Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To obtain information that has a high probability of identifying the target individual. [Solution] The information processing device 1 includes: a detection unit 132 that detects a person based on monitoring data used to monitor a target area; a specification unit 133 that, when the detection unit 132 detects a person, identifies the movement path taken by the person being monitored based on the actions of the person being monitored who is identified based on the monitoring data; a selection unit 136 that selects one candidate parking area from one or more candidate parking areas predetermined as candidates for parking a vehicle based on the movement path identified by the specification unit 133; and an aircraft control unit 137 that moves an aircraft to the selected parking area, which is the candidate parking area selected by the selection unit 136, and causes the aircraft to search for a vehicle in the selected parking area.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, flying objects that fly unmanned, so-called drones, have become popular and are used in various applications. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for causing a flying object equipped with a camera to track a person.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, even if the flying object tracks the target person, there is a risk that the target person may escape, so it is desirable to obtain information for identifying the target person. Although it may seem that information for identifying the target person can be obtained by imaging the target person with the camera of the flying object, if the target person cannot be imaged from the front, or even if the target person can be imaged from the front, the face is hidden by the target person's clothing, there may be a problem that highly probable information for identifying the target person cannot be obtained.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to obtain information with a high probability of identifying a target person.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An information processing device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: a detection unit that detects a person based on monitoring data used to monitor a monitored area; a specification unit that, when the detection unit detects a person, specifies a movement path taken by the monitored person based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data; a selection unit that selects one of the candidate parking areas predetermined as candidate parking areas for parking a vehicle based on the movement path specified by the specification unit; and an aircraft control unit that moves an aircraft to the selected parking area, which is the candidate parking area selected by the selection unit, and causes the aircraft to search for a vehicle in the selected parking area.

[0007] The identification unit may identify as the movement path the monitored person takes in a direction away from a reference point, which is a reference point in the monitored area, or the selection unit may select from one or more candidate parking areas a candidate parking area located in the direction of movement of the monitored person along the movement path identified by the identification unit.

[0008] The detection unit may further detect an object held by a person, and the identification unit may identify as the movement path the person moved in a direction away from the reference point in the monitored area after the detection unit has detected an object held by the person being monitored.

[0009] The identification unit may identify as the movement path the monitored person takes in the direction of approaching a reference point, which is a reference point within the monitored area, or the selection unit may select from one or more candidate parking areas a candidate parking area located in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the monitored person in the movement path identified by the identification unit.

[0010] The information processing device may further include a setting unit that sets a reference point in the monitored area based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data, and the identification unit may identify the movement path based on the reference point in the monitored area set by the setting unit.

[0011] The information processing device may further include an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating that a sensor installed in the area to be monitored has detected a person, and the identification unit may identify the movement path based on the location where the sensor is placed, the time when the sensor detected a person, the location of the person to be monitored as identified by the monitoring data, and the time when the person to be monitored is present at the location of the person to be monitored.

[0012] The information processing device may have one or more candidate routes predetermined for each combination of the monitored area and the candidate parking area, which are candidate routes for passing between the monitored area and the candidate parking area. Alternatively, the selection unit may select one of the candidate routes from the one or more candidate routes based on the travel route identified by the identification unit, and then select one of the candidate parking areas from the one or more candidate parking areas based on the selected route.

[0013] The detection unit may detect a vehicle based on parking data captured by the aircraft in the selected parking area; the information processing device may further include a vehicle determination unit that, when the detection unit detects a vehicle, determines whether or not to make the vehicle a target to be associated with the aircraft based on the state of the vehicle identified based on the parking data; and the aircraft control unit may, when the vehicle determination unit determines that the vehicle is a target to be associated with the aircraft, cause the aircraft to perform a predetermined process on the target vehicle which the vehicle determination unit has determined to be a target to be associated with the aircraft.

[0014] The vehicle determination unit may determine, based on the contents of the vehicle's cargo, whether or not to associate the vehicle with the aircraft, as a condition of the vehicle identified based on the parking data.

[0015] The aircraft control unit may, as part of the predetermined processing, cause the aircraft control unit to image the license plate of the target vehicle. The aircraft control unit may, as part of the predetermined process, execute a process to warn the target vehicle. The aircraft control unit may, as part of the predetermined process, drop the transmitter mounted on the aircraft from above the target vehicle.

[0016] The detection unit may further detect vehicles based on the monitoring data, and the information processing device may further have a vehicle determination unit that, when the detection unit detects a vehicle based on the monitoring data including the monitored person, determines whether or not to make the vehicle a target to be associated with the aircraft based on the state of the vehicle identified based on the monitoring data, and the aircraft control unit may, if the vehicle determination unit determines that the vehicle is a target to be associated with the aircraft, have the aircraft perform a predetermined process on the target vehicle which the vehicle determination unit has determined to be a target to be associated with the aircraft, without having the aircraft search for the vehicle in the selected parking area, and if the vehicle determination unit determines that the vehicle is not a target to be associated with the aircraft, have the aircraft search for the vehicle in the selected parking area.

[0017] A second aspect of the present invention relates to an information processing method which includes the steps of: detecting a person based on monitoring data used by a computer to monitor a monitored area; if a person is detected, identifying a travel path taken by the monitored person based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data; selecting one of the candidate parking areas predetermined as candidates for parking a vehicle based on the identified travel path; and moving an aircraft to the selected parking area, which is the selected candidate parking area, and having the aircraft search for a vehicle in the selected parking area.

[0018] A program according to a third aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as: a detection unit that detects a person based on monitoring data used to monitor a monitored area; an identification unit that, when the detection unit detects a person, identifies the movement path taken by the monitored person based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data; a selection unit that selects one of the candidate parking areas predetermined as candidate parking areas for parking a vehicle based on the movement path identified by the identification unit; and an aircraft control unit that moves an aircraft to the selected parking area, which is the candidate parking area selected by the selection unit, and causes the aircraft to search for a vehicle in the selected parking area. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain information that has a high probability of identifying the target individual. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0020] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating the overview of an information processing device. [Figure 2] This diagram schematically shows the functional configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 3]It is a diagram schematically showing a process of identifying a moving route of a person to be monitored. [Figure 4] It is a diagram schematically showing a process of identifying a moving route of a person to be monitored. [Figure 5] It is a diagram schematically showing a process of selecting a candidate parking area. [Figure 6] It is a diagram schematically showing a process of selecting a candidate parking area. [Figure 7] It is a flowchart showing a process flow of an information processing apparatus.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] [Overview of Information Processing Apparatus 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overview of the information processing apparatus 1. The information processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus used to provide an information processing service to a user, and for example, it is a server. The information processing service is a service for monitoring a predetermined area using the aircraft D. The predetermined area is an outdoor area managed by the user, and for example, it is an outdoor facility where various facilities such as solar panels are installed, a farm for cultivating crops, etc.

[0022] The aircraft D is a moving body that moves unmanned, a so-called drone. The aircraft D is equipped with various devices such as a light source, a camera that images using infrared rays and heat sources, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a magnetic sensor, etc. The aircraft D flies according to, for example, preset content or flies according to the instructions of the information processing apparatus 1.

[0023] The aircraft D is defined with various modes, such as a monitoring mode and a search mode. The monitoring mode is a mode for monitoring a predetermined area. The aircraft D set in the monitoring mode monitors the presence or absence of people while flying in the predetermined area, and when detecting a person, it flies while capturing the person with the camera. The search mode is a mode for searching for a specific object. The aircraft D set in the search mode moves to the designated location to search for a specific object.

[0024] When an intruder enters a designated area and steals items such as equipment parts or agricultural products, it is conceivable that a vehicle would be used to transport the items or to escape faster and further. In this case, it is conceivable that using images of the intruder's vehicle would be more likely to identify the intruder than using images of the intruder themselves. Therefore, the information processing device 1 has the flying object D search for the intruder's vehicle that has entered the designated area. The following describes the processes performed by the information processing device 1.

[0025] The monitored area W shown in Figure 1 is a predetermined area defined as the range to be monitored by the aircraft D. Within the monitored area W, one or more candidate parking areas P (candidate parking areas P1, P2, and P3 in Figure 1) are defined. The candidate parking areas P shown in Figure 1 are areas located around the monitored area W, and may be, for example, parking lots, roads, or vacant lots, but any area that has space for vehicles to park is acceptable. The candidate parking areas P are, for example, areas located outside the monitored area W, but are not limited to this, and may also be areas located inside the monitored area W.

[0026] Figure 1 illustrates an example in which intruder H parks a vehicle in candidate parking area P1 and moves along path R. In this case, first, the information processing device 1 sets the mode of the aircraft D to monitoring mode, and the aircraft D begins flying over the area to be monitored W and transmits sensing data to the information processing device 1 ((1) in Figure 1). The sensing data includes, for example, data sensed by equipment on the aircraft D, such as captured images (moving images) taken by the camera on the aircraft D, the position of the aircraft D when the captured image was taken, and the orientation of the aircraft D when the captured image was taken.

[0027] When intruder H enters the monitored area W and the camera on the aircraft D detects intruder H, the information processing device 1 uses sensing data to detect intruder H and identifies the intruder H's movement path based on the detected intruder H's actions (Figure 1 (2)). The movement path is, for example, information to identify the direction in which intruder H is moving. For example, the information processing device 1 identifies at least a portion of path R as the movement path of intruder H.

[0028] The information processing device 1 selects one candidate parking area P from among candidate parking areas P1, P2, and P3 based on the movement path of the identified intruder H (Figure 1 (3)). For example, if the movement path of the identified intruder H is a path that approaches the center point of the monitored area W, the information processing device 1 selects candidate parking area P1 as a candidate parking area P located in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the intruder H as determined by the movement path of the identified intruder H. Also, for example, if the movement path of the identified intruder H is a path that moves away from the center point of the monitored area W, the information processing device 1 selects candidate parking area P1 as a candidate parking area P located in the direction of movement of the intruder H as determined by the movement path of the identified intruder H.

[0029] The information processing device 1 then instructs the aircraft D to move to the selected candidate parking area P1 and search for the vehicle in the candidate parking area P1 (Figure 1, (4)). Subsequently, the aircraft D switches its mode from monitoring mode to search mode and searches for the vehicle in the candidate parking area P1.

[0030] In this way, the information processing device 1 can increase the probability of finding the intruder H's vehicle. As a result, the information processing device 1 can acquire information about the vehicle found by the flying object D's search. Consequently, the information processing device 1 can obtain information that has a high probability of identifying the intruder H. The configuration of the information processing device 1 will be described below.

[0031] [Functional configuration of the information processing device 1] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the functional configuration of the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 comprises a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. In Figure 2, the arrows indicate the main data flow, and there may be other data flows not shown in Figure 2. In Figure 2, each functional block shows a functional unit configuration, not a hardware (device) unit configuration. Therefore, the functional blocks shown in Figure 2 may be implemented in a single device, or they may be implemented separately in multiple devices. Data exchange between functional blocks may be performed via any means, such as a data bus, network, or portable storage medium.

[0032] The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for connecting to a network and has a communication controller for receiving data from external devices.

[0033] The memory unit 12 is a large-capacity storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of the computer that implements the information processing device 1, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as the working area of ​​the information processing device 1, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores the OS (Operating System), application programs, and various information referenced when the application programs are executed.

[0034] The storage unit 12 stores information about the monitored area W, which is a predetermined area to be monitored in the information processing service. The information about the monitored area W is, for example, information that associates coordinates indicating the extent of the monitored area W with coordinates indicating the extent of each candidate parking area P. The storage unit 12 also stores map information.

[0035] The control unit 13 is a processor such as the CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the information processing device 1, and by executing the program stored in the memory unit 12, it functions as the acquisition unit 131, detection unit 132, identification unit 133, setting unit 134, human determination unit 135, selection unit 136, aircraft control unit 137, and vehicle determination unit 138.

[0036] The acquisition unit 131 acquires sensing data. The acquisition unit 131 acquires monitoring data as sensing data from the aircraft D, for example. The monitoring data is data used to monitor the area to be monitored W, and includes, for example, captured images taken with the area to be monitored W as the imaging range. The acquisition unit 131 acquires monitoring data at predetermined intervals (for example, every 1 second, every 10 seconds, every 1 minute, etc.) from the time the aircraft D is set to monitoring mode until it is switched to another mode.

[0037] The acquisition unit 131 may acquire monitoring data from devices other than the aircraft D. For example, one or more fixed cameras (not shown) are installed in the area W to be monitored, and the acquisition unit 131 acquires monitoring data from these fixed cameras.

[0038] The detection unit 132 detects subjects included in the monitoring data based on the monitoring data acquired by the acquisition unit 131. The detection unit 132 can detect subjects using, for example, known techniques. The detection unit 132 can detect people as subjects based on the monitoring data acquired by the acquisition unit 131.

[0039] When the detection unit 132 detects a person, the identification unit 133 identifies the movement path of the monitored person (the person detected by the detection unit 132) based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data. For example, first, when the detection unit 132 detects a person, the identification unit 133 identifies the movement state of that person, the monitored person, as the actions of the monitored person, based on the monitoring data. Then, when the identification unit 133 identifies a movement state indicating that the monitored person is moving, it identifies the movement path of the monitored person by identifying multiple positions of the monitored person that change as the monitored person moves.

[0040] The identification unit 133, for example, refers to map information and identifies a first location and a second location of the monitored person based on the monitoring data. The first location may be the location of the monitored person at the time of detection by the detection unit 132, or it may be the location of the monitored person at a predetermined time other than the time of detection by the detection unit 132. The second location is a different location from the first location, and may be, for example, the location of the monitored person after a predetermined period (e.g., 1 second, 10 seconds, 1 minute, etc.) has elapsed from the time of detection by the detection unit 132, or the location of the monitored person at a predetermined distance from the first location. The identification unit 133 may also identify the location of the monitored person at predetermined intervals (e.g., every 1 second, every 10 seconds, every 1 minute, etc.).

[0041] The identification unit 133 may also identify the direction of movement of the monitored person (e.g., east, west, north, south, azimuth, etc.) as the movement path of the monitored person. For example, the identification unit 133 may refer to map information and identify the direction of the second position relative to the first position as the direction of movement of the monitored person.

[0042] The identification unit 133 may identify the movement path of the person being monitored based on a reference point designated as a reference point in the monitored area W. The reference point in the monitored area W is, for example, the center of the monitored area W, or a point in the monitored area W where an object that could be stolen is located. The identification unit 133 may, for example, identify the movement path of the person being monitored as a path taken by the person moving away from the reference point in the monitored area W. The identification unit 133 may also identify the movement path of the person being monitored as a path taken by the person moving towards the reference point in the monitored area W.

[0043] In this case, the identification unit 133 may identify multiple locations of the monitored person based on the monitoring data and identify the attributes of the monitored person's movement path based on the relationship between the identified multiple locations of the monitored person and the reference point. The attributes of the monitored person's movement path are, for example, information for determining whether the monitored person's movement is toward or toward the reference point. The identification unit 133 may, for example, compare a first distance from the first location to the reference point with a second distance from the second location to the reference point and identify the attributes of the monitored person's movement path according to the length of the first distance and the second distance.

[0044] Figure 3 schematically illustrates the process of identifying the movement path of a person under surveillance. Figure 3(a) shows an example where the person under surveillance is approaching point C, which is a reference point. In Figure 3(a), position L1 is the first position, and position L2 is the second position. In this case, the second distance from position L2 to point C is shorter than the first distance from position L1 to point C, so the identification unit 133 identifies an attribute of the person under surveillance's movement path that indicates the person's movement is towards the reference point.

[0045] Figure 3(b) shows an example of a situation where the monitored person is moving away from the reference point, point C. In Figure 3(b), position L3 is the first position and position L4 is the second position. In this case, the second distance from position L4 to point C is longer than the first distance from position L3 to point C, so the identification unit 133 identifies an attribute of the monitored person's movement path that indicates the monitored person's movement is away from the reference point.

[0046] If the person being monitored is a thief, it is conceivable that after obtaining the stolen object in the monitored area W, the person being monitored will return to the vehicle. Therefore, the information processing device 1 may identify the path taken by the person being monitored after they have taken possession of the object as the person being monitored's movement path. Specifically, the information processing device 1 identifies the movement path taken by the person being monitored after they have taken possession of the object by performing the following two steps.

[0047] As a first step, the detection unit 132 further detects the object held by the person being monitored as the subject. For example, the information processing device 1 has predetermined information indicating objects that may be stolen in the monitored area W, and the detection unit 132 detects the object held by the person being monitored if it is one of the predetermined objects.

[0048] As a second step, the identification unit 133 identifies the path taken by the monitored person as moving away from the reference point in the monitored area W after the detection unit 132 has detected an object held by the monitored person, as the monitored person's movement path. For example, first, when the detection unit 132 detects an object held by the monitored person, the identification unit 133 identifies a first position and a second position at predetermined intervals (for example, every second, every ten seconds, every minute, etc.). Each time the identification unit 133 identifies a first position and a second position, it compares the first distance corresponding to the first point with the second distance corresponding to the second position and determines whether the second distance is longer than the first distance. If the identification unit 133 determines that the second distance is longer than the first distance, it identifies the first position corresponding to the first distance and the second position corresponding to the second distance as the monitored person's movement path, and identifies an attribute of the monitored person's movement indicating that the monitored person's movement is away from the reference point.

[0049] In the above, an example was described in which the information processing device 1 identifies the movement path of a monitored person based on predetermined reference points, but it is not limited to this. For example, the information processing device 1 may identify the movement path of a monitored person based on reference points set according to the actions of the monitored person. Specifically, the information processing device 1 identifies the movement path of a monitored person based on reference points set according to the actions of the monitored person by performing the following two steps.

[0050] As the first step, the setting unit 134 sets a reference point in the monitored area W based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data. For example, first, the setting unit 134 identifies the movement status of the monitored person based on the monitoring data. Alternatively, the identification unit 133 may identify the movement status of the monitored person. Then, if the setting unit 134 identifies a movement status that indicates the monitored person has not moved (stayed in one place) for a predetermined period (e.g., 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.), it sets the location of the monitored person who stayed in one place as the reference point in the monitored area W.

[0051] The setting unit 134 may also set the position of the monitored person at the time the detection unit 132 detects the object being held by the monitored person as the monitored person's action, and set the position of the monitored person at the time the detection unit 132 detects the object being held by the monitored person as the reference point of the monitored area W. If the setting unit 134 is unable to set the reference point of the monitored area W based on the monitored person's action within a predetermined period (e.g., 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, etc.) from the time the detection unit 132 detects the monitored person (e.g., if the monitored person does not stay for the predetermined period, or if the monitored person does not hold an object, etc.), the setting unit 134 may set the center point of the monitored area W as the reference point.

[0052] In the second step, the identification unit 133 identifies the movement path of the monitored person based on the reference point in the monitored area W set by the setting unit 134. In this way, the information processing device 1 can identify the movement path of the monitored person based on the reference point in the monitored area W set according to the actions of the monitored person.

[0053] The information processing device 1 may further identify the movement path of the person being monitored using information other than monitoring data. For example, one or more detection sensors, such as motion sensors, are installed in the monitored area W to detect people.

[0054] In this case, first, the acquisition unit 131 acquires information indicating that the detection sensor has detected a person. Then, the identification unit 133 identifies the movement path of the person being monitored based on the location where the detection sensor is placed, the time when the detection sensor detected a person, the location of the person being monitored identified by the monitoring data, and the time when the person being monitored was present at the location of the person being monitored.

[0055] Figure 4 schematically illustrates the process of identifying the movement path of a person being monitored. In the example shown in Figure 4, sensors E (sensors E1, E2, E3) are detection sensors, and position L5 is the position of the person being monitored at the time the detection unit 132 detects the person being monitored. In the example shown in Figure 4, it is assumed that the person being monitored is detected at position L5 after sensor E1 has detected a person.

[0056] In this case, first, the identification unit 133 identifies the movement path of the person being monitored by setting the position where the sensor E1 that detected the person at an earlier time than the time the detection unit 132 detected the person as the first position, and position L5 as the second position. Then, based on the first distance corresponding to the first position and the second distance corresponding to the second position, the identification unit 133 identifies an attribute of the movement path of the person being monitored that indicates the person's movement is toward a reference point. In this way, the information processing device 1 can improve the accuracy of identifying the movement path of the person being monitored.

[0057] In the above description, an example was given in which the identification unit 133 identifies a person who has been detected as a person to be monitored and identifies the movement route of that person, but it is not limited to this. For example, if there is a passageway through which people pass in the monitored area W, it is desirable to exclude passersby from the monitoring target. In this case, the information processing device 1 may identify a person who has been decided to be monitored as a person to be monitored and identify the movement route of that person. Specifically, the information processing device 1 identifies a person who has been decided to be monitored as a person to be monitored and identifies the movement route of that person by performing the following two steps.

[0058] As the first step, the person identification unit 135 determines whether or not to make the person detected by the detection unit 132 subject to monitoring. Specifically, the person identification unit 135 determines whether or not to make the person subject to monitoring based on the behavior of the person identified based on the monitoring data.

[0059] For example, first, the person detection unit 135 identifies the detected person's movement as human behavior. Then, if the person detection unit 135 identifies a movement that indicates a person is moving along a passageway, it determines that the person should not be subject to monitoring. In other words, if the person detection unit 135 identifies a movement that indicates a person is moving along a passageway, it determines that the person is a passerby passing through the monitored area W. On the other hand, if the person detection unit 135 identifies a movement that indicates a person is not moving along a passageway (for example, a person loitering in the passageway, a person standing still in the passageway for a predetermined period of time, etc.), it determines that the person should be subject to monitoring. In other words, if the person detection unit 135 identifies a movement that indicates a person is not moving along a passageway, it determines that the person is not a passerby passing through the monitored area W.

[0060] The person identification unit 135 determines whether or not to include a person in the monitoring area W based on whether or not the person identified based on the monitoring data is a person related to the monitoring area W. Persons related to the monitoring area W are, for example, users (administrators of the monitoring area W), etc. For example, the storage unit 12 has information stored in advance for identifying the faces of people related to the monitoring area W.

[0061] In this case, the person identification unit 135 compares the face of the detected person with the faces of people who have been registered in advance. If it determines that the detected person is a person who has been registered in advance, it decides not to include that person in the monitoring. On the other hand, if the person identification unit 135 determines that the detected person is not a person who has been registered in advance, or if it is not possible to determine whether the detected person is a person who has been registered in advance, it decides to include that person in the monitoring.

[0062] Then, the identification unit 133 identifies the person detected by the detection unit 132 and determined by the person determination unit 135 to be subject to monitoring as a person to be monitored, and identifies the movement route of the person to be monitored. In this way, the information processing device 1 can reduce the occurrence of situations in which passersby or persons related to the monitored area W are mistakenly identified as subjects to monitoring.

[0063] The selection unit 136 selects one candidate parking area P from one or more candidate parking areas P predetermined as candidates for parking a vehicle, based on the movement route of the person being monitored identified by the identification unit 133. Specifically, the selection unit 136 refers to the information and map information of the monitored area W stored in the storage unit 12 and selects one candidate parking area P from one or more candidate parking areas P that is located at the end of the movement route of the person being monitored identified by the identification unit 133. More specifically, the selection unit 136 refers to the information and map information of the monitored area W stored in the storage unit 12 and selects one candidate parking area P from one or more candidate parking areas P that is located in the direction of movement of the person being monitored from the first position.

[0064] For example, if no candidate parking area P exists along the direction of movement of the person being monitored as identified by the identification unit 133, the selection unit 136 selects a candidate parking area P located in a direction close to the direction of movement of the person being monitored. For example, if the direction identified by the identification unit 133 is "north, south, east, or west," then the "direction close to the direction of movement" is another direction adjacent to the direction of movement of the person being monitored as identified by the identification unit 133 (for example, if the direction of movement is "northwest," then "north-northwest" and "west-northwest," etc.). Also, for example, if the direction identified by the identification unit 133 is an azimuth angle, then the "direction close to the direction of movement" is within a predetermined threshold angle (for example, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, etc.) from the azimuth angle identified by the identification unit 133.

[0065] For example, if the attributes of the movement path of the person being monitored identified by the identification unit 133 indicate that the person is moving away from a reference point, the selection unit 136 selects a candidate parking area P from among one or more candidate parking areas P that is located in the direction of movement (direction of movement) of the person being monitored on the movement path identified by the identification unit 133.

[0066] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of selecting a candidate parking area P. In Figure 5, position L6 is the first position, and position L7 is the second position. In this case, first, the identification unit 133 identifies direction A1, which indicates the direction of position L7 when position L6 is the starting point, as the direction of movement of the person being monitored. Also, since the second distance from position L7 to point C is longer than the first distance from position L6 to point C, the identification unit 133 identifies an attribute of the person being monitored that indicates the person's movement is away from the reference point as an attribute of the person's movement path. Then, the selection unit 136, since the attribute of the person's movement path indicates that the person's movement is away from the reference point, selects candidate parking area P1, which is located on direction A1, from among candidate parking areas P1, P2, and P3. In this way, the information processing device 1 can estimate candidate parking areas P that have a high probability of containing the person being monitored's vehicle.

[0067] Furthermore, for example, if the attributes of the movement path of the person being monitored identified by the identification unit 133 indicate that the person being monitored is moving towards a reference point, the selection unit 136 selects a candidate parking area P from among one or more candidate parking areas P that is located in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the person being monitored in the movement path identified by the identification unit 133.

[0068] Figure 6 schematically illustrates the process of selecting a candidate parking area P. In Figure 6, position L8 is the first position, and position L9 is the second position. In this case, first, the identification unit 133 identifies direction A2, which indicates the direction of position L9 when position L8 is the starting point, as the direction of movement of the person being monitored. Also, since the second distance from position L9 to point C is shorter than the first distance from position L8 to point C, the identification unit 133 identifies an attribute of the person being monitored that indicates the person's movement is toward a reference point as an attribute of the person's movement path. Then, the selection unit 136, since the attribute of the person's movement path indicates that the person's movement is toward a reference point, selects candidate parking area P1, which is located in the direction opposite to direction A2, from among candidate parking areas P1, P2, and P3. In this way, the information processing device 1 can estimate candidate parking areas P in which the probability of the person being monitored's vehicle being located is high.

[0069] In the above description, an example was given in which the selection unit 136 selects a candidate parking area P from one or more candidate parking areas P that is located on the direction of movement of the identified monitored person or on the opposite direction of movement of the identified monitored person. However, the system is not limited to this example. For example, if the monitored area W is an intricate environment where linear movement is not possible due to obstacles such as trees or walls, the monitored person may turn in various directions, and the accuracy of estimating the area where the monitored person's vehicle is parked may decrease. Therefore, the information processing device 1 selects a candidate parking area P by selecting one candidate route from one or more predetermined candidate routes that pass between the monitored area W and the candidate parking area P.

[0070] For example, the information processing device 1 has one or more candidate routes predetermined for each combination of a monitored area W and a candidate parking area P, which are candidate routes that pass between the monitored area W and the candidate parking area P. Note that the candidate routes are not necessarily well-maintained roads connecting the monitored area W and the candidate parking area P. A line segment connecting an accessible area (for example, a grassland or forest) between the monitored area W and the candidate parking area P, even if it is not a well-maintained road, may also be defined as a candidate route.

[0071] In this case, first, the selection unit 136 selects one candidate route from among one or more candidate routes based on the movement path of the person being monitored identified by the identification unit 133. For example, the selection unit 136 selects one candidate route from among one or more candidate routes that lies either on the direction of movement of the person being monitored identified by the identification unit 133 or on the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the person being monitored identified by the identification unit 133.

[0072] Then, the selection unit 136 selects one candidate parking area P from among one or more candidate parking areas P based on the selected candidate route. Specifically, the selection unit 136 selects a candidate parking area P that lies on the selected route from among one or more candidate parking areas P. In this way, the information processing device 1 can improve the accuracy of estimating the area where the monitored person's vehicle is parked.

[0073] The aircraft control unit 137 moves the aircraft D to the selected parking area, which is a candidate parking area selected by the selection unit 136, and instructs the aircraft D to search for a vehicle in the selected parking area. Specifically, first, the aircraft control unit 137 transmits a search request to the aircraft D. The search request is a request to search for a vehicle and includes, for example, information indicating the selected parking area. When the aircraft D receives the search request, it moves to the selected parking area identified by the information contained in the search request, switches its mode from monitoring mode to search mode, and searches for a vehicle in the selected parking area.

[0074] When the aircraft control unit 137 detects a vehicle in the selected parking area, it instructs the aircraft D to perform a predetermined process. Specifically, the aircraft control unit 137 instructs the aircraft D to perform a predetermined process on the detected vehicle by executing the following four steps.

[0075] As the first step, the acquisition unit 131 acquires parking data as sensing data from the aircraft D that has moved to the selected parking area. The parking data is data used to search for vehicles in the selected parking area, and includes, for example, captured images taken with the selected parking area as the imaging range.

[0076] In the second step, the detection unit 132 detects subjects included in the parking data based on the parking data acquired by the acquisition unit 131. For example, the detection unit 132 detects a vehicle as a subject based on the parking data acquired by the acquisition unit 131.

[0077] In the third step, when the detection unit 132 detects a vehicle, the vehicle determination unit 138 determines, based on the parking data, whether the detected vehicle is the vehicle of the person being monitored. Specifically, first, the identification unit 133 identifies the state of the vehicle detected by the detection unit 132 based on the parking data acquired by the acquisition unit 131. Then, the vehicle determination unit 138 determines, based on the state of the vehicle identified by the identification unit 133, whether or not to associate the vehicle with the vehicle of the person being monitored and assign it to the aircraft D.

[0078] For example, if a vehicle's engine is running, it is possible that the person being monitored entered the monitored area W with the engine running so that they could escape immediately. In such a case, there is a high probability that the vehicle belongs to the person being monitored. Therefore, the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that a vehicle should be associated with flying object D if the condition of the identified vehicle indicates that the engine is running (for example, smoke such as exhaust gas is coming out of the muffler, the front and rear lights of the vehicle are on, etc.).

[0079] Furthermore, even if the engine of a vehicle is not running, for example, the vehicle's temperature will remain high for a while after the engine is turned off, making it highly probable that such a vehicle belongs to the person being monitored. Therefore, the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that a vehicle should be associated with flying object D if the condition of the identified vehicle indicates that the vehicle's temperature is high (for example, the engine of the vehicle is hot, or the engine of the vehicle is hotter than other parts of the vehicle).

[0080] Furthermore, in theft, for example, multiple people may be involved, each taking on different roles such as the perpetrator and the driver. Therefore, a vehicle with people inside is highly likely to belong to the person being monitored. For this reason, the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that a vehicle should be designated as an object to correspond to aircraft D when the state of the identified vehicle indicates that there are people inside.

[0081] Furthermore, for example, if the target object has already been stolen in the monitored area W, the target object may be loaded onto the back of a vehicle such as a truck. In such cases, a vehicle with the target object loaded on its back is highly likely to belong to the person being monitored. Therefore, the vehicle determination unit 138 may determine whether or not to associate the vehicle with the aircraft D based on the contents of the cargo loaded onto the vehicle, as the state of the vehicle identified based on the parking data.

[0082] Specifically, first, the identification unit 133 identifies the presence or absence of an object in the vehicle's cargo area based on the parking data acquired by the acquisition unit 131. For example, the information regarding the monitored area W further includes information indicating an object that could be targeted for theft, and the identification unit 133 refers to this information to determine whether or not an object exists in the vehicle's cargo area. Then, the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that if the identification unit 133 has identified the presence of an object, the vehicle should be designated as an object to correspond to the flying object D.

[0083] In the fourth step, if the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that a vehicle should be associated with aircraft D, the aircraft control unit 137 instructs aircraft D to perform a predetermined process on the target vehicle, which is the vehicle that the vehicle determination unit 138 has determined to be associated with aircraft D. The predetermined process is a process predetermined for purposes such as obtaining information to identify the person being monitored or mitigating theft damage. Specifically, first, the aircraft control unit 137 transmits a processing request to aircraft D to perform the predetermined process. Then, when aircraft D receives the processing request from the information processing device 1, it performs the predetermined process based on the processing request.

[0084] The aircraft control unit 137, for example, may perform a predetermined process to image the license plate of the target vehicle. For example, when aircraft D receives a processing request indicating the need to image the license plate of the target vehicle, it moves to the front or rear of the target vehicle, images the vehicle with its camera, and transmits the captured image to the information processing device 1. In this way, the information processing device 1 can obtain information to identify the person being monitored.

[0085] The aircraft control unit 137 may, as a predetermined process, execute a process to warn the target vehicle. For example, when aircraft D receives a processing request indicating that it will warn the target vehicle, it may emit light or a warning sound towards the vehicle. In this way, the information processing device 1 can more easily prevent the theft from escalating.

[0086] The aircraft control unit 137 may, as a predetermined process, drop a transmitter from above the target vehicle. For example, if aircraft D is equipped with a transmitter, and aircraft D receives a processing request indicating that it will drop the transmitter, it moves to the airspace above the cargo bed of the target vehicle and drops the transmitter. In this way, the information processing device 1 can track the target vehicle.

[0087] In this case, if the monitored area W includes a candidate parking area P, or if the monitored person enters the monitored area W by vehicle, the monitored person and the vehicle will be in the same location. Therefore, the information processing device 1 may control the aircraft D in response to the detection of a person and a vehicle. Specifically, the information processing device 1 controls the aircraft D in response to the detection of a person and a vehicle by performing the following three processes.

[0088] As a first step, the detection unit 132 further detects vehicles as subjects based on the monitoring data. Specifically, the detection unit 132 detects both people and vehicles based on the monitoring data.

[0089] In the second step, if the detection unit 132 detects a vehicle based on monitoring data including the person being monitored, the vehicle determination unit 138 determines whether or not to associate the vehicle with the aircraft D based on the state of the vehicle identified based on the monitoring data.

[0090] In the third step, the aircraft control unit 137 controls the aircraft D according to the determination result of the vehicle determination unit 138. Specifically, if the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that a vehicle should be associated with the aircraft D, the aircraft control unit 137 does not have the aircraft D search for the vehicle in the selected parking area, but instead has the aircraft D perform a predetermined process on the target vehicle that the vehicle determination unit 138 has determined to be associated with the aircraft D. However, if the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that a vehicle should be associated with the aircraft D, the aircraft control unit 137 may have the aircraft D perform a predetermined process on the vehicle regardless of whether the vehicle determination unit 138 has determined that a vehicle should be associated with the aircraft D or not.

[0091] On the other hand, if the vehicle determination unit 138 determines that a vehicle is not a target for the aircraft to be associated with, the aircraft control unit 137 will have the aircraft D search for the vehicle in the selected parking area. In this way, the information processing device 1 can associate the aircraft D with the status of a vehicle parked near the person being monitored.

[0092] [Processing flow of Information Processing Device 1] Next, the processing flow of the information processing device 1 will be explained. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the information processing device 1. This process starts when the detection unit 132 executes the process of detecting a person based on the monitoring data acquired by the acquisition unit 131 (S1).

[0093] If the detection unit 132 does not detect a person based on the monitoring data acquired by the acquisition unit 131 (indicated as NO in S1), it returns to processing S1. On the other hand, if the detection unit 132 detects a person based on the monitoring data acquired by the acquisition unit 131 (indicated as YES in S1), the person determination unit 135 determines whether or not to make that person subject to monitoring based on the actions of the person identified based on the monitoring data (S2).

[0094] If the person determination unit 135 determines that the detected person should not be subject to monitoring (if NO in S2), it returns to processing S1. On the other hand, if the person determination unit 135 determines that the detected person should be subject to monitoring (if YES in S2), the identification unit 133 identifies the movement path of the person being monitored based on the actions of the person being monitored identified based on the monitoring data (S3).

[0095] The selection unit 136 selects one candidate parking area P from among one or more candidate parking areas P based on the movement route of the person to be monitored identified by the identification unit 133 (S4). Then, the aircraft control unit 137 moves the aircraft D to the selected parking area, which is the candidate parking area selected by the selection unit 136, and has the aircraft D search for a vehicle in the selected parking area (S5).

[0096] [Effects of this embodiment] As described above, the information processing device 1 identifies the movement path of a person under surveillance based on the actions of the person under surveillance detected in the area under surveillance, moves the aircraft to a selected parking area which is one of the candidate parking areas selected from one or more candidate parking areas based on the identified movement path of the person under surveillance, and has the aircraft search for a vehicle in the selected parking area.

[0097] In this way, the information processing device 1 can increase the probability of finding the vehicle of the person being monitored. As a result, the information processing device 1 can acquire information about the vehicle found by the aircraft D's search. Consequently, the information processing device 1 can obtain information that has a high probability of identifying the person being monitored.

[0098] Furthermore, this invention will make it possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation."

[0099] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of its gist. For example, all or part of the apparatus can be configured by functionally or physically distributing and integrating in any unit. Furthermore, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combinations are combined with the effects of the original embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0100] 1. Information Processing Device 11 Communications Department 12 Storage section 13 Control Unit 131 Acquisition Department 132 Detection unit 133 Specific part 134 Settings Section 135 person judgment department 136 Selection Section 137 Flight Control Unit 138 Vehicle detection unit Direction A Point C D Flying object E sensor H Intruder L position P Candidate Parking Area R path W Monitoring Area

Claims

1. A detection unit that detects people based on monitoring data used to monitor the area under surveillance, When the detection unit detects a person, the identification unit identifies the movement path taken by the person being monitored, based on the actions of the person being monitored, who is identified based on the monitoring data, Based on the movement path identified by the identification unit, a selection unit selects one of the candidate parking areas predetermined as a candidate parking area for parking the vehicle, The aircraft control unit moves the aircraft to the selected parking area, which is the candidate parking area selected by the selection unit, and causes the aircraft to search for a vehicle in the selected parking area. An information processing device having

2. The identifying unit identifies the path taken by the monitored person in a direction away from a reference point, which is a reference point within the monitored area, as the movement path. The selection unit selects from among the one or more candidate parking areas a candidate parking area located in the direction of movement of the person being monitored along the movement path identified by the identification unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The detection unit further detects an object held by a person, The identification unit identifies the path taken by the person being monitored, after the detection unit has detected an object held by the person being monitored, in a direction away from the reference point in the monitored area, as the movement path. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The identifying unit identifies the path taken by the person being monitored in the direction of approaching a reference point, which is a reference point within the monitored area, as the movement path. The selection unit selects from the one or more candidate parking areas a candidate parking area located in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the person being monitored on the movement path identified by the identification unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The information processing device further includes a setting unit that sets a reference point in the monitored area based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data, The identification unit identifies the movement path based on the reference point of the monitoring area set by the setting unit. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

6. The information processing device further includes an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating that a sensor installed in the area to be monitored has detected a person. The identification unit identifies the movement path based on the location where the sensor is positioned, the time when the sensor detects a person, the location of the person being monitored as identified by the monitoring data, and the time when the person being monitored is present at the location of the person being monitored. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

7. The information processing device has one or more candidate routes predetermined for each combination of the monitored area and the candidate parking area, which are candidate routes for passing between the monitored area and the candidate parking area. The selection unit selects one candidate path from the one or more candidate paths based on the travel path identified by the identification unit, and selects one candidate parking area from the one or more candidate parking areas based on the selected candidate path. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

8. The detection unit detects a vehicle based on the parking data captured by the aircraft in the selected parking area. The information processing device further includes a vehicle determination unit that, when the detection unit detects a vehicle, determines whether or not to associate the vehicle with the aircraft based on the state of the vehicle identified based on the parking data, When the vehicle determination unit determines that a vehicle should be associated with the aircraft, the aircraft control unit causes the aircraft to perform a predetermined process for the vehicle that the vehicle determination unit has determined to be associated with the aircraft. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

9. The vehicle determination unit determines, based on the state of the vehicle identified based on the parking data, whether or not to associate the vehicle with the aircraft, based on the contents of the vehicle's cargo. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8.

10. The aircraft control unit, as part of the predetermined process, causes the aircraft control unit to capture an image of the license plate of the target vehicle. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8.

11. The aircraft control unit, as a predetermined process, causes the aircraft control unit to execute a process to warn the target vehicle. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8.

12. The aircraft control unit, as a predetermined process, drops the transmitter mounted on the aircraft from above the target vehicle. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8.

13. The detection unit further detects vehicles based on the monitoring data, The information processing device further includes a vehicle determination unit that, when the detection unit detects a vehicle based on the monitoring data including the person being monitored, determines whether or not to make the vehicle a target to be associated with the aircraft, based on the state of the vehicle identified based on the monitoring data. If the vehicle determination unit determines that a vehicle is a target to be associated with the aircraft, the aircraft control unit will not have the aircraft search for the vehicle in the selected parking area, but will instead have the aircraft perform a predetermined process on the target vehicle which the vehicle determination unit has determined to be a target to be associated with the aircraft. If the vehicle determination unit determines that a vehicle is not a target to be associated with the aircraft, the aircraft will have the aircraft search for the vehicle in the selected parking area. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

14. A computer executes A step of detecting a person based on monitoring data used to monitor the area to be monitored, If a person is detected, the steps include identifying the path traveled by the detected person, who is a monitored person, based on the actions of the monitored person identified based on the monitoring data, Based on the identified travel route, the step of selecting one candidate parking area from one or more candidate parking areas predetermined as candidates for parking the vehicle; The steps include moving the aircraft to the selected candidate parking area, which is the selected parking area, and having the aircraft search for a vehicle in the selected parking area, An information processing method having

15. Computers, A detection unit that detects people based on monitoring data used to monitor the area under surveillance, When the detection unit detects a person, the identification unit identifies the movement path taken by the person being monitored, based on the actions of the person being monitored, who is identified based on the monitoring data. Based on the movement path identified by the specified unit, a selection unit selects one candidate parking area from one or more candidate parking areas predetermined as candidates for parking the vehicle, and The aircraft control unit moves the aircraft to the selected parking area, which is the candidate parking area selected by the selection unit, and causes the aircraft to search for a vehicle in the selected parking area. A program designed to function as such.

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