Monitoring system

Abstract

This system provides a monitoring system that enables detailed and real-time monitoring of traffic conditions on roads. [Solution] The monitoring system of the embodiment includes a sensor unit that outputs vehicle information including the vehicle's position in two-dimensional coordinates, direction of travel, speed, and vehicle length obtained by irradiating a vehicle on the road with radio waves, and a viewer unit that obtains the vehicle's position in three-dimensional coordinates and the type of vehicle based on the vehicle information, and outputs drawing information in which the vehicle is drawn on three-dimensional coordinates.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a monitoring system.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a monitoring system for monitoring a road on which vehicles pass. A general monitoring system uses an imaging device such as a camera to photograph the road, and displays the obtained image information at a monitoring station or the like to monitor the situation on the road.

[0003] However, when transmitting the image information of a video, the amount of information to be transmitted is large, and the required bandwidth of the transmission line for transmitting it to the monitoring station becomes large. If it is the image information of a still image, it is possible to suppress the required bandwidth of the transmission line, but it is difficult to convey the state of vehicles passing on the road in detail and in real time with still images. Also, in a monitoring system that monitors the image information of a video, it is necessary to visually monitor the state of vehicles.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] As described above, in the conventional monitoring system, it has been difficult to transmit the state of vehicles passing on the road in detail and in real time. The monitoring system of the embodiment has been made to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a monitoring system that enables detailed and real-time monitoring of the traffic situation on the road.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The monitoring system of the embodiment includes a sensor unit that outputs vehicle information including the vehicle's position in two-dimensional coordinates, direction of travel, speed, and vehicle length obtained by irradiating a vehicle on the road with radio waves, and a viewer unit that obtains the vehicle's position in three-dimensional coordinates and the type of vehicle based on the vehicle information, and outputs drawing information in which the vehicle is drawn on three-dimensional coordinates. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram outlining the monitoring system of the embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of transmission data from the monitoring system of the embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows how a vehicle is detected in the monitoring system of the embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the transmission data format for the monitoring system of the embodiment. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows an example of the operation of the monitoring system according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows the data conversion process in the monitoring system of the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] (Configuration of the embodiment) The monitoring system of the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of the monitoring system of the embodiment. In the following description, common elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[0009] The monitoring system 1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 includes a sensor unit 10, a data transfer unit 20, and a viewer unit 30. The data transfer unit 20 and the viewer unit 30 can be connected, for example, by a network NW. The network NW can be implemented, for example, by an internet connection or a Wi-Fi® connection.

[0010] The sensor unit 10 is a functional element that acts as a sensor to acquire traffic conditions on the road. The sensor unit 10 outputs vehicle information, including the vehicle's ID, position in two-dimensional coordinates, direction of travel, speed, and vehicle length, obtained by irradiating vehicles on the road with radio waves. The sensor unit 10 can be installed, for example, on the top of a utility pole located on the shoulder of a road. The sensor unit 10 has a radar unit 11 and a calculation unit 12.

[0011] The radar unit 11 is, for example, a radar that uses frequencies in the SHF band. The radar unit 11 can detect the position and speed of vehicles on the road in real time. The radar unit 11 can utilize frequencies in the 24GHz band, for example.

[0012] The radar unit 11 is, for example, a CS-FMCW (Chirp Sequence-Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) radar system. A CS-FMCW radar is an FMCW radar that uses a signal (chirp signal) whose frequency changes over time. A CS-FMCW radar irradiates the target object with radio waves whose frequency changes over time, receives the reflected waves, and performs calculations. A CS-FMCW radar using SHF band frequencies can identify fast-moving objects with high resolution. The radar unit 11 can detect the position of the target object from its reference position by controlling the antenna directivity, etc.

[0013] Figure 3 shows the vehicle detection process in the monitoring system of the embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the radar unit 11 is positioned near the top of a utility pole 11a located on the shoulder of the road RD and emits radar waves W1 toward the road. The radar unit 11 receives reflected waves W2 reflected by the vehicle X and passes them to the calculation unit 12. The radar unit 11 acquires position information and speed information, etc., consisting of the X coordinate in the direction along the road and the Y coordinate in the direction intersecting the road, with respect to the point directly below the radar unit 11. Since the radar unit 11 of the embodiment employs the CS-FMCW method, it can also detect the relative speed and length of the vehicle X.

[0014] The calculation unit 12 is a functional element that calculates the output data of the radar unit 11 and outputs information about the detected object. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of transmission data of the monitoring system of the embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the calculation unit 12 of the embodiment outputs vehicle information based on the output signal of the radar unit 11, including the sensor ID of the radar unit 11 as a sensor, the vehicle ID of the detected and identified vehicle, the X and Y coordinates of the identified vehicle, the direction of travel of the identified vehicle, the speed of the identified vehicle, the length of the identified vehicle, and time information indicating the time when the vehicle was detected. The calculation unit 12 calculates and outputs the vehicle information exemplified in Figure 2 for each detected vehicle. That is, the calculation unit 12 can output the vehicle information exemplified in Figure 2 for all vehicles on the road detected by the radar unit 11.

[0015] The data transfer unit 20 is a functional element that converts the vehicle information output by the calculation unit 12 of the sensor unit 10 into a predetermined format and transmits it to the viewer unit 30 via the network NW. The data transfer unit 20 has a conversion unit 21 and a transmission unit 22.

[0016] The conversion unit 21 is a functional element that converts the output of the sensor unit 10 into a format suitable for network transmission. Figure 4 shows an example of the transmission data format of the monitoring system of the embodiment. Figure 4 shows an example of the transmission data shown in Figure 2 converted into JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format. The transmission data exemplified in Figure 4 includes vehicle information for one vehicle, such as sensor ID, vehicle ID, X coordinate, Y coordinate, direction of travel, speed, vehicle length, and time information. The data transfer unit 20 converts the vehicle information output from the sensor unit 10 into a predetermined format exemplified by JSON. The conversion format by the data transfer unit 20 is not limited to JSON format. Other formats may be used as long as they are network-transmittable.

[0017] The transmission unit 22 is a functional element that transmits the vehicle information converted by the conversion unit 21 to the viewer unit 30. The transmission unit 22 prepares the network address of the viewer unit 30 and transmits the vehicle information to the network address. At this time, the transmission unit 22 transmits as soon as it receives the data converted by the conversion unit 21. This is to transmit the vehicle information to the viewer unit 30 in real time. If the transmission fails due to a transmission error or communication interruption, etc., the transmission unit 22 may discard the transmission data.

[0018] The viewer unit 30 is a functional element that visually provides the monitoring results of the monitoring system 1 to the user. The viewer unit 30 includes a receiving unit 31, a data processing unit 32, a rendering calculation unit 33, a database (DB) 34, and a display unit 35.

[0019] The receiving unit 31 is a functional element that receives data including the formatted vehicle information sent from the data transfer unit 20 via the network NW. The data processing unit 32 is a functional element that extracts vehicle information from the received data.

[0020] The rendering calculation unit 33 is a functional element that generates rendering information based on the vehicle information. The rendering calculation unit 33 acquires the position of the vehicle on the three-dimensional coordinates and the vehicle type of the vehicle based on the vehicle information, and outputs the rendering information of drawing the vehicle on the three-dimensional coordinates.

[0021] The database 34 is a storage medium that stores information used when the rendering calculation unit 33 generates rendering information. The database 34 may include, for example, map information indicating the roads and terrain of the monitoring target area, background information indicating the background situation of the monitoring target, and vehicle icons indicating the vehicles to be monitored. There may be a plurality of vehicle icons for each vehicle type. The display unit 35 is a display device that displays the rendering information generated by the rendering calculation unit 33.

[0022] The monitoring system 1 shown in Figure 1 outputs vehicle information from the sensor unit 10 as visual drawing information from the viewer unit 30, but is not limited to this configuration. Multiple sensor units may be placed on the road, and multiple vehicle information from multiple sensor units 10 may be sent to the viewer unit 30. With such a configuration, traffic conditions on the road can be monitored over a wide area.

[0023] The monitoring system 1 of this embodiment displays vehicle information detected by the CS-FMCW sensor unit 10 via a viewer unit connected to a network, thereby providing visually detailed monitoring information while keeping transmission capacity low.

[0024] (Operation of the embodiment) Next, the operation of the monitoring system 1 of the embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 5.

[0025] The radar unit 11 emits radio waves onto the road to sense vehicles on the road (S100).

[0026] The calculation unit 12 generates vehicle information based on the sensing results of the radar unit 11 (S110).

[0027] The conversion unit 21 converts the vehicle information into a predetermined format (S120).

[0028] The transmitting unit 22 adds the IP address of the viewer unit 30 to the formatted vehicle information and transmits it (S130).

[0029] The receiving unit 31 receives data transmitted by the data transfer unit 20 via the network NW, and the data processing unit 32 extracts vehicle information from the data received by the receiving unit 31 (S140).

[0030] The drawing calculation unit 33 transforms the vehicle's position in two-dimensional coordinates to a position in three-dimensional coordinates based on the vehicle information such as the X coordinate, Y coordinate, and vehicle length (S150). Figure 6 shows the data transformation process in the monitoring system of the embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, the drawing calculation unit 33 transforms the vehicle's position in two-dimensional coordinate space with the sensor position as the origin (x S ,y S ) is the position (x) in the three-dimensional coordinate space of the three-dimensional spatial model. m ,y m ,z m Convert to ).

[0031] The drawing calculation unit 33 identifies the type of vehicle that has been sensed based on the X coordinate, Y coordinate, vehicle length, etc. of the vehicle information (S160). The drawing calculation unit 33 may also reproduce the conditions of the target area at that time (brightness of the sun, streetlights, lights, etc.) from the time information of the vehicle information. Examples of the identified vehicle types include light vehicles, regular passenger cars, medium-sized cars, and large cars.

[0032] The drawing calculation unit 33 generates drawing information that includes vehicle information, which has been coordinate-transformed and the vehicle type identified (S170). The drawing calculation unit 33 outputs drawing information in which the vehicle identified by the vehicle information is drawn on a three-dimensional coordinate system, using map information, background information, vehicle icons, etc., stored in the database 34.

[0033] The display unit 35 displays drawing information (S180).

[0034] (Functions of the drawing calculation unit) The drawing calculation unit 33 converts the vehicle position in two dimensions to the vehicle position in three dimensions and can identify the vehicle type based on the vehicle's length and size. The drawing calculation unit 33 may further identify traffic phenomena. For example, it may identify whether multiple vehicles identified by the vehicle information are involved in an accident or traffic congestion. The drawing calculation unit 33 may also identify whether a vehicle identified by the vehicle information is a fallen object or is driving in the wrong direction. These can be identified based on the vehicle information.

[0035] Furthermore, the drawing calculation unit 33 may record coordinate-transformed vehicle information and vehicle type information in the database 34. In this case, it becomes possible to reproduce events that occurred on the road at that time based on past vehicle information and vehicle type.

[0036] The drawing calculation unit 33 converts the vehicle position in two dimensions into the vehicle position in three dimensions. At this time, the drawing calculation unit 33 may generate drawing information with a freely set viewpoint. For example, it may generate drawing information based not only on the utility pole equipped with the sensor unit 10, but also on the line of sight of pedestrians on the road or the line of sight of drivers.

[0037] In the monitoring system 1 of this embodiment, the data transfer unit 20 may discard the transmitted data if it fails to transmit vehicle information. Therefore, the drawing calculation unit 33 of this embodiment may compensate for the lost vehicle information based on the received past vehicle information data (frame data of past drawing information).

[0038] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 1... Monitoring system, 10... Sensor unit, 11... Radar unit, 11a... Utility pole, 12... Calculation unit, 20... Data transfer unit, 21... Conversion unit, 22... Transmission unit, 30... Viewer unit, 31... Receiving unit, 32... Data processing unit, 33... Drawing calculation unit, 34... Database, 35... Display unit, NW... Network, RD... Road, W1... Radar radio waves, W2... Reflected waves

Claims

[Claim 1] A sensor unit that outputs vehicle information including the vehicle's position in two-dimensional coordinates, direction of travel, speed, and vehicle length obtained by irradiating a vehicle on the road with radio waves, A viewer unit that obtains the position of the vehicle in three-dimensional coordinates and the type of vehicle based on the vehicle information, and outputs drawing information in which the vehicle is drawn on the three-dimensional coordinates, A monitoring system having

Images