Biological elimination devices and biological elimination systems

Abstract

The objective is to obtain a biological elimination device that can prevent the target organism from becoming accustomed to a specific elimination method, depending on the number of times the target organism has invaded. [Solution] The system includes: an acquisition unit 7 that acquires detection information indicating that an organism to be eliminated 3 has entered the monitoring area 12 from a detection unit 5 that detects when an organism to be eliminated 3 has entered the monitoring area 12; and a control unit 11a that controls the elimination execution unit 6, which performs elimination to prevent the organism to be eliminated 3 from entering an intrusion-prohibited area, to change the elimination means executed by the elimination execution unit 6 to a different elimination means than the one executed when the cumulative number of eliminations was less than the predetermined number, if the cumulative number of eliminations, which is the number of times the organism to be eliminated 3 has entered the monitoring area 12, is greater than or equal to a predetermined number, based on the detection information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a biological exclusion device and a biological exclusion system for excluding target organisms that have invaded a monitoring area.

Background Art

[0002] As a conventional biological exclusion device, there has been a device that controls the oscillation frequency of vibrations output by a speaker to arbitrarily change with time. By controlling in this way, target organisms with learning ability were repelled (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the conventional biological exclusion device, since the oscillation frequency for excluding organisms was changed according to time, before the lapse of a predetermined time during which the transmission frequency changes, if the target organism tries to invade the prohibited area many times and learns the sound of the transmission frequency, effective exclusion cannot be performed until the transmission frequency changes, and the invasion of the prohibited area may be allowed.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to obtain a biological exclusion device that can prevent a target organism from getting used to a specific exclusion means according to the number of invasions of the target organism.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The biological elimination device according to this disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires detection information indicating that a biological elimination target has entered a monitoring area from a detection unit that detects when a biological elimination target has entered a monitoring area; and a control unit that, based on the detection information, controls the elimination execution unit to change the elimination means executed by the elimination execution unit, which performs elimination to prevent the biological elimination target from entering an intrusion-prohibited area, to a different elimination means than the one executed when the cumulative number of intrusions was less than the predetermined number, if the cumulative number of intrusions is greater than or equal to a predetermined number.

[0007] The biological elimination system according to this disclosure comprises a detection unit that detects when an organism to be eliminated enters a monitoring area, an elimination execution unit that performs elimination to prevent the organism to be eliminated from entering an intrusion-prohibited area, and a biological elimination device, the biological elimination device comprising an acquisition unit that acquires detection information from the detection unit indicating that an organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area, and a control unit that, based on the detection information, controls the elimination means executed by the elimination execution unit to be changed to a different elimination means than the elimination means executed when the cumulative number of intrusions is less than the predetermined number, if the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the number of times the organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area, is greater than or equal to a predetermined number. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the biological elimination device described herein, it is possible to prevent the organisms to be eliminated from becoming accustomed to a particular elimination method in proportion to the number of times they have entered the area. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This diagram schematically illustrates the elimination of target organisms that have entered the monitoring area in Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] This is a functional configuration diagram of the biological exclusion system in Embodiment 1. [Figure 3] This figure shows the hardware configuration of the biological elimination device in Embodiment 1. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the biological exclusion system in Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows the operation of a modified example of the biological elimination device in Embodiment 1. [Figure 6] This is a functional configuration diagram of the biological exclusion system in Embodiment 2. [Figure 7] This is a table stored in the memory unit in Embodiment 2. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the biological exclusion system in Embodiment 2. [Figure 9] This is a modified example of the table stored by the memory unit in Embodiment 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiment 1. The biological exclusion system 14a, including the biological exclusion device 13a in Embodiment 1, will now be described. The biological exclusion system 14a is used to prevent the exclusion target organism 3 from entering an intrusion-restricted area, which is an area where the intrusion of the exclusion target organism 3 is prohibited. Here, the exclusion target organism 3 is, for example, a deer, a wild boar, a monkey, a bear, etc.

[0011] Figure 1 schematically illustrates the elimination of the target organism 3 that has entered the monitoring area 12 in Embodiment 1. Figure 1 simply illustrates an environment that includes a mountain 1, which is an area where the entry of the target organism 3 is not restricted, and a human settlement 2, which is an area where entry is prohibited. Furthermore, within the mountain 1, a certain area including the boundary 4 between the human settlement 2 and the mountain 1 is set as the monitoring area 12 for monitoring whether the target organism 3 enters the human settlement 2 from the mountain 1.

[0012] In Figure 1, a deer 3a, which is the organism to be eliminated 3, is present in the monitoring area 12. In the biological elimination system 14a, when the detection unit 5 detects the organism to be eliminated 3, the elimination execution unit 6 executes the elimination of the organism to be eliminated 3 under the control of the biological elimination device 13a, which will be described later.

[0013] The detection unit 5 detects that the target organism 3 to be excluded has entered the monitoring area 12. The detection unit 5 is, for example, a camera having a photographing function and a function of detecting the target organism 3 from a photographed image.

[0014] The exclusion execution unit 6 executes the exclusion of the target organism 3 by a predetermined exclusion means in order to prevent the target organism 3 from entering the inhabited area 2. The exclusion execution unit 6 is, for example, a directional speaker which is a highly directional acoustic device capable of outputting sound limited to a specific direction. When the exclusion execution unit 6 is a directional speaker, as a predetermined exclusion means, an ultrasonic wave having a frequency that the target organism 3 avoids is output toward the position where the target organism 3 exists, and the exclusion of the target organism 3 is executed.

[0015] Next, the functional configuration diagram of the organism exclusion system 14a including the organism exclusion device 13a will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the organism exclusion system 14a in the first embodiment. The organism exclusion system 14a includes a detection unit 5, an exclusion execution unit 6, and an organism exclusion device 13a. The organism exclusion device 13a includes an acquisition unit 7, a storage unit 8a, a count unit 9a, a determination unit 10a, and a control unit 11a.

[0016] The acquisition unit 7 acquires detection information indicating that the target organism 3 to be excluded has entered the monitoring area 12 and the position of the target organism 3 from the detection unit 5.

[0017] The storage unit 8a stores the cumulative intrusion count, which is the number of times the target organism 3 has entered the monitoring area 12. Hereinafter, the cumulative intrusion count, which is the number of times the target organism 3 has entered the monitoring area 12, may be abbreviated as the cumulative intrusion count.

[0018] The counting unit 9a counts the cumulative number of intrusions based on the detection information received from the acquisition unit 7 and the cumulative number of intrusions already stored in the storage unit 8a. Specifically, when the counting unit 9a receives detection information from the acquisition unit, it counts the number obtained by adding 1 to the cumulative number of intrusions already stored in the storage unit 8a. When the counting unit 9a counts the cumulative number of intrusions, it transmits the counted cumulative number of intrusions to the storage unit 8a. The storage unit 8a stores the cumulative number of intrusions received from the counting unit 9a as the latest cumulative number of intrusions.

[0019] The determination unit 10a determines whether or not the cumulative number of intrusions counted by the counting unit 9a is equal to or greater than a threshold value N1, which is a predetermined number of times. Since the target organism to be excluded 3 gradually becomes accustomed each time it is excluded a plurality of times by a specific exclusion means performed by the exclusion execution unit 6, the effect of excluding the target organism to be excluded 3 gradually weakens when the specific exclusion means is performed many times. Therefore, the threshold value N1 is set to the number of times assumed that the target organism to be excluded 3 becomes accustomed to the specific exclusion means. For example, the threshold value N1 is set to 10 times.

[0020] When the determination unit 10a determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is less than the threshold value N1, that is, less than the threshold value N1, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to execute the first exclusion means. Specifically, for example, when the exclusion execution unit 6 is a directional speaker, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to output ultrasonic waves having a frequency of 20 kHz, which is the first exclusion means. When the determination unit 10a determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the threshold value N1, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion means executed by the exclusion execution unit 6 to be changed to a second exclusion means different from the first exclusion means executed when the cumulative number of intrusions is less than the threshold value N1. Specifically, for example, when the exclusion execution unit 6 is a directional speaker and the first exclusion means is ultrasonic waves having a frequency of 20 kHz, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to output ultrasonic waves having a frequency of 30 kHz, which is the second exclusion means.

[0021] Furthermore, when the control unit 11a acquires the location of the organism to be eliminated 3 based on the detection information from the detection unit 5, it controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the elimination means toward the location where the organism to be eliminated 3 is present.

[0022] Here, the hardware configuration of the biological elimination device 13a in Embodiment 1 will be described. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the biological elimination device 13a in Embodiment 1. The biological elimination device 13a is implemented by a computer, such as a personal computer or a microcontroller.

[0023] The biological elimination device 13a comprises a processor 41, memory 42, interface 43, and secondary storage device 44, all connected to each other via a bus 40.

[0024] The processor 41 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 41 reads the operation program stored in the secondary storage device 44 into the memory 42 and executes it, thereby realizing each function of the biological elimination device 13a.

[0025] Memory 42 is a main memory device, for example, composed of RAM (Random Access Memory). Memory 42 stores programs read by the processor 41 from the secondary memory device 44. Memory 42 also functions as work memory when the processor 41 executes programs.

[0026] Interface 43 is an I / O (Input / Output) interface such as a serial port, USB (Universal Serial Bus) port, or network interface. Interface 43 is used for input from the detection unit 5 and output to the exclusion execution unit 6.

[0027] The secondary storage device 44 is, for example, flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The secondary storage device 44 stores various information necessary for the operation of the biological elimination device 13a and programs executed by the processor 41.

[0028] Next, the operation of the biological elimination system 14a, including the biological elimination device 13a, will be described. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the biological elimination system 14a in Embodiment 1, with Figure 4(a) showing the overall flowchart and Figure 4(b) showing a detailed view of the operation of the biological elimination device 13a. It should be noted that the biological elimination system 14a operates in the environment shown in Figure 1, the detection unit 5 is a camera with a shooting function and a function to detect the organisms to be eliminated 3 from the captured images, and the elimination execution unit 6 is a directional speaker.

[0029] First, let's explain Figure 4(a). In step S1, the detection unit 5 determines whether or not it has detected the organism to be eliminated 3 in the monitoring area 12. The detection unit 5 is constantly photographing the monitoring area 12. If the detection unit 5 detects a deer 3a, it determines that it has detected the organism to be eliminated 3 and proceeds to step S2. If the detection unit 5 detects nothing, or detects something other than the organism to be eliminated 3, it determines that it has not detected the organism to be eliminated 3 and repeats the process in step S1.

[0030] In step S2, the biological elimination device 13a performs the operations shown in the flowchart of Figure 4(b). In step S3, in order to prevent the deer 3a from entering the human settlement 2, the elimination execution unit 6 eliminates the target organism 3 using predetermined elimination means. Once the process in step S2 is completed, the process proceeds to step S1.

[0031] Again, in step S1, the detection unit 5 determines whether or not it has detected the organism to be eliminated 3 in the monitoring area 12. If the detection unit 5 determines that it has detected the organism to be eliminated 3, the process proceeds to step S2. If the detection unit 5 determines that it has not detected the organism to be eliminated 3, the process in step S1 is repeated.

[0032] Next, Figure 4(b) will be explained. After YES in step S1, in step S11, the acquisition unit 7 acquires detection information from the detection unit 5 indicating that the organism to be eliminated 3 has entered the monitoring area 12, and transmits the detection information to the counting unit 9a.

[0033] In step S12, the counting unit 9a counts the cumulative number of intrusions based on the detection information received from the acquisition unit 7 and the cumulative number of intrusions already stored in the storage unit 8a. For example, if the storage unit 8a has stored that the cumulative number of intrusions is 9, the counting unit 9a counts 10, which is the cumulative number of intrusions already stored in the storage unit 8a plus 1.

[0034] In step S13, the determination unit 10a determines whether the cumulative number of intrusions counted by the counting unit 9a is equal to or greater than the threshold N1. For example, if the threshold N1 is 10, the determination unit 10a determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the threshold N1 when the cumulative number of intrusions is 10. In this case, the process proceeds to step S14. If the determination unit 10a determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is not equal to or greater than the threshold N1, i.e., that the cumulative number of intrusions is less than the threshold N1, the process proceeds to step S15.

[0035] In step S14, the control unit 11a controls the elimination execution unit 6 to change the elimination means to a second elimination means that is different from the first elimination means. For example, if the first elimination means is a means that outputs ultrasonic waves with a frequency of 20 kHz, the second elimination means is, for example, a means that outputs ultrasonic waves with a frequency of 30 kHz. At this time, the control unit 11a acquires the position of the organism to be eliminated 3 based on the detection information from the detection unit 5 and controls the unit to output ultrasonic waves toward the position where the organism to be eliminated 3 is located.

[0036] In step S15, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion execution unit 6 so as not to change the exclusion means that was being executed when the cumulative number of intrusions was less than the threshold N1. For example, if the exclusion means that was being executed when the cumulative number of intrusions was less than the threshold N1 was the first exclusion means, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to execute the first exclusion means.

[0037] After steps S14 and S15, the process proceeds to step S3, and thereafter the process continues according to the flow shown in Figure 4(a).

[0038] Based on the above, the biological elimination device 13a in Embodiment 1 includes an acquisition unit 7 that acquires detection information indicating that a biological elimination target organism 3 has entered the monitoring area 12 from a detection unit 5 that detects when a biological elimination target organism 3 has entered the monitoring area 12, and a control unit 11a that controls the elimination execution unit 6, which performs the elimination of the biological elimination target organism 3 to prevent it from entering an intrusion-prohibited area, to change the elimination means executed by the elimination execution unit 6 to a second elimination means, which is different from the first elimination means that was executed when the cumulative number of invasions was less than the threshold N1, when the cumulative number of invasions, which is the number of times the biological elimination target organism 3 has entered the monitoring area 12, is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold N1.

[0039] Furthermore, the control unit 11a in Embodiment 1 has a first threshold for changing the elimination means according to the cumulative number of intrusions, and a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold. The control unit may compare the cumulative number of intrusions with the first threshold and the cumulative number of intrusions with the second threshold, and change the elimination means in accordance with the number of intrusions of the organism 3 to be eliminated in the monitoring area 12. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a modified organism elimination device 13a in which the control unit 11a has a first threshold and a second threshold. Hereinafter, the first threshold will be referred to as threshold N1 and the second threshold as threshold N2.

[0040] In Figure 5, steps S11, S12, S14, and S15 are the same as steps S11, S12, S14, and S15 in Figure 4(b). In step S12, when the counting unit 9a counts the cumulative number of intrusions, in step S16, the determination unit 10a determines whether the cumulative number of intrusions counted by the counting unit 9a is equal to or greater than the threshold N1. If the cumulative number of intrusions is not equal to or greater than the threshold N1, i.e., less than the threshold N1, in step S15, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to execute the first exclusion means. If the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the threshold N1, the process proceeds to step S17.

[0041] In step S17, the determination unit 10a determines whether the cumulative number of intrusions counted by the counting unit 9a is equal to or greater than the threshold N2. If the cumulative number of intrusions is not equal to or greater than the threshold N2, i.e., less than the threshold N2, in step S14, the control unit 11a controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to execute the second exclusion means. If the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the threshold N2, in step S18, the exclusion execution unit 6 may be controlled to execute a third exclusion means different from the second exclusion means. The third exclusion means may be any exclusion means different from the second exclusion means, and may be an exclusion means different from the first and second exclusion means, or it may be the first exclusion means.

[0042] The operations shown in steps S16 to S18 in Figure 5 will be explained using specific numerical values. For example, if threshold N1 is set to a cumulative number of intrusions of 10 and threshold N2 to a cumulative number of intrusions of 20, the control unit 11a controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the first elimination means when the cumulative number of intrusions is 1 to 9, controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the second elimination means when the cumulative number of intrusions is 10 to 19, and controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the third elimination means when the cumulative number of intrusions is 20 or more.

[0043] Thus, by having thresholds N1 and N2 for changing the elimination means according to the cumulative number of invasions, the control unit 11a can continue to change the elimination means in accordance with the number of invasions of the target organism even if the cumulative number of invasions exceeds threshold N1. Alternatively, the control unit 11a may have three or more thresholds for changing the elimination means according to the cumulative number of invasions, for example, so that the elimination means is changed every 10 cumulative invasions.

[0044] In Embodiment 1, the control unit 11a has a first threshold for changing the elimination means according to the cumulative number of intrusions, and a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold. The control unit 11a compares the cumulative number of intrusions with the first threshold and the cumulative number of intrusions with the second threshold, and changes the elimination means in accordance with the number of intrusions of the organism to be eliminated 3 in the monitoring area 12. This configuration also includes the case where the storage unit 8a resets the cumulative number of intrusions after the elimination means has been changed. Even in this case, the elimination means can continue to be changed in accordance with the number of intrusions of the organism to be eliminated. To explain using specific numerical values, if the threshold is set to a cumulative number of intrusions of 10, the control unit 11a controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the first elimination means when the cumulative number of intrusions is 1 to 9, controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the second elimination means when the cumulative number of intrusions is 10, and then the storage unit 8a resets the cumulative number of intrusions. The control unit 11a then continues to count the cumulative number of intrusions, and controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the second elimination means when the cumulative number of intrusions is 1 to 9, that is, when it is 11 to 19 from the initial count. Furthermore, when the cumulative number of intrusions reaches 10, that is, 20 in total from the initial count, the exclusion execution unit 6 is controlled to execute the third exclusion means, and then the storage unit 8a resets the cumulative number of intrusions. The cumulative number of intrusions is then counted again, and when the cumulative number of intrusions reaches 1 to 9, that is, 21 to 29 in total from the initial count, the exclusion execution unit 6 is controlled to execute the third exclusion means. In this way, by resetting the cumulative number of intrusions after changing the exclusion means, the exclusion means can be changed every N1 cumulative intrusions.

[0045] Furthermore, the control unit 11a in the biological elimination device 13a acquires the location of the organism to be eliminated 3 based on the detection information and controls the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the elimination means toward the location where the organism to be eliminated 3 is present. This control allows the elimination execution unit 6 to effectively execute the elimination means toward the organism to be eliminated 3, and also prevents the elimination execution unit 6 from executing the elimination means unnecessarily. In addition, if the elimination execution unit 6 is a directional speaker and outputs audible sound that can be heard by the human ear, it outputs sound toward the location where the organism to be eliminated is present, and does not unnecessarily diffuse sound into the surroundings, thereby suppressing noise.

[0046] Furthermore, when the acquisition unit 7 in the biological elimination device 13a acquires detection information, the control unit 11a in the biological elimination device 13a may control the elimination execution unit 6 to execute the elimination means at the boundary 4 between the no-entry zone and the area that is not a no-entry zone. By controlling it in this way, when the organism to be eliminated 3 approaches the boundary 4 from the mountain 1, it is possible to prevent the organism to be eliminated 3 from crossing the boundary 4 and entering the human settlement 2. Note that even when the acquisition unit 7 in the biological elimination device 13a has not acquired detection information, the control unit 11a may be controlled as described above.

[0047] As mentioned above, if the elimination execution unit 6 in the biological elimination device 13a is an acoustic device such as a directional speaker, the control unit 11a may control the elimination execution unit 6 to output the elimination means before and after the change as different sounds when the elimination means is changed. Furthermore, when the control unit 11a changes the elimination means, the control unit 11a may control the elimination execution unit 6 to output the elimination means before and after the change as sounds of different frequencies. By limiting the elimination means to sound in this way, the organisms to be eliminated 3 can be eliminated from the monitoring area 12 without directly damaging the bodies of the organisms to be eliminated 3. Note that the elimination execution unit 6 is not limited to an acoustic device, but may be a device that emits light, a robot, or a drone, for example. If the elimination execution unit 6 is a robot or a drone, these may be used to track the organisms to be eliminated 3 and prevent them from entering the restricted area.

[0048] Furthermore, the elimination execution unit 6 in the biological elimination device 13a is an acoustic device, and the control unit 11a may control the elimination execution unit 6 to output sound at a frequency band that is inaudible to humans but audible to the organisms to be eliminated 3. In this case, since the elimination means does not generate audible sound that can be heard by the human ear, the organisms to be eliminated 3 can be eliminated without producing noise for humans. Specifically, the frequency band that humans can hear is in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and the sound at a frequency band that is inaudible to humans but audible to the organisms to be eliminated 3 is, for example, ultrasound with a frequency of 20 kHz or higher.

[0049] Furthermore, the control unit 11a in the biological elimination device 13a may control the elimination execution unit 6 to output two or more elimination means simultaneously. For example, if the elimination execution unit 6 is a single acoustic device, it may output two ultrasonic waves of different frequencies, or it may output one ultrasonic wave and one audible sound. For example, if there are two elimination execution units 6, one being an acoustic device and the other a light-emitting device, it may output ultrasonic waves from the acoustic device and then emit light from the light-emitting device. By combining multiple elimination means in this way, the likelihood of the target organism 3 reacting to any of the elimination means increases, and the target organism 3 can be eliminated efficiently.

[0050] Furthermore, the monitoring area 12 may be a part of the non-restricted area, located away from the boundary 4 between the restricted area and the non-restricted area. Also, the monitoring area 12 may be the field of view of the camera.

[0051] Furthermore, the detection unit 5 is not limited to a camera having a shooting function and a function to detect the organisms to be eliminated 3 from the captured images. The detection unit 5 may be a combination of a camera having a shooting function and a function to detect the organisms to be eliminated 3 from the captured images acquired from the camera. In this case, the function to detect the organisms to be eliminated 3 from the captured images acquired from the camera may be provided by the organism elimination device 13a or by another device. In addition, the detection unit 5 may be a combination of a sound acquisition device that acquires the sounds of the organisms to be eliminated and a function to detect the organisms to be eliminated 3 from the sounds acquired from the sound acquisition device.

[0052] Furthermore, if the detection unit 5 detects multiple target organisms 3 simultaneously, the detection count may be recorded as one detection, or as many detections as there are individuals of the target organisms 3. For example, if three deer are detected simultaneously, the detection count may be recorded as one, or as three.

[0053] Although the functions of the memory unit 8a are implemented by the biological elimination device 13a, the system is not limited to this, and the functions of the memory unit 8a may also be implemented by connecting a separate computer or server different from the biological elimination device 13a.

[0054] Embodiment 2. The biological elimination system 14b, including the biological elimination device 13b in Embodiment 2, will now be described. Figure 6 is a functional configuration diagram of the biological elimination system 14b in Embodiment 2. The biological elimination device 13b in Embodiment 2 differs from the biological elimination device 13a in Embodiment 1 in that the functions of the individual identification unit 20, storage unit 8b, counting unit 9b, determination unit 10b, and control unit 11b are different. Components identical to those in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted.

[0055] When the individual identification unit 20 receives detection information from the acquisition unit 7, it identifies an individual of the organism 3 to be eliminated that has entered the monitoring area 12 based on the detection information. Information about multiple individuals is stored in the storage unit 8b, and the individual identification unit 20 identifies whether or not there is a identical individual based on the individual information obtained from the detection information and the information of multiple individuals stored in the storage unit 8b. For example, if the detection unit 5 is a camera that has a shooting function and a function to detect organisms to be eliminated 3 from the captured image, it uses image recognition technology to identify whether or not there is a identical individual based on the image of the detected organism 3 to be eliminated and the images of multiple individuals stored in the storage unit 8b.

[0056] Figure 7 shows a table stored by the memory unit 8b in Embodiment 2. As shown in Figure 7, the memory unit 8b stores the correspondence between each individual of the organisms to be eliminated 3 and the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the number of times each individual of the organisms to be eliminated 3 has entered the monitoring area 12. In the following, the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the number of times each individual of the organisms to be eliminated 3 has entered the monitoring area 12, may be abbreviated as the cumulative number of intrusions. For example, as shown in Figure 7, the memory unit 8b stores that individual bear No. 1 has a cumulative number of intrusions of 3, individual deer No. 2 has a cumulative number of intrusions of 4, and individual deer No. 3, which is different from deer No. 2, has a cumulative number of intrusions of 2.

[0057] The counting unit 9b counts the cumulative number of intrusions based on the individual identification information received from the individual identification unit 20 indicating that the individual has been identified, and the cumulative number of intrusions for a specific individual already stored in the storage unit 8b. Specifically, the counting unit 9b counts the cumulative number of intrusions already stored in the storage unit 8b plus one. Once the counting unit 9b has counted the cumulative number of intrusions, it transmits the counted cumulative number of intrusions to the storage unit 8b. The storage unit 8b stores the cumulative number of intrusions received from the counting unit 9b as the latest cumulative number of intrusions.

[0058] The determination unit 10b determines whether the cumulative number of intrusions counted by the counting unit 9b is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold M1. Here, the threshold M1 is set to the number of times it is assumed that an individual organism 3 to be excluded will become accustomed to a specific exclusion means performed by the exclusion execution unit 6. For example, the threshold M1 is set to 5 times.

[0059] If the determination unit 10b determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is not equal to or less than the threshold M1, the control unit 11b controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to execute the first exclusion means. Furthermore, if the determination unit 10b determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the threshold M1, the control unit 11b controls the exclusion execution unit 6 to change the exclusion means it executes to a second exclusion means that is different from the first exclusion means that was executed when the cumulative number of intrusions was less than the threshold M1.

[0060] Next, the operation of the biological elimination system 14b, including the biological elimination device 13b, will be described. Figure 8 in Embodiment 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the biological elimination system 14b, with Figure 8(a) showing the overall flowchart and Figure 8(b) showing a detailed view of the operation of the biological elimination device 13b. As shown in Figure 8(a), the operation of the biological elimination system 14b in Embodiment 2 differs from the operation of the biological elimination system 14a in Embodiment 1 in that the biological elimination device 13b is operated in step S21. The following will describe Figure 8(b). The preconditions are assumed to be the same as those for the operation of the biological elimination system 14a shown in Embodiment 1.

[0061] After the YES response in step S1, in step S11, the acquisition unit 7 acquires detection information from the detection unit 5 and transmits detection information to the counting unit 9a indicating that a specific individual organism 3 targeted for elimination has entered the monitoring area 12 from the detection unit 5.

[0062] In step S22, when the individual identification unit 20 receives detection information from the acquisition unit 7, it identifies an individual of the organism to be eliminated 3 based on the detection information. For example, if the memory unit 8b stores the table shown in Figure 7 and it is stored that the deer shown as No. 2 has a cumulative number of intrusions of 4, it uses image recognition technology to identify whether there is an identical individual between the image of the detected deer 3a and the images of multiple individuals stored in the memory unit 8b. If it is determined that deer 3a is the same individual as the deer shown as No. 2 in the table, the individual identification unit 20 identifies deer 3a and the deer shown as No. 2 in the table shown in Figure 6 as the same individual, and transmits individual identification information indicating that the individual has been identified to the count unit 9b.

[0063] In step S23, the counting unit 9b counts the cumulative number of intrusions based on the detection information received from the acquisition unit 7 and the cumulative number of intrusions already stored in the storage unit 8b. For example, if the storage unit 8b stores that the cumulative number of intrusions for deer 3a is 4, the counting unit 9b counts 5 as the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the sum of 4 and 1 already stored in the storage unit 8b.

[0064] In step S24, the determination unit 10b determines whether the cumulative number of intrusions counted by the counting unit 9b is equal to or greater than the threshold M1. For example, if the threshold M1 is 5, and the cumulative number of intrusions is 5, then the determination unit 10b determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the threshold M1. In this case, the process proceeds to step S14. If the determination unit 10b determines that the cumulative number of intrusions is not equal to or greater than the threshold M1, i.e., that the cumulative number of intrusions is less than the threshold M1, the process proceeds to step S15. The flow from step S14 and step S15 onward is the same as the flow in Embodiment 1, so the explanation is omitted.

[0065] Based on the above, the biological elimination device 13b in Embodiment 2 includes an individual identification unit 20 that identifies individual organisms 3 to be eliminated that have entered the monitoring area 12 based on detection information from the detection unit 5. The control unit 11b, based on the individual identification information output by the individual identification unit 20 indicating that an individual organism 3 to be eliminated has been identified, can prevent the organisms to be eliminated from becoming accustomed to a specific elimination means if the cumulative number of times a specific individual of the organisms to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold M1.

[0066] Furthermore, as a modified example of the biological elimination device 13b in Embodiment 2, the biological elimination device 13b may include a species identification unit that identifies the type of organism 3 to be eliminated that has entered the monitoring area 12, instead of the individual identification unit 20. The species identification unit identifies whether or not there is an identical individual of the same species based on the individual information obtained from the detection information of the detection unit 5 and the information of multiple species stored in the storage unit 8b. For example, if the detection unit 5 is a camera that has a shooting function and a function to detect organisms to be eliminated 3 from the captured image, the unit identifies whether or not there is an identical individual of the same species based on the type of individual shown in the image of the detected organism 3 to be eliminated and the information indicating multiple types of individuals stored in the storage unit 8b.

[0067] Figure 9 shows a modified example of the table stored by the memory unit 8b in Embodiment 2. The memory unit 8b stores the individual organisms of the organisms to be excluded 3 and their species, and the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the number of times a specific type of organism of the organisms to be excluded 3 has entered the monitoring area 12. For example, as shown in Figure 9, since there is only one bear, No. 1, the cumulative number of bear intrusions is 3, and since there are two deer, No. 2 and No. 3, the cumulative number of deer intrusions is 6, which is stored in the memory unit 8b.

[0068] Thus, even if the biological elimination device 13b in Embodiment 2 is equipped with a species identification unit, the control unit 11b can change the elimination means in accordance with the number of times a specific species of organism 3 has entered the monitoring area 12, based on the species identification information output by the species identification unit indicating that the species of the organism 3 to be eliminated has been identified, if the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the number of times a specific species of organism 3 to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area 12, is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold M1.

[0069] The biological elimination device 13b may also be equipped with both an individual identification unit 20 and a species identification unit. This configuration makes it possible to select whether to perform individual identification or species identification for each type of organism 3 to be eliminated. For example, individual identification may be performed for deer that are frequently detected by the detection unit 5, while species identification may be performed for organisms 3 other than deer. Alternatively, both individual identification and species identification may be performed for a specific organism 3 to be eliminated. For example, both individual identification and species identification may be performed to count the "cumulative number of intrusions by a specific deer" and the "cumulative number of intrusions by all deer." Alternatively, individual identification or species identification may be performed for a specific type of organism 3 to be eliminated, and the cumulative number of intrusions may be counted while also counting the cumulative number of intrusions by all organisms 3 to be eliminated. For example, the "cumulative number of intrusions by a specific bear" or the "cumulative number of intrusions by all deer" may be counted while also counting the "cumulative number of intrusions by all organisms 3 to be eliminated." Alternatively, individual identification and species identification may be performed for a specific type of organism 3 to be eliminated, and the cumulative number of intrusions may be counted for each, while also counting the cumulative number of intrusions by all organisms 3 to be eliminated. In these cases, different thresholds may be set for individual identification, species identification, and counting the cumulative number of invasions of all organisms to be eliminated (3), and the elimination method may be changed if any of the cumulative invasion counts exceeds the threshold.

[0070] Furthermore, if the organism to be eliminated 3 is tagged using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), the detection unit 5 may receive radio waves emitted from the tag and acquire the information stored in the tag. The information stored in the tag may include, for example, information indicating that it is the organism to be eliminated 3, or the aforementioned individual identification information or species identification information. In this case, the detection unit 5 may be a device capable of receiving radio waves, such as an antenna, instead of a camera. Also, since the acquisition unit 7 can acquire individual identification information and species identification information in addition to detection information from the detection unit 5, individual identification and species identification are possible even if the organism elimination device 13b does not have an identification function.

[0071] The configurations shown in the embodiments described above are examples of the content of this disclosure. The embodiments can be combined with other known technologies. Furthermore, it is possible to omit or modify parts of the configurations of the embodiments without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

[0072] The various aspects of this disclosure are summarized below as an appendix. (Note 1) A detection unit that detects when an organism to be eliminated enters a monitoring area acquires detection information indicating that the organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area from the detection unit, A biological elimination device comprising: a control unit that controls the elimination execution unit, which performs the elimination of the organism to be eliminated in order to prevent the organism from entering an intrusion-prohibited area, to change the elimination means performed by the elimination execution unit to a different elimination means than the elimination means performed when the cumulative number of intrusions to be eliminated is less than the predetermined number, when the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the number of times the organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area, based on the detection information, is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. (Note 2) A species identification unit identifies the type of organism to be eliminated that has entered the monitoring area based on the detection information, Equipped with, The cumulative number of intrusions is the number of times an individual of a specific type of organism to be excluded has entered the monitoring area, based on the type identification information output by the type identification unit indicating that the type of organism to be excluded has been identified. The biological elimination device described in Appendix 1. (Note 3) Based on the detection information, an individual identification unit identifies an individual of the organism to be eliminated that has entered the monitoring area, Equipped with, The cumulative number of intrusions is the number of times a specific individual of the organism to be excluded has entered the monitoring area, based on the individual identification information output by the individual identification unit indicating that the individual of the organism to be excluded has been identified. A biological elimination device as described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 4) The control unit has a first threshold for changing the exclusion means according to the cumulative number of intrusions, and a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold. The control unit controls the exclusion means executed by the exclusion execution unit to be different from the exclusion means executed when the cumulative number of intrusions is less than the first threshold, if the cumulative number of intrusions is greater than or equal to the first threshold and less than the second threshold. The control unit controls the exclusion means executed by the exclusion execution unit to be different from the exclusion means executed when the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, if the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the second threshold. A biological elimination device as described in any one of the items 1 to 3 of the appendix. (Note 5) The control unit acquires the location of the organism to be eliminated based on the detection information and controls the elimination execution unit to execute the elimination means toward the location where the organism to be eliminated is present. A biological elimination device as described in any one of the items 1 to 4 of the appendix. (Note 6) The control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to execute the exclusion means at the boundary between the restricted area and the area that is not a restricted area. A biological elimination device as described in any one of the items 1 to 4 of the appendix. (Note 7) When the acquisition unit acquires the detection information, the control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to execute the exclusion means at the boundary between the restricted area and the area that is not a restricted area. The biological elimination device described in Appendix 6. (Note 8) The aforementioned exclusion execution unit is an acoustic device, When the control unit changes the exclusion means, it controls the exclusion execution unit to output the exclusion means before the change and the exclusion means after the change as different sounds. A biological elimination device as described in any one of the items 1 to 7 of the appendix. (Note 9) When the control unit changes the exclusion means, it controls the exclusion execution unit to output the exclusion means before the change and the exclusion means after the change as sounds of different frequencies. The biological elimination device described in Appendix 8. (Note 10) The aforementioned exclusion execution unit is an acoustic device, The control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to output sounds in a frequency band that is inaudible to humans but audible to the organisms to be excluded. A biological elimination device as described in any one of the items 1 to 9 of the appendix. (Note 11) The control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to output two or more exclusion means simultaneously. A biological elimination device as described in any one of the items 1 to 10 of the appendix. (Note 12) A detection unit that detects when an organism to be eliminated enters the monitoring area, In order to prevent the aforementioned organisms from entering a restricted area where their entry is prohibited, an elimination execution unit is provided to eliminate the organisms to be eliminated, A biological elimination device, Equipped with, The aforementioned biological elimination device is An acquisition unit that acquires detection information from the detection unit indicating that the organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area, A control unit controls the removal execution unit to change the removal means it executes to a different removal means than the one it executed when the cumulative number of times the target organism entered the monitoring area, based on the detection information, if the cumulative number of times the target organism entered the monitoring area is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. A biological elimination system equipped with [unspecified features]. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0073] 1 Mountain, 2 Human settlement, 3 Target organism to be eliminated, 4 Boundary, 5 Detection unit, 6 Elimination execution unit, 7 Acquisition unit, 8a,8b Storage unit, 9a,9b Counting unit, 10a,10b Judgment unit, 11a,11b Control unit, 12 Monitoring area, 13a,13b Organism elimination device, 14a,14b Organism elimination system, 20 Individual identification unit, 40 Bus, 41 Processor, 42 Memory, 43 Interface, 44 Secondary storage device

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires detection information indicating that an organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area from a detection unit that detects when an organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area, Based on the detection information, if the cumulative number of intrusions, which is the number of times the organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area, is greater than or equal to a predetermined number, a control unit controls the elimination execution unit, which performs the elimination of the organism to be eliminated in order to prevent it from entering an intrusion-prohibited area, to change the elimination means to a different elimination means than the one performed when the cumulative number of intrusions was less than the predetermined number. A biological elimination device equipped with [unspecified features].

2. A species identification unit identifies the type of organism to be eliminated that has entered the monitoring area based on the detection information, Equipped with, The cumulative number of intrusions is the number of times an individual of a specific type of organism to be excluded has entered the monitoring area, based on the type identification information output by the type identification unit indicating that the type of organism to be excluded has been identified. The biological elimination device according to claim 1.

3. Based on the detection information, an individual identification unit identifies an individual of the organism to be eliminated that has entered the monitoring area, Equipped with, The cumulative number of intrusions is the number of times a specific individual of the organism to be excluded has entered the monitoring area, based on the individual identification information output by the individual identification unit indicating that the individual of the organism to be excluded has been identified. The biological elimination device according to claim 1.

4. The control unit has a first threshold for changing the exclusion means according to the cumulative number of intrusions, and a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold. The control unit controls the exclusion means executed by the exclusion execution unit to be different from the exclusion means executed when the cumulative number of intrusions is less than the first threshold, if the cumulative number of intrusions is greater than or equal to the first threshold and less than the second threshold. The control unit controls the exclusion means executed by the exclusion execution unit to be different from the exclusion means executed when the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, if the cumulative number of intrusions is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold. A biological elimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The control unit acquires the location of the organism to be eliminated based on the detection information and controls the elimination execution unit to execute the elimination means toward the location where the organism to be eliminated is present. A biological elimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to execute the exclusion means at the boundary between the restricted area and the area that is not a restricted area. A biological elimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. When the acquisition unit acquires the detection information, the control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to execute the exclusion means at the boundary between the restricted area and the area that is not a restricted area. The biological elimination device according to claim 6.

8. The aforementioned exclusion execution unit is an acoustic device, When the control unit changes the exclusion means, it controls the exclusion execution unit to output the exclusion means before the change and the exclusion means after the change as different sounds. A biological elimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

9. When the control unit changes the exclusion means, it controls the exclusion execution unit to output the exclusion means before the change and the exclusion means after the change as sounds of different frequencies. The biological elimination device according to claim 8.

10. The aforementioned exclusion execution unit is an acoustic device, The control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to output sounds in a frequency band that is inaudible to humans but audible to the organisms to be excluded. A biological elimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

11. The control unit controls the exclusion execution unit to output two or more exclusion means simultaneously. A biological elimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

12. A detection unit that detects when an organism to be eliminated enters the monitoring area, In order to prevent the aforementioned organisms from entering a restricted area where their entry is prohibited, an elimination execution unit is provided to eliminate the organisms to be eliminated, A biological elimination device, Equipped with, The aforementioned biological elimination device is An acquisition unit that acquires detection information from the detection unit indicating that the organism to be eliminated has entered the monitoring area, A control unit controls the removal execution unit to change the removal means it executes to a different removal means than the one it executed when the cumulative number of times the target organism entered the monitoring area, based on the detection information, if the cumulative number of times the target organism entered the monitoring area is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. A biological elimination system equipped with [unspecified features].

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