Information processing apparatus, and information processing method

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus which can detect a person below a suspended cargo.SOLUTION: An apparatus according to the present invention has a position calculating unit for calculating a position of a suspended cargo suspended by a work machine, an image acquiring unit for acquiring an image of a region below the position calculated by the position calculating unit, and a recognition unit for, based on the captured image acquired by the image acquiring unit, recognizing whether or not there is a person in the region. It may be possible to have an arrangement in which a suspended cargo detection unit for detecting whether or not there is any suspended cargo suspended by a work machine is provided and when the suspended cargo detection unit calculates existence of the suspended cargo, processing is carried out by the position calculating unit, the image acquiring unit and the recognition unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a lifting support system that, based on information about the hanging position of a suspended load acquired from a drive control unit, identifies the size of the suspended load at a position corresponding to the position information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-110436 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, images of the downward view are acquired by a camera attached to the tip of the jib (near the hook).As a result, for example, it is not possible to properly grasp the situation below the suspended load, where the view is obstructed by the suspended load, and it is not possible to detect the presence of a person below the suspended load.

[0005] Therefore, in one aspect, the present invention aims to provide an information processing device or the like that can detect the presence of a person below a suspended load. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one embodiment, a position calculation unit that calculates the position of a load suspended by the work machine; an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of an area below the position calculated by the position calculation unit; a recognition unit that recognizes whether or not a person is present in the area based on the captured image acquired by the image acquisition unit; An information processing device is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect, the present invention can detect the presence of a person below a suspended load. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing a process in the information processing device. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a lifting operation using a tower crane as a work machine. [Figure 3A] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which cameras are installed around a tower crane. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 10 of this embodiment includes a position calculation unit 11 that calculates the position of a load suspended by a work machine during lifting work, an image acquisition unit 12 that acquires an image of the area below the position calculated by the position calculation unit 11 as an image captured by a camera 20, and a recognition unit 13 that recognizes whether or not a person is present in the area based on the image captured by the image acquisition unit 12. The information processing device 10 also includes a load detection unit 14 that detects whether or not there is a load suspended by the work machine, and a processing unit 15 that executes a predetermined process when the recognition unit 13 recognizes that there is a person in the area.

[0011] The position calculation unit 11 can calculate the position of the suspended load based on attitude information indicating the attitude of the work machine (for example, data such as the jib angle). The position calculation unit 11 can also calculate the position of the suspended load based on, for example, position information of a mobile work machine (for example, GNSS coordinate information).

[0012] 1, the camera 20 and the driving device 21 that controls the direction of the camera 20 are controlled by the image acquisition unit 12. The image acquisition unit 12 controls the driving device 21 or the camera 20 in accordance with the position of the suspended load calculated by the position calculation unit 11 so that the camera 20 captures an image of the area below.

[0013] The recognition unit 13 recognizes whether or not a person is present in the area below the position of the load suspended by the work machine by performing image recognition on the photographed image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12.

[0014] All or part of the information processing device 10 of this embodiment can be configured as a device mounted on a work machine. Also, all or part of the information processing device 10 can be configured as an external device (for example, a server) capable of communicating with the work machine, camera 20, etc.

[0015] Next, the operation of the information processing device 10 will be described.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing in the information processing device, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the state of lifting work using a tower crane as a work machine. Note that the work machine is not limited to a tower crane, and may be any machine that performs lifting work, such as various types of cranes such as mobile cranes or drones. Fig. 2 illustrates an example of processing when camera 20 is attached to the driver's seat 51 (Fig. 3) of tower crane 50.

[0017] 2, the load detection unit 14 determines whether or not there is a load 61 suspended by the tower crane 50, and proceeds to step S104 after waiting for a positive determination. Here, for example, the load detection unit 14 can determine whether or not there is a load 61 based on the force (load load information) applied to a predetermined portion of the crane (e.g., the hook 53). It may also be determined that there is a load 61 when the applied force exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0018] In step S104, the position calculation unit 11 acquires posture information indicating the posture of the tower crane 50, such as the boom angle indicating the angle of the jib 52, and calculates the position of the suspended load 61 based on the acquired posture information.

[0019] In step S106, image acquisition unit 12 operates camera 20 and driving device 21 to acquire an image of area 62 (FIG. 3) below the position calculated by position calculation unit 11 as an image captured by camera 20.

[0020] Here, when camera 20 is attached to driver's seat 51, the lateral (horizontal) movement (rotation) of boom 52 is performed simultaneously with the rotation of driver's seat 51. Therefore, the angle adjustment of camera 20 by drive device 21 may be limited to only the up-down direction (height direction). Also, the captured image acquired by image acquisition unit 12 may be the entire image captured by camera 20, or a part of it.

[0021] In step S108, the recognition unit 13 recognizes whether or not a person is present in the area 62 based on the captured image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12.

[0022] In step S110, the processing unit 15 determines whether or not the presence of a person in the area 62 was recognized in step S108, and if the determination is affirmative, the processing proceeds to step S112, and if the determination is negative, the processing proceeds to step S102.

[0023] In step S112, the processing unit 15 executes processing required when it is recognized that a person is present in the area 62, and the processing proceeds to step S102. The content of the processing by the processing unit 15 in step S112 is arbitrary, but examples include outputting an alarm sound to the person in the area 62, or issuing an alarm or notification to the operator in the driver's seat 51, the work manager, or other persons.

[0024] In this way, in this embodiment, an image of the area below the position calculated by the position calculation unit 11 is acquired, and it is determined whether or not there is a person in the area based on the acquired photographed image, so it is possible to reliably detect the presence of a person below the suspended load. In contrast, for example, if an image from a camera that photographs the area below from a position near the crane hook 53 is used, it may not be possible to detect a person entering the area because they are hidden by the load, depending on the size and shape of the suspended load.

[0025] Furthermore, in this embodiment, only when the load detection unit 14 detects the load 61 suspended by the tower crane 50 (when the determination in step S102 is affirmative) are the position calculation unit 11, image acquisition unit 12, recognition unit 13, and processing unit 15 executing the processing (steps S104 to S112). This makes it possible to avoid unnecessary processing and reduce the operational load.

[0026] FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example in which cameras are installed around a tower crane.

[0027] The example in FIG. 2 shows a case where the camera 20 is attached to the driver's seat 51 of the tower crane 50, but in addition to this, or instead, the camera 20 may be attached to a location other than the driver's seat 51 of the tower crane 50. As shown in FIG. 3A, the camera 20 may be installed around the tower crane 50. The installation position of the camera 20 is arbitrary, and the camera 20 may be installed in a location that provides a view below the suspended load, depending on the conditions of the work site. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, by installing the camera 20 at position 20A, it is possible to capture images of the area below the suspended load 61 at an angle that does not create a blind spot for an obstacle 71 near the driver's seat 51 of the tower crane 50.

[0028] Furthermore, when multiple cameras 20 are installed at different locations, the image acquisition unit 12 may select a camera 20 that can capture an image below the suspended load 61. In this case, the camera 20 may be selected based on the position of the suspended load 61 calculated by the position calculation unit 11.

[0029] 2, the position of the load 61 is calculated based on attitude information indicating the attitude of the tower crane 50, but the position calculation unit 11 may also calculate the position of the load suspended by the work machine based on GNSS position information (coordinates). For example, the position calculation unit 11 may acquire the position of a mobile work machine as GNSS position information and reflect this in the operation of the camera 20 and the drive unit 21 by the image acquisition unit 12. Alternatively, the position of a predetermined location on the work machine (for example, the crane hook 53) may be acquired as GNSS position information and similarly reflected in the operation of the camera 20 and the drive unit 21 by the image acquisition unit 12.

[0030] GNSS position information can also be used in conjunction with work machine attitude information. For example, the position of a mobile work machine (for example, the position of the driver's seat 51) can be acquired as GNSS position information, and the position information can be corrected using the work machine attitude information, thereby making it possible to calculate the accurate position of the suspended load.

[0031] As described above, in this embodiment, an image of the area below the position calculated by the position calculation unit 11 is acquired, and it is determined whether or not a person is present in the area based on the acquired photographed image, so that it is possible to reliably detect the presence of a person below the suspended load. Furthermore, if the suspended load detection unit 14 does not detect the presence of a suspended load, the system does not proceed to processing by the position calculation unit 11, image acquisition unit 12, recognition unit 13, and processing unit 15, thereby reducing the operational burden.

[0032] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims. In addition, it is also possible to combine all or a plurality of components of the above-described embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10. Information processing equipment 11 Position calculation section 12 Image acquisition unit 13 Recognition part 14 Suspended load detection unit 15 Processing section

Claims

1. a position calculation unit that calculates the position of a load suspended by the work machine; an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of an area below the position calculated by the position calculation unit; a recognition unit that recognizes whether or not a person is present in the area based on the captured image acquired by the image acquisition unit; An information processing device comprising:

2. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the position calculation unit calculates the position based on attitude information indicating an attitude of the work machine.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the position calculation unit calculates the position based on position information of the work machine.

4. a load detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a load suspended by the work machine, The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein, when the suspended load detection unit calculates that a suspended load is present, the position calculation unit, the image acquisition unit, and the recognition unit execute processing.

5. a position calculation step of calculating the position of a load suspended by the work machine; an image acquisition step of acquiring an image of an area below the position calculated in the position calculation step as a captured image by a camera; a recognition step of recognizing whether or not there is a person in the area based on the photographed image acquired by the image acquisition step; An information processing method comprising:

Images