Apparatus, method, and program

Abstract

SOLUTION: A model information acquisition unit configured to acquire model information of a virtual space obtained by three dimensionally modeling a space in a facility, a registration unit configured to register identification information of each object existing in the virtual space in response to a user operation, a display control unit configured to display the virtual space based on the model information and to identifiably display an object whose identification information is not registered among objects existing in the virtual space, and an identification information acquisition unit configured to acquire identification information of each object from an appearance of the object, the registration unit registers the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 and other documents state that "The equipment data Dr includes, for each piece of equipment R, information relating to the three-dimensional mechanical model of each piece of equipment R (shape, constraint conditions between shapes, placement positions of sensors and actuators, etc.)" (paragraph 0149 of Patent Document 1). [Prior art document] [Patent documents] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-106043 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2022-139150 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2022-139154 A [Patent Document 4] International Publication No. 2015-107665 [Patent Document 5] JP 2020-003954 A Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising: a model information acquisition unit that acquires model information of a virtual space that is a three-dimensional model of the space within a facility; a registration unit that registers identification information for each object that exists in the virtual space in response to a user operation; and a display control unit that displays the virtual space based on the model information and identifies and displays objects that exist in the virtual space and do not have registered identification information.

[0004] The above device may further include an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of each object from the appearance of the object, and the registration unit may register the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.

[0005] Any of the above devices may further include an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of each object from data that associates the position of each object in the equipment with the identification information of the object, and the registration unit may register the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.

[0006] In any of the above devices that are equipped with the identification information acquisition unit, the display control unit may display a plurality of identification information candidates in association with an object for which identification information is not registered, and the registration unit may register an identification information candidate selected by a user from the plurality of identification information candidates displayed in association with an object as the identification information of the object.

[0007] Any of the above devices may further include a memory unit that stores the model information, and the display control unit may display the virtual space based on the model information newly acquired by the model information acquisition unit, and may further distinguishably display parts that differ from the virtual space based on the model information stored before the model information in question.

[0008] Any of the above devices may further include a memory unit that pre-stores, for each object within the facility, related information for the object, and the display control unit may display the related information for the object in association with an object existing in the virtual space.

[0009] In any of the above devices, the model information acquisition unit may acquire the model information by photogrammetry or three-dimensional scanning.

[0010] In the above-described device, the model information acquisition unit may have a movement that moves within the facility.

[0011] In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising an acquisition step of acquiring model information of a virtual space that is a three-dimensional model of the space within a facility; a registration step of registering identification information for each object present in the virtual space in response to a user operation; and a display control step of displaying the virtual space based on the model information and identifying and displaying objects present in the virtual space that do not have registered identification information.

[0012] In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to function as a model information acquisition unit that acquires model information of a virtual space that is a three-dimensional model of the space within a facility, a registration unit that registers identification information for each object that exists in the virtual space in response to user operation, and a display control unit that displays the virtual space based on the model information and identifies and displays objects that exist in the virtual space and do not have registered identification information.

[0013] 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]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 shows a system 1 according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 shows the contents of the object stored in the storage unit 34. [Figure 3] The operation of the display control device 3 will be described. [Figure 4] 1 shows a virtual space displayed based on model information acquired at a first point in time. [Figure 5] 10 shows a virtual space displayed based on model information acquired at a second point in time. [Figure 6] 12 illustrates an example computer 1200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] 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.

[0016] (System 1) 1 shows a system 1 according to this embodiment. The system 1 displays a virtual space in which the space inside a facility is three-dimensionally modeled, and includes a display device 2 and a display control device 3.

[0017] Here, the facility may be equipped with one device or multiple devices. For example, the facility may be a plant or a composite device that combines multiple devices. Examples of plants include industrial plants such as chemical and biotech plants, plants that manage and control wellheads and surrounding areas of gas and oil fields, plants that manage and control power generation such as hydroelectric, thermal, and nuclear power, plants that manage and control environmental power generation such as solar and wind power, and plants that manage and control water supply and sewage systems, dams, etc.

[0018] The equipment may be an instrument, machine, or device. For example, the equipment may be an actuator such as a valve, pump, heater, fan, motor, or switch that controls at least one physical quantity, such as pressure, temperature, pH, speed, or flow rate, in a facility process, or a controller that controls the actuator. The equipment may also be a sensor or meter that measures the status of the facility. The status of the facility may be the status of the facility itself (e.g., pressure, flow rate, temperature, pH, speed, power consumption, concentration, etc.) or the status of the product of the facility (e.g., purity, concentration, composition, viscosity, color, etc.). The equipment may also be a structure such as a pipe, tank, heat exchanger, furnace, or distillation column. In the system 1 according to this embodiment, each piece of equipment in the facility may be displayed as an object in a virtual space of the facility by a display control device 3, which will be described later.

[0019] ((Display device 2)) The display device 2 displays the virtual space within the facility under the control of the display control device 3. The display device 2 may be any type of display device as long as it displays something to the user, and may be, for example, a head-mounted display.

[0020] ((Display control device 3)) The display control device 3 is an example of a device, and includes a model information acquisition unit 31, an identification information acquisition unit 32, a registration unit 33, a storage unit , a display control unit 35, and an operation acquisition unit .

[0021] (((Model information acquisition unit 31))) The model information acquisition unit 31 acquires model information of a virtual space (also referred to as facility model information) that is a three-dimensional model of the space within the facility. The model information acquisition unit 31 according to this embodiment may acquire the model information by photogrammetry. Here, photogrammetry refers to a technique for creating a stereoscopic three-dimensional (3D) model by photographing a subject from multiple angles. The model information acquisition unit 31 includes a movement unit 311, an imaging unit 312, and an analysis unit 313.

[0022] ((((movement unit 311)))) The moving unit 311 moves within the facility. The moving unit 311 may be equipped with an imaging unit 312 and move within the facility together with the imaging unit 312. The moving unit 311 may move within the facility in response to an instruction operation from a user, or may move within the facility periodically at a preset time and along a preset route. The moving unit 311 may be a maintenance robot that performs maintenance on devices within the facility, or a security robot that provides security within the facility.

[0023] ((((imaging unit 312)))) The imaging unit 312 captures images of the space within the facility. The imaging unit 312 may be a conventionally known imaging device such as a CCD camera. The imaging unit 312 may have a swivel function, i.e., a pan-tilt function. The imaging unit 312 may have a function for adjusting the height at which images are taken. The imaging unit 312 may work in cooperation with the moving unit 311 to capture images of each position within the facility from multiple angles. The imaging unit 312 may supply each image data acquired by imaging to the analysis unit 313.

[0024] ((((Analysis Department 313)))) The analysis unit 313 analyzes multiple image data captured by the imaging unit 312 to generate three-dimensional model information. The analysis unit 313 may generate model information of each object (equipment in this embodiment as an example) within the facility, and may also generate model information of the facility. Note that the analysis unit 313 may acquire the model information of the facility from design data of the facility.

[0025] The model information of the facility may be model information of the facility frame, i.e., the facility itself, which is a 3D model when no object is installed within the facility, or may be model information of the facility including the object when an object is installed within the facility.

[0026] The analysis unit 313 may generate model information of the facility (here, model information of the facility's frame) from a plurality of image data images of the interior of the facility's frame when no object is installed. The analysis unit 313 may generate model information of the facility including the object from a plurality of image data images of the interior of the facility when the object is installed. The model information may be, for example, 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) data or any other format of data representing a three-dimensional shape. The 3D CAD data may be generated by a known method from three-dimensional point cloud data of a subject created by photogrammetry.

[0027] The analysis unit 313 may generate model information for each object from the difference between the model information of the facility frame and the model information of the facility including the object. The analysis unit 313 may generate model information for each added, deleted, or changed object from the difference between the previously acquired model information of the facility and the newly acquired model information of the facility. The model information of an object may include information indicating the position and shape of the object.

[0028] The analysis unit 313 may supply the acquired model information to the storage unit 34. The analysis unit 313 may extract model information of an object that differs from the model information of each object acquired previously from the model information of each object, and supply the extracted model information to the storage unit 34. The analysis unit 313 may further supply image data of the object to the storage unit 34, and store the image data in association with the model information of the object.

[0029] (((Identification information acquisition unit 32))) The identification information acquisition unit 32 acquires the object IDs of objects (also referred to as unregistered objects) whose object identification information (object ID) is not registered, from among the objects whose model information is stored in the storage unit 34. The unregistered object may be an object newly installed in the facility, an object that has replaced an old object, or an object whose installation location has been changed.

[0030] The object ID may indicate the type of object, product name, or model number. If the object is a sensor or instrument, the object ID may indicate the type of measurement value. However, the object ID is not limited to these and may be arbitrarily set by the user.

[0031] The identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire the object ID of each object from the appearance of the object. The identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire image data of the unregistered object from the storage unit 34 and may perform image analysis of the image data to acquire the object ID. For example, the identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire information about the object's appearance from the image data (e.g., information indicating the shape and color, and text information on the nameplate), and may identify the product model name, serial number, etc. of the object from the information to use as the object ID. The identification information acquisition unit 32 may identify the model name, serial number, etc. of the object using the technology described in JP 2020-003954 A.

[0032] The identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire the object ID of each object from data (also referred to as position ID correspondence data) that associates the position of each object in the facility with the object ID of the object. The position ID correspondence data may be data on a layout diagram of the objects in the facility, and may be, for example, a piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID). The identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire, as the object ID of the unregistered object, the object ID that is associated in the position ID correspondence data with the position indicated in the model information of the unregistered object.

[0033] The identification information acquisition unit 32 may supply the object ID of the unregistered object to the registration unit 33. The identification information acquisition unit 32 may detect the unregistered object by referring to the storage unit 34, and supply the object ID of the unregistered object to the registration unit 33 in association with its model information.

[0034] (((Registration unit 33))) The registration unit 33 registers the object ID of each object that exists in a virtual space in which the space inside the facility is three-dimensionally modeled. The registration unit 33 may register the object ID in response to a user operation performed via the operation acquisition unit 36.

[0035] The registration unit 33 may register the object ID acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 32. The registration unit 33 may store the object ID of the unregistered object supplied from the identification information acquisition unit 32 in the storage unit 34 in association with the object ID and the model information supplied from the identification information acquisition unit 32, i.e., the model information of the unregistered object.

[0036] (((storage unit 34))) The storage unit 34 stores various information. The storage unit 34 may store model information (in this embodiment, model information of the equipment and model information of the object) acquired by the model information acquisition unit 31. The storage unit 34 may store an object ID registered by the registration unit 33 in association with the model information of the object. The storage unit 34 may further store image data of the object in association with the model information of the object.

[0037] (((display control unit 35))) The display control unit 35 displays the virtual space based on the model information in the storage unit 34. The display control unit 35 may display the virtual space based on the model information of the equipment. The displayed virtual space may include one or more objects. The display control unit 35 may display the virtual space on the display device 2.

[0038] The display control unit 35 distinguishably displays, among the objects existing in the virtual space, objects for which an object ID is not registered, i.e., unregistered objects. The display control unit 35 may perform the distinguishable display based on model information of the unregistered objects stored in the storage unit 34. The display control unit 35 may perform the distinguishable display by changing the display color of at least a part of the unregistered object (for example, an edge portion), may perform the distinguishable display by making the unregistered object blink, or may perform the distinguishable display by adding a mark or the like to the unregistered object indicating that the object ID is not registered.

[0039] The display control unit 35 may display the virtual space within the field of view when viewed in one direction from one viewpoint, and may identifiably display unregistered objects included in the virtual space within the field of view. In response to a user operation to change the field of view, the display control unit 35 may display the virtual space within the changed field of view, and identifiably display unregistered objects included in the virtual space within the field of view.

[0040] (((operation acquisition unit 36))) The operation acquisition unit 36 ​​acquires various user operations. The operation acquisition unit 36 ​​may acquire the user operations via an input device such as a keyboard. The operation acquisition unit 36 ​​may acquire a user operation to change the field of view in the virtual space, and supply a signal corresponding to the operation to the display control unit 35. The operation acquisition unit 36 ​​may acquire a user operation to register an object ID for an unregistered object, and supply a signal corresponding to the operation to the registration unit 33.

[0041] According to the above-described display control device 3, model information of a virtual space that is a 3D model of the space within the facility is acquired, and the virtual space is displayed based on the model information, and unregistered objects that do not have registered object IDs among the objects existing in the virtual space are displayed in an identifiable manner. Therefore, it is possible to easily grasp for which objects in the 3D modeled virtual space object IDs should be registered.

[0042] Furthermore, the object ID of each object is obtained from the appearance of the object, and the obtained object ID is registered, thereby saving the user the trouble of inputting the object ID.

[0043] In addition, the object ID of each object is obtained from the position ID correspondence data that associates the position of each object in the facility with the object ID of that object, and the obtained object ID is registered, thereby saving the user the trouble of inputting the object ID.

[0044] Furthermore, since model information is acquired by photogrammetry, it is possible to acquire model information reliably.

[0045] Furthermore, the model information acquisition unit 31 is provided with a moving unit 311 that moves within the facility, so that model information of the facility and objects can be acquired by moving the moving unit 311.

[0046] (Storage contents of storage unit 34) FIG. 2 shows the contents of objects stored in the storage unit 34. The storage unit 34 may store, for each object, model information of the object and an object ID. In FIG. 2, object IDs such as "Flowmeter_01" representing a flow meter and "Thermometer_01" representing a thermometer are used as object IDs. The model information of an object may include information indicating the position of the object and information indicating the shape of the object. The storage unit 34 may further store, for each object, image data of the object.

[0047] (operation) 3 shows the operation of the display control device 3. The display control device 3 performs the processes of steps S11 to S23 to display the virtual space of the equipment while registering object IDs for unregistered objects. Note that this operation will be described assuming that model information of the equipment has been acquired in advance by the model information acquisition unit 31.

[0048] In step S11, the model information acquisition unit 31 acquires model information of the equipment. The model information acquisition unit 31 may further acquire model information for each newly installed object from the difference between the already acquired model information of the equipment and the newly acquired model information of the equipment.

[0049] In step S13, the identification information acquisition unit 32 may refer to the storage unit 34 and detect each unregistered object whose object ID is not registered.

[0050] In step S15, the identification information acquisition unit 32 acquires the object ID of the unregistered object as a candidate for the object ID. The identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire an object ID for each unregistered object detected in step S13. The identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire multiple object IDs for at least one unregistered object. The identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire the object ID from the appearance of the unregistered object, or may acquire the object ID from the position ID correspondence data.

[0051] In step S17, the display control unit 35 displays a virtual space of the equipment including the object based on each piece of model information in the storage unit 34. In addition, the display control unit 35 identifiably displays unregistered objects present in the virtual space. The display control unit 35 may identifiably display each of the unregistered objects detected in step S13.

[0052] The display control unit 35 may further display object ID candidates acquired for an unregistered object. The display control unit 35 may display object ID candidates for an unregistered object in association with the unregistered object. When multiple object ID candidates for an unregistered object are acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 32, the display control unit 35 may display multiple object ID candidates for the unregistered object.

[0053] In step S19, the operation acquisition unit 36 ​​may acquire a user operation to register an object ID for any of the unregistered objects. For example, the operation acquisition unit 36 ​​may acquire a registration operation for object ID candidates displayed in association with the unregistered object. When multiple object ID candidates are displayed for one unregistered object, the operation acquisition unit 36 ​​may acquire a selection operation for one of the multiple object ID candidates.

[0054] In step S21, the registration unit 33 registers the object ID of each unregistered object present in the virtual space in response to the user operation in step S19. In response to a registration operation being performed on a candidate object ID displayed in association with a single unregistered object, the registration unit 33 may register the candidate object ID as the object ID of the single unregistered object. The registration unit 33 may register an object ID candidate selected by the user from among multiple candidate object IDs displayed in association with the single object as the object ID of the single object.

[0055] In step S23, the display control unit 35 updates the display of the virtual space. The display control unit 35 may cancel the identification display of an object whose object ID has been registered and which is no longer an unregistered object.

[0056] According to the above operation, a plurality of object ID candidates are displayed in association with an unregistered object whose object ID has not been registered, and the object ID candidate selected by the user from the plurality of object ID candidates displayed in association with an unregistered object is registered as the object ID of the unregistered object. Therefore, the correct object ID can be registered for each object.

[0057] In the above operation, the identification information acquisition unit 32 has been described as acquiring an object ID for each unregistered object, but it may acquire object IDs for some of the multiple unregistered objects. For example, the identification information acquisition unit 32 may acquire an object ID for an unregistered object selected by the user from the multiple unregistered objects identified and displayed by the display control unit 35.

[0058] (Example of operation) Fig. 4 shows a virtual space displayed based on model information acquired at a first time point. Note that Fig. 4 illustrates, as an example, a case where a plurality of pipes 21 and valves 22 are installed in the facility at the first time point, and object IDs of these objects are registered.

[0059] FIG. 5 shows a virtual space displayed based on model information acquired at a second time point. Note that FIG. 5 illustrates, as an example, a case where a flow meter 23 is newly installed in the equipment at a second time point that is later than the first time point, and its object ID has not been registered. As shown in this figure, an unregistered object (flow meter 23 in FIG. 5) whose object ID is not registered may be identifiably displayed in the virtual space. Furthermore, a candidate object ID "Flowmeter_02" may be displayed for the unregistered object.

[0060] (Variation) In the above embodiment, the display control unit 35 is described as distinguishing unregistered objects in the virtual space. However, the target of the distinguishing display is not limited to this. For example, the display control unit 35 may display the virtual space based on newly acquired model information by the model information acquisition unit 31, and may further distinguishably display differences from the virtual space based on model information stored before the newly acquired model information. For example, the display control unit 35 may distinguishably display differences between the most recently acquired model information of the equipment and the newly acquired model information of the equipment. The differences may be, for example, locations where objects have been removed. The display control unit 35 may distinguishably display the differences by changing the display color of the differences or by blinking the differences. The display control unit 35 may distinguish the unregistered objects and the differences in the same manner or in different manners. When the differences are distinguishably displayed in this manner, the changes in the equipment can be identified within the virtual space.

[0061] Although the display control unit 35 has been described as displaying object ID candidates for unregistered objects, it may also display the object IDs of registered objects for each object. In this case, the display control unit 35 may display the unregistered object ID candidates in a different manner from the registered object IDs.

[0062] Furthermore, although the storage unit 34 has been described as storing model information, the objects to be stored are not limited to this. For example, the storage unit 34 may store, in advance, related information for each object within the facility. The related information may be the type of object, its location, an image of the surrounding area, etc. In this case, the display control unit 35 may display the related information for the object in association with the object existing in the virtual space. As an example, the display control unit 35 may display the related information near the object. This allows the related information for each object to be grasped within the virtual space.

[0063] Although the model information acquisition unit 31 has been described as acquiring model information by photogrammetry, it may also acquire model information by 3D scanning. For example, the model information acquisition unit 31 may acquire 3D model information by irradiating light, laser, or sound waves and measuring the arrival time of the reflected waves.

[0064] Furthermore, although the display control device 3 has been described as having the identification information acquisition unit 32 and the storage unit 34, it may not have either of these. If the display control device 3 does not have the identification information acquisition unit 32, the registration unit 33 may register an object ID input by the user via the operation acquisition unit 36 ​​in association with an unregistered object. If the display control device 3 does not have the storage unit 34, the display control device 3 may store various information such as model information in an external storage device.

[0065] Furthermore, while the display control device 3 has been described as displaying the virtual space of the facility on the display device 2, it may also control an actuator of the real equipment in response to a user operation on at least one object in the virtual space. In this case, the operation acquisition unit 36 ​​may acquire a user operation on the object in the virtual space. The display control device 3 may be provided with a control unit that controls the actuator in the facility, and the control unit may supply a control signal in response to a user operation on an object to an actuator of the real equipment corresponding to the object.

[0066] Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flowcharts and block diagrams, where the blocks may represent (1) stages of a process in which operations are performed or (2) sections of an apparatus responsible for performing the operations. Particular stages and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, and / or a processor provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. Dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuitry, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuitry, including logical AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, memory elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and the like.

[0067] A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by an appropriate device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture containing instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, and semiconductor storage media. More specific examples of computer-readable 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, and the like.

[0068] 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.

[0069] The computer-readable instructions may be provided to a processor or programmable circuit of a programmable data processing device, such as a computer, locally or over a wide area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet, and the computer-readable instructions may be executed to create 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 computer. In a distributed computing system, the 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.

[0070] Examples of processors include a computer processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a processing unit, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a controller, a microcontroller, etc. A computer may have one or more 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.

[0071] 6 illustrates an example of a computer 1200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. Programs installed on the computer 1200 may cause the computer 1200 to function as or perform operations associated with an apparatus or one or more sections of the apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention, and / or to perform a process or steps of a process according to embodiments of the present invention. Such programs may 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.

[0072] A computer 1200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 1212, a RAM 1214, a graphics controller 1216, and a display device 1218, which are interconnected by a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 1222, a storage device 1224 such as a hard disk drive, a DVD-ROM drive 1226, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 1210 via an input / output controller 1220. The computer also includes legacy input / output units such as a ROM 1230 and a keyboard 1242, which are connected to the input / output controller 1220 via an input / output chip 1240.

[0073] 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 1216 itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 1218.

[0074] 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-ROM drive 1226 reads programs or data from a DVD-ROM 1227 and provides the programs or data to the storage device 1224 via the RAM 1214. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0075] 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 parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, etc.

[0076] The programs are provided by a computer-readable medium such as a DVD-ROM 1227 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable medium, installed in the storage device 1224, RAM 1214, or ROM 1230, which are also examples of computer-readable 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 a method may be configured by implementing information manipulation or processing in accordance with the use of the computer 1200.

[0077] 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 processing area provided in the RAM 1214, the storage device 1224, the DVD-ROM 1227, 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 processing area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0078] 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, the DVD-ROM drive 1226 (DVD-ROM 1227), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 1214, and perform various types of processing on the data in the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 then writes back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0079] 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. CPU 1212 may perform various types of processing on data read from 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 RAM 1214. 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, CPU 1212 may search for an entry that matches a condition specified by the attribute value of the first attribute 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.

[0080] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable 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 medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 1200 via the network.

[0081] Although the present invention has been described above using 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.

[0082] 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 subsequent 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]

[0083] 1 System 2 Display device 3 Display Control Device 21 Piping 22 Valves 23 Flow meter 31 Model information acquisition unit 32 Identification information acquisition unit 33 Registration Department 34 Storage section 35 Display control unit 36 Operation acquisition part 311 Mobile Department 312 Imaging unit 313 Analysis Department 1200 Computer 1210 host controller 1212 CPU 1214 RAM 1216 Graphics Controller 1218 Display Devices 1220 Input / Output Controller 1222 communication interface 1224 Storage device 1226 DVD-ROM drive 1227 DVD-ROM 1230 ROM 1240 Input / Output Chip 1242 keyboard

Claims

1. a model information acquisition unit that acquires model information of a virtual space that is a three-dimensional model of a space within the facility; a registration unit that registers identification information of each object existing in the virtual space in response to a user operation; a display control unit that displays the virtual space based on the model information and distinguishably displays objects that do not have registered identification information among objects that exist in the virtual space; An apparatus comprising:

2. an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of each object from the appearance of the object; The device according to claim 1 , wherein the registration unit registers the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.

3. an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of each object from data that associates a position of each object in the facility with identification information of the object; The device according to claim 1 , wherein the registration unit registers the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.

4. the display control unit displays a plurality of identification information candidates in association with an object for which identification information is not registered; The device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the registration unit registers an identification information candidate selected by a user from the plurality of identification information candidates displayed in association with one object as the identification information of the one object.

5. further comprising a storage unit for storing the model information; The device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the virtual space based on the model information newly acquired by the model information acquisition unit, and further distinguishably displays differences from the virtual space based on the model information stored before the new model information.

6. a storage unit configured to store, in advance, information related to each object in the facility; The device according to claim 1 , wherein the display control unit displays information related to an object in association with the object existing in the virtual space.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the model information acquisition unit acquires the model information by photogrammetry or three-dimensional scanning.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the model information acquisition unit has a movement that moves within the facility.

9. an acquisition stage in which model information of a virtual space in which the space within the facility is three-dimensionally modeled is acquired; a registration step of registering identification information of each object existing in the virtual space in response to a user operation; a display control step of displaying the virtual space based on the model information and identifying and displaying objects that exist in the virtual space and have no registered identification information; A method for providing the above.

10. When executed by a computer, the computer a model information acquisition unit that acquires model information of a virtual space that is a three-dimensional model of a space within the facility; a registration unit that registers identification information of each object existing in the virtual space in response to a user operation; a display control unit that displays the virtual space based on the model information and distinguishably displays objects that do not have registered identification information among objects that exist in the virtual space; A program that functions as a

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