Evacuation guidance system

Abstract

It is possible to obtain the evacuation guidance system (100) capable of more accurately performing evacuation guidance by using the mobile body (2).SOLUTION: An evacuation guidance system (100) includes a color barcode (20) provided at each location of a facility (300) and a moving body (2) having an imaging unit (23), and when a fire occurs in the facility (300), the moving body (2) reads the color barcode (20) using the imaging unit (23) and guides a rescue requester (10) to an evacuation gate based on the read information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an evacuation guidance system using a moving object. [Background technology]

[0002] When a fire breaks out in an office building, factory, or other facility, it is necessary to quickly evacuate those inside the facility.

[0003] However, people inside the facility may find it difficult to determine which direction to evacuate, so a system is needed to provide smooth and quick guidance.

[0004] In this situation, systems that utilize mobile vehicles such as unmanned aerial vehicles to guide people to safety are being considered.

[0005] Here, the following has been disclosed as a system using an unmanned aerial vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The site monitoring system according to Patent Document 1 is a system that monitors a site using an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a camera. The site monitoring system monitors the site by managing the points and times of passage of the unmanned aerial vehicle as it flies while reading two-dimensional codes installed at various locations within the site. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-170180 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] When using an unmanned aerial vehicle to provide evacuation guidance, it is necessary to provide the unmanned aerial vehicle with information such as its current location, the direction it should go, etc. To achieve this, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to set two-dimensional codes at various locations within the facility and have the unmanned aerial vehicle fly while reading the two-dimensional codes.

[0008] However, if a fire breaks out within the facility, smoke will fill the facility, making it difficult to correctly read the two-dimensional code.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an evacuation guidance system that can provide more accurate evacuation guidance using a moving object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The evacuation guidance system of the present disclosure comprises color barcodes installed at various locations in a facility and a mobile body having an imaging unit. In the event of a fire occurring within the facility, the mobile body reads the color barcodes using the imaging unit and guides the person in need of rescue to an evacuation exit based on the read information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, an evacuation guidance system can be obtained that can provide more accurate evacuation guidance using a moving object. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an evacuation guidance system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a color barcode used in the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an evacuation route in a first modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the evacuation guidance system of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The evacuation guidance system according to the present disclosure uses unmanned aerial vehicles to guide people in a facility to evacuate when a fire breaks out within the facility. The evacuation guidance system according to the present disclosure also has a technical feature in which color barcodes are placed at various locations within the facility, and when a fire breaks out, the unmanned aerial vehicles read the color barcodes to guide people to evacuate.

[0014] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an evacuation guidance system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] The evacuation guidance system 100 includes a fire receiver 1, an unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and a cloud server 3, which are configured to communicate with each other via a network device group 200.

[0016] The fire receiver 1 is a central control device in the disaster prevention system of the facility 300. The fire receiver 1 is a fire identification means that determines whether or not a fire has occurred by monitoring fire occurrence signals from fire detectors (not shown) installed in various locations in the facility 300. If the fire receiver 1 determines that a fire has occurred, it activates fire prevention equipment (not shown), such as emergency broadcast equipment, local sound equipment, and sprinklers.

[0017] In a so-called analog system, in which the smoke density and temperature detected by the fire detector are transmitted as analog values ​​to the fire receiver 1, and a fire is determined to have occurred if the value received by the fire receiver 1 exceeds a predetermined threshold, an analog value exceeding the threshold for determining a fire corresponds to a fire occurrence signal. Furthermore, the fire identification means is not limited to the fire receiver 1, and can also be, for example, the cloud server 3 described below. The cloud server 3 determines whether a fire has occurred by monitoring the fire occurrence signal from the fire detector.

[0018] A unique address is assigned to each fire detector in advance, and the fire receiving device 1 identifies which fire detector detected the fire based on that address. This allows the fire receiving device 1 to identify the location of the fire detector that detected the fire as the location of the fire.

[0019] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is a mobile object that flies while autonomously maintaining its attitude. In embodiment 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 does not require human operation and flies autonomously while avoiding contact with obstacles, ceilings, floors, side walls, etc., by detecting them on its own.

[0020] The evacuation guidance system 100 also has a color barcode 20 for supporting the autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The color barcode 20 is provided in various locations in the facility 300, such as at the corners of the aisles of each room in the facility 300, at each branch point of the aisles, and at each intersection.

[0021] In the event of a fire occurring within the facility 300, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 reads the color barcode 20 and guides the person in need of rescue 10 to an emergency exit based on the read information. The person in need of rescue 10 can follow the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to the emergency exit, relying on illumination light from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 or the like.

[0022] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may be configured as a plurality of vehicles or as a single vehicle.

[0023] The cloud server 3 is a server intended to share information among related departments and to centrally manage information in the event of a fire occurring in the facility 300. The cloud server 3 is installed outside the facility 300, for example, in a data center.

[0024] In the first embodiment, as will be described later, it functions as an evacuation route creating section that creates an evacuation route for guiding the rescue requester 10.

[0025] The network device group 200 includes a router 201 , an access point 202 , and a signal converter 203 .

[0026] The router 201 is a relay device for communicating with the outside world, and relays communication with the cloud server 3 via the Internet 400. The access point 202 is a relay device for wireless communication, and converts wireless communication with the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 into wired LAN communication. The signal converter 203 converts serial communication with the fire control device 1 into LAN communication.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 shown in FIG.

[0028] In FIG. 2, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 includes a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, an imaging unit 23, an illumination unit 24, an object detection unit 25, a memory unit 26, and an autonomous flight control unit 27.

[0029] The communication unit 21 performs wireless communication with the fire control panel 1 and the cloud server 3 via the network device group 200.

[0030] The control unit 22 performs various types of arithmetic processing and outputs command signals to and controls various types of hardware within the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The control unit 22 has an arithmetic processing unit, a main memory device, and an interface for controlling the various types of hardware.

[0031] The imaging unit 23 is composed of multiple cameras that are installed to capture images of the front, back, left, and right of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 uses the imaging unit 23 to check its surroundings and read the color barcode 20.

[0032] The lighting unit 24 is an LED light that illuminates the area around or the feet of the rescue requester 10 during evacuation guidance.

[0033] The object detection unit 25 is an AI module that acquires an image captured by the imaging unit 23 and identifies an object captured in the image. In the first embodiment, the object detection unit 25 is used to determine whether or not the rescue requester 10 is nearby. In addition to using the imaging unit 23, the object detection unit 25 may also identify the shape of an object using a laser sensor such as a 3D-LiDAR, and determine whether or not the rescue requester 10 is nearby based on the identified shape.

[0034] The storage unit 26 is a memory or auxiliary storage device that stores various data, such as control parameters for flying the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and information used when providing evacuation guidance.

[0035] The autonomous flight control unit 27 is a module that controls the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 so that it flies while maintaining a constant attitude and avoiding contact with obstacles. The autonomous flight control unit 27 is equipped with an inertial measurement unit, multiple object detection sensors, a control circuit, and multiple motors for rotating each rotor. The autonomous flight control unit 27 may also be equipped with a GPS-based position detection unit.

[0036] The object detection sensors are provided at positions where they can detect obstacles, the ceiling, the floor, and the side walls. The control circuit receives measurement signals from the inertial measurement unit (IMU) for acceleration, rotational angular velocity, and the direction of the earth's axis, as well as detection signals from the object detection sensors, and controls the rotation speed of each motor based on these signals.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a color barcode 20 used in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] In the first embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 captures an image of the color barcode 20 illustrated in Fig. 3 using the imaging unit 23, and performs image processing using the control unit 22 or the object detection unit 25. This allows the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to read the color barcode 20 and obtain the information recorded in the color barcode 20. Then, based on the read information, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 guides the person in need of rescue 10 to an emergency exit.

[0039] The color barcode 20 in the first embodiment is also called "Chameleon Code" (registered trademark), and is a next-generation code that records information using a combination of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors, and can read information quickly and accurately. The color barcode 20 can express a large amount of information within a single code using different shades of color, so it can hold more information than conventional black and white two-dimensional codes.

[0040] Furthermore, no dedicated reading device (reader) is required to obtain the information on the color barcode 20; the control unit 22 and the imaging unit 23 can be used as readers, which contributes to reducing the cost and weight of the evacuation guidance system.

[0041] Furthermore, because conventional two-dimensional codes are expressed in black and white, which is similar to the gray of smoke, they easily blend in when filled with smoke, making them difficult to read optically. On the other hand, color barcode 20 is colored, so it is less likely to blend in when filled with smoke than conventional two-dimensional codes, ensuring optical readability.

[0042] Specifically, the color barcode 20 in the first embodiment has the following advantageous characteristics compared to conventional two-dimensional codes: The color barcode 20 can be read even when it is installed at a distance of about 50 m, and multiple color barcodes 20 can be read simultaneously. Furthermore, the color barcode 20 can be read even while moving, and can be read from an oblique direction.

[0043] Furthermore, the color barcode 20 can be printed by an image forming device such as an inkjet printer or laser printer, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. The color barcode 20 may also be displayed on an LCD display device. In this case, the color barcode 20 may be displayed with dynamically changing content according to the fire situation, etc.

[0044] Also, taking into consideration that smoke moves upward, the color barcode 20 may be placed on the bottom of a side wall, on the floor, etc. This allows the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to easily read the color barcode 20 even when the smoke becomes thick.

[0045] In the first embodiment, the color barcode 20 stores identification information indicating the location where the color barcode 20 is installed. Additionally, as additional information to this identification information, the color barcode 20 may be assigned the floor number and XY plane coordinates of the floor where the color barcode 20 is installed within the facility 300.

[0046] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 shown in FIG.

[0047] In the example of Figure 4, there are four emergency exits E1 to E4, and under normal circumstances, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 waits at a predetermined waiting area P. In addition, in the example of Figure 4, the color barcodes 20 installed at various locations within the facility 300 are shown as black rectangles, the outbound route from the waiting area P to the vicinity of the fire location is shown by a dashed arrow, and the evacuation route is shown by a solid arrow.

[0048] When a fire breaks out, the fire receiving device 1 first identifies the location of the fire based on the address of the fire detector that detected the fire, and notifies the cloud server 3 of the location information of the location of the fire.

[0049] Based on the location of the fire, the cloud server 3 creates evacuation routes from the installation position of each color barcode 20 to the nearest evacuation exit. Here, the cloud server 3 creates each evacuation route so as to avoid the location of the fire.

[0050] Here, the process of creating an evacuation route will be described with reference to the color barcode 20A shown in FIG.

[0051] The cloud server 3 first identifies the evacuation exit E1 as the closest evacuation exit to the position of the color barcode 20A. Then, the cloud server 3 derives the evacuation route R1 as the shortest route from the position of the color barcode 20A to the evacuation exit E1 while avoiding the location of the fire.

[0052] 4, evacuation route R1 is a route that passes through color barcodes 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E, 20F, and 20G in this order. Therefore, cloud server 3 creates a data structure as evacuation route R1 in which the identification information of color barcodes 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E, 20F, and 20G are listed in order.

[0053] The cloud server 3 performs this process for all color barcodes 20 and creates evacuation routes for all color barcodes 20.

[0054] The cloud server 3 also creates an outbound route from the waiting area P to the color barcode 20A located near the location of the fire. Similar to the evacuation route, this outbound route has a data structure in which the color barcodes 20 passed through on the way from the location of the waiting area P to the color barcode 20A are listed in order.

[0055] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 acquires the above-mentioned outbound route and evacuation route from the cloud server 3. In addition, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may acquire additional information, such as location information of the location of the fire outbreak and a floor map of the facility 300, from the fire receiver 1 or the cloud server 3.

[0056] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 flies within the facility 300 along the outbound route acquired from the cloud server 3. When the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 reaches the vicinity of the location of the fire, it turns on the lighting unit 24 to notify the rescue recipient 10 in the vicinity of the vehicle's presence.

[0057] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 then searches for the person in need of rescue 10 while flying autonomously using the object detection unit 25. In the first embodiment, the search is performed within an area that is set in advance depending on the location of the fire, such as within the area S shown in FIG. 4. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may also search for the person in need of rescue 10 by flying around the passage in accordance with predetermined flight rules.

[0058] If a person in need of rescue 10 is found, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 starts guiding the person to an evacuation exit.

[0059] In the example of Figure 4, when a person in need of rescue 10A is found, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 reads the color barcodes 20 located in the vicinity using the imaging unit 23. At this time, if the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 simultaneously reads the color barcodes 20A, 20B, and 20C, it treats the color barcode 20A that appears the largest as the color barcode 20 at the current location.

[0060] Then, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 selects an evacuation route from among the evacuation routes stored that has the identification information of the color barcode 20A as its starting point. In this example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 selects evacuation route R1, which lists the identification information of the color barcodes 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E, 20F, and 20G in order.

[0061] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 continues to refer to the data structure of the evacuation route R1 and searches for color barcode 20B, which is the next point after color barcode 20A, using the imaging unit 23. When the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 finds color barcode 20B, it moves to the position of color barcode 20B.

[0062] Thereafter, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 similarly refers to the data structure of the evacuation route R1, searches for the next point, color barcode 20C, and when it finds color barcode 20C, moves to the position of color barcode 20C.

[0063] By repeating this process, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 can guide the rescue requester 10A through the color barcodes 20D, 20E, and 20F to the emergency exit E1 where the color barcode 20G is located.

[0064] Similarly, if the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 finds a person in need of rescue 10B, it flies along evacuation route R2 and guides the person to evacuation exit E2. If the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 finds a person in need of rescue 10C, it flies along evacuation route R3 and guides the person to evacuation exit E2.

[0065] One aspect of the first embodiment has been described above, but other variations will also be described.

[0066] <First Modification> FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an evacuation route in the first modified example.

[0067] In the example of FIG. 5, the evacuation route is set in a tree-like shape from an evacuation guidance start point SP near the location of the fire, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 reads the color barcode 20 every time it reaches a branching point.

[0068] When reading the color barcode 20, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 analyzes the saturation, edge clarity, etc. of the image captured by the imaging unit 23. Based on the analysis results, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 determines whether smoke is visible in the captured image, and if smoke is visible, determines its position within the captured image. Based on the determined position of the smoke within the captured image, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 determines the evacuation direction by selecting which branch to proceed down at the branching point.

[0069] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 analyzes the captured image, and if, for example, it cannot detect the right edge of the color barcode 20, it determines that there is smoke to the right.The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 then proceeds to the left, which is a safer evacuation direction.

[0070] In addition to smoke, the evacuation direction may be determined based on the position in the captured image where a phenomenon caused by a fire, such as flames, lights illuminated by flames, or flickering lights, is captured.

[0071] <Second Modification> In the explanation so far, the information recorded in the color barcode 20 has been described as identification information indicating each position of the facility 300. In addition to this, information indicating the next direction and the distance to travel (or just the direction) may be recorded in the color barcode 20.

[0072] This allows the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to reach the emergency exit by reading the color barcode 20 even if it has not obtained an evacuation route from the cloud server 3.

[0073] In addition, when using an LCD display device to display the color barcode 20, the color barcode 20 may be displayed with the next direction and distance to move changed according to the situation of the fire, etc.

[0074] <Other variations> In the explanation so far, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is kept waiting at the waiting area P and is dispatched when a fire occurs. However, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may also be placed in a location other than the waiting area P that is easily visible within the facility 300. In this case, when a fire occurs, the person in need of rescue 10 may find the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and press a manual button to activate the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and guide it to evacuation.

[0075] In addition, although the above explanations have referred to unmanned aerial vehicles as an example of mobile objects, they may also be autonomous mobile robots that move on wheels, etc. In this case, the color barcode 20 may be placed on the floor surface and read as the autonomous mobile robot passes over it.

[0076] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, an example of a configuration has been described in which an evacuation route creation unit that creates an evacuation route based on information about the location of a fire is stored in the cloud server 3. In contrast, the function of the evacuation route creation unit may be provided in the fire receiving device 1 or the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. When the fire receiving device 1 is provided with the function of the evacuation route creation unit, the fire receiving device 1 transmits information about the location of a fire to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0077] As explained in the second modified example above, it is also possible to construct an evacuation guidance system 100 that can provide guidance according to the information in the color barcode 20 even if there is no evacuation route creation unit or evacuation route.

[0078] The configurations described above may be combined with each other.

[0079] The features of the evacuation guidance system 100 can be summarized as follows, and the system has the following configuration and can achieve the following effects.

[0080] The evacuation guidance system 100 includes color barcodes 20 provided at various locations in the facility 300, and an unmanned aerial vehicle 2 having an imaging unit 23. When a fire breaks out within the facility 300, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 reads the color barcode 20 using the imaging unit 23, and guides the person in need of rescue 10 to an evacuation exit based on the read information.

[0081] This makes it possible to obtain an evacuation guidance system 100 that can provide more accurate evacuation guidance using the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0082] The evacuation guidance system 100 further includes a fire receiver 1 that identifies the location of a fire by receiving a fire signal from fire detectors installed at various locations in the facility 300. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 guides the person in need of rescue 10 to avoid the location of the fire based on the information about the location of the fire identified by the fire receiver 1.

[0083] This allows the rescue requester 10 to be guided more safely.

[0084] The evacuation guidance system 100 further includes a cloud server 3 that creates an evacuation route for guiding the rescue requester 10 to avoid the location of the fire based on information about the location of the fire. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 guides the rescue requester 10 to an evacuation exit based on the evacuation route created by the cloud server 3.

[0085] This allows the rescue requester 10 to be guided more safely based on the evacuation route created by the cloud server 3. Furthermore, the rescue requester 10 can be guided to evacuation under the management of the cloud server 3.

[0086] Additionally, the color barcode 20 records identification information indicating the location of each point in the facility 300. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 reads the color barcode 20 to confirm the identification information, and guides the person in need of rescue 10 to an emergency exit.

[0087] This allows the rescue requester 10 to be guided along the determined evacuation route.

[0088] Furthermore, information indicating the next direction to go in guiding the rescue requester 10 to the emergency exit is recorded in the color barcode 20. The mobile object reads the color barcode 20 and moves in the next direction to guide the rescue requester 10 to the emergency exit.

[0089] This allows the rescue requester 10 to be guided by relying on the information recorded in the color barcode 20.

[0090] In addition, if a phenomenon caused by a fire is captured in an image captured by the imaging unit 23, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 determines the evacuation direction based on the position in the captured image where the phenomenon caused by the fire is captured.

[0091] This allows the rescuer 10 to be guided away from areas of smoke or fire. [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 1 Fire receiver (fire identification means), 2 Unmanned aerial vehicle (mobile vehicle), 3 Cloud server (evacuation route creation unit), 10, 10A to 10C Person in need of rescue, 20, 20A to 20G Color barcode, 21 Communication unit, 22 Control unit, 23 Imaging unit, 24 Lighting unit, 25 Object detection unit, 26 Memory unit, 27 Autonomous flight control unit, 100 Evacuation guidance system, 200 Network equipment group, 300 Facility, E1 to E4 Evacuation exit, R1 to R3 Evacuation route.

Claims

1. Color barcodes are installed in various places in the facility, a mobile object having an imaging unit and capable of autonomously moving within the facility; Equipped with When a fire breaks out within the facility, the mobile object uses the imaging unit to read the color barcodes provided at various locations within the facility, and guides the person in need of rescue to an emergency exit based on the read information. Evacuation guidance system.

2. The facility further includes a fire identification means for identifying a location of a fire by receiving a fire occurrence signal from a fire detector installed at each location of the facility, The mobile body guides the rescue requester to avoid the location of the fire based on the information about the location of the fire identified by the fire identification means. The evacuation guidance system according to claim 1 .

3. an evacuation route creation unit that creates an evacuation route for guiding the person in need of rescue to avoid the location of the fire based on the information on the location of the fire; The moving body guides the person in need of rescue to an evacuation exit based on the evacuation route created by the evacuation route creation unit. The evacuation guidance system according to claim 2 .

4. The color barcode has recorded therein identification information indicating the location of each point in the facility, The mobile object guides the rescue requester to the emergency exit while reading the color barcode and confirming the identification information.

3. The evacuation guidance system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The color barcode has recorded therein information indicating the next direction to take when heading towards the emergency exit, The mobile object reads the color barcode and moves in the next direction to guide the person in need of rescue to the emergency exit.

3. The evacuation guidance system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. When a phenomenon caused by a fire is captured in the captured image captured by the imaging unit, the moving body determines an evacuation direction based on a position in the captured image where the phenomenon caused by the fire is captured.

3. The evacuation guidance system according to claim 1 or 2.

Images