Judgment device, judgment method, and computer program

Abstract

To determine safer evacuation routes in the event of an emergency at a facility. [Solution] A determination device comprising a control unit that acquires information regarding the structure of a facility to be determined, information regarding persons present in the facility, information regarding dangerous equipment present in the facility that has been registered in advance as dangerous equipment, and information regarding an anomaly that has occurred in the facility, and determines an evacuation route for persons present in the facility, wherein the information regarding persons includes at least information indicating the location of the persons, the information regarding dangerous equipment includes at least information indicating the location of the dangerous equipment, and the information regarding anomalies includes at least information indicating the location where the anomaly occurred.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a determination device, a determination method, and a computer program.

Background Art

[0002] When an abnormality occurs in a facility, it is necessary to appropriately evacuate the people inside the facility. In response to such a requirement, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for predicting the spread of a disaster during evacuation and instructing an optimal evacuation route to evacuees.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Certainly, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for evacuation related to a fire, but depending on the facility, not only a fire is not always a problem. Therefore, there are also insufficient situations in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a technique that enables a safer evacuation route to be determined when an abnormality occurs in a facility. [[ID=CH39]]

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is a determination device comprising a control unit that acquires information relating to the structure of a facility to be determined, information relating to persons present in the facility, information relating to dangerous equipment present in the facility that has been registered in advance as dangerous equipment, and information relating to an abnormality that has occurred in the facility, and determines an evacuation route for persons present in the facility, wherein the information relating to persons includes at least information indicating the location of the persons, the information relating to dangerous equipment includes at least information indicating the location of the dangerous equipment, and the information relating to an abnormality includes at least information indicating the location where the abnormality has occurred.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is the determination device described above, wherein the hazardous equipment includes any one of the following: equipment for storing substances harmful to the human body, high-pressure tanks, high-voltage equipment, equipment for storing flammable materials, combustion-supporting materials, self-decomposing substances, spontaneously combustible substances, or equipment for storing substances that should be managed for disaster prevention purposes, such as substances that pose a risk of mixing with surrounding substances.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is the determination device described above, wherein the information relating to the structure of the equipment includes information indicating the location of fire prevention equipment in the facility.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is the determination device described above, wherein the information relating to the person includes information indicating the number or density of the person.

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is the determination device described above, wherein the information relating to the structure of the facility includes information indicating the durability of the building of the facility.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is the determination device described above, wherein the control unit determines the evacuation route based on at least one possibility among the following: fire, explosion, leakage of hazardous substances, generation of hazardous gases, and damage to the building (including collapse) in the hazardous equipment.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is the above-described determination device, wherein the control unit determines the evacuation route so as not to pass through an area defined as dangerous based on factors related to climate or natural disasters.

[0012] One aspect of the present invention is a determination method comprising a determination step of determining an evacuation route for a person present in a facility by obtaining information relating to the structure of a facility to be determined, information relating to a person present in the facility, information relating to a dangerous piece of equipment present in the facility that has been registered in advance as a dangerous piece of equipment, and information relating to an abnormality that has occurred in the facility, wherein the information relating to the person includes at least information indicating the location of the person, the information relating to the dangerous piece of equipment includes at least information indicating the location of the dangerous piece of equipment, and the information relating to the abnormality includes at least information indicating the location where the abnormality has occurred.

[0013] One aspect of the present invention is a computer program for causing a computer to function as a determination device, comprising a control unit that acquires information regarding the structure of a facility to be determined, information regarding persons present in the facility, information regarding dangerous equipment present in the facility that has been registered in advance as dangerous equipment, and information regarding an anomaly that has occurred in the facility, and which determines the evacuation route for persons present in the facility, wherein the information regarding persons includes at least information indicating the location of the persons, the information regarding dangerous equipment includes at least information indicating the location of the dangerous equipment, and the information regarding anomalies includes at least information indicating the location where the anomaly has occurred. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] This invention makes it possible to more safely determine evacuation routes when an abnormality occurs in a facility. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is a schematic block diagram showing the system configuration of the determination system 100 of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of terminal device 10. [Figure 3] This is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of the determination device 20. [Figure 4] This figure shows a concrete example of internal map information. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing a specific example of external map information. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing a specific example of a dangerous facility information table stored in the dangerous facility information storage unit 222. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing a specific example of a safety maintenance facility information table stored in the safety maintenance facility information storage unit 223. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing a specific example of a sensor information table stored in the sensor information storage unit 224. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing a specific example of an evacuation route in the internal map information. [Figure 10] It is a diagram showing a specific example of an evacuation route in the external map information. [Figure 11] It is a diagram showing an outline of a hardware configuration example of the information processing apparatus 90 applied to the present embodiment.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the system configuration of the determination system 100 of the present invention. The determination system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a system that determines an evacuation route when an abnormality occurs in the facility 30 to be determined and provides information on the determination result to evacuees. The determination system 100 includes a terminal device 10, a determination device 20, and information devices installed in the facility 30. The terminal device 10, the determination device 20, and some devices of the facility 30 are communicably connected via a network 70. The network 70 may be a network using wireless communication or a network using wired communication. The network 70 may be configured using, for example, the Internet or a local area network (LAN). The network 70 may be configured by combining a plurality of networks.

[0017] The terminal device 10 is used by people located inside the facility 30, people who give instructions from outside to the evacuation targets inside the facility 30, etc. The terminal device 10 outputs information regarding the evacuation route provided from the determination device 20 to the user. The determination device 20 acquires information regarding the facility 30 to be determined, and determines an evacuation route when an abnormality occurs in the facility 30. The determination device 20 transmits information indicating the determination result to the terminal device 10.

[0018] <( The facility 30 to be determined may be any type of facility. The facility 30 may be, for example, a factory that manufactures products, an experimental facility for conducting experiments, a medical facility such as a hospital, an educational facility such as a university or elementary school, or a facility for other purposes.

[0019] One or more facilities 31 are installed in the facility 30 according to the use of the facility. Specific examples of the facility 31 include, for example, when the facility 30 is a factory, equipment and piping on the production line, storage facilities for materials, storage facilities for chemical substances, storage facilities for fuel, etc. Other specific examples of the facility 31 include, for example, when the facility 30 is an experimental facility, experimental equipment, storage facilities for experimental materials, storage facilities for chemical substances, storage facilities for fuel, etc. Even when the facility 30 is a medical facility or an educational facility, the facility 31 is provided according to the use of each facility. Among the facilities 31, there are also facilities that are likely to be in a dangerous state for people in case of an abnormality (hereinafter referred to as "dangerous facilities"). Specific examples of dangerous facilities include facilities that store substances harmful to the human body (poisons, toxic substances, etc.), high-pressure tanks, high-voltage equipment, facilities that store combustible substances, supporting combustibles, self-decomposable substances, spontaneously combustible substances, facilities that store harmful organisms (bacteria, etc.), and facilities that store substances to be managed for disaster prevention in the facility, such as substances that are dangerous to mix with surrounding substances. FIG. 1 shows a plurality of facilities 31 (first facility 31_1, second facility 31_2,...).

[0020] Facility 30 is equipped with one or more safety maintenance devices 32. The safety maintenance devices 32 are designed to maintain the safety of people inside Facility 30 in the event of an abnormality. Specific examples of safety maintenance devices 32 include self-operated automatic valves, fire doors (fire shutters), sprinklers, ventilation fans, neutralizing agent dispensers, and safety interlock systems. Figure 1 illustrates several safety maintenance devices 32 (first safety maintenance device 32_1, second safety maintenance device 32_2, ...).

[0021] Facility 30 is equipped with an equipment control device 33 that controls each piece of equipment 31. The equipment control device 33 is configured using an information processing device such as a DCS (Distributed Control System) or a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). The equipment control device 33 controls the operation of one or more pieces of equipment 31. However, it is not necessary for all pieces of equipment 31 to be controlled by the equipment control device 33. Depending on the type of equipment 31, some pieces of equipment 31 do not need to be controlled by the equipment control device 33 and can operate independently, some pieces of equipment 31 can be operated by a person, and some pieces of equipment 31 do not require control at all. The equipment control device 33 may transmit information indicating the state of the controlled equipment 31 and the control content to the determination device 20. However, the transmission of information to the determination device 20 may be performed by a communication device different from the equipment control device 33. For example, the equipment control device 33 may transmit information to a communication device, and the communication device may transmit that information to the determination device 20.

[0022] Facility 30 is equipped with a safety maintenance equipment control device 34 that controls each safety maintenance equipment 32. The safety maintenance equipment control device 34 is configured using an information processing device such as a PLC. The safety maintenance equipment control device 34 controls the operation of one or more safety maintenance equipment 32. The safety maintenance equipment control device 34 may transmit information indicating the status and control content of the safety maintenance equipment 32 to be controlled to the determination device 20. Note that the transmission of information to the determination device 20 may be performed by a communication device different from the safety maintenance equipment control device 34. For example, the safety maintenance equipment control device 34 may transmit information to a communication device, and the communication device may transmit that information to the determination device 20.

[0023] Not all safety maintenance equipment 32 needs to be controlled by the safety maintenance equipment control device 34. Depending on the type of safety maintenance equipment 32, some safety maintenance equipment 32 do not need to be controlled by the safety maintenance equipment control device 34 and can operate independently, or can be operated by a person. It is preferable that the determination device 20 be configured to acquire information indicating the current state of the independently operating safety maintenance equipment 32 or the safety maintenance equipment 32 that can be operated by a person (whether it is in a normal state or in a state where an abnormality has occurred (a state for safety maintenance)). Such information may be transmitted to the determination device 20 by the safety maintenance equipment 32, or it may be acquired by a sensor 35 (described later) and transmitted to the determination device 20.

[0024] Facility 30 is equipped with multiple sensors 35. These sensors 35 include those that acquire information necessary to determine whether an abnormality is occurring in facility 30, those that acquire information necessary to determine the status of equipment 31 within facility 30, those that acquire information necessary to determine the state within facility 30, and those that acquire information necessary to determine the location of people within facility 30. Specific examples of sensors 35 include automatic fire alarm systems, image sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, ammeters, voltmeters, power meters, gas sensors, liquid detection sensors, fracture sensors, radiation sensors, thermography sensors, infrared sensors, sound sensors, and object detection sensors. Furthermore, sensors 35 may also be virtual sensors (so-called soft sensors) that obtain calculated values ​​by combining the outputs of multiple sensors 35 as specific examples.

[0025] The sensor 35 may be a device carried by a person within the facility 30. For example, the sensor 35 may be configured as a sensor that measures various physical quantities (temperature, gas concentration, etc.) around a person carried by that person within the facility 30. In this configuration, the sensor 35 may transmit the measurement results to the determination device 20 along with location information, which will be described later. For example, the sensor 35 may be configured as a device that acquires information about the location of the person carrying the device (sensor) and transmits it to the determination device 20. In this case, the sensor 35 may transmit the signal content of a beacon (e.g., identification information of the beacon device) and signal strength received from a beacon device pre-installed within the facility 30, along with the identification information of the device (sensor), to the determination device 20. The sensor 35 may also receive signals transmitted from positioning satellites such as GPS satellites to determine the location of the device (sensor) and transmit the location information to the determination device 20 along with the identification information of the device (sensor). The sensor 35 carried by a person within the facility 30 in this manner may be integrated with the terminal device 10 or connected to the terminal device 10. In this case, the information obtained by the sensor 35 may be transmitted to the determination device 20 by the communication unit 11 of the terminal device 10.

[0026] Sensor 35 transmits the acquired information to the determination device 20. Note that the transmission of information to the determination device 20 may be performed by a communication device different from that of sensor 35. For example, sensor 35 may transmit information to a communication device, and the communication device may transmit that information to the determination device 20. Figure 1 illustrates multiple sensors 35 (first sensor 35_1, second sensor 35_2, ...).

[0027] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 is configured using information devices such as a smartphone, tablet, personal computer, or dedicated device. The terminal device 10 includes a communication unit 11, an input unit 12, an output unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0028] The communication unit 11 is a communication device. The communication unit 11 may be configured, for example, as a network interface. The communication unit 11 communicates data with other devices via the network 70 in accordance with the control of the control unit 15. The communication unit 11 may be a wireless communication device or a wired communication device.

[0029] The input unit 12 is configured using existing input devices such as a keyboard, pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), buttons, or touch panel. The input unit 12 is operated by the user when inputting information about abnormalities perceived by people inside or outside the facility 30 (information about abnormalities not detected by the sensor 35, including fires and smoke detected visually, gas leaks detected olfactorily, etc.) or user instructions to the terminal device 10. The input unit 12 may also be an interface for connecting the input device to the terminal device 10. In this case, the input unit 12 inputs the input signal generated in the input device in response to the user's input to the terminal device 10. The input unit 12 may also be configured using a microphone and a speech recognition device. In this case, the input unit 12 acquires an acoustic signal generated by the user's speech, performs speech recognition on the words spoken by the user, and inputs the recognized string information to the terminal device 10. The speech recognition processing may be performed by the control unit 15. The input unit 12 can be configured in any way that allows user instructions to be input to the terminal device 10.

[0030] The output unit 13 outputs information in a format that the user can recognize. The output unit 13 may be an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The output unit 13 may also be an interface for connecting an image display device to the terminal device 10. In this case, the output unit 13 generates a video signal for displaying image data and outputs the video signal to the image display device connected to it. The output unit 13 may also be a device that outputs sound, such as a speaker. The output unit 13 may also be an interface for connecting an audio output device such as a speaker or headphones to the terminal device 10. In this case, the output unit 13 generates an audio signal for playing audio data and outputs the audio signal to the audio output device connected to it. The output unit 13 may also be a device that indicates the presence or type of an abnormal condition, such as a patrol light (registered trademark). The output unit 13 may be configured as a touch panel integrated with the input unit 12.

[0031] The storage unit 14 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 14 stores data used by the control unit 15. The storage unit 14 stores data necessary when the control unit 15 performs processing.

[0032] The control unit 15 is composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory (main memory). The control unit 15 functions when the processor executes a program. Note that all or part of the functions of the control unit 15 may be implemented using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The above program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include, for example, portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and semiconductor memory devices (e.g., SSDs: Solid State Drives), as well as storage devices such as hard disks and semiconductor memory devices built into computer systems. The above program may be transmitted via a telecommunications line.

[0033] The control unit 15 may, for example, execute an application installed on its own device (terminal device 10). A specific example of such an application is an application provided to the terminal device 10 as a dedicated application for the judgment system 100. Another specific example of such an application is a web browser application. Such an application may be pre-installed on the terminal device 10, or it may be downloaded each time a judgment process is executed. For example, if it is implemented as a web browser application, the terminal device 10 may download and execute the application from a device specified by the web server (for example, the web server itself or another server) when the terminal device 10 connects to a specific web server. The control unit 15 operates according to the program of the application being executed.

[0034] The control unit 15 controls the terminal device 10 according to user operations and information received from the determination device 20. For example, the control unit 15 transmits information input by the user through the operation of the input unit 12 to the determination device 20 using the communication unit 11. For example, when the control unit 15 receives information transmitted from the determination device 20 via the network 70 to the communication unit 11, it generates screen data based on the received information and displays the screen data on the output unit 13. Such screen data includes images and characters that represent the information transmitted from the determination device 20. For example, when the control unit 15 receives information transmitted from the determination device 20 via the network 70 to the communication unit 11, it generates audio data based on the received information and outputs the audio data from the output unit 13.

[0035] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of the determination device 20. The determination device 20 is configured using information processing equipment such as a personal computer or a server device. The determination device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23.

[0036] The communication unit 21 is a communication device. The communication unit 21 may be configured, for example, as a network interface. The communication unit 21 communicates data with other devices via the network 70 in accordance with the control of the control unit 23. The communication unit 21 may be a wireless communication device or a wired communication device.

[0037] The storage unit 22 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 22 stores data used by the control unit 23. The storage unit 22 may function as, for example, a map information storage unit 221, a hazardous equipment information storage unit 222, a safety maintenance equipment information storage unit 223, a sensor information storage unit 224, and a history information storage unit 225.

[0038] The map information storage unit 221 stores map information. The map information is information that shows a map of the facility 30 to be determined. In other words, the map information is information about the structure of the facility 30 to be determined. Figures 4 and 5 show specific examples of map information. If the facility 30 consists of one building, the map information may be configured as map information showing the internal structure of one building (hereinafter referred to as "internal map information") as shown in Figure 4. If the facility 30 consists of multiple floors, the map information may be configured as map information for each floor. If the facility 30 consists of multiple buildings, the map information may be configured as map information showing the positional relationship of multiple buildings and the external structure of the buildings (presence or absence of roads, outdoor facilities, etc.) (hereinafter referred to as "external map information") as shown in Figure 5. The map information may be configured as a combination of external map information as shown in Figure 5 and internal map information for each building included in the external map information.

[0039] Figure 4 shows an internal map of building 30_1 as a specific example of facility 30. The interior of building 30_1 is divided into multiple areas such as rooms, and each area is provided with an entrance / exit 38 leading to a passageway. Multiple facilities 31 and multiple safety maintenance facilities 32 are provided inside building 30_1. Building 30_1 is provided with an external entrance / exit 39 leading to the outside. The internal map information includes the locations of the areas such as rooms, and the locations of the aforementioned facilities 31, safety maintenance facilities 32, entrance / exit 38, and external entrance / exit 39. The internal map information may also include information on the durability of the building. For example, values ​​indicating the durability of the building in stages may be defined for each area of ​​a predetermined size, or for walls and ceilings. Also, values ​​indicating the flammability of the building in stages may be defined for each area of ​​a predetermined size, or for walls and ceilings.

[0040] In the external map information of Figure 5, a map of factory 30_2 is shown as a specific example of facility 30. Factory 30_2 has multiple buildings 30 and roads (including sidewalks). One or more pieces of equipment 31 are installed inside building 30_1. In the external map information, only the locations of hazardous equipment among the equipment 31 may be registered. In the example of Figure 5, the locations of multiple pieces of hazardous equipment (equipment 31_1 to 31_6) that are registered as hazardous equipment are shown. Factory 30_2 has one or more safety maintenance equipment 32 outside the buildings 30. Each building 30 has an external entrance / exit 39 leading to the outside. Factory 30_2 has an external entrance / exit 391 leading to the area outside factory 30_2. The external map information includes the locations of buildings, the locations of external entrances / exits 39 in each building, the locations of equipment 31 (especially hazardous equipment), safety maintenance equipment 32, and external entrance / exit 391.

[0041] Returning to the explanation of Figure 3, the hazardous equipment information storage unit 222 stores hazardous equipment information. Hazardous equipment information is information about equipment 31 that are pre-registered as hazardous equipment among the equipment 31 installed in the facility 30 that is subject to judgment. Figure 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of the hazardous equipment information table stored by the hazardous equipment information storage unit 222. The hazardous equipment information table has multiple hazardous equipment information records. Each hazardous equipment information record has values ​​for equipment identification information, location information, and hazard attribute information. Equipment identification information is identification information that uniquely identifies the equipment 31 within the facility 30. Location information is information indicating the installation location of the equipment 31. Hazard attribute information is attribute information related to the hazard of the equipment 31 (hazardous equipment). Hazard attribute information includes, for example, the names of the substances (chemicals, fuels, materials, etc.) handled by the hazardous equipment, the scope of the impact of hazardous events occurring at the equipment (only the immediate area, radius of n meters, the entire building, the entire factory, etc.), the type of hazard (combustion, explosion, generation of toxic gases, leakage of harmful substances, slipperiness, etc.), and the degree of hazard (a value indicating a stepwise increase from low to high, obtained through the "Guidelines on Safety Assessment for Chemical Plants" issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, or risk assessment methods such as FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)).

[0042] The safety maintenance equipment information storage unit 223 stores safety maintenance equipment information. The safety maintenance equipment information is information about safety maintenance equipment 32 installed in the facility 30 that is subject to judgment. Figure 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of the safety maintenance equipment information table stored by the safety maintenance equipment information storage unit 223. The safety maintenance equipment information table has multiple safety maintenance equipment information records. Each safety maintenance equipment information record has values ​​for safety maintenance equipment identification information, location information, and safety maintenance attribute information. The safety maintenance equipment identification information is identification information that uniquely identifies the safety maintenance equipment 32 within the facility 30. The location information is information indicating the installation location of the safety maintenance equipment 32. The safety maintenance attribute information is safety maintenance attribute information related to the safety maintenance equipment 32. Safety maintenance attribute information includes, for example, the name of the safety maintenance equipment, its importance (a value indicating the degree of danger that could be reached if the safety maintenance equipment 32 malfunctions), the type of hazard that the safety maintenance equipment can address (combustion, explosion, generation of toxic gases, splashing of harmful liquids, slippery conditions, etc.), and the impact on traffic when the safety maintenance equipment is in operation (passage becomes impossible, it becomes difficult for people to pass, people can pass as usual, etc.).

[0043] The sensor information storage unit 224 stores sensor information. Sensor information is information about sensors 35 installed in the facility 30 that is to be judged. Figure 8 shows a specific example of the sensor information table stored by the sensor information storage unit 224. The sensor information table has multiple sensor information records. Each sensor information record has values ​​for sensor identification information, location information, and sensor attribute information. Sensor identification information is identification information that uniquely identifies a sensor 35 within the facility 30. Location information is information that indicates the installation location of the sensor 35. Sensor attribute information is attribute information related to the sensor 35. Sensor attribute information is information that indicates, for example, the type of physical phenomenon that can be detected by the sensor 35, the type of danger that can be detected by the sensor 35, and the range that can be detected by the sensor 35.

[0044] The history information storage unit 225 stores history information. The history information shows the history of information obtained from each device installed in the facility 30 that is subject to judgment. The history information may also include the date and time each piece of information was obtained, information indicating the target and source of each piece of information (for example, hazardous equipment or sensor 35), and the location where each piece of information was obtained. Specific examples of information recorded in the history information include information indicating the status of each piece of equipment 31 (especially hazardous equipment), values ​​obtained by the sensor 35, images obtained by the sensor 35, etc.

[0045] The control unit 23 is configured using a processor such as a CPU and memory. The control unit 23 functions as an information control unit 231, a status information acquisition unit 232, and a route determination unit 233 when the processor executes a program. Note that all or part of the functions of the control unit 23 may be implemented using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The above program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include, for example, portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and semiconductor storage devices (e.g., SSDs), as well as storage devices such as hard disks and semiconductor storage devices built into computer systems. The above program may be transmitted via a telecommunications line.

[0046] The information control unit 231 receives information transmitted from each device (equipment 31, safety maintenance equipment 32, equipment control device 33, safety maintenance equipment control device 34, sensor 35) installed in the facility 30. The information control unit 231 transmits information indicating the determination result obtained by the route determination unit 233 (information indicating the evacuation route) to other devices such as the terminal device 10. Such information exchange between the information control unit 231 and other devices may be carried out, for example, by communication via the communication unit 21.

[0047] The status information acquisition unit 232 acquires information indicating the status of the facility 30 to be judged (hereinafter referred to as "status information") based on the information acquired by the information control unit 231. The status information acquisition unit 232 may, for example, estimate the status of the facility 30 based on a status estimation model in which the information transmitted from each device installed in the facility 30 is used as an explanatory variable and the status information is used as an objective variable. The estimation model for estimating the status information may be defined as one that is common to the entire facility 30, or it may be defined for each specific area.

[0048] A situation estimation model may be defined by manually mapping the dependent variable to each explanatory variable, or it may be defined as a trained model by performing a training process using multiple training data sets, which are combinations of explanatory and dependent variables. Any type of supervised learning model may be applied to the training process. For example, a classification model may be used, a regression model that obtains a value indicating the likelihood of a certain situation occurring may be used, or other types of models may be applied.

[0049] Examples of situational information include the following: • Information indicating whether or not a fire has occurred: In addition to the fire signal from the automatic fire alarm system, for example, if a temperature exceeding a predetermined threshold is detected by a temperature sensor, it may be determined that a fire has occurred within a predetermined distance around that temperature sensor. If a carbon dioxide sensor detects a quantity (concentration) of carbon dioxide exceeding a predetermined threshold, it may be determined that a fire has occurred within a predetermined distance around that carbon dioxide sensor. If an image sensor captures an image of flames or an image of a smoke-filled area, it may be determined that a fire has occurred in a predetermined area in the direction in which the image was captured. The objective variable, information regarding the occurrence of a fire, may be determined using a trained model that uses the detection results of multiple sensors 35 as explanatory variables. Information indicating the control status of the equipment 31 (for example, whether or not it is in emergency stop mode) may be obtained from the equipment 31 or the equipment control device 33 and used for the determination.

[0050] • Information indicating whether or not hazardous gas is being generated: For example, if a gas sensor that detects a specific type of gas (hazardous gas) detects a gas exceeding a predetermined threshold (concentration), it may be determined that hazardous gas is being generated within a predetermined distance around the gas sensor. If a rupture or damage is detected by a sensor 35 that detects gas pipe ruptures or tank damage in a hazardous gas storage facility, or if a gas pipe rupture or tank damage is perceived by a person in the vicinity through sight, hearing, or smell and input to the input unit 12, it may be determined that hazardous gas is being generated within a predetermined distance around the storage facility. Even if hazardous gas itself is not stored in the storage facility, if there is a possibility that hazardous gas may be generated as an object stored inside leaks to the outside, if such a rupture or damage is detected in the storage facility as described above, it may be determined that hazardous gas is being generated within a predetermined distance around the storage facility. If a rupture or damage is detected by image processing in an image of the storage facility or piping taken by an image sensor, it may be determined that hazardous gas is being generated in a predetermined area in the orientation in which the image was taken. The target variable, information regarding the generation of hazardous gas, may be determined using a trained model that uses the detection results of multiple sensors 35 as explanatory variables. Information indicating the control status of the equipment 31 (for example, whether or not it is in emergency stop mode) may be obtained from the equipment 31 or the equipment control device 33 and used for the determination.

[0051] • Information about people within facility 30: For example, the location of people located within facility 30 may be determined based on location information transmitted from each device carried by people within facility 30. For example, the location of a person located within the field of view of the image sensor may be determined by detecting an image of a human body from an image captured by an image sensor. Based on the location of people, information indicating the number of people located within facility 30 and the density of people within facility 30 may be determined. The number of people and the density of people may be determined for each of the multiple areas (e.g., each room) within facility 30. Alternatively, the information may be based on a list of combinations of evacuation sites and the number of evacuees predetermined during normal times. The list of combinations of evacuation sites and the number of evacuees may further include information about the roles of people located at those evacuation sites. The roles may be information that distinguishes between people necessary for handling dangerous situations (such as headquarters personnel and plant operators) and other people.

[0052] The route determination unit 233 determines the evacuation routes for people within the facility 30 based on the situation information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 232 and the information obtained from each device installed in the facility 30 to be determined. The route determination unit 233 may, for example, determine evacuation routes for each room in the internal map information, determine evacuation routes for each group of people (including one person) located within a predetermined distance, or determine evacuation routes for each person. When evacuation routes are determined for each person, at least the location of the person being determined must be acquired by the determination device 20 (for example, the situation information acquisition unit 232).

[0053] The route determination unit 233 may, for example, determine an evacuation route for each building in the external map information, or determine an evacuation route for each group of people (including one person) located within a predetermined distance, or determine an evacuation route for each person. Furthermore, for people or groups located inside a building, the route determination unit 233 may determine both the evacuation route to the external exit 39 leading outside the building in the building's internal map information, and the evacuation route from the building's external exit 39 to the outside area of ​​the facility 30 (e.g., a factory) in the external map information.

[0054] The route determination unit 233 transmits the information indicating the evacuation route, which is the determination result, to the terminal device 10 of the person whose evacuation route was determined. The terminal device 10 to be transmitted may be determined, for example, by transmitting the location information of each terminal device 10 along with identification information when location information is transmitted. For example, if the location of a person is determined in an image, the person may be identified based on the image of the person in the image (for example, an image of a face), and the terminal device 10 associated with that person may be determined as the destination. The terminal device 10 to be transmitted may also be broadcasting equipment, in which case the information indicating the evacuation route may be transmitted by voice (including synthesized voice). Furthermore, the terminal device 10 to be transmitted may be determined, for example, according to the type of information indicating the evacuation route. In addition, the terminal device 10 to be transmitted may be determined by any other type of processing.

[0055] The route determination unit 233 determines a safer route from the location of the person to be determined to the outside (outside area) of the facility 30. The safer route may be determined to satisfy predetermined safety conditions. Predetermined safety conditions may include, for example, not passing through a predetermined range of locations from a place where an abnormality (fire or generation of hazardous gas) has already occurred. Predetermined safety conditions may include, for example, not passing through a predetermined range of locations from hazardous equipment. Predetermined safety conditions may include, for example, not passing through a predetermined area defined as hazardous based on climatic factors. Climatic factors include, for example, wind direction, wind speed, rainfall, etc. For example, a safety condition may be defined as not passing through a predetermined area located downwind of hazardous equipment where an abnormality (e.g., leakage of contents) has been detected. For example, a predetermined safety condition may be that, when the amount of rainfall exceeds a predetermined threshold, the route does not pass through a predetermined range of locations from hazardous equipment (e.g., storage facilities for water-reactive substances or substances that exhibit harmful levels of acidity or alkalinity when dissolved in water) where an abnormality (e.g., leakage of contents) has been detected. The predetermined safety conditions may include, for example, avoiding a predetermined area defined as dangerous based on factors related to disasters. For example, in the event of an earthquake, the safety conditions may include avoiding areas predetermined as dangerous based on information such as areas assumed to be tsunami inundation zones, predicted tsunami arrival areas, road subsidence conditions, and road liquefaction conditions. Priorities may be set for the safety conditions. For example, if there is no evacuation route that satisfies all safety conditions, the safety conditions with lower priority (lower danger) may be ignored, and an evacuation route that satisfies only the safety conditions with higher priority (higher danger) may be determined. The route determination unit 233 may also suggest protective equipment to be worn by a person when passing through the evacuation route. The route determination unit 233 may select the protective equipment to be suggested according to the length of the evacuation route. In this case, the memory unit 22 may store a table in advance that associates the length of the evacuation route with protective equipment, and the route determination unit 233 may use this table to select the protective equipment to be suggested. The route determination unit 233 may also select the protective equipment to be suggested according to the type of danger.The type of hazard may, for example, correspond to the hazard attribute information of hazardous equipment located within a predetermined distance from the evacuation route. With this configuration, protective equipment may be designed to offer a greater degree of protection not only based on the nature of the hazardous situation (type of hazard), but also when the evacuation route is long. This configuration makes it possible to evacuate people more safely.

[0056] For example, consider a case where there is no evacuation route that satisfies two safety conditions: not passing through a specified range from the location where the above-mentioned abnormality has already occurred, and not passing through a specified range from the hazardous equipment. In such a case, the lower-priority safety condition of "not passing through a specified range from the hazardous equipment" may be ignored, and an evacuation route that satisfies the condition of "not passing through a specified range from the location where the above-mentioned abnormality has already occurred" may be determined. Alternatively, even with the same safety conditions, an evacuation route that prioritizes avoiding hazardous equipment with a higher degree of danger may be determined according to the degree of danger defined for each piece of hazardous equipment.

[0057] The route determination unit 233 may be configured to determine a different evacuation route from the one presented to people in areas with high population density if there are multiple candidate evacuation routes. This configuration can prevent many people from concentrating on a particular evacuation route. As a result, it becomes possible to achieve evacuation more efficiently and in a shorter amount of time.

[0058] The route determination unit 233 may be configured to determine an evacuation route that is different from the evacuation route presented to people in locations with a large number of people or high population density, if there are multiple candidate evacuation routes for a particular person. This configuration can prevent many people from concentrating on a specific evacuation route. As a result, it becomes possible to achieve evacuation more efficiently and in a shorter amount of time.

[0059] The route determination unit 233 may determine the evacuation route in a way that avoids routes where fire doors or fire shutters, which are part of the safety maintenance equipment 32, are closed. This configuration makes it possible to prevent accidentally leading people to locations where passages are blocked.

[0060] The route determination unit 233 may determine evacuation routes in a way that avoids locations where the building's durability is relatively low or where the building's durability is below a predetermined threshold. This configuration makes it possible to prevent people from being mistakenly led to locations where passages are blocked by damage (including collapse) to walls or ceilings, and to prevent people from being injured as a result of such damage.

[0061] The route determination unit 233, when a person is located inside a building, may determine an evacuation route that is not simply the best route to evacuate from the building, but also a route that allows the person to reach the outside of the facility 30 via a more optimal route after leaving the building. In other words, the evacuation route may be determined based on internal map information and external map information, as well as the status information of the areas shown in each map and the status of each piece of equipment (equipment 31 and safety maintenance equipment 32).

[0062] Figure 9 shows a specific example of an evacuation route in internal map information. Figure 10 shows a specific example of an evacuation route in external map information. In Figure 9, the evacuation route indicated by the arrow is determined based on safety conditions such as not passing near equipment 31_1 which is registered as a hazardous facility, not passing through safety maintenance equipment 32_1, being able to reach the outside of building 30_1 in the shortest distance, and being able to reach the outside of factory 30_2 via a safer route after leaving building 30_1.

[0063] In Figure 10, the evacuation route, indicated by arrows, is determined based on safety conditions such as avoiding passing near equipment 31_3 and 31_4, which are registered as hazardous equipment, and avoiding passing near the building 30_3, which has low durability. Information indicating such evacuation routes is transmitted to the terminal device 10. At this time, internal map information and external map information may also be transmitted. When the terminal device 10 receives information indicating evacuation routes, it outputs the evacuation route information. This may be displayed as an image indicating the evacuation route, or it may be output as audio indicating the evacuation route.

[0064] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of an example hardware configuration of an information processing device 90 applied to this embodiment. The information processing device 90 comprises a processor 91, main memory 92, communication interface 93, auxiliary storage device 94, input / output interface 95, and internal bus 96. The processor 91, main memory 92, communication interface 93, auxiliary storage device 94, and input / output interface 95 are connected to each other via the internal bus 96 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The information processing device 90 may be applied to, for example, a terminal device 10 and a determination device 20. In this case, for example, the communication unit 11 and the communication unit 21 may be configured using the communication interface 93. For example, the storage unit 14 and the storage unit 22 may be configured using the auxiliary storage device 94. Also, the control unit 15 and the control unit 23 may be configured using the processor 91 and the main memory 92.

[0065] (modified version) In this embodiment, the terminal device 10 and the determination device 20 are configured as separate devices, but they may be configured as a single device. The determination device 20 may be implemented using multiple information processing devices. For example, the determination device 20 may be implemented using a cloud or other device. For example, in the determination device 20, the storage unit 22 and the control unit 23 may be implemented in different information processing devices. For example, the storage unit 22 of the determination device 20 may be distributed and implemented across multiple information processing devices.

[0066] While embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments. This includes designs that do not depart from the spirit of this invention, as well as retraining of judgment results to enhance the effectiveness of this invention. For example, the situation estimation model and evacuation route determination logic described above may be updated by performing retraining using information obtained from various sensors when an accident actually occurs (such as the nature of the danger, the density of people, and the evacuation route actually adopted), and evaluation results obtained from subsequent accident investigations (such as evacuation routes deemed better). [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 100…Judgment system, 10…Terminal device, 11…Communication unit, 12…Input unit, 13…Output unit, 14…Storage unit, 15…Control unit, 20…Judgment device, 21…Communication unit, 22…Storage unit, 221…Map information storage unit, 222…Hazardous equipment information storage unit, 223…Safety maintenance equipment information storage unit, 224…Sensor information storage unit, 225…History information storage unit, 23…Control unit, 231…Information control unit, 232…Status information acquisition unit, 233…Route determination unit, 30…Facility, 31…Equipment, 32…Safety maintenance equipment, 33…Equipment control device, 34…Safety maintenance equipment control device, 35…Sensor

Claims

1. The system includes a control unit that acquires information regarding the structure of the facility to be determined, information regarding people present in the facility, information regarding dangerous equipment present in the facility that has been pre-registered as dangerous, and information regarding an anomaly that occurred in the facility, and determines the evacuation route for people present in the facility. The information relating to the said person includes at least information indicating the location of the said person, The information relating to the hazardous equipment includes at least information indicating the location of the hazardous equipment. A determination device wherein the information relating to the abnormality includes at least information indicating the location where the abnormality is occurring.

2. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the hazardous equipment includes one of the following: equipment for storing substances harmful to the human body, high-pressure tanks, high-voltage equipment, equipment for storing flammable materials, combustion-supporting materials, self-decomposing substances, spontaneously combustible substances, or equipment for storing substances that should be managed for disaster prevention purposes in the said facility, such as substances that pose a risk of mixing with surrounding substances.

3. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the structure of the equipment includes information indicating the location of fire prevention equipment in the facility.

4. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the persons includes information indicating the number or density of the persons.

5. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the structure of the facility includes information indicating the durability of the building of the facility.

6. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the evacuation route based on at least one possibility of an explosion in the hazardous equipment, leakage of a hazardous substance, generation of a hazardous gas, or damage to the facility's structure (including collapse).

7. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the evacuation route so as not to pass through an area defined as dangerous based on factors related to climate or natural disasters.

8. The system includes a determination step that determines evacuation routes for people present in a facility by obtaining information regarding the structure of the facility to be determined, information regarding people present in the facility, information regarding dangerous equipment present in the facility that has been registered in advance as dangerous equipment, and information regarding an anomaly that occurred in the facility. The information relating to the said person includes at least information indicating the location of the said person, The information relating to the hazardous equipment includes at least information indicating the location of the hazardous equipment. A determination method wherein the information regarding the abnormality includes at least information indicating the location where the abnormality is occurring.

9. The system includes a control unit that acquires information regarding the structure of the facility to be determined, information regarding people present in the facility, information regarding dangerous equipment present in the facility that has been pre-registered as dangerous, and information regarding an anomaly that occurred in the facility, and determines the evacuation route for people present in the facility. The information relating to the said person includes at least information indicating the location of the said person, The information relating to the hazardous equipment includes at least information indicating the location of the hazardous equipment. A computer program for causing a computer to function as a determination device, wherein the information relating to the abnormality includes at least information indicating the location where the abnormality is occurring.

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