142 estimates the location based on information registered in the behavior table 152, the providing unit 143 may use that information. The providing unit 143 generates information to be provided, including an instruction to display information indicating the location of the animal corresponding to the ID of the radio wave transmitting device D, based on the location estimation results corresponding to all radio wave intensity values ​​within the specified time period, and provides the generated information to be provided to the display unit 12. This makes it possible to display the staying locations of the animal to be displayed in chronological order. By viewing such a display, the administrator can easily understand what behavior the animal has been performing.

[0070] 7, the information inf indicating the location of the animals is represented by a symbol, but the display manner is not particularly limited. For example, the display unit 12 may display each animal to be displayed with a different symbol, or may display each animal.

[0071] The abnormality detection system 100 configured as described above comprises one or more radio wave transmitting devices D attached to an animal and transmitting radio waves, one or more radio wave receiving devices 20 provided at the location where the animal behaves or at the location where an action is taken towards the animal and receiving the radio waves transmitted from the radio wave transmitting device D and measuring the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves, an abnormality detection unit 142 that detects an animal that satisfies any of the abnormal conditions based on the radio wave intensity and time information measured by each of the radio wave receiving devices 20, when any of the conditions is satisfied, and a provision unit that provides information that can identify the animal detected by the abnormality detection unit 142.

[0072] This makes it possible to detect animals that satisfy any of the abnormal conditions and provide information that allows the detected animals to be identified. The radio wave transmitting device D and the radio wave receiving device 20 are inexpensive devices compared to cameras, making it possible to detect abnormalities in animals in a more inexpensive manner.

[0073] Furthermore, in the anomaly detection system 100, the anomaly detection unit 142 estimates the area where the animal is located based on the value of radio wave intensity, and determines whether any of the anomaly conditions is met based on a combination of the estimated area (location information) and time information. This allows the area where the animal is located to be roughly estimated based on the value of radio wave intensity. In this way, the location of the animal can be identified without using a camera. This makes it possible to detect an animal's anomaly in a less expensive way.

[0074] Furthermore, in the anomaly detection system 100, the providing unit 143 provides information that allows identification of an abnormally behaving animal by performing at least one of the following methods: a first method of generating a visible alert on the radio wave transmitting device D, a second method of generating a visible alert on the radio wave receiving device 20, or a third method of displaying the location of the abnormally behaving animal on the screen of the display unit 12. This allows the worker to easily identify the abnormally behaving animal by using the provided information as a core.

[0075] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10... anomaly detection device, 20... radio wave receiving device, 11... communication unit, 12... display unit, 13... operation unit, 14... control unit, 15... memory unit, 100... anomaly detection system, 141... acquisition unit, 142... anomaly detection unit, 143... provision unit, 151... device information, 152... action table, 153... anomaly condition table

Claims

1. one or more radio wave transmitting devices attached to the animal and configured to transmit radio waves; one or more radio wave receiving devices that are provided at a location where the animal behaves or where an action is taken with respect to the animal, and that receive the radio waves transmitted from the one or more radio wave transmitting devices and measure the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves; an abnormality detection unit that detects an animal that satisfies any one of a plurality of abnormality conditions defined as conditions for determining an abnormality when any one of the conditions is satisfied based on the radio wave intensity measured by each of the one or more radio wave receiving devices and time information indicating the time when the radio waves are received; a providing unit that provides information that can identify the animal detected by the abnormality detecting unit; An anomaly detection system comprising:

2. The abnormality detection unit an area where the animal is located is estimated based on the value of the radio wave intensity, and whether or not any of the abnormal conditions is satisfied is determined based on a combination of the estimated area and the time information. The anomaly detection system of claim 1 .

3. The abnormality detection unit If the installation intervals of the plurality of radio wave receiving devices are within a predetermined range, an area where the animal is located is estimated according to the values ​​of radio wave intensity measured by each of the plurality of radio wave receiving devices. The anomaly detection system of claim 2 .

4. The abnormality detection unit estimating the area where the animal is located in different ranges depending on the value of the radio wave intensity; The anomaly detection system according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The providing unit providing information that allows identification of the animal detected by the abnormality detection unit by performing at least one of a first method of generating a visible alert in the one or more radio wave transmitting devices, a second method of generating a visible alert in the one or more radio wave receiving devices, or a third method of displaying the position of the animal detected by the abnormality detection unit on a screen of a display unit; The anomaly detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The providing unit When the third method is performed, the identifiable information is provided to the display unit as a movement trajectory of the animal in a certain time period detected by the abnormality detection unit, or information capable of displaying an animation of the animal's movement from a first point to a second point. The anomaly detection system of claim 5 .

7. the one or more radio wave transmitting devices wirelessly communicate with the one or more radio wave receiving devices in accordance with a low-power wireless communication standard; The anomaly detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. an abnormality detection unit that is provided at a location where the animal behaves or at a location where an action is taken toward the animal, receives radio waves transmitted from one or more radio wave transmitting devices attached to the animal and transmitting radio waves, and detects an animal that has satisfied any one of a plurality of abnormality conditions defined as conditions for determining an abnormality based on the radio wave strength measured by each of one or more radio wave receiving devices that measure the radio wave strength of the received radio waves and time information indicating the time the radio waves were received; a providing unit that provides information that can identify the animal detected by the abnormality detecting unit; An abnormality detection device comprising:

9. one or more radio wave transmitting devices attached to the animal to transmit radio waves; One or more radio wave receiving devices are provided at a location where the animal behaves or at a location where an action is taken with respect to the animal, receive the radio waves transmitted from the one or more radio wave transmitting devices, and measure the radio wave intensity of the received radio waves; detecting an animal that satisfies any of a plurality of abnormal conditions defined as abnormal conditions when any of the abnormal conditions is satisfied based on the radio wave intensity measured by each of the one or more radio wave receiving devices and time information indicating the time when the radio waves were received; providing information that allows the animal to be identified upon detection; Anomaly detection methods.

10. an abnormality detection step of detecting an animal that satisfies any one of a plurality of abnormality conditions defined to be abnormal based on the radio wave strength measured by one or more radio wave receiving devices that are provided at a location where the animal behaves or at a location where an animal behaves toward the animal and that receive radio waves from one or more radio wave transmitting devices attached to the animal and that transmit radio waves, and time information indicating the time when the radio waves are received, and if any one of the conditions is satisfied, the animal is detected as having satisfied any one of the abnormality conditions; a providing step of providing information capable of identifying the animal detected in the abnormality detecting step; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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