Safety support device

Abstract

To provide a safety support device that prevents a contact accident between a carrier machine and an operator.SOLUTION: A safety support device 200 recognizes an object in an area from an image of an area that is a monitoring target acquired by an imaging apparatus 100, predicts an expected intersection area 12 based on a moving path of the object and instructs a notification device 300 to issue an alert to the expected intersection area 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1B

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device that analyzes camera images to analyze the behavior of vehicles and people, predicts accidents, and issues an alarm. [Background technology]

[0002] In factories, collisions between workers and vehicles such as forklifts or conveyors are a constant occurrence. Conventionally, methods used to prevent collisions in factories include visual safety management by monitors stationed in monitored areas, and attaching dedicated wireless devices to both forklifts and workers, which issue an alarm when the wireless device approaches (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-127286 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To prevent accidents of collisions between conveyors and workers in a factory without stationing a monitor in the area to be monitored or requiring vehicles or workers to wear or carry dedicated wireless devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the safety support device of the present invention comprises an object recognition unit that recognizes objects within a monitored area using images acquired by an imaging device that acquires images of the area; a path calculation unit that calculates the position of the object within the area and calculates the movement path of the object within the area; an area prediction unit that predicts a predicted intersection area of ​​the object within the area using the calculation results of the path calculation unit; and an alarm notification unit that instructs an alarm notification device to issue an alarm for the predicted intersection area. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent collision accidents between conveyors and workers within a factory without having to station monitors in the area to be monitored or having vehicles or workers wear or carry dedicated wireless devices. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the configuration of a system including a safety support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1B is an example of a functional block diagram of a safety support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a camera image and a real plane in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of conversion from a camera image to a real plane in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining detection of an expected intersection area in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining details of detection of an expected intersection region in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows an example of an operation flow of the safety support device according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] <Configuration of safety support devices> Fig. 1A is a diagram showing the configuration of a system including a safety support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system in Fig. 1A is composed of an imaging device that captures images of an area to be monitored, a safety support device that predicts a potential collision area within the area using the images captured by the imaging device, and a notification device that issues an alarm for the potential collision area.

[0009] FIG. 1B is an example of a functional block diagram of a safety support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] The safety support device 200 is configured to recognize objects in the area using images acquired by the imaging device 100 that acquires images of the area to be monitored, calculate the position and movement path of the objects within the area, and instruct the notification device 300 to issue an alarm for areas where objects are expected to intersect within the area.

[0011] The safety support device 200 includes a central processing unit 201 that calculates the position of an object within the area, recognizes the object within the area, calculates the position and movement path of the object within the area, and issues an alarm for areas where objects are expected to intersect within the area, a communication I / F 206 for communicating with the imaging device 100 and the notification device 300, a memory unit 207 that stores the position and movement path of the object within the area, etc., and a display unit 208 that displays the position and movement path of the object within the area, etc.

[0012] The central processing unit 201 of the safety support device 200 functions as an object recognition unit 202 that recognizes objects within the area, a path calculation unit 203 that calculates the position of the object within the area and calculates the movement path of the object within the area, an area prediction unit 204 that predicts a predicted intersection area of ​​objects within the area using the calculation results of the path calculation unit 203, and an alarm notification unit 205 that instructs a notification device to issue an alarm for the predicted intersection area.

[0013] The safety support device 200 can be configured by a computer including a CPU, a memory, and an interface for connecting to an external device. The communication I / F 206 for communicating with the imaging device 100 and the notification device 300 may be a wireless I / F.

[0014] The notification device 300 that issues the alarm is installed at a predetermined position within the area to be monitored and issues an alarm to the predicted collision area. As a method of issuing the alarm, for example, an audio warning using a speaker or the like can be used. The audio may be emitted from a highly directional speaker attached to a movable platform toward the target object or the predicted collision area.

[0015] The method of issuing a warning is not limited to audio warnings. Light from a light source such as a spotlight or flashlight may be emitted toward the target object or the predicted collision area. A warning may also be displayed on a terminal attached to the vehicle or transport machine.

[0016] <Coordinate transformation from camera image to real plane> 2 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a camera image and a real plane in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, a real plane 3 is projected onto a camera image 2, and a point 4 on the real plane 3 is projected onto the camera image 2 as a point 5.

[0017] In this embodiment, by converting the position coordinates of the camera image 2 into coordinates on the real plane 3, the coordinate position of the point 4 on the real plane 3 can be identified from the coordinate position of the point 5 captured in the camera image 2.

[0018] 3 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of conversion from a camera image to a real plane in an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 shows a specific example of a camera image 2 and a real plane 3 when a worker 6 and a conveyance machine 7 are present on the real plane 3.

[0019] In the example of Fig. 3, a worker 6 and a transport vehicle 7 are recognized in the camera image 2. By converting the coordinate positions of the worker 6 and the transport vehicle 7 captured in the camera image 2 into coordinates on the real plane 3, the positions of the worker 6 and the transport vehicle 7 on the real plane 3 can be identified.

[0020] <Detection of predicted intersection areas> 4A and 4B, the detection of an expected intersection area in an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4A shows the recognized worker 6 and conveyance device 7 arranged on the real plane 3. The overlapping of the worker 6 and conveyance device 7 indicates a state in which the worker 6 is operating the conveyance device 7. The safety support device 200 calculates the movement paths of the worker 6 and conveyance device 7 within the area, and predicts the movement positions of the worker 6 and conveyance device 7 based on the calculated movement paths, thereby predicting an expected intersection area 12 where the worker 6 and conveyance device 7 will intersect.

[0021] 4B is a diagram for explaining the details of detecting an expected intersection area in the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4B, a movement trajectory 8 of a worker 6 and a movement trajectory 10 of a conveyance vehicle 7 on the real plane 3 are recorded, and a predicted future position 9 of the worker 6 is predicted based on the movement trajectory 8, the movement direction and the movement speed, and a predicted future position 11 of the conveyance vehicle 7 is predicted based on the movement trajectory 10, the movement direction and the movement speed.

[0022] In FIG. 4B, the future predicted position 9 of the worker 6 and the future predicted position 11 of the conveyor 7 intersect significantly in the predicted intersection area 12, and it is predicted that there is a high possibility that the worker 6 and the conveyor 7 will intersect in this predicted intersection area 12.

[0023] <Operation flow of safety support device> FIG. 5 shows an example of an operation flow of the safety support device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] The safety support device 200 recognizes the worker 6 and the conveyor 7 from the image captured by the imaging device 100 through object recognition processing (S1-1, S1-2).

[0025] The safety support device 200 identifies the coordinate positions of the worker 6 and the conveying machine 7 on the real plane by converting the position coordinates of the worker 6 and the conveying machine 7 recognized in the image into coordinates on the real plane, and records the identified position coordinates (S1-3, S1-4).

[0026] The safety support device 200 calculates the movement path by capturing the recorded position information of the worker 6 and the conveyance vehicle 7 over time, and predicts the future movement position of the worker 6 and the conveyance vehicle 7 based on the past movement path, movement direction and movement speed (S1-5, S1-6).

[0027] The safety support device 200 predicts the expected intersection area based on the predicted movement positions of the worker 6 and the conveying machine 7, and if an intersection of the worker 6 or the conveying machine 7 is predicted, it instructs the notification device to issue a warning to the object or the expected intersection area (S1-7, S1-8).

[0028] As described above, the safety support device of this embodiment is configured to recognize objects in the area using images acquired by an imaging device that acquires images of the area to be monitored, calculate the position and movement path of the objects within the area, and issue an alarm for areas where objects are expected to collide within the area.This makes it possible to prevent collisions between conveyors and workers within a factory without having to station monitors in the area to be monitored or have vehicles or workers wear or carry dedicated wireless devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1...camera, 2...camera image, 3...real plane, 4...point captured in camera image, 5...point on real plane, 6...worker, 7...conveyor, 8...worker movement trajectory, 9...predicted future position of worker, 10...conveyor movement trajectory, 11...predicted future position of conveyor, 12...predicted intersection area, 100...imaging device, 200...safety support device, 300...notification device.

Claims

1. an object recognition unit that recognizes objects within a monitoring target area using images acquired by an imaging device installed at a predetermined position in the monitoring target area; a path calculation unit that calculates a position of an object within the area and calculates a movement path of the object within the area; a region prediction unit that predicts an expected intersection region of the object within the region using the calculation result of the path calculation unit; an alarm notification unit that instructs a notification device to issue an alarm regarding the predicted intersection area and / or the object; Safety support equipment.

2. The path calculation unit converts position coordinates of an image acquired by the imaging device into coordinates on a real plane, thereby identifying a coordinate position of the object on the real plane from the coordinate position of the object in the image. The safety support device according to claim 1 .

3. The area prediction unit predicts the expected intersection area based on the moving path of the object and the moving position of the object predicted based on the moving direction and moving speed of the object. The safety support device according to claim 1 .

4. The alarm notification unit The alarm is notified to the predicted intersection area and / or the object by emitting a sound or emitting a light. The safety support device according to claim 1 .

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