Object search system, object detection method, and program

Abstract

According to the present invention, the performance of searching for objects in a target area can be improved. [Solution] The present invention relates to an object search system using a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting an object within a narrower detectable range than the first measuring sensor, the object search system comprising: a search operation state determination unit that determines a search state including a measurement area measured by the unmanned mobile bodies; and a search operation control unit that controls the movement state of the unmanned mobile bodies so that the position of at least one second unmanned mobile body is within a predetermined distance range from the position in the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within another predetermined range, when searching for an object. That is the case.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a target object search system, a target object detection method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] For the purpose of preventing nuisance acts, illegal poaching and the like by ships navigating on the sea, divers or submersibles navigating underwater, for the purpose of searching for shipwrecked vessels and drifters when a marine accident occurs, or for the purpose of ecological survey of marine organisms, marine monitoring using manned patrol boats and research vessels has been conventionally carried out. However, since the scope of the marine area to be monitored or surveyed is extremely vast, there is a limit to the area that can be monitored or surveyed by manned patrol boats and research vessels, resulting in the problem that areas that cannot be fully monitored or surveyed remain. In addition, when monitoring or surveying is performed by coordinating a large number of manned patrol boats, it is not easy to quickly coordinate and control them manually, and it has been difficult to appropriately perform operations such as tracking of monitored target objects. Furthermore, it has not been easy to train personnel with the skills for such coordination and control. Against this background, in recent years, the utilization of unmanned vessels and the like capable of autonomously navigating on the sea has been studied, and it is expected to be applied to the above-mentioned suspicious vessel monitoring and ecological surveys.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a mobile body control method for monitoring a monitoring target area using a plurality of mobile bodies equipped with cameras and the like, and in particular, discloses a technique for performing movement control of the mobile bodies so as to improve the coverage, which is the ratio of the monitoring area that can be monitored by the mobile bodies with respect to the monitoring target area.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a control device comprising: an other-unit information acquisition means for acquiring information on the status of other units in order to optimize the actions of the entire unmanned aircraft group while each unit constituting the group autonomously selects an action; an action comparison means for acquiring information on the status of other units from the other-unit information acquisition means and acquiring sensor signals including information on the state of the own unit, and calculating comparative values ​​for multiple types of actions that the own unit should take using the acquired information on the own unit and other units; an action selection means for selecting an action that the own unit should take based on the comparative values ​​of multiple types of actions calculated by the action comparison means; an action amount calculation means for calculating the amount of operation of the own unit using information on the action selected by the action selection means and information on the status of other units obtained from the other-unit information acquisition means; and an action setting means for setting the operation setting value of an actuator that operates the own unit using the calculation result of the action amount calculation means. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-92256 [Patent Document 2] Re-tabled publication No. 2018-105599 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] For example, when searching for objects in an underwater area, passive sonars using hydrophones or similar measurement sensors can detect objects in a relatively wide underwater area. However, passive sonars cannot detect objects that are silent and do not emit sound. Furthermore, passive sonars cannot determine the shape of an object, which can lead to misjudgments and missed detections. On the other hand, active sonars, including side-scan sonars, can detect silent objects and accurately detect their shape, but their detection range is narrower than passive sonars, and they cannot detect objects that are moving at high speeds. Thus, searching using a single measurement sensor can result in missed detections of objects in the target area. These challenges are not limited to sonars used for underwater measurements, but also apply when searching surface areas or other areas using other measurement sensors.

[0007] Furthermore, when searching for objects in a wide-area ocean, for example, it is necessary to use a measurement sensor with a wide detection range to measure a wider area. On the other hand, once an object is initially detected, it is necessary to obtain detailed information such as the object's precise location, shape, and characteristics. Thus, it is not easy to achieve both wide-area search and detailed information acquisition with a single measurement sensor.

[0008] To address the problems described above, it is conceivable to use different types of sensors that measure different information and measurement methods. However, References 1 and 2 do not consider how to efficiently achieve objectives such as object detection by combining different types of sensors.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of at least one of the above problems, and one of its objectives is to provide a system or control method, etc., that can improve the search performance for objects in the sea, on the sea, or other search target areas by using different types of sensors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to the present invention, an object search system is obtained that uses a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting the object within a narrower detectable range than the first measuring sensor, comprising: a search operation state determination unit that determines a search state including a measurement area measured by the unmanned mobile bodies; and a search operation control unit that controls the movement state of the unmanned mobile bodies so that when searching for an object, the position of at least one second unmanned mobile body is within a predetermined distance range from the position in the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within another predetermined range. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the performance of searching for objects in a target area can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is an overall configuration diagram of object search system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of an implementation image of object search system 1 in real space. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a collaborative system 5000, an external system 6000, and an object 7000. [Figure 4] This is a conceptual diagram showing how the unmanned aerial vehicle system 1000, deployed on the sea, searches for target object 7000. [Figure 5] This is a diagram showing the configuration of an unmanned vessel system 1000, which consists of multiple unmanned vessels. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a formation of a group consisting of multiple unmanned vessels 1010. [Figure 7] This is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the unmanned vessel 1010. [Figure 8] This is a diagram showing a state of detecting an underwater object 7200 using a passive sonar. [Figure 9] This is a diagram showing a state of detecting an underwater object 7200 using a side scan sonar. [Figure 10] This is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the integrated control system 2000. [Figure 11] This is a diagram showing an example of system configuration information acquired by the system information acquisition unit 2110. [Figure 12] This is a diagram showing an example of system state transition information acquired by the system information acquisition unit 2110. [Figure 13] This is a diagram showing an example of information indicating the performance and the like of the measurement sensor acquired by the sensor performance information acquisition unit 2120. [Figure 14] This is a diagram showing an example of request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2130. [Figure 15] This is a diagram showing an example of the search rate of the master unit determined by the search rate determination unit 2230. [Figure 16] This is a diagram showing an example of the search rate of the slave unit determined by the search rate determination unit 2230. [Figure 17] This is a diagram showing an example of the integrated search rate of the master unit and the slave unit determined by the search rate determination unit 2230. [Figure 18] This is a diagram showing a first state in which movement control of a plurality of groups is performed by the group movement control unit 2310. [Figure 19] This is a diagram showing a second state in which movement control of a plurality of groups is performed by the group movement control unit 2310. [Figure 20] This is a diagram showing an example of controlling the movement state of an unmanned vessel by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. [Figure 21] This is a diagram showing the first movement mode of the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. [Figure 22] This is a diagram showing the second movement mode of the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. [Figure 23]This diagram shows the third movement method of the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. [Figure 24] This diagram shows the fourth movement method of the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. [Figure 25] This figure shows an example of the determination items for an object determined by the primary detection and determination unit 2410. [Figure 26] This diagram shows the patterns of secondary measurement operations, etc., determined by the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510. [Figure 27] This figure shows an example of the relative positions of each master unit and slave unit at time t1 when the initial detection of the target object was performed. [Figure 28] This figure shows an example of the positional relationship between each master unit and slave unit that performs secondary measurement operations at time t2, a predetermined time after time t1. [Figure 29] This figure shows an example of the positional relationship between each master unit and slave unit that performs a secondary measurement operation at time t3, a predetermined time after time t2. [Figure 30] This figure shows an example of a measurement sensor determination method that determines the measurement sensor to be used for secondary measurement operations based on the primary detection judgment result and detailed measurement requests. [Figure 31] This figure shows an example of a measurement sensor determination method that determines the measurement sensor to be used for secondary measurement operation according to the combination pattern of the primary detection judgment result and the detailed measurement request. [Figure 32] This figure shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram for the Integrated Control System 2000, etc. [Figure 33] This is a flowchart showing the higher-level control flow of the object search system 1. [Figure 34] This is a flowchart showing the search state determination process flow by the search operation state determination unit 2200. [Figure 35] This flowchart shows the search operation control processing flow by the search operation control unit 2300. [Figure 36] This flowchart shows an example of the primary detection and determination processing flow by the primary detection and determination unit 2410. [Figure 37]This flowchart shows an example of the processing flow for determining secondary measurement operations by the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500. [Figure 38] This flowchart shows an example of the secondary detection and determination processing flow by the secondary detection and determination unit 2420. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The embodiments of the present invention are described below. The present invention has the following configuration. [Item 1] An object search system using a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting an object within a narrower detection range than the first measuring sensor, A search operation state determination unit that determines the search state including the measurement area measured by the aforementioned unmanned mobile device, When searching for the aforementioned object, the position of at least one of the second unmanned mobile units is An object search system comprising a search operation control unit that controls the movement state of at least one of the first unmanned mobile body and the second unmanned mobile body such that the movement state is within a range of a movement history surrounding area within a predetermined distance range from the position of the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within a range of a first measurement execution area by the first measurement sensor mounted on the first unmanned mobile body, or at a position where the first measurement execution area by the first measurement sensor and the measurable area of ​​the second measurement sensor overlap. [Item 2] In the object search system described in item 1, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The object search system is an active sonar capable of detecting an object by measuring the reflected waves of an emitted sound wave, wherein the second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object. [Item 3] In the object search system described in item 1 or 2, The first measurement sensor is a radar sensor, The aforementioned second measurement sensor is an object search system, which includes a laser sensor that emits laser light and receives the reflected laser light, an electro-optical sensor, an infrared camera, or other optical camera. [Item 4] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 3, The aforementioned first measurement sensor is a laser that emits laser light and receives the reflected laser light, an electro-optical sensor, an infrared camera, or other optical camera. The object search system wherein the second measurement sensor is a high-resolution camera that has a higher resolution of measurement data than the laser, the optical camera, or the infrared camera. [Item 5] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 4, The object search system includes a search operation control unit that controls at least one of the relative distance, position, and movement path of the plurality of unmanned mobile bodies when searching for the object. [Item 6] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 5, The search operation control unit, during the period from the start of the search for the object to the present, The ratio of the second measurement area measured by the second unmanned mobile body to the area surrounding the movement history within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, Alternatively, a value relating to the size of the overlapping area between the area surrounding the movement history of the first unmanned mobile object, within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history, and the second measurement area, Alternatively, the ratio of the second measurement area to the first measurement area measured by the first unmanned mobile body, Alternatively, an object search system that controls the movement state of the multiple unmanned mobile bodies so that the value relating to the size of the overlapping heterogeneous overlapping search area where the first measurement area and the second measurement area overlap is greater than or equal to a target value. [Item 7] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 6, An object search system in which the ratio of the second measurement area measured by the second unmanned mobile body to an area within a predetermined distance range from the position of the first unmanned mobile body is calculated from the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body and the movement history and measurement execution history of the second unmanned mobile body during the period from the start of the object search to the present. [Item 8] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 7, The value relating to the size of the overlapping area between the area surrounding the movement history of the first unmanned mobile object, within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history, and the second measurement area is: The ratio of the overlapping area to the overall search area for searching for the object, Alternatively, the ratio of the overlapping area to the local search areas obtained by dividing the overall search area into multiple areas, or the ratio of the overlapping area to the elapsed time of searching for the object, Alternatively, an object search system that is the ratio of the overlapping area to the travel distance of the first unmanned mobile body or the second unmanned mobile body. [Item 9] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 8, The ratio of the second measurement area to the first measurement area measured by the first unmanned mobile device is: An object search system calculated from the movement history and measurement execution history of the first unmanned mobile unit and the movement history and measurement execution history of the second unmanned mobile unit, from the start of the search for the object to the present. [Item 10] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 9, The value relating to the size of the overlapping heterogeneous overlap search area where the first measurement area and the second measurement area overlap is: The ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the overall search area for searching for the object, Alternatively, the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search areas to the local search areas obtained by dividing the overall search area into multiple parts, or the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the elapsed time of searching for the object, Alternatively, an object search system that is the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the travel distance of the first unmanned mobile body or the second unmanned mobile body. [Item 11] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 10, Object search system, wherein the search operation control unit controls at least one of the relative distance, arrangement, or movement path of the plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies such that the value indicating the size or ratio of the size of the overlapping search areas of the same type where the second measurement areas measured by each of the plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies overlap is less than or equal to a predetermined value. [Item 12] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 11, The first unmanned mobile body and the second unmanned mobile body are equipped with a communication unit that communicates wirelessly with each other within a communication range between the first unmanned mobile body and the second unmanned mobile body. Object search system, wherein the search operation control unit controls at least one of the relative distance, arrangement, or movement path between the first and second unmanned mobile units so that the plurality of second unmanned mobile units do not deviate from the communication range from the first unmanned mobile unit. [Item 13] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 12, When there are multiple of the aforementioned first unmanned mobile bodies, Object search system, wherein the search operation control unit controls at least one of the relative distance, arrangement, or movement path of the plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies such that the value indicating the size or ratio of the size of the overlapping search areas of the same type, where the first measurement areas measured by each of the plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies overlap, is less than or equal to a predetermined value. [Item 14] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 13, The system includes an object detection and determination unit that performs object detection and determination based on measurement data measured by the measurement sensors of the plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, An object search system comprising a secondary measurement operation control unit that controls the secondary measurement operation of the object using the plurality of unmanned mobile bodies when the object detection and determination unit has detected the object as a primary object. [Item 15] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 14, The system includes a request information acquisition unit that acquires request information for the secondary measurement operation, which is set in advance or entered by the user, and which includes detailed measurement of at least one of the shape, position, relative orientation, and relative distance of the object, as the request information. A target search system in which, when the request information acquisition unit acquires the request information, the secondary measurement operation control unit decides to perform the secondary measurement operation using the second measurement sensor. [Item 16] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 15, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. If the object detection and determination unit determines through its initial detection of the object that the object is moving at a speed of a predetermined speed or higher, The object search system includes a secondary measurement operation control unit which determines that the passive sonar is used for the secondary measurement operation. [Item 17] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 16, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. If the object detection and determination unit determines, through the initial detection of the object, that the sound level emanating from the object is below a predetermined value and is in a quiet state, The secondary measurement operation control unit determines that the active sonar is used for the secondary measurement operation, and is part of the object search system. [Item 18] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 17, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. If the object detection determination unit determines, based on the primary detection of the object, that the detection position of the object is within the measurable range of the second measurement sensors of the plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies, Object search system, wherein the secondary measurement operation control unit determines that the active sonar of the second unmanned mobile body, in which the object is within the measurable range, should be used for the secondary measurement operation. [Item 19] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 18, The search operation control unit performs the search operation for the target object using some of the multiple second unmanned mobile units. An object search system in which, when the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of the object, the secondary measurement operation control unit decides to perform the secondary measurement operation using a larger number of the second unmanned mobile units than the number of units used in the search operation. [Item 20] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 19, Object Search System: When the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of the object, the secondary measurement operation control unit moves the first unmanned mobile body to approach the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection, and causes the first unmanned mobile body to acquire measurement data of the object. [Item 21] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 20, An object search system in which, when the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of an object, the secondary measurement operation control unit narrows the relative distance between the plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies and moves the plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies to the area surrounding the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection. [Item 22] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 21, Object Search System: When the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of an object, the secondary measurement operation control unit moves a plurality of the second unmanned mobile bodies to approach the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection, and causes the plurality of the second unmanned mobile bodies to acquire measurement data of the object. [Item 23] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 22, Object Search System: When the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of the object, the secondary measurement operation control unit moves the multiple second unmanned mobile bodies to narrow the relative distance between them so that they approach the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection. [Item 24] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 23, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. The system includes a request information acquisition unit that acquires, as the request information, the request information for the secondary measurement operation, which is set in advance or entered by the user, and which includes the measurement of the sea area around the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection. A target search system in which, when the request information acquisition unit acquires the request information, the secondary measurement operation control unit decides to measure the sea area using a measurement sensor capable of measuring the sea area mounted on the first unmanned mobile body or the second unmanned mobile body. [Item 25] In the object search system described in any of items 1 to 24, The object detection and determination unit determines, when it detects a vessel based on measurement data obtained from the measurement of the sea area, that the vessel is a vessel associated with the object detected by the primary detection, in the object search system. [Item 26] A method for searching for an object using a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting the object with a narrower detection range than the first measuring sensor, Computers A search operation state determination step that determines the search state including the measurement area measured by the aforementioned unmanned mobile device, A method for searching for an object, comprising: a search operation control step, which controls the movement state of at least one of the second unmanned mobile bodies so that the position of the second unmanned mobile body is within a predetermined distance range from the position in the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within the range of the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor mounted on the first unmanned mobile body, or at a position where the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor and the measurable area of ​​the second measurement sensor overlap. [Item 27] A program usable in an object search system using a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting the object with a narrower detection range than the first measuring sensor, On the computer, A search operation state determination command for determining the search state including the measurement area measured by the aforementioned unmanned mobile device, A program that executes a search operation control command to control the movement state of at least one of the second unmanned mobile bodies when searching for the aforementioned object, such that the position of the second unmanned mobile body is within a predetermined distance range from the position in the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within the range of the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor mounted on the first unmanned mobile body, or at a position where the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor and the measurable area of ​​the second measurement sensor overlap.

[0014] <First Embodiment> Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, the embodiments shown below are merely examples, and other known elements or alternative means can be used depending on their application, purpose, or scale. In the first embodiment, an example using an unmanned boat 1010 as an example of an unmanned mobile body is described, but the unmanned mobile body is not limited to this, and can be applied to any other unmanned mobile body such as an unmanned aircraft, an unmanned vehicle, or an unmanned submarine.

[0015] [A.Configuration] (A-1. Overall System Configuration) First, the system configuration of the object search system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be explained using Figures 1 and 2.

[0016] (A-1-1. Overview of System Configuration) Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an object search system 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "System 1") according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the control system 1 comprises an unmanned vessel system 1000 and a central control system 2000. The central control system 2000 is configured to communicate with an external cooperative system 5000 and an external system 6000 via an internet connection or the like, and can input and output information. The central control system 2000 can transmit control commands to the unmanned vessel system 1000 deployed at sea via a ground base station 4000 and a communication satellite 3000, and can also receive the operating status and measurement data of the unmanned vessel system 1000. Therefore, the integrated control system 2000 can remotely control, autonomously navigate, or automatically navigate the unmanned vessel system 1000, which has multiple unmanned vessels 1010 (also called "unmanned ships") equipped with measurement sensors capable of detecting the target object 7000 and capable of navigating and moving on the sea, and perform operations such as searching for the target object 7000, detailed measurement after discovery, tracking, and surrounding it using the measurement sensors in a predetermined area (first area) on or under the sea. Here, the predetermined area is any area that can be set by user input or set in the system in advance.

[0017] The unmanned vessel system 1000 comprises one or more unmanned vessels 1010. When the unmanned vessel system 1000 is composed of multiple unmanned vessels 1010, the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 are connected to each other by wireless communication and can form a communication network. In addition, the unmanned vessel 1010 has the function of measuring objects 7000, including submersibles moving underwater, underwater drones, divers, marine life such as whales, ships on the sea surface, floating objects, people adrift, and aircraft in the air, using measurement sensors mounted on the vessel (sound wave sensors such as sonar, optical cameras, IR cameras, laser sensors such as LiDAR, radar sensors such as millimeter-wave sensors and microwave sensors, etc.).

[0018] The detection results and measurement data of the objects 7000 detected by the unmanned vessel system 1000, as well as various information on the operational status of each unmanned vessel 1010 of the unmanned vessel system 1000, are transmitted to the central control system 2000 via the communication satellite 3000 and the ground base station 4000. The central control system 2000 determines operational commands for the unmanned vessel system 1000 based on the information obtained from the unmanned vessel system 1000 and request information obtained in advance from users, etc. The generated operational commands and other information are transmitted to the user terminal device 8000 and displayed to the user. Intervention commands related to operational commands can also be obtained from the user via the user terminal device 8000.

[0019] (A-1-2. Example of implementing object search system 1 in real space) Figure 2 shows an example of an implementation image of the object search system 1 in real space. In the example shown in Figure 2, a ground base station 4000 and a central control system 2000 are provided on the ground side, as shown in the upper right of the figure. Also on the ground side are a cooperative system 5000 connected to the central control system 2000 via a network, an external system 6000, and a user terminal device 8000.

[0020] On the other hand, on the ocean side shown on the left of the diagram, the unmanned vessel system 1000 is deployed to search for objects 7000 present in the ocean. The unmanned vessel system 1000 also has multiple groups (1000a, 1000b, 1000c) consisting of a master unit and multiple slave units, and each group can communicate directly or via the communication satellite 3000.

[0021] In the example shown in Figure 2, the central control system 2000 is shown to be implemented in a land-based facility, but it is not limited to this. All or part of the functions implemented in the central control system 2000 shown in this embodiment can be installed on coastal field bases located in land-based coastal areas (not shown) or on manned mother ships at sea, and the operation and management of the unmanned vessel system 1000 can be performed at the coastal field bases or manned mother ships.

[0022] In the embodiment described in Figures 1 and 2 above, an example was described in which a non-terrestrial network using a geosynchronous orbit or low-earth orbit communication satellite 3000 is used as the communication network for sending and receiving information between the integrated control system 2000 and the unmanned vessel system 1000. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a non-terrestrial network using an unmanned aerial vehicle called a HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) can also be used. In this case, for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle that circles at an altitude of about 8 to 50 km can be used. Furthermore, as the communication network for sending and receiving information between the integrated control system 2000 and the unmanned vessel 1010, it is also possible to use a communication network that directly connects the ground base station 4000 to the unmanned vessel 1010 via wireless communication, without going through the communication satellite 3000 or HAPS. Note that the ground base station 4000 is not limited to a stationary fixed base station, but may consist of a mobile base station.

[0023] (A-1-3. Stakeholders regarding Object Search System 1) Figure 3 shows an example of a cooperative system 5000, an external system 6000, and an object 7000. As shown in Figure 3, the object search system 1 has an operator who operates the unmanned vessel system 1000 by inputting and outputting information via the user interface unit 2600 of the integrated control system 2000. If all or part of the functions implemented in the integrated control system 2000 shown in this embodiment are implemented in a coastal field base on land or a manned mother ship at sea (not shown), the operator can manage the operation of the unmanned vessel 1010 at the coastal field base or the manned mother ship.

[0024] Furthermore, the Cooperative System 5000 includes facilities and patrol boats associated with private law enforcement organizations. In this case, the Cooperative System 5000 has workers at the private law enforcement organization facilities and crew members on the patrol boats, and they cooperate with each other to monitor disruptive behavior in the marine area. In addition, the Cooperative System 5000 may also include marine research organizations, private security companies, and private rescue organizations.

[0025] Furthermore, the external system 6000 may include an environmental information provision system that provides weather information (such as wind, rain, snow, clouds, fog, and wave height) for the area where the unmanned vessel system 1000 is deployed and its surrounding areas. In addition to weather information, the external system 6000 may also include an MDA system that provides oceanographic information such as ocean currents and tidal current speed, direction, and position. The external system 6000 may also include an information provision system that provides navigation route information (such as route position, time-based traffic permit information, and traffic congestion forecast information) for the area including the target area of ​​exploration, as well as communication infrastructure information such as areas where connection to a communication network is possible.

[0026] Furthermore, the objects 7000 that can be searched by the object search system 1 and the cooperative system 5000 include marine life such as submersibles, underwater drones, divers, whales, ships on the surface, floating objects, stranded people, and flying objects in the sky. The object search system 1 can more efficiently search for objects 7000 by communicating and coordinating with the cooperative system 5000 and the external system 6000.

[0027] (A-1-4. Configuration of the unmanned vessel 1010) Figure 4 is a conceptual diagram showing how an unmanned vessel system 1000 deployed on the sea searches for an object 7000. As shown in Figure 4, multiple unmanned vessels 1010 constituting a group are deployed on the sea, and measurement sensors 1110 mounted on each unmanned vessel 1010 can detect underwater objects 7200 such as submersibles, divers, and marine life, as well as surface objects 7100 such as ships.

[0028] Measurement data and detection judgment results of the detected objects 7000 (including objects on the sea surface 7100 and objects underwater 7200) are collected at the master unit 1001 via a maritime communication network between the unmanned vessels 1010, and transmitted from the master unit 1001 to the central control system 2000 via communication satellites 3000, ground base stations 4000, and the internet. In addition, each unmanned vessel 1010 is equipped with a navigation unit 1300 that allows it to navigate in any direction, and can perform various operations for searching based on operation commands transmitted by the central control system 2000.

[0029] (A-2. Unmanned Vehicle System 1000) Next, the system configuration of the unmanned boat system 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 5 to 9.

[0030] (A-2-1. Overview of the Unmanned Vehicle System 1000) Figure 5 is a configuration diagram showing an unmanned vessel system 1000 composed of multiple unmanned vessels. As shown in Figure 5, the unmanned vessel system 1000 is composed of one or more groups (1000a, 1000b), and each group consists of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 that can communicate with each other. Furthermore, the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 that make up each group are configured to act as a master unit 1001 that can wirelessly communicate with the communication satellite 3000, or as slave units 1002 that can communicate directly or indirectly with the master unit 1001. The master unit 1001 communicates with the communication satellite 3000, aggregates information collected from the multiple slave units 1002 and transmits it to the communication satellite 3000, and has the function of directly or indirectly transmitting information related to operation commands acquired from the communication satellite 3000 and information it generates itself to each slave unit 1002.

[0031] The group 1000a shown in Figure 5 comprises a primary connected slave unit 10021 that communicates with the master unit 1001, a secondary connected slave unit 10022 that communicates with the primary connected slave unit 10021, and a tertiary connected slave unit 10023 that communicates with the secondary connected slave unit 10022. Each slave unit (primary connected slave unit 10021, secondary connected slave unit 10022, and tertiary connected slave unit 10023) has the function of relaying information received from other master units 1001 or slave units 1002 to other master units 1001 or slave units 1002, thereby enabling the formation of a communication network between the master unit 1001 and the multiple slave units 1002.

[0032] Figure 5 shows a group configuration with one master unit 1001 and multiple slave units 1002, but the group configuration is not limited to this combination, and may also have multiple master units. Furthermore, a group can be configured with a master unit 1001 and multiple primary slave units 10021, without secondary or tertiary slave units 10022 or tertiary slave units 10023.

[0033] (A-2-2. Group Composition) Figure 6 shows an example of a group formation consisting of multiple unmanned vessels 1010. In the example shown in Figure 6, the formation of group 1000a, which consists of multiple unmanned vessels 1010, and the communication connection relationships between each unmanned vessel 1010 are shown when the unmanned vessel system 1000 is to perform a search.

[0034] Group 1000a shown in Figure 6 comprises one master unit 1001 and multiple slave units 1002. Furthermore, the master unit 1001 and the multiple slave units 1002 are connected via wireless communication, as shown by the solid lines, thereby forming a wireless communication network between multiple unmanned vessels 1010 at sea. Group 1000a shown in Figure 6 illustrates an example having a primary connected slave unit 10021 that wirelessly connects to the master unit 1001, and a secondary connected slave unit 10022 that wirelessly connects to the primary connected slave unit 10021.

[0035] In this embodiment, the presence or absence of relaying by the slave unit 1002 when forming a group, and the number of relays, are not limited. The configuration may consist only of the primary connected slave unit 10021, or it may include tertiary connected slave units, quaternary connected slave units, or even higher connected slave units. The primary connected slave unit 10021 shown in Figure 6 has the function of relaying the transmission and reception of information between the master unit 1001 and the secondary connected slave unit 10022, thereby enabling the exchange of information between the master unit 1001 and multiple secondary connected slave units 10022.

[0036] Furthermore, the number of secondary connection slave units 10022 that wirelessly connect to the primary connection slave unit 10021 is not limited to one. Multiple secondary connection slave units 10022 can wirelessly connect to the primary connection slave unit 10021, thereby forming a tree-like communication network in which multiple unmanned vessels 1010 branch off within group 1000a. In addition, since there is an upper limit to the wireless communication distance between each unmanned vessel 1010, the positions of at least one of the two unmanned vessels 1010 that communicate wirelessly with each other, for example, the master unit 1001 and the primary connection slave unit 10021, and the primary connection slave unit 10021 and the secondary connection slave unit 10022, are controlled so that the relative distance between the unmanned vessels 1010 is maintained within the upper limit of the wireless communication distance.

[0037] Furthermore, if the relative distance between the two unmanned vessels 1010 increases and the other unmanned vessel 1010 moves outside the range of wireless communication, wireless communication between them will become impossible, and control commands from the central control system 2000 will not be able to be transmitted. Therefore, it is desirable for the two unmanned vessels 1010 that are connected to each other to perform self-position control to maintain the relative distance between them within the range of communication, with a higher priority than other control functions.

[0038] On the other hand, there is no need to maintain a relative distance within a predetermined range between unmanned vessels 1010 that do not communicate wirelessly with each other, in order to maintain the communication connection described above. However, in order to efficiently search for the target object 7000, which is the objective of the unmanned vessel system 1000, it is preferable for each unmanned vessel 1010 to maintain an appropriate distance so that the measurement ranges of the measurement sensors of each unmanned vessel 1010 do not overlap, or overlap to a moderate degree, rather than for each unmanned vessel 1010 to get too close and most of the measurement ranges of the measurement sensors overlap. Therefore, regarding the relative distance between unmanned vessels 1010 that do not communicate with each other, the position of at least one of the unmanned vessels 1010 is controlled with a relatively lower priority so as to maintain a predetermined relative distance during the search. This control to maintain the relative distance during the search can be achieved by applying, for example, control based on the Boids algorithm.

[0039] Furthermore, if the relative distance between the unmanned vessels 1010 becomes too close and there is a possibility of collision, position control can be performed to increase the relative distance with a relatively high priority in order to avoid a collision and prevent damage to the unmanned vessels 1010.

[0040] As described above, control to maintain the relative distance between unmanned vessels 1010 that communicate wirelessly with each other within the communication range, and avoidance control to avoid collisions with other unmanned vessels that approach at close range, are executed with relatively high priority. On the other hand, control to maintain the relative distance between unmanned vessels 1010 that do not communicate wirelessly with each other can be executed with relatively low priority.

[0041] (A-2-3. Configuration of the unmanned vessel 1010) Figure 7 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the unmanned vessel 1010. Although Figure 7 describes the functional block diagram of the unmanned vessel 1010, the master unit 1001 and the slave unit 1002 of the unmanned vessel 1010 can implement common functional units other than the measurement unit 1100 and the communication unit 1400. The unmanned vessel 1010 is equipped with a measurement unit 1100, a self-state determination unit 1200, a navigation unit 1300, a communication unit 1400, a determination unit 1500, and a recording unit 1600.

[0042] The measurement unit 1100 is a functional unit that acquires measurement data of objects 7000 located in the sea, on the sea surface, or in the air using a measurement sensor 1110. The measurement unit 1100 comprises a measurement sensor 1110 and a measurement control unit 1120.

[0043] When searching for an object in an underwater area, for example, the measurement sensor 1110 is composed of a sound wave sensor such as sonar that utilizes sound waves such as ultrasound. In this case, for example, the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001 can be a passive sonar (such as a hydrophone) that measures underwater sound waves emitted from the object, and the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit 1002 can be an active sonar, including a side-scan sonar, that detects the object 7000 by emitting sound waves and measuring the reflected waves. Furthermore, the active sonar applied as the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit 1002 can be composed of, for example, a side-scan sonar, a multi-beam sonar, or a single-beam sonar.

[0044] Furthermore, when searching for objects in areas such as the sea or the air, the measurement sensor 1110 can be composed of, for example, a radar sensor that detects objects 7000 by emitting radio waves such as millimeter waves or microwaves and receiving reflected waves, a laser sensor such as LiDAR that acquires point cloud data by irradiating with laser light and receiving reflected laser light, or an electro-optical sensor, infrared sensor (IR camera), or other optical camera that acquires optical image data.

[0045] Thus, when the target area for searching is the sea or the air, for example, a radar sensor can be applied to the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001, and a laser sensor, electro-optical sensor, infrared camera, or other optical camera can be applied to the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit 1002. Another example is to apply a laser sensor, electro-optical sensor, infrared camera, or other optical camera to the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001, and a laser sensor, electro-optical sensor, infrared camera, or other optical camera capable of acquiring measurement data with higher resolution than the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001 can be applied to the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit 1002.

[0046] In other words, regardless of whether the target area is the underwater area, the surface area, or the air area, a sensor with a wider measurable range (detection range) can be applied to the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001, and a sensor with a narrower measurable range (detection range) than the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001, and capable of acquiring different measurement data, can be applied to the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit 1002.

[0047] The measurement control unit 1120 controls the attitude angle of at least one of the three axes of the measurement sensor 1110 relative to the unmanned vessel 1010 by operating a sensor attitude change device that can change the attitude of the measurement sensor 1110. Furthermore, if the measurement sensor is, for example, an electro-optical sensor, an infrared camera, or another optical camera, the measurement control unit 1120 can adjust the frame rate, shutter speed, etc. If the measurement sensor is a laser sensor, the measurement control unit 1120 can adjust the output of the laser being emitted. If the measurement sensor is a sonar or radar sensor, the measurement control unit 1120 can adjust the output of the sound waves, millimeter waves, microwaves, etc. being emitted. The measurement control unit 1120 can also adjust the measurement sensitivity of the measurement sensor to an arbitrary control amount. Furthermore, if the measurement sensor is a photoelectro-optical sensor, the measurement control unit 1120 can change the zoom amount and resolution of the optical sensor to an arbitrary control amount.

[0048] Next, the self-equipment status determination unit 1200 comprises a navigation status determination unit 1210, an internal status determination unit 1220, and an external status determination unit 1230, and is a functional unit that determines the navigation status, internal status and external status of the unmanned vessel 1010. The navigation status determination unit 1210 determines the position (two-dimensional or three-dimensional), speed, heading, direction of movement, acceleration / deceleration, turning speed, and other state quantities related to the navigation status. The internal status determination unit 1220 determines the remaining energy and fuel levels of the battery installed on the vessel, the distance that can be traveled calculated from the remaining energy and fuel levels, temporary abnormal conditions of equipment installed on the vessel (temperature abnormalities, communication abnormalities, etc.), and equipment failure status.

[0049] Furthermore, the external status determination unit 1230 can determine the communication quality status such as communication strength (dB value, etc.), communication speed, and communication delay of wireless communication with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the unmanned vessel system 1000, or wireless communication with the integrated control system 2000 via the communication satellite 3000 or ground base station 4000, or the sea conditions around the vessel (wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, tidal current direction), meteorological conditions (wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity), weather conditions (fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, sleet, cloudy, etc.), seawater conditions (seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, pH value, presence or absence of seaweed beds, etc.), solar-related information (solar position (altitude, azimuth, trajectory), backlighting, frontlighting, solar radiation), and other conditions (moon position (altitude, azimuth, trajectory, lunar phase), ionospheric disturbances (solar flares, etc.)).

[0050] The method used by the navigation state determination unit 1210 to determine the aircraft's position, speed, direction of movement, and acceleration / deceleration rate is not particularly limited, but for example, the aircraft's position, speed, and direction of movement at the current time can be determined using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), GPS (Global Positioning System), RTK-GNSS (Real Time Kinematic - Global Navigation Satellite System), etc.

[0051] Furthermore, as another example of how the navigation state determination unit 1210 determines the position, speed, direction of movement, and acceleration / deceleration of the aircraft, if the measurement sensor 1110 can detect the seabed shape, the current position, speed, and direction of movement of the aircraft can be determined using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) technology based on the previously recorded seabed shape and the seabed shape detected by the measurement sensor 1110.

[0052] Here, the positional information includes at least two-dimensional coordinate information in a planar view (e.g., latitude and longitude), and preferably three-dimensional coordinate information including altitude. Furthermore, acceleration and deceleration can be calculated based on the time change of the determined movement speed.

[0053] Furthermore, the method for measuring the aircraft's heading involves determining the aircraft's heading at the current time using, for example, a geomagnetic sensor, a GNSS compass, or SLAM technology utilizing the seabed shape. The heading includes at least the attitude angle (direction) in a plan view around the Z axis, and preferably includes attitude information around three axes: the X, Y, and Z axes. The turning speed can be calculated based on the amount of change over time of the determined heading information.

[0054] Next, the navigation unit 1300 comprises a thrust generating unit 1310, an attitude control mechanism 1320, and a navigation control unit 1330, and is a functional unit that navigates the aircraft in any direction according to operation commands received via the communication unit 1400. The thrust generating unit 1310 can be made of any means capable of generating thrust, and as an example, it can be made of a propeller driven using the power of an engine or electric motor. The thrust generating unit 1310 can also be made of a sail that generates thrust by receiving wind, or it can be made of a wave glider that generates thrust by receiving wave force.

[0055] The attitude control mechanism 1320 consists of a rudder plate on the aircraft and a propeller attitude change mechanism that can change the attitude angle of the propeller (mainly the yaw angle around the Z axis). By changing these angles, the aircraft's heading direction (yaw angle) can be controlled. In addition, the attitude angles of the aircraft's roll angle around the X axis and pitch angle around the Y axis can also be controlled by a center of gravity position change mechanism that changes the position of heavy objects inside the aircraft using actuators.

[0056] Furthermore, the navigation control unit 1330 is a functional unit that controls the aircraft's navigation operation by controlling the thrust generation unit 1310 and the attitude control mechanism 1320. The navigation control unit 1330 has one or more processors, such as a programmable processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), MPU, or DSP), and includes a processing unit that can access memory (storage unit). The memory stores logic, code, and / or program instructions that the processing unit can execute to perform one or more processing steps.

[0057] The processing unit includes a control module configured to control the aircraft's navigation state. For example, the control module adjusts the aircraft's position on the sea surface, speed, acceleration / deceleration, heading, turning speed, and attitude angles around the three axes. In other words, the navigation control unit 1330 controls the aircraft's navigation by causing it to perform various actions such as moving forward, backward, accelerating, decelerating, and turning.

[0058] Next, the communication unit 1400 is a functional unit that communicates with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the group and with the central control system 2000. Here, the communication unit 1400 of the master unit 1001 is equipped with both an inter-unmanned vessel communication unit 1410 that can communicate wirelessly with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the group, and a central control communication unit 1420 that can communicate with the central control system 2000. On the other hand, the communication unit 1400 of the slave unit 1002 is equipped with an inter-unmanned vessel communication unit 1410 that can communicate wirelessly with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the group, and does not need to be equipped with the central control communication unit 1420.

[0059] The unmanned vessel communication unit 1410 is equipped with a communication antenna for use in a maritime wireless communication network and is a functional unit that communicates with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the same group that are within communication range. The central control communication unit 1420 is equipped with a satellite communication antenna capable of communicating with the communication satellite 3000, or a communication antenna capable of direct communication with the ground base station 4000, and communicates with the central control system 2000 via the communication satellite 3000 or the ground base station 4000. In addition to the above-mentioned communication units, the communication unit 1400 may also be equipped with an AIS antenna or a VHF antenna and have a communication unit that communicates with an external surveillance vessel or AIS base station.

[0060] Next, the determination unit 1500 is a functional unit that performs data processing such as primary processing and data compression of measurement data acquired by the measurement sensor 1110. For example, the determination unit 1500 can perform primary processing to process the raw data (measurement data) after measurement acquired by the measurement sensor 1110 and generate transmission data for wireless transmission from the unmanned boat system 1000 to the central control system 2000. Furthermore, in order to reduce the transmission load when wirelessly transmitting the transmission data from the unmanned boat system 1000 to the central control system 2000, the determination unit 1500 can perform data compression processing to compress the raw data (measurement data) after measurement and generate transmission data.

[0061] Furthermore, the determination unit 1500 can interpret the state of the object 7000 by performing primary processing on the measurement data, and can determine the presence or absence of a detected object, the size of the detected object, and so on. It may also have a function to determine whether or not to transmit measurement data and data for transmission from the unmanned boat system 1000 to the integrated control system 2000, or to select the data to be transmitted, based on the interpretation results.

[0062] Next, the recording unit 1600 comprises a measurement data recording unit 1610, a self-equipped aircraft status recording unit 1620, a judgment information recording unit 1630, and a navigation command information recording unit 1640. The measurement data recording unit 1610 records measurement data measured by the measurement unit 1100. The self-equipped aircraft status recording unit 1620 records various status information about the aircraft determined by the self-equipped aircraft status determination unit 1200. The judgment information recording unit 1630 records various judgment information determined by the determination unit 1500. The navigation command information recording unit 1640 records navigation commands (moving target position, moving target route, movement method, etc.) received from the integrated control system 2000 via the communication unit 1400.

[0063] Here, the external environment at sea can change significantly, and wireless communication between the unmanned vessel 1010 (master unit) and the central control system 2000 via the central control communication unit 1420 may be temporarily interrupted. Even in such cases, the unmanned vessel 1010, equipped with a navigation command information recording unit 1640, can record navigation commands (moving target position, moving target route, movement method, etc.) received from the central control system 2000. Therefore, even if wireless communication with the central control system 2000 is temporarily interrupted and the latest navigation commands cannot be received, the unmanned vessel 1010 can continue search operations based on the navigation commands recorded in the navigation command information recording unit 1640.

[0064] (A-2-4. Method for detecting objects using sonar) Next, using Figures 8 and 9, we will explain a method for detecting underwater objects 7200 using passive sonar and side-scan sonar (active sonar) as measurement sensors 1110.

[0065] Figure 8 shows how a passive sonar is used to detect an underwater object 7200. In the example shown in Figure 8, by measuring sound waves in the sea using a passive sonar with a hydrophone mounted on the master unit 1001, sound waves emitted from an underwater object 7200 that is within the detection range of the passive sonar can be detected, and the presence and approximate location of the underwater object 7200 can be determined.

[0066] Figure 9 shows how a side-scan sonar is used to detect an underwater object 7200. In the example shown in Figure 9, the side-scan sonar mounted on the sub-unit 1002 emits ultrasonic waves in a fan shape perpendicular to the direction of travel of the sub-unit 1002. By receiving the ultrasonic waves that are reflected back from the seabed, the seabed topography and the precise location of the underwater object 7200 can be detected. Furthermore, by performing measurements while the sub-unit 1002 is moving forward, the shape of the seabed topography and the underwater object 7200 can be measured as an image.

[0067] Generally, passive sonar has a wider detection range than active sonar, but it cannot detect underwater objects 7200 when they are quiet, nor can it determine the precise location or shape of the underwater objects 7200. On the other hand, active sonar can detect underwater objects 7200 when they are quiet, and can determine the precise location and shape of the underwater objects 7200, but its detection range is narrower than passive sonar, and it is difficult to detect underwater objects 7200 when they are moving at high speed.

[0068] (A-3. Integrated Control System 2000) Next, the functions and contents of the integrated control system 2000 will be explained using Figures 10 to 24. Figure 10 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the integrated control system 2000. As shown in Figure 10, the integrated control system 2000 includes an information import unit 2100, a search operation state determination unit 2200, a search operation control unit 2300, an object detection determination unit 2400, a secondary measurement operation control unit 2500, a user interface unit 2600, a recording unit 2700, and an information communication unit 2800.

[0069] (A-3-1. Information Import Unit 2100) The information import unit 2100 is a functional unit that imports information to be processed or used in each functional unit within the integrated control system 2000 from the unmanned vessel 1010, the cooperative system 5000, or the external system 6000. The information import unit 2100 includes a system information acquisition unit 2110, a sensor performance information acquisition unit 2120, a request information acquisition unit 2130, and an unmanned vessel data acquisition unit 2140.

[0070] The system information acquisition unit 2110 is a functional unit that acquires information regarding the system configuration of the unmanned vessel system 1000, information regarding the state transitions of the object search system 1, etc., in advance before executing the search operation.

[0071] Figure 11 shows an example of system configuration information acquired by the system information acquisition unit 2110. As shown in Figure 11, the system information acquisition unit 2110 can acquire information such as the total number of groups if the unmanned boat system 1000 is composed of multiple groups, the total number of unmanned boats 1010 that make up the unmanned boat system 1000, the number of unmanned boats 1010 that make up each group, and the number of master units 1001 and slave units 1002.

[0072] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11, the system information acquisition unit 2110 can also acquire information such as the type of communication (e.g., WiFi), communication range, and communication performance (communication speed, communication delay time) in wireless communication between the unmanned vessels 1010, and the type of communication (satellite communication, ground base station), and communication performance (communication speed, communication delay time) in wireless communication between the unmanned vessels 1010 and the central control system 2000.

[0073] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11, the system information acquisition unit 2110 can also acquire information regarding the measurement sensors mounted on the unmanned vessel 1010. For example, it can include information on the type of underwater sensor (passive sonar (hydrophone), etc.) and surface sensor (S / X band radar) as measurement sensors mounted on the master unit, and information on the type of underwater sensor (active sonar (side scan sonar), etc.) and surface sensor (high-resolution EO camera, etc.) as measurement sensors mounted on the slave unit.

[0074] Next, Figure 12 shows an example of system state transition information acquired by the system information acquisition unit 2110. The system information acquisition unit 2110 pre-sets the state transition rules for the object search system 1 shown in Figure 12 in system 1.

[0075] In the example shown in Figure 12, the operating status of the object search system 1 is as follows: a monitoring navigation state (ST01) in which a search operation is performed according to a search operation command generated by the search operation control unit 2300; a state in which a candidate object has been detected by the primary detection determination unit 2410 (ST02); a state in which an object has been initially detected (initial detection) by the primary detection determination unit 2410 (ST03); a secondary measurement state (ST04) in which a secondary measurement operation is performed according to a secondary measurement operation command generated by the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500; and based on the measurement data acquired by the secondary measurement operation. The system has the following states: a secondary detection determination state (ST05) in which the secondary detection determination unit 2420 performs a secondary detection determination of the target object; a remeasurement state (ST06) in which secondary measurement is performed again after the secondary detection determination; a position acquisition loss state (ST07) in which the position acquisition of the initially detected target object is lost; a reacquisition search state (ST08) for acquiring the position of the target object again; a continuous acquisition navigation state (ST09) in which the target object is acquired continuously after the secondary detection determination; an execution state of an operation different from the above operations (ST10); and a search operation completion state (ST10).

[0076] Next, the sensor performance information acquisition unit 2120 is a functional unit that acquires information regarding the performance and characteristics of the measurement sensors 1110 mounted on the master unit and slave unit in advance before executing the search operation. Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of information indicating the performance of the measurement sensors acquired by the sensor performance information acquisition unit 2120. In the example shown in Figure 13, the information includes detection performance for various measurement sensors, including passive sonar (hydrophone), active sonar (side scan sonar), passive sensor (magnetic sensor), active sensor (underwater LiDAR), which are classified as underwater sensors, and radar (millimeter-wave radar, S / X band radar), laser (LiDAR), and optical camera (IR camera, EO camera, high-resolution EO camera), which are classified as surface sensors. Detection performance includes the width of the detection range, whether or not fast-moving objects can be detected, whether or not quiet objects can be detected, whether or not the shape of the object can be recognized, the detection accuracy of the relative direction of the object as seen from the measurement position, and the detection accuracy of the relative distance from the measurement position to the object.

[0077] In the comparison of the detection performance of passive sonar (hydrophone) and active sonar (side-scan sonar), which are underwater sensors shown in Figure 13, passive sonar (hydrophone) has a wide detection range and can detect fast-moving objects, but it cannot detect quiet objects or recognize the shape of objects. Also, the accuracy of detecting the relative direction and relative distance of objects is relatively low. On the other hand, active sonar (side-scan sonar) has a relatively narrow detection range and it is difficult to detect fast-moving objects. However, it can detect quiet objects and recognize the shape of objects, and the accuracy of detecting the relative direction and relative distance of objects is relatively high. Furthermore, in the comparison of the detection performance of other underwater sensors, such as passive sensors (magnetic sensors) and active sensors (underwater LiDAR), shown in Figure 13, passive sensors (magnetic sensors) have a relatively wide detection range and are excellent at detecting fast-moving objects, but they cannot recognize the shape of objects or measure the relative direction of objects, and the accuracy of measuring relative distance is also poor. On the other hand, active sensors (underwater LiDAR) have a narrower detection range than magnetic sensors and are less capable of detecting fast-moving objects, but they have the advantage of being able to recognize the shape of objects and have high accuracy in detecting the relative direction and relative distance of objects.

[0078] Next, we will explain the comparison of the detection performance of the maritime sensors shown in Figure 13. Regarding the detection range, S / X band radar has a wide detection range, followed by laser sensors such as LiDAR, IR cameras, and EO cameras, which have a moderately wide detection range, followed by high-resolution EO cameras and millimeter-wave radar, which have narrower detection ranges. In particular, the detection range of S / X band radar is very wide compared to other sensors. Furthermore, there is no significant difference among the sensors in the detection accuracy of objects in high-speed moving or quiet conditions. Regarding the accuracy of object shape recognition, laser sensors such as LiDAR have the highest shape recognition accuracy, followed by optical cameras. On the other hand, radar sensors (S / X band radar, millimeter-wave radar) have difficulty with shape recognition. Furthermore, regarding the accuracy of relative distance measurement, LiDAR and millimeter-wave radar are relatively superior to other sensors. Although not shown in Figure 13, the resolution of the measurement data generally decreases in the order of laser sensors such as LiDAR, high-resolution EO cameras, EO cameras, IR cameras, and radar sensors.

[0079] Here, the measurement sensors mounted on the master unit and slave unit are not limited to the sensors shown in Figure 11, but may be other combinations of measurement sensors. Here, it is desirable that the measurement sensor mounted on the master unit has a wider detection range than the measurement sensor mounted on the slave unit, and that the measurement sensor mounted on the master unit is a different type of sensor that can acquire different measurement data from the measurement sensor on the slave unit. For this reason, a desirable combination of underwater sensors mounted on the master unit and slave unit is one in which the master unit is equipped with at least one of a passive sonar (hydrophone) and a passive sensor (magnetic sensor, other underwater passive sensor), and the slave unit is equipped with at least one of an active sonar (side-scan sonar) and an active sensor (underwater LiDAR, other underwater active sensor).

[0080] Therefore, considering the characteristics of each sensor described above, it is desirable that, for example, the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001 be an S-band or X-hand radar sensor, and the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit 1002 be a laser sensor, electro-optical sensor, infrared camera, or other optical camera, or millimeter-wave radar. Another example is that the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001 is an S-band or X-hand radar sensor, electro-optical sensor, infrared camera, or other optical camera, and the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit 1002 is a laser sensor, electro-optical sensor, infrared camera, or other optical camera capable of acquiring measurement data with higher resolution than the measurement sensor 1110 of the master unit 1001.

[0081] Next, the request information acquisition unit 2130 is a functional unit that acquires request information regarding search operations, secondary measurements, or other operations, which is received from the user via the user interface unit 2600, user terminal device 8000, or cooperative system 5000 (described later), or pre-set request information, before the execution of the search operation. Figure 14 shows an example of request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2130. In the example shown in Figure 14, the user request information includes search operation requests, secondary measurement requests, and other operation requests. The search operation requests include underwater search conditions, object determination conditions, and underwater target search performance.

[0082] The underwater search conditions include information specifying the type, location, and range of the search area (including areas on the sea, underwater, and in the air), and information specifying the search period, including the start and end dates and times for conducting the search. The object determination conditions include information such as shape, size, type, and material, which indicate the conditions under which the object detection and determination unit 2400 determines that an object is an object based on measurement data measured by the unmanned vessel 1010.

[0083] The underwater target search performance includes target values ​​for the target search rate of the master unit, the target search rate of the slave units, and the combined search rate of the master and slave units. Here, the target search rate of the master unit (also called the target coverage rate) can be defined as the ratio of the area measured by the master unit's measurement sensor 1110 to the entire area of ​​the search target area described above, or the ratio of the area measured by the master unit's measurement sensor 1110 to local search areas obtained by dividing the search target area into multiple areas. Furthermore, the underwater target search performance is not limited to the target search rate of the master unit described above, but can also be defined by the detection probability (also called the target discovery probability, detection rate, or encounter rate), which indicates the probability of the master unit detecting an object.

[0084] Furthermore, the target search rate (also called the target coverage rate) of the sub-unit can be defined as the ratio of the sub-unit measurement area measured by the sub-unit's measurement sensor 1110 to the total area of ​​the search target area described above, or the ratio of the sub-unit measurement area measured by the sub-unit's measurement sensor 1110 to local search areas obtained by dividing the search target area into multiple areas. In addition, the underwater target search performance can be defined not only by the target search rate of the sub-unit described above, but also by the detection probability (also called the target discovery probability, detection rate, or encounter rate), which indicates the probability of the sub-unit detecting an object.

[0085] Furthermore, the target value for the combined search rate of the master and slave units can be defined by one of the following multiple patterns. • The percentage of the area measured by the slave unit's measurement sensor 1110 within the area surrounding the movement history within a predetermined distance range from the location of the master unit's movement history (Pattern 1). • A value (Pattern 2) relating to the size of the overlapping area between the area surrounding the movement history within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history of the master unit, and the measurement area of ​​the slave unit measured by the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit. • The ratio of the measurement area measured by the slave unit's measurement sensor 1110 to the measurement area measured by the master unit's measurement sensor 1110 (Pattern 3). • A value relating to the size of the heterogeneous overlap search area where the master unit measurement area and the slave unit measurement area overlap (Pattern 4).

[0086] Pattern 1 of the target value for the combined search rate of the master and slave units described above can be calculated based on the movement history of the master unit, the movement history of the slave unit, and the measurement execution history during the period from the start of the search for the target object to the present (i.e., the search period).

[0087] Pattern 2 of the target value for the integrated search rate of the master and slave units described above can be set by, for example, the ratio of the overlapping area described above to the overall search area (i.e., the search target area) in which the object is searched for, or the ratio of the overlapping area described above to the local search areas obtained by dividing the overall search area into multiple parts, or the ratio of the overlapping area described above to the elapsed time of searching for the object, or the ratio of the overlapping area described above to the distance traveled by the master or slave unit.

[0088] Pattern 3 of the target value for the combined search rate of the master and slave units described above can be calculated based on the movement history and measurement execution history of the master unit and the movement history and measurement execution history of the slave unit from the start of the search for the target object to the present (i.e., the search period).

[0089] Pattern 4 of the target value for the integrated search rate of the master and slave units described above can be set by, for example, the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the overall search area (i.e., the search target area) in which the object is searched, or the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the local search areas obtained by dividing the overall search area into multiple parts, or the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the elapsed time of searching for the object, or the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the distance traveled by the master or slave unit during the search period.

[0090] Next, the secondary measurement requests include detailed measurement requests for underwater and surface measurements. Detailed measurement requests for underwater are requests for detailed measurement of objects detected by primary detection, and include, for example, detailed shape measurement to measure the detailed shape, detailed orientation measurement to measure the relative orientation from the measurement sensor in detail, detailed distance measurement to measure the relative distance from the measurement sensor in detail, or detailed position measurement to measure the position of the object in detail.

[0091] A request for measurement at sea is, for example, a request for measurement of the sea area surrounding the location of an object detected by primary detection. This request includes information specifying the measurement area to be measured at sea (e.g., the circumference of the object underwater in meters), the detection criteria for the object detected at sea, and the specification of the recording information to be used when an object detected at sea is found.

[0092] Next, other action requests include notification action requests and tracking action requests. Notification action requests include requests to notify the user, that is, requests to notify the user of primary detection results, secondary detection results, etc., via the user interface unit 2600, user terminal device 8000, cooperative system 5000, etc., which will be described later. Tracking action requests include requests to track or surround objects in the sea detected by primary detection using the unmanned vessel 1010, and requests to track or surround objects on the sea detected according to the sea surface measurement request using the unmanned vessel 1010.

[0093] Next, the unmanned vessel data acquisition unit 2140 is a functional unit that acquires various information such as measurement data and self-equipment status information from the unmanned vessel 1010 during the execution of a search operation or a secondary measurement operation. The unmanned vessel data acquisition unit 2140 can acquire, for example, measurement data measured by the measurement unit 1100 of the unmanned vessel 1010, various information regarding the self-equipment status determined by the self-equipment status determination unit 1200, and various information determined or generated by the determination unit 1500 in real time during the operation of the unmanned vessel system 1000.

[0094] (A-3-2. Search operation status determination unit 2200) The search operation status determination unit 2200 is a functional unit that determines the search status in real time, including the measurement area measured by multiple unmanned vessels 1010, based on various information acquired by the aforementioned unmanned vessel data acquisition unit 2140. The search operation status determination unit 2200 includes a placement status determination unit 2210, a communication status determination unit 2220, and a search rate determination unit 2230.

[0095] The Deployment Status Determination Unit 2210 is a functional unit that determines the deployment status of each of the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 constituting the unmanned vessel system 1000 based on the self-status information of the unmanned vessels 1010, particularly information regarding their position, acquired by the Unmanned Vehicle Data Acquisition Unit 2140. The Deployment Status Determination Unit 2210 can determine, for example, the relative distance between a master unit and a slave unit that communicate with each other within a group, the relative distance between multiple slave units belonging to a common group, the relative distance between master units belonging to multiple groups, the deployment relationships between multiple groups, and the deployment relationships between master units and slave units within a group. The Deployment Status Determination Unit 2210 can also determine the movement history and measurement execution history of the master and slave units during the period from the start of the search to the present.

[0096] The communication status determination unit 2220 can determine the communication quality status, such as communication strength (dB value, etc.), communication speed, and communication delay, in wireless communication between the master unit and slave units within the unmanned vessel system 1000, wireless communication between slave units and other slave units, and wireless communication between the master unit and the central control system 2000 via the communication satellite 3000 and ground base station 4000, based on the self-status information of the unmanned vessel 1010 acquired by the unmanned vessel data acquisition unit 2140, particularly information regarding the communication quality status. The communication status determination unit 2220 can calculate the communication range of the master unit based on the communication strength between the master unit and slave units and the location information of the master unit.

[0097] The search rate determination unit 2230 is a functional unit that determines in real time the search rate by the unmanned vessel system 1000, that is, the search rate of the master unit, the search rate of the slave unit, the combined search rate of the master and slave units, or the detection probability, which indicates the probability of detecting an object by the unmanned vessel. The search rate of the master unit, the search rate of the slave unit, and the combined search rate of the master and slave units, as determined by the search rate determination unit 2230, will be explained below with reference to Figures 15 to 17.

[0098] Figure 15 shows an example of the master unit's search rate determined by the search rate determination unit 2230. There are several ways to define the master unit's search rate, but in the example shown in Figure 15, the search rate is shown as the ratio of the area measured by the master unit's measurement sensor 1110 (passive sonar) to the total area of ​​the search target area (specified sea area) included in the request information.

[0099] As shown in Figure 15, a predetermined area around one master unit in each group (the area inside the dotted circle) becomes the detection range of the passive sonar installed on the master unit. Therefore, the predetermined area around the master unit's movement path (solid arrow) from the start of the search to the present becomes the measurement area by the passive sonar. In this way, the ratio of the area measured by the master unit's passive sonar to the total area of ​​the search target can be calculated using the master unit's movement history and measurement history information from the start of the search to the present.

[0100] Furthermore, the search rate of the master unit can also be defined not as a percentage of the entire search area as described above, but as a percentage of the area where the master unit measurement is performed within the local search area obtained by dividing the search area into multiple areas.

[0101] Figure 16 shows an example of the sub-unit's search rate determined by the search rate determination unit 2230. There are several ways to define the sub-unit's search rate, but in the example shown in Figure 16, the search rate is defined as the ratio of the sub-unit's measurement area measured by the sub-unit's measurement sensor 1110 (side scan sonar) to the total area of ​​the search target area (specified sea area) included in the request information.

[0102] As shown in Figure 16, the predetermined area around the three sub-units in each group (the area inside the dotted circle) is the detection range of the side-scan sonar mounted on the sub-units. Therefore, the predetermined area around the sub-unit's movement path (solid arrow) from the start of the search to the present becomes the measurement area by the side-scan sonar. In this way, by using the sub-unit's movement history and measurement history information from the start of the search to the present, it is possible to calculate the ratio of the measurement area of ​​the sub-unit's side-scan sonar to the total area of ​​the search target area.

[0103] Furthermore, the method for defining the slave device detection rate is not as a percentage of the entire area to be searched, as described above, but rather as the percentage of the slave device measurement area within the local search area obtained by dividing the search area into multiple areas.

[0104] Figure 17 shows an example of the combined search rate of the master and slave units determined by the search rate determination unit 2230. The combined search rate of the master and slave units can be defined by one of several patterns described below, but the example shown in Figure 17 specifically shows an example of the search rate when the combined search rate of the master and slave units is defined as the ratio (Pattern 3) of the area measured by the side-scan sonars of multiple slave units to the area measured by the master unit's passive sonar. • The percentage of the area measured by the slave unit's measurement sensor 1110 within the area surrounding the movement history within a predetermined distance range from the location of the master unit's movement history (Pattern 1). • A value (Pattern 2) relating to the size of the overlapping area between the area surrounding the movement history within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history of the master unit, and the measurement area of ​​the slave unit measured by the measurement sensor 1110 of the slave unit. • The ratio of the measurement area measured by the slave unit's measurement sensor 1110 to the measurement area measured by the master unit's measurement sensor 1110 (Pattern 3). • A value relating to the size of the heterogeneous overlap search area where the master unit measurement area and the slave unit measurement area overlap (Pattern 4).

[0105] As shown in Figure 17, the predetermined area around the master unit (the area inside the dotted circle) is the detection range of the passive sonar installed on the master unit, and the predetermined area around the master unit's movement path (solid arrow) from the start of the search to the present is the measurement area performed by the passive sonar. Similarly, the predetermined area around the three slave units (the area inside the dotted circle) is the detection range of the side-scan sonar installed on the slave units, and the predetermined area around the slave units' movement path (solid arrow) from the start of the search to the present is the measurement area performed by the side-scan sonar. Therefore, based on the movement history and measurement history information of the master and slave units from the start of the search to the present, it is possible to calculate the ratio of the measurement area of ​​the slave units' side-scan sonar to the measurement area performed by the passive sonar.

[0106] (A-3-3. Search operation control unit 2300) Next, the search operation control unit 2300 is a functional unit that controls the movement state of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 (including master and slave units) when the unmanned vessel system 1000 performs a search for an object. The search operation control unit 2300 can, for example, control at least one of the relative distance, position, or movement path of the multiple unmanned vessels 1010. The search operation control unit 2300 comprises a group movement control unit 2310, an unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320, and a measurement operation control unit 2330.

[0107] The group movement control unit 2310 is a functional unit that controls the movement of multiple groups. For example, the group movement control unit 2310 can control at least one of the relative distance, position, movement path, and movement speed of the master unit of each group. Here, the movement control of multiple groups by the group movement control unit 2310 will be explained using Figures 18 and 19.

[0108] Figure 18 shows the first scenario in which the group movement control unit 2310 controls the movement of multiple groups. Figure 19 shows the second scenario in which the group movement control unit 2310 controls the movement of multiple groups. Figures 18 and 19 show the future movement paths (dotted arrows) of the master units of each group determined by the group movement control unit 2310. In Figures 18 and 19, the light gray areas indicate the master unit measurement areas measured by the master unit's measurement sensor 1110 (passive sonar). In Figure 18, the dark gray areas indicate the same-type overlap search areas where the master unit measurement areas of different groups overlap.

[0109] For example, the group movement control unit 2310 can control at least one of the relative distance, arrangement, or movement path of the master units of multiple groups so that the area (or volume) of the overlapping search area where the passive sonar measurement areas (gray areas) measured by the master units of multiple groups overlap, or the ratio of that area (or volume) to the entire search target area, is less than or equal to a predetermined value. Therefore, the example shown in Figure 18 shows an example of determining a future movement path so as to avoid the measurement areas of each other's passive sonars, so as not to increase the size or ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping search area. Similarly, in the example shown in Figure 19, although no overlapping search area exists at present, the future movement path is determined so as to avoid the measurement areas of each other's passive sonars, so as not to increase the size or ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping search area. Here, as an example of a control method to avoid each other's passive sonar measurement areas, for example, the future movement path of each master unit can be determined by increasing the repulsion parameter, which is a control parameter for extending the relative distance.

[0110] As described above, when the group movement control unit 2310 controls the movement of multiple groups, it is also possible to control the movement of the master units so that the area (or volume) of the same type of overlapping search area, or the ratio of said area (or volume) to the entire search target area, is less than or equal to a predetermined value, by increasing the value of the repulsion force, which is a control parameter that determines the relative position between multiple master units.

[0111] The unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 is a functional unit that controls the movement status of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 (including master and slave units) that constitute each group. For example, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 controls at least one of the relative distance, position, or movement path of the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 within the group.

[0112] As an example, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 has a function to control the movement state of at least one of the parent and child units so that the position of at least one child unit in the group is within a predetermined distance range from the parent unit's movement history position from the start of the search to the present, or within the range of the parent unit measurement area performed by the passive sonar mounted on the parent unit, or at a position where the parent unit measurement area performed by the parent unit's passive sonar and the detectable area of ​​the child unit's side-scan sonar overlap. This is determined by the deployment state determination unit 2210.

[0113] Here, using Figure 20, we will explain an example of movement control between the master and slave units by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. Figure 20 is a diagram showing an example of controlling the movement state of an unmanned vessel by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. In Figure 20, the movement history of the master unit and the history of the measurement area performed by the passive sonar, the movement history of the slave unit and the history of the measurement area performed by the side-scan sonar, and the range in which communication with the master unit is possible are shown, respectively.

[0114] The unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 has a function to control the relative distance between multiple unmanned vessels 1010 so that multiple unmanned vessels 1010 navigating simultaneously do not get too close to each other and collide. For example, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 has a function to determine that unmanned vessels whose relative distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, or unmanned vessels whose relative speed with respect to each other is faster than a predetermined value, are unmanned vessels that require collision prevention action, and to increase the repulsive force parameter, which is a control parameter for extending the relative distance between unmanned vessels that require collision prevention, thereby controlling the movement state of the unmanned vessels to widen the relative distance.

[0115] The unmanned vessel system 1000 requires wireless communication between the master unit and the slave units to exchange control information and other data, and it is desirable to maintain constant communication as much as possible. Therefore, as shown in Figure 20, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 may have a function to control at least one of the placements of the master unit and the slave units, the movement path, or the relative distance between the master unit and the slave units, based on the current placement relationship between the master unit and the slave units determined by the placement status determination unit 2210, so that the slave units in the group do not go outside the communication range with the master unit.

[0116] Here, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 can control the movement state of the unmanned vessel so that the relative distance between the master unit and the slave unit remains within the communication range from the master unit, by increasing the attractive parameter, which is a control parameter for reducing the relative distance, as an example of a control method for controlling the relative distance between the master unit and the slave unit.

[0117] Furthermore, even when controlling the relative distance between the parent unit and the child units to prevent them from going outside the communication range of the parent unit as described above, environmental disturbances such as ocean currents and wind can be significant at sea, which may cause some child units to move outside the communication range, resulting in a situation where communication from the parent unit becomes impossible. In such cases, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 can maintain communication between the lost child unit and the parent unit by having some of the child units in the group relay communication between the child unit that has strayed outside the communication range and the parent unit.

[0118] Furthermore, if the overlapping area where the measurement area performed by the side-scan sonar of a sub-unit increases, the search rate of the sub-unit's side-scan sonar, as determined by the search rate determination unit 2230, decreases. For this reason, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 may have a function to control at least one of the relative distance, position, or movement path of the sub-units so that the area (or volume) of the overlapping search areas of the same type, where the measurement areas measured by multiple sub-units from the start of the search to the present are superimposed, or the ratio of said area (or volume) to the entire search target area, etc., is less than or equal to a predetermined value, based on the movement history and measurement history of the sub-units from the start of the search to the present, as determined by the deployment status determination unit 2210.

[0119] Furthermore, as explained using Figure 13, the passive sonar mounted on the master unit and the side-scan sonar mounted on the slave unit have different detection characteristics, including the detectable distance range, the conditions for detectable objects (such as whether they are moving at high speed or are silent), whether they can recognize shapes, and the accuracy of direction and distance measurement. Therefore, in order to reduce missed detections of objects and to ensure more reliable detection, it is desirable to expand the overlapping measurement area using both the passive sonar and the side-scan sonar. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 20, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 controls the movement state (at least one of relative distance, position, or movement path) of at least one of the master unit and the slave unit, based on the movement history (and measurement execution history) of the master unit and the slave unit from the start of the search to the present, as determined by the placement state determination unit 2210, so that the position of the slave unit in the group is within the range of the master unit measurement execution area measured by the passive sonar mounted on the master unit from the start of the search to the present.

[0120] In addition, Figure 20 illustrates an example of controlling the position of a slave unit within a group so that it is within the range of the master unit's measurement area using passive sonar. However, instead of this control method, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 can also control the movement state of at least one of the master unit and slave units so that the position of at least one slave unit within the group is within the range of the movement history surrounding area, which is a predetermined distance from the master unit's movement history position from the start of the search to the present, or at a position where the master unit's measurement area using passive sonar and the detectable area of ​​the slave unit's side-scan sonar overlap.

[0121] In addition, the relative positions of the master unit and the slave unit can be controlled, in addition to or instead of the control method described above, based on the combined search rate of the master and slave units determined by the search rate determination unit 2230 (multiple patterns can be defined as described above), or the state of the detection probability of detecting an object by either the master or the slave unit, so that the combined search rate is equal to or greater than the target value of the combined search rate or detection probability included in the user request information. Specifically, the movement state of at least one of the master and slave units (at least one of relative distance, position, movement path, switching between movement and anchoring, etc.) can also be controlled.

[0122] When controlling the movement state of the slave unit relative to the position of the master unit (relative distance, position, movement path, etc.) using the control method described above, there are multiple possible patterns for the slave unit's movement method. Therefore, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 may have a function to determine the slave unit's movement method. Figures 21 to 24 illustrate several patterns of the slave unit's movement method determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. The slave unit's movement method may be pre-configured in the system, received from the user via the request information acquisition unit 2130, or automatically determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 based on the current search rate and other conditions determined by the search operation state determination unit 2200.

[0123] First, Figure 21 shows the first movement method of the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. Figure 21 specifically shows an example of generating a movement path in which multiple slave units in a group move in a circular pattern within a predetermined distance range from the master unit (for example, within the measurement area of ​​the master unit's passive sonar). In this movement method, it is desirable to assign each slave unit to a circular area with a different radius distance from the master unit as its search area, so as not to cause contact between slave units or increase the overlap of the measurement areas of the slave units' side-scan sonar. As shown in Figure 21, by making the search area assigned to each slave unit regular (defined by the radius distance from the master unit) and the movement path of the slave unit within the search area regular (circular movement), it is relatively easy to control the movement so as not to cause contact between slave units or increase the overlap of the measurement areas of the slave units' side-scan sonar. Furthermore, in another embodiment where the search area assigned to each slave unit is regular, and the movement path of the slave unit within the search area is also regular (circular movement), it is also possible to divide the measurement area of ​​the master unit's passive sonar into a grid, assign a search area to each grid, and generate a regular movement path in which the slave unit moves back and forth within the search area.

[0124] Next, Figure 22 shows a second movement method for the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. Figure 22 specifically shows an example in which a predetermined distance range from the master unit (for example, within the measurement area of ​​the master unit's passive sonar) is divided into multiple subdivision areas by straight lines extending in multiple directions from the master unit, and each subdivision area is assigned as the search area for multiple slave units within the group. Multiple slave units can generate random movement paths within their assigned search area and perform searches within that area. As shown in Figure 22, by making the search area assigned to each slave unit regular (divided by multiple straight lines drawn from the master unit) and the movement path of the slave unit within the search area irregular (randomly generated movement path), control can be achieved to prevent the slave units from contacting each other or increasing the overlap of the measurement areas of the slave units' side-scan sonar. In addition, because the movement paths of the slave units are irregular, it is possible to suppress the target object from predicting the movement path of the slave unit and fleeing to avoid the slave unit.

[0125] Next, Figure 23 shows a third movement method for the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. In particular, Figure 23 shows an example in which multiple search areas that overlap with each other are set up within a predetermined distance range from the master unit (for example, within the measurement area of ​​the master unit's passive sonar), and these search areas are assigned to multiple slave units in a group. Multiple slave units can generate random movement paths within the search area assigned to them and perform searches within that area. As shown in Figure 23, the search areas assigned to each slave unit are evenly distributed (regularly) so as to cover most of the measurement area of ​​the master unit's passive sonar, and the movement paths of the slave units within the search area are irregular (randomly generated movement paths). The method shown in Figure 23 is inferior to the movement methods shown in Figures 21 and 22 because there is overlap in the search areas, but it is possible to control the system so that the slave units do not come into contact with each other or increase the overlap of the measurement areas of the slave units' side-scan sonar. Furthermore, because the movement path of the sub-unit is irregular, it is possible to prevent the target object from predicting the sub-unit's movement path and thus avoiding the sub-unit and fleeing.

[0126] Next, Figure 24 shows a fourth movement method for the slave unit determined by the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320. Figure 24 specifically shows an example in which multiple search areas are provided within a predetermined distance range from the master unit (for example, within the measurement area of ​​the master unit's passive sonar), which move randomly over time, and these search areas are assigned to multiple slave units in a group. Multiple slave units can generate random movement paths within the search area assigned to them and perform searches within that area. As shown in Figure 24, the search area assigned to each slave unit moves randomly (irregularly) so as not to overlap with other search areas, and the movement paths of the slave units within the search area are also generated randomly (irregularly). The method shown in Figure 24 makes it possible to control the system so as not to cause contact between slave units or increase the overlap of the measurement areas of the slave units' side-scan sonar. In addition, because the movement paths of the search areas and the movement paths of the slave units are generated irregularly, it is possible to suppress the target object from predicting the movement path of the slave unit and fleeing to avoid the slave unit.

[0127] Furthermore, as another variation of the slave unit's movement method, similar to Figure 24, multiple search areas that move randomly over time are provided within a predetermined distance range from the master unit (for example, within the measurement area of ​​the master unit's passive sonar), and multiple slave units can generate regular movement paths, such as circular movement, within the search area assigned to each unit.

[0128] The function for determining the movement method of the child unit has been described above in Figures 21 to 24, but the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 may also have a function for determining the movement method of the master unit according to various search rates. In that case, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 can determine the movement method of the master unit from several patterns as described below. Pattern 1: The master unit is temporarily stationary, and when the ratio of the cumulative area measured by the slave unit's active sonar to the cumulative area measured by the master unit's passive sonar (integrated search rate of master and slave units) exceeds a predetermined value, the master unit is permitted to move, and the master unit's movement path is determined. In this case, the master unit is permitted to move within a range that does not deviate from the communication range of each slave unit in the group. Pattern 2: Both the master unit and the slave unit are constantly moving, and the master unit's movement speed, movement path, etc. are adjusted according to the ratio of the cumulative area measured by the slave unit's active sonar to the cumulative area measured by the master unit's passive sonar (integrated search rate of the master and slave units). For example, if the integrated search rate is low, the master unit's movement speed can be reduced (it is not necessary to stop) to maintain the integrated search rate above a predetermined value. In this case, the master unit is permitted to move within a range that does not deviate from the communication range of each slave unit in the group. Pattern 3: Both the master unit and the slave units are constantly moving, and the movement speed and path of the master unit are adjusted to prioritize ensuring that the master unit's passive sonar detection rate is above a predetermined value. For example, if the master unit's detection rate decreases, the control to maintain the master unit's detection rate above a predetermined value is prioritized by increasing the master unit's movement speed. In this case, the master unit is permitted to move within a range that does not deviate from the communication range of each slave unit in the group.

[0129] Furthermore, when conducting a search with one group, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 can generate a movement path that moves regularly or irregularly within the search area as the movement path of the master unit (single unit) of that group. Furthermore, when conducting a search with multiple groups, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 can generate movement paths that move regularly or irregularly within the search area as the movement paths of multiple master units belonging to each of the multiple groups.

[0130] Next, the measurement operation control unit 2330 is a functional unit that controls the execution / stopping of measurement operations of the master unit's passive sonar and the slave unit's side-scan sonar. Generally, since the unmanned vessel 1010 operates in an activity area such as a search area for a long period of time, it is necessary to continue operating with limited power (battery, etc.) or fuel inside the vehicle, and advanced energy management is required. Therefore, in situations where it is not necessary, it is required to stop the measurement operations using the measurement sensors from an energy-saving perspective.

[0131] Therefore, if the placement status determination unit 2210 determines that the master units are approaching each other and the overlap ratio of the detection ranges of the passive sonars has become higher than a predetermined value, the measurement operation control unit 2330 can temporarily suspend the operation of the passive sonar of one of the approaching master units.

[0132] Similarly, with respect to the sub-units, if the placement status determination unit 2210 determines that the overlap rate of the detection ranges of the side-scan sonars has increased due to the sub-units being too close together, the measurement operation control unit 2330 can temporarily suspend the operation of the side-scan sonar of one of the approaching sub-units.

[0133] Furthermore, in the relationship between the master unit and the slave unit, if the measurement operation control unit 2330 determines that the combined search rate of the master unit and the slave unit, as determined by the search rate determination unit 2230, sufficiently exceeds the target value of the combined search rate included in the user request information, and that energy-saving operation of the slave unit takes higher priority than improving the combined search rate, it can temporarily suspend the operation of one of the slave unit's side-scan sonars.

[0134] (A-3-4. Object detection and determination unit 2400) Next, the object detection and determination unit 2400 is a functional unit that performs object detection and determination based on measurement data measured by the measurement sensors 1110 of multiple unmanned vessels 1010. The object detection and determination unit 2400 comprises a primary detection and determination unit 2410 and a secondary detection and determination unit 2420.

[0135] The primary detection determination unit 2410 is a functional unit that performs a primary detection determination (initial detection determination) of an object based on measurement data measured by the measurement sensors 1110 of multiple unmanned vessels 1010. Figure 25 shows an example of the determination items for an object determined by the primary detection determination unit 2410.

[0136] As shown in Figure 25, the determination items for an object determined by the primary detection determination unit 2410 include determination items for static state, position and attitude state, and dynamic state. The static state includes determination items related to the static state of the object, such as the type of object, shape, size, and material. The position and attitude state includes determination items related to the position and attitude of the object, such as the relative distance of the object to the unmanned vessel 1010 performing the measurement, relative bearing, position coordinates of the object (relative position coordinates or absolute position coordinates), and the direction of the object's nose. The primary detection determination unit 2410 may also include as a determination item whether the detected position of the object is within the measurable range of the side-scan sonars of multiple sub-units when determining the position and attitude state.

[0137] Furthermore, the dynamic state includes determination items related to the dynamic state of the object, such as whether the object is moving or stationary, the direction of movement, the speed of movement, whether the noise level emitted from the object is below a predetermined value and in a quiet state, past movement path history, and future predicted path. In addition, the primary detection determination unit 2410 may include a determination of whether the object is in a high-speed movement state with a speed above a predetermined value as a determination item for the dynamic state.

[0138] The secondary detection determination unit 2420 is a functional unit that performs secondary detection determination (re-detection determination) of an object based on measurement data acquired by the unmanned vessel 1010 (master unit or slave unit) based on the secondary measurement operation determined by the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500, which will be described later. The secondary detection determination unit 2420 can have the function of determining each determination item of static state, position and attitude state, and dynamic state, as shown in Figure 25.

[0139] If the secondary measurement data acquired based on the secondary measurement operation is acquired by a different type of measurement sensor than the primary measurement data used for primary detection determination, or if the measurement data is more detailed or has higher resolution than the primary measurement data, the secondary detection determination unit 2420 can perform more detailed or accurate determination processing for the determination items of static state, position and orientation state, and dynamic state, as shown in Figure 25.

[0140] Furthermore, secondary detection operations are not limited to measuring objects underwater using sonar, etc., but may also involve measuring the surface area using surface sensors (such as radar, laser, and optical camera as shown in Figure 13). In such cases, the secondary detection determination unit 2420 can determine, based on the measurement data obtained from the surface area measurement, that a vessel is detected in the surface area surrounding the object underwater, and that the vessel is a surface object related to the object detected by primary detection.

[0141] (A-3-5. Secondary measurement operation control unit 2500) Next, the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500 is a functional unit that determines secondary measurement operations and other operations of an object using multiple unmanned vessels 1010 when the primary detection determination unit 2410 has detected the object. The secondary measurement operation control unit 2500 includes a secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 and an other operation determination unit 2520.

[0142] The secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 is a functional unit that controls the secondary measurement operation of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 by determining the secondary measurement operation of the object using multiple unmanned vessels 1010 when the primary detection determination unit 2410 has detected the object. The method of determining the secondary measurement operation by the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 will be explained below with reference to Figures 26 to 31.

[0143] Figure 26 shows patterns of secondary measurement operations, etc., determined by the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510. In particular, Figure 26 shows combination patterns of the measurement entity (master unit or slave unit) of the measurement data used for primary detection determination, and the measurement entity, action content, and role in secondary measurement operations and other operations after primary detection determination.

[0144] First, the upper part of the table in Figure 26 shows the operation scenario when the measurement data used for the primary detection determination is measured by a passive sonar (long-range detection sensor) mounted on the master unit. In such a case, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 issues an alert and moves the master unit closer to the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection determination, and continues to measure the object with the master unit's passive sonar. This operation allows the object to be moved relatively within the measurement range of the master unit's passive sonar that discovered the object in the primary detection, so that the master unit can more reliably continue to measure the object and prevent the object from being lost from detection.

[0145] Furthermore, when the primary detection determination unit 2410 makes a primary detection determination of an object, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 moves the master unit closer to the detection position of the object and remeasures the object's measurement data using the slave unit's active sonar. Also, if the aforementioned search operation control unit 2300 (measurement operation control unit 2330) has been performing a search operation using some of the slave units in the group (and has stopped measurement by the side-scan sonar of some of the other slave units), when the primary detection determination unit 2410 makes a primary detection determination of an object, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 may decide to perform a secondary measurement operation using more slave units than the number of units used in the search operation (preferably using all of the slave units in the group). This operation allows for measurement of the object using more slave units in the group, thus enabling more reliable detailed measurement of the object.

[0146] When the primary detection determination unit 2410 performs a primary detection determination of an object, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 can narrow the relative distance between multiple master units belonging to different groups and move the multiple master units to the area surrounding the detection position of the object detected by the primary detection determination. At this time, the relative distance between multiple master units belonging to different groups can be narrowed by changing the value of the repulsion force, which is a control parameter for adjusting the relative distance between multiple master units, to a small value. As a result of this operation, a wide area around the object can be measured by multiple master units, including those belonging to different groups, thus preventing the loss of detection of the object.

[0147] When the primary detection determination unit 2410 performs a primary detection determination of an object, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 can move the multiple slave units closer to the detection position of the object detected by the primary detection determination by narrowing the relative distance between them. In this case, the relative distance between the multiple slave units belonging to different groups can be narrowed by changing the value of the repulsive force, which is a control parameter for adjusting the relative distance between the multiple slave units, to a small value. This operation allows the area around the object to be measured by a large number of slave units, including those belonging to different groups, thus preventing the object from being lost from detection.

[0148] Next, the lower part of the table shown in Figure 26 illustrates the scenario where the measurement data used for the primary detection determination is measured by an active sonar (short-range detection sensor) mounted on the sub-unit. In this case as well, the combination patterns of measurement entities, action content, and roles in secondary measurement operations and other operations after the primary detection determination are the same as those described above.

[0149] Next, Figures 27 to 29 show an example of the movement positions of multiple master and slave units belonging to multiple time-series groups at times t1 to t3 in the operation scenario of the secondary measurement operation shown above the table in Figure 26. First, Figure 27 shows an example of the positional relationship between each master and slave unit at time t1 when the primary detection determination of the object was made. In the example shown in Figure 27, when the object 7000 was first detected based on measurement data measured by the passive sonar of master unit 1001a, other groups 1000b and 1000c were present around it.

[0150] Next, Figure 28 shows an example of the positional relationship between each master unit and slave unit performing secondary measurement operation at time t2, a predetermined time after time t1. At time t2, the master unit and slave unit belonging to group 1000a move to approach the detection position of the object. Similarly, the master units and slave units of groups 1000b and 1000c also move to approach the detection position of the object.

[0151] Next, Figure 29 shows an example of the positional relationship between each master unit and slave unit performing secondary measurement operation at time t3, a predetermined time after time t2. At this time t3, the master unit and slave unit belonging to group 1000a have each completed moving close to the object. In addition, the master units of group 1000b and group 1000c have also moved close to the object, and the area surrounding the object is covered by the detection range of the passive sonars of multiple master units, thus preventing the object from being lost from detection. Furthermore, the multiple slave units of group 1000b and group 1000c have also moved close to the object, and even if the state of the object changes to a quiet state where it is difficult to acquire with passive sonar, the object can be reliably reacquired by the active sonars of the numerous slave units.

[0152] Furthermore, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 not only moves the master unit and slave unit closer to the object as described above, but can also determine, depending on the situation, whether to use a secondary measurement operation mainly with the master unit's passive sonar, a secondary measurement operation mainly with the slave unit's active sonar, or a secondary measurement operation using both passive and active sonar. In other words, it can have the function of determining which measurement sensor to use for the secondary measurement operation.

[0153] Figure 30 shows an example of a measurement sensor determination method that determines which measurement sensor to use for secondary measurement operation according to the primary detection judgment result and detailed measurement request. In the example shown in Figure 30, if the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection judgment is outside the detection range of the slave unit's active sensor, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 determines that the measurement sensor to be used preferentially for secondary measurement operation is the passive sonar. On the other hand, if the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection judgment is within the detection range of the slave unit's active sensor, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 decides to use the slave unit's active sonar, which is within the detection range of the object's detection position, for secondary measurement operation.

[0154] Furthermore, if the primary detection determination determines that the object's movement speed is above a predetermined value, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 decides to use the passive sonar for the secondary measurement operation. Also, if the primary detection determination determines that the sound level emitted from the object is below a predetermined value, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 decides to use the active sonar for the secondary measurement operation.

[0155] Furthermore, if the request information acquisition unit 2130 acquires user request information that has been set in advance or entered by the user, and the user request information includes a detailed measurement request such as a high-precision request for shape recognition, direction measurement, distance measurement, or object position measurement, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 decides to use the active sonar for the secondary measurement operation.

[0156] Figure 30 shows an example of a method for determining the measurement sensor to be used in the secondary measurement operation in response to the primary detection judgment result and the detailed measurement request. However, it is also possible to determine the measurement sensor to be used in the secondary measurement operation by considering the combination patterns of the primary detection judgment result and the detailed measurement request. Therefore, Figure 31 shows an example of a method for determining the measurement sensor to be used in the secondary measurement operation according to the combination patterns of the primary detection judgment result and the detailed measurement request.

[0157] In the table shown in Figure 31, the vertical axis shows combinations of the results of the primary detection judgment, and the horizontal axis shows combinations of whether or not there is a request for detailed measurement of the requested information. First, if the primary detection reveals that the object detection position is outside the detection range of the sub-unit, and the object's movement speed is within the normal speed range, and there is no request for detailed measurement, it is decided to use both passive and active sonar for secondary measurement. Also, if the primary detection reveals that the object detection position is outside the detection range of the sub-unit, and the object's movement speed is within the normal speed range, and there is a request for detailed measurement (shape recognition, direction measurement, distance measurement, or position measurement), it is decided to send the sub-unit to the object detection position as quickly as possible, and while the sub-unit is on its way, the master unit's passive sonar will be prioritized for secondary measurement. After the sub-unit arrives near the object, it is decided to prioritize the use of active sonar and use passive sonar as a supplement.

[0158] Next, if the object detection position is outside the detection range of the sub-unit based on the initial detection, and the object is moving at high speed, and there is no request for detailed measurement, it is decided to prioritize the use of passive sonar and use active sonar as a supplement. Also, if the object detection position is outside the detection range of the sub-unit based on the initial detection, and the object is moving at high speed, and there is a request for detailed measurement (shape recognition, direction measurement, distance measurement, or position measurement), it is decided to expedite the sub-unit to the object's detection position, and while the sub-unit is expedite, the master unit's passive sonar will be prioritized for secondary measurement operations. After the sub-unit arrives near the object, it is decided to prioritize the use of passive sonar and use active sonar as a supplement. Note that when the object is moving at high speed, it is difficult to acquire the object with active sonar such as side-scan sonar, but active sonar will be used as a supplementary measurement in preparation for a situation where the object's speed decreases and acquisition by active sonar becomes possible.

[0159] Next, if the primary detection reveals that the object's detection location is outside the sub-unit's detection range and the object is quiet (for example, if the sound waves suddenly cut out within the passive sonar's detection range), and there is no request for detailed measurement, the sub-unit will be dispatched to the object's detection location. While the sub-unit is dispatched, the master unit's passive sonar will be prioritized for secondary measurement operations. After the sub-unit arrives near the object, the active sonar will be prioritized, with the passive sonar used as a supplementary measure. Furthermore, if the primary detection reveals that the object's detection location is outside the sub-unit's detection range and the object is quiet, and there is a request for detailed measurement (shape recognition, direction measurement, distance measurement, or position measurement), the sub-unit will be dispatched to the object's detection location. While the sub-unit is dispatched, the master unit's passive sonar will be prioritized for secondary measurement operations. After the sub-unit arrives near the object, the active sonar will be prioritized, with the passive sonar used as a supplementary measure.

[0160] Next, if the object detection position is within the detection range of the sub-unit and the object's movement speed is within the normal speed range, and there is no request for detailed measurement, it is decided to prioritize the use of active sonar and use passive sonar as a supplementary measure. Similarly, if the object detection position is within the detection range of the sub-unit and the object's movement speed is within the normal speed range, and there is a request for detailed measurement (shape recognition, direction measurement, distance measurement, or position measurement), it is decided to prioritize the use of active sonar and use passive sonar as a supplementary measure.

[0161] Next, if the object detection position is within the detection range of the sub-unit based on the initial detection, and the object is moving at high speed, and there is no request for detailed measurement, it is decided to prioritize the use of passive sonar and use active sonar as a supplement. Similarly, if the object detection position is within the detection range of the sub-unit based on the initial detection, and the object is moving at high speed, and there is a request for detailed measurement (shape recognition, direction measurement, distance measurement, or position measurement), it is decided to prioritize the use of passive sonar and use active sonar as a supplement. Note that when the object is moving at high speed, it is difficult for active sonar such as side-scan sonar to acquire the object, but active sonar is used as a supplementary measurement in preparation for a situation where the object's speed decreases and acquisition by active sonar becomes possible.

[0162] Next, if the object detection location is within the detection range of the sub-unit based on the initial detection, the object is quiet, and there is no request for detailed measurement, it is decided to prioritize the use of active sonar and use passive sonar as a supplementary tool. Similarly, if the object detection location is within the detection range of the sub-unit based on the initial detection, the object is quiet, and there is a request for detailed measurement (shape recognition, direction measurement, distance measurement, or position measurement), it is decided to prioritize the use of active sonar and use passive sonar as a supplementary tool.

[0163] The secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510, upon primary detection of an object in the sea, may have a function to calculate the sea area surrounding the detection position of the object and to decide to perform a sea measurement to measure that sea area, in addition to determining the measurement sensors to be used for the movement control of the master and slave units and the secondary measurement operation in the sea as described above. In other words, if the request information acquisition unit 2130 acquires user request information that has been set in advance or input by the user, and the user request information includes a detailed measurement request for measurement of the sea area surrounding the detection position of the object in the sea determined by primary detection, the secondary measurement operation determination unit 2510 will decide to perform a measurement of the sea area using a sea sensor (such as a radar, laser, or optical camera as shown in Figure 13) mounted on the master or slave unit that is capable of measuring the sea area.

[0164] Furthermore, when measuring the sea area using a sea surface sensor as a secondary measurement operation, the aforementioned secondary detection and determination unit 2420 performs detection and determination of a sea surface object (e.g., a ship) based on the measurement data obtained from the measurement of the sea area. If a sea surface object is detected, it can be determined to be a sea surface object related to the underwater object detected by the primary detection. Here, if a submersible or the like is detected as an underwater object by the primary detection, it is possible that a mother ship that performs communication relay, lifting, retrieval, and deployment of the underwater object is waiting in the surrounding sea area. Therefore, when a sea surface object such as a mother ship is detected by measuring the sea area as described above, it is highly likely to be the mother ship of the underwater object, and it is desirable to determine it as a sea surface object (mother ship, etc.) related to the underwater object (submersible, etc.).

[0165] The other action determination unit 2520 is a functional unit that determines actions other than secondary measurement actions when the primary detection determination unit 2410 has detected an object. The other action determination unit 2520 may, for example, have the function of transmitting alert information indicating that an object has been detected to the display unit 2610 of the user interface unit 2600, the user terminal device 8000, or the cooperative system 5000. Furthermore, the alert information may include not only the fact that an object has been detected, but also the primary detection determination result, which includes the static state, position and orientation state, and dynamic state of the object as determined in the primary detection determination, as shown in Figure 25. In addition, the other action determination unit 2520 can also request the cooperative system 5000 to dispatch a patrol boat or other vessel to the object detection location.

[0166] Furthermore, if a surface object (such as a mother ship) is detected based on the above-mentioned surface measurement request, it is desirable for the other action determination unit 2520 to record the determination information regarding the secondarily detected surface object (such as a mother ship) and the measurement data acquired by the measurement operation of the surface area in association with the underwater object (such as a submersible) detected by the primary detection. Here, as mentioned above, it is conceivable that a mother ship that performs communication relay, lifting and lowering, recovery, and deployment of the submersible is waiting in the surface area surrounding the underwater object such as a submersible. Therefore, not only when a surface object (such as a mother ship) is detected and determined based on the measurement data of the surface area, but also when an underwater object (such as a submersible) is detected by the primary detection determination, it is possible to record measurement data (including images, videos, and other measurement data) of things (not limited to ships, but also people, objects, etc.) in the surface area surrounding the detection position of the underwater object within a predetermined time from the time the underwater object (such as a submersible) is detected by the primary detection determination, thereby recording information that is useful when performing subsequent analysis of the underwater object. In addition to the above, the other action determination unit 2520 may also have a function to determine whether to have the unmanned vessel 1010 perform actions such as tracking, surrounding, anticipating, and acquiring approach images or multi-angle images of the secondarily detected object at sea.

[0167] (A-3-6. User Interface Unit 2600) Next, the user interface unit 2600 is a functional unit that notifies or displays to the user information acquired by the information import unit 2100, the determination results from the search operation status determination unit 2200 and the object detection determination unit 2400, and the operation commands to the unmanned vessel 1010 determined by the search operation control unit 2300 and the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500, and receives user input information regarding operation commands from the user. The user interface unit 2600 includes a display unit 2610 and a user input reception unit 2620. The user interface unit 2600 may be configured as a portable mobile terminal such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or notebook PC, as a functional unit that constitutes part of the integrated control system 2000.

[0168] The display unit 2610 is a functional unit that notifies or displays information to the user, such as information acquired by the information import unit 2100, the determination results from the search operation status determination unit 2200 and the object detection determination unit 2400, and operation commands to the unmanned vessel 1010 determined by the search operation control unit 2300 and the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500. When notifying the user, the display unit 2610 can notify the user not only by display output, but also by sound, light emission, or vibration. For example, in addition to the various types of information mentioned above, the display unit 2610 may also display alert information indicating that an object has been initially detected. In this case, the display unit 2610 can output not only information that an object has been initially detected, but also information including the initial detection determination result, which includes the static state, position and orientation state, and dynamic state of the object as shown in Figure 25, as determined by the initial detection determination.

[0169] Next, the user input receiving unit 2620 is a functional unit that receives user input for each piece of information displayed by the display unit 2610. User input information can also be received via operation buttons provided on the display screen of the display unit 2610.

[0170] The user input receiving unit 2620 can receive, for example, user input information such as command modification commands and intervention command for operation commands to the unmanned vessel 1010 determined by the search operation control unit 2300 and the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500. It can also receive user request information input to the request information acquisition unit 2130.

[0171] (A-3-7. Record Section 2700) The recording unit 2700 is a functional unit that records various types of information, including information acquired by the information import unit 2100, determination results from the search operation status determination unit 2200 and the object detection determination unit 2400, operation commands to the unmanned vessel 1010 determined by the search operation control unit 2300 and the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500, and user input information received by the user input reception unit 2620.

[0172] In addition to the information described above, the recording unit 2700 may also include historical information on transmitted and received data between the unmanned vessel 1010 and the central control system 2000.

[0173] (A-3-8. Information and Communications Department 2800) The Information and Communication Unit 2800 is a functional unit that exchanges various types of information with the unmanned vessel system 1000, the user terminal device 8000, the external system 6000, the cooperative system 5000, and so on. For example, the Information and Communication Unit 2800 can acquire various types of information acquired by the Information Import Unit 2100 from the unmanned vessel system 1000, the user terminal device 8000, the external system 6000, the cooperative system 5000, and so on. The Information and Communication Unit 2800 can also transmit operation commands to the unmanned vessel 1010, which have been determined by the Search Operation Control Unit 2300 and the Secondary Measurement Operation Control Unit 2500, to the unmanned vessel system 1000. Furthermore, it can output the above-mentioned various types of information to the cooperative system 5000, the external system 6000, or other external systems.

[0174] The functions implemented in the unmanned vessel 1010 and the integrated control system 2000 described above are merely one embodiment, and the present invention is not limited to this implementation example. In other words, some of the functions implemented in the unmanned vessel 1010 shown in Figure 7 (mainly the functions of the determination unit 1500) can be implemented in the integrated control system 2000. On the other hand, some of the functions implemented in the integrated control system 2000 shown in Figure 10 can also be implemented in the unmanned vessel 1010.

[0175] (A-4. Hardware Configuration) Figure 32 shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram for a central control system 2000. Here, the central control system 2000 in the present invention is an information processing device such as a server or a PC. As shown in the figure, the central control system 2000 includes an input device 100, an output device 200, a processing device 300, a main memory device 400, an auxiliary memory device 500, a communication device 600, and a bus 700 that electrically connects these devices.

[0176] The input device 100 can constitute the user input receiving unit 2620 of the user interface unit 2600, and is a device for the user to input information and instructions to the integrated control system 2000. Specifically, the input device 100 is, for example, a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, or voice input device such as a microphone.

[0177] The output device 200 is a device that outputs various information generated by the integrated control system 2000, and can constitute the display unit 2610 of the user interface unit 2600. Specifically, the output device 200 can constitute the display unit 2610 with eyewear, AR, VR display devices, etc., and may also be a printer or a speaker.

[0178] The processing unit 300 is, for example, a device that performs arithmetic processing. Specifically, the processing unit 300 is, for example, a CPU, microprocessor, GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or other semiconductor device capable of performing calculations.

[0179] The main memory 400 is a memory device such as RAM, which temporarily stores various information read from the system, and ROM, which stores programs executed by the processing unit 300, application programs, and various other information. The auxiliary memory 500 is a non-volatile memory device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or flash memory, which can store digital information.

[0180] The communication device 600 is a device that performs wireless or wired information communication with the outside world, and can constitute the aforementioned information communication unit 2800.

[0181] (A-5. Control flow of object search system 1) The control flow of the object search system 1 will be described below with reference to Figures 33 to 38.

[0182] (A-5-1. Higher-level control flow of object search system 1) Figure 33 is a flowchart showing the higher-level control flow of the object search system 1.

[0183] First, the information import unit 2100's system information acquisition unit 2110 and sensor performance information acquisition unit 2120 acquire preliminary information (step 101). In this step, for example, the system information acquisition unit 2110 acquires information regarding the system configuration of the unmanned vessel system 1000 and information regarding the state transitions of the object search system 1, while the sensor performance information acquisition unit 2120 acquires information regarding the performance and characteristics of the measurement sensors 1110 mounted on the master and slave units in advance of executing the search operation.

[0184] Next, the request information acquisition unit 2130 of the information import unit 2100 acquires the request information (step 102). In this step, for example, the request information acquisition unit 2130 acquires user request information regarding the search operation, secondary measurement, or other operations in advance before the search operation is executed.

[0185] Next, the search operation status determination unit 2200 determines the search operation status (step 103). In this step, for example, based on the various information acquired by the unmanned vessel data acquisition unit 2140 described above, the search operation status determination unit 2200 determines in real time the search status, including the measurement area measured by the multiple unmanned vessels 1010.

[0186] Next, the search operation control unit 2300 controls the movement state of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 (including the master unit and slave units) during the search operation (step 104). In this step, for example, when searching for an object, the movement state of at least one unmanned vessel 1010 is controlled so that its position is within a predetermined distance range from the master unit's movement history surrounding area, or within the range of the first measurement area measured by a measurement sensor such as a passive sonar mounted on the master unit, or at a position where the first measurement area measured by the master unit's passive sonar and the measurable area measured by a measurement sensor such as an active sonar mounted on the slave unit overlap.

[0187] Next, based on the measurement data obtained from the search operation, the primary detection determination unit 2410 of the object detection determination unit 2400 performs the primary detection determination process for the object (step 105).

[0188] Next, the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500 determines the secondary measurement operation of the target object using multiple unmanned vessels 1010 (step 106).

[0189] Next, based on the measurement data obtained from the execution of the secondary measurement operation, the secondary detection determination unit 2420 of the object detection determination unit 2400 performs the secondary detection determination process for the object (step 107).

[0190] (A-5-2. Search operation status determination processing flow of the search operation status determination unit 2200) Figure 34 is a flowchart showing the search state determination processing flow by the search operation state determination unit 2200. In particular, Figure 34 shows a detailed processing flow of step 103 of the flowchart shown in Figure 33.

[0191] First, the deployment status determination unit 2210 calculates the relative distance and relative speed between the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 (step 201). In this step, the deployment status determination unit 2210 calculates the relative distance between master units and slave units that communicate with each other within a group, the relative distance between multiple slave units belonging to a common group, and the relative distance between master units belonging to each of the multiple groups.

[0192] Next, the communication status determination unit 2220 calculates the range in which communication with the master unit is possible (step 202). In this step, the communication status determination unit 2220 can calculate the communication range of the master unit based on the communication strength between the master unit and the slave unit and the current location information of the master unit.

[0193] Next, the placement status determination unit 2210 calculates the area measured by the passive sonar of each master unit based on the movement history and measurement execution history information of each master unit from the start of the search to the present (step 203).

[0194] Next, the arrangement status determination unit 2210 calculates a value indicating the size (area or volume) or ratio of the overlapping area where the measured areas of multiple master units belonging to each group overlap (step 204). The value indicating the size or ratio of the overlapping area calculated in this step can be, for example, the ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area to the measured area of ​​the master unit, the ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area to the elapsed time from the start of the search to the present, the ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area to the distance traveled by the master unit from the start of the search to the present, or the total value of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area.

[0195] Next, the placement status determination unit 2210 calculates the measured area by the active sonar of each slave unit based on the movement history and measurement execution history information of each slave unit from the start of the search to the present (step 205).

[0196] Next, the arrangement status determination unit 2210 calculates a value indicating the size (area or volume) or ratio of the overlapping area where the measured areas of multiple sub-units belonging to the same group overlap (step 206). The value indicating the size or ratio of the overlapping area calculated in this step can be, for example, the ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area to the measured area of ​​the sub-units, the ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area to the elapsed time from the start of the search to the present, the ratio of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area to the distance traveled by the sub-units from the start of the search to the present, or the total value of the area (or volume) of the overlapping area.

[0197] Next, the search rate determination unit 2230 calculates the search rate of at least one of the following: the search rate of the master unit, the search rate of the slave unit, or the combined search rate of the master unit and the slave unit (step 207).

[0198] (A-5-3. Search operation control flow of the search operation control unit 2300) Figure 35 is a flowchart showing the search operation control processing flow by the search operation control unit 2300. In particular, Figure 35 shows a detailed processing flow of step 104 of the flowchart shown in Figure 33. Steps 301 to 303 are adjustment control steps for the unmanned vessel movement state due to collision avoidance, steps 304 to 306 are adjustment control steps for the unmanned vessel movement state due to communication maintenance, steps 307 to 309 are adjustment control steps for the unmanned vessel movement state due to measurement overlap, and steps 310 to 312 are adjustment control steps for the unmanned vessel movement state due to search rate.

[0199] First, based on the relative distance and relative velocity calculated in step 201 of Figure 34, the unmanned vessel movement control unit 2320 determines which unmanned vessels require collision prevention action (step 301). In this step, unmanned vessels whose relative distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, or unmanned vessels whose relative velocity with respect to each other is faster than a predetermined value, can be determined as unmanned vessels requiring collision prevention action.

[0200] Next, the process to proceed to is determined based on whether or not there is an unmanned vessel requiring collision avoidance action, as determined in step 301 (step 302). If it is determined in this step that there is an unmanned vessel requiring collision avoidance action, the process proceeds to step 303. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no unmanned vessel requiring collision avoidance action, the process proceeds to step 304.

[0201] Next, if it is determined in step 302 that there is an unmanned vessel requiring collision avoidance action, the repulsive force parameter, which is a control parameter for extending the relative distance between unmanned vessels, is increased when controlling the relative distance between them, thereby controlling the movement state of the unmanned vessels to widen the relative distance (step 303). After this step, the process shown in the flowchart in Figure 35 is terminated.

[0202] Next, if it is determined in step 302 that there are no unmanned vessels requiring collision avoidance action, the relative distance between the master unit and the slave unit communicating wirelessly with each other is compared and determined to be within the communication range from the master unit (step 304).

[0203] Next, the system determines the next processing step to proceed to, depending on whether the relative distance between the master unit and the slave unit exceeds the communication range and whether relative distance adjustment is necessary to maintain communication (step 305). If it is determined in this step that relative distance adjustment is necessary to maintain communication, the system proceeds to step 306. On the other hand, if it is determined that relative distance adjustment is not necessary to maintain communication, the system proceeds to step 307.

[0204] Next, if step 305 determines that relative distance adjustment is necessary to maintain communication, the movement state of the unmanned vessel is controlled to keep the relative distance between the master unit and the slave unit within the communication range from the master unit by increasing the attractive parameter, which is a control parameter for reducing the relative distance (step 306). After this step, the process shown in the flowchart in Figure 35 is terminated.

[0205] Next, if it is determined in step 305 that relative distance adjustment for maintaining communication is unnecessary, it is determined that adjustment to reduce the overlap amount is necessary if the overlap amount of the measurement area between multiple master units of different groups, or between multiple slave units within the same group, is greater than a predetermined value (step 307).

[0206] Next, the process to proceed to is determined based on the result of the determination in step 307 as to whether or not a reduction adjustment of the overlap amount is necessary (step 308). If it is determined in this step that a reduction adjustment of the overlap amount is necessary, the process proceeds to step 309. On the other hand, if it is determined that a reduction adjustment of the overlap amount is not necessary, the process proceeds to step 310.

[0207] Next, if it is determined in step 308 that an adjustment to reduce the overlap amount is necessary, the repulsion parameter, which is a control parameter for extending the relative distance between the master units or slave units where an adjustment to reduce the overlap amount is determined to be necessary, is increased to control the movement state of the unmanned vessel in order to widen the relative distance between the master units or slave units (step 309). After this step, the process shown in the flowchart in Figure 35 is terminated.

[0208] Next, if it is determined in step 308 that no adjustment is needed to reduce the overlap amount, it is determined in step 310 whether it is necessary to improve the search rate determined by the search rate determination unit 2230. In this step, for example, if the search rate of at least one of the search rates of the master unit, the slave unit, or the combined search rate of the master unit and slave unit is below a predetermined value, it can be determined that it is necessary to improve the search rate.

[0209] Next, depending on whether or not it was determined in step 308 that an improvement in the search rate is necessary, the next processing step to proceed to is determined (step 311). If it is determined in this step that an improvement in the search rate is necessary, the process proceeds to step 312. On the other hand, if it is determined that an improvement in the search rate is not necessary, the process shown in the flowchart in Figure 35 is terminated.

[0210] Next, if it is determined in step 311 that an improvement in the detection rate is necessary, the unmanned vessel's operation process to improve the detection rate is executed (step 312). For example, if an improvement in the detection rate using the master unit's passive sonar is necessary, the master unit's movement speed is increased in this step. Also, if an improvement in the detection rate using the slave unit's active sonar is necessary, the slave unit's movement speed is increased in this step. Furthermore, if an improvement in the combined detection rate of the master and slave units is necessary, the slave unit's movement speed is increased, and the slave unit's target position and target movement path are generated within the master unit's measurement area. After this step, the process shown in the flowchart in Figure 35 is terminated.

[0211] (A-5-4. Primary detection and determination processing flow by the primary detection and determination unit 2410) Figure 36 is a flowchart showing an example of the primary detection and determination processing flow by the primary detection and determination unit 2410. In particular, Figure 36 shows a detailed processing flow of step 105 of the flowchart shown in Figure 33. Steps 401 to 402 are steps for executing measurement by the search operation, and steps 403 to 405 are primary detection and determination processing steps.

[0212] First, the unmanned boat 1010 performs a search operation to collect measurement data of the measurement execution area (step 401).

[0213] Next, the determination unit 1500 of the unmanned boat 1010 determines the next processing step to transition to, depending on whether a candidate target object has been detected based on the measurement data (step 402). In this step, if no candidate target object is detected, the process transitions to step 401. On the other hand, if a candidate target object is detected, the process transitions to step 403.

[0214] Next, when a candidate target object is detected in step 402, the primary detection determination unit 2410 performs static state determination of the target object based on the measurement data, and performs confirmation determination of primary detection of the target object according to the degree of match between the target object determination condition included in the pre-acquired request information and the determined static state (step 403). Here, the static state determined in this step includes, for example, the type, shape, size, material, etc. of the target object shown in FIG. 25.

[0215] Next, the primary detection determination unit 2410 determines the position and attitude of the target object (step 404). In this step, for example, based on the measurement data, the relative distance and relative orientation between the unmanned boat 1010 and the target object, the position coordinates of the target object, the bow direction, etc. as shown in FIG. 25 are determined.

[0216] Next, the primary detection determination unit 2410 determines the dynamic state of the target object (step 405). In this step, for example, based on the measurement data, it is determined whether the unmanned boat 1010 and the target object as shown in FIG. 25 are in a moving state or a stationary state, the moving direction, the moving speed, whether they are in a high-speed moving state, whether they are in a silent state, the past movement path history, the future predicted path, and the like. Here, as an example of the method for determining whether the target object is in a silent state, if the target object can be detected by the passive sonar of the master unit, it can be determined that the target object is not in a silent state. In addition, as an example of the method for determining whether the target object is in a high-speed moving state, if the target object can be detected by the side scan sonar of the slave unit, it can be determined that the target object is not in a high-speed moving state.

[0217] (A-5-5. Secondary Measurement Operation Determination Processing Flow by Secondary Measurement Operation Control Unit 2500) FIG. 37 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the secondary measurement operation determination processing flow by the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500. FIG. 37 particularly shows the detailed processing flow of step 106 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 33. Steps 501 to 502 are determination steps based on the presence or absence of a detailed measurement request, steps 503 to 507 are determination steps based on the primary detection determination result, and steps 508 to 510 are determination steps based on the presence or absence of a marine measurement request.

[0218] First, the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500 determines whether the user request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2130 includes a detailed measurement request for the shape, azimuth, or distance of the target object (step 501).

[0219] Next, the processing step to transition to next is determined according to whether the user request information includes any detailed measurement request for the shape, azimuth, or distance of the target object (step 502). In this step, if none of the detailed measurement requests for the shape, azimuth, or distance of the target object are included in the user request information, the processing step transitions to step 508. On the other hand, if any detailed measurement request for the shape, azimuth, or distance of the target object is included in the user request information, the processing step transitions to step 503.

[0220] Next, the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500 determines the secondary measurement method according to the primary detection determination result (step 503). In this step, for example, as shown in FIG. 30 or FIG. 31, a measurement sensor to be used with priority for the secondary measurement operation can be determined as the secondary measurement method according to the result of the primary detection determination.

[0221] Next, based on the result of step 503, the next processing step to proceed to is determined (step 504), and one of the following is decided as the secondary measurement method: measurement using side-scan sonar (step 505), measurement using passive sonar and side-scan sonar (step 506), or measurement using passive sonar (step 507).

[0222] Next, the secondary measurement operation control unit 2500 determines whether or not the user request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2130 includes a request for measurement at sea (step 508).

[0223] Next, the process to proceed to is determined based on whether or not the request for maritime measurement is included in the user request information (step 509). If the request for maritime measurement is included in the user request information, the process proceeds to step 510. On the other hand, if the request for maritime measurement is not included in the user request information, the process in this flowchart is terminated.

[0224] Next, if a request for measurement at sea is included in the user request information in step 509, it is decided to measure the sea area around the detection position of the underwater object determined by primary detection using sea sensors mounted on the unmanned vessel 1010 (such as radar sensors, laser sensors, and optical sensors shown in Figure 13) (step 510).

[0225] (A-5-6. Secondary detection and determination processing flow by the secondary detection and determination unit 2420) Figure 38 is a flowchart showing an example of the secondary detection and determination processing flow by the secondary detection and determination unit 2420. In particular, Figure 38 shows a detailed processing flow of step 107 of the flowchart shown in Figure 33. Steps 601 to 602 are steps for executing the secondary measurement operation, and steps 603 to 605 are secondary detection and determination processing steps.

[0226] First, the unmanned vessel 1010 performs a secondary measurement operation to collect measurement data from the measurement area (step 601).

[0227] Next, the determination unit 1500 of the unmanned vessel 1010 determines the next processing step to proceed to, depending on whether or not it has detected a candidate object based on the measurement data (step 602). If no candidate object is detected in this step, the process proceeds to step 601. On the other hand, if a candidate object is detected, the process proceeds to step 603.

[0228] Next, if a candidate object is detected in step 602, the secondary detection determination unit 2420 performs a static state determination of the object based on the measurement data, and a confirmation determination of secondary detection of the object is made according to the degree of agreement between the static state and the object determination conditions included in the previously acquired request information (step 603). Here, the static state determined in this step includes, for example, the type, shape, size, and material of the object as shown in Figure 25. Here, if the secondary measurement operation is a detailed measurement operation, the static state determined in this step can be determined with higher accuracy than the primary detection determination.

[0229] Next, the secondary detection and determination unit 2420 determines the position and attitude of the object (step 604). In this step, for example, based on the measurement data, the relative distance between the unmanned vessel 1010 and the object, the relative bearing, the position coordinates of the object, the direction of the aircraft's nose, etc., are determined, as shown in Figure 25. Here, if the secondary measurement operation is a detailed measurement operation, the position and attitude determined in this step can be determined with higher accuracy than the primary detection determination.

[0230] Next, the secondary detection and determination unit 2420 determines the dynamic state of the object (step 604). In this step, for example, based on the measurement data, it is determined whether the unmanned boat 1010 and the object are in a moving or stationary state, as shown in Figure 25, the direction of movement, the speed of movement, whether it is moving at high speed or not, whether it is quiet or not, the history of past movement paths, and the predicted future path. Here, if the secondary measurement operation is a detailed measurement operation, the dynamic state determined in this step can be determined with higher accuracy than the primary detection determination.

[0231] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the interpretation of the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

[0232] [B. Advantages of the present embodiment] With the above-described embodiments, it is possible to improve the search performance for searching for a target object in the sea, on the sea, or other search target areas by using different types of sensors. As an example, different types of measurement sensors are mounted on the master unit and the slave unit respectively, and the movements of the master unit and the slave unit are controlled such that at least a part of the measurement areas of the master unit and the slave unit overlap, whereby the search performance for searching for the target object in the search target area can be improved. [Description of Reference Numerals]

[0233] 1... Target object search system (system) 100... Input device 200... Output device 300... Processing device 400... Main storage device 500... Auxiliary storage device 600... Communication device 700... Bus 1000... Unmanned vessel system 1001... Master unit 1002... Slave unit 1010... Unmanned vessel 10021... Primary connection slave unit 10022... Secondary connection slave unit 10023... Tertiary connection slave unit 1100... Measurement unit 1110... Measurement sensor 1120... Measurement control unit 1200... Own vessel state determination unit 1210... Navigation state determination unit 1220... Internal state determination unit 1230... External state determination unit 1300... Navigation unit 1310... Thrust generation unit 1320... Attitude control mechanism 1330... Navigation control unit 1400... Communication unit 1410... Inter-unmanned-vessel communication unit 1420... Integrated control communication unit 1500…Judgment section 1600... Recording unit 1610... Measurement data recording unit 1620... Player's status recording unit 1630... Judgment information recording unit 1640... Navigation Command Information Recording Department 2000... Integrated control system 2100... Information Import Unit 2110... System Information Acquisition Unit 2120...Sensor performance information acquisition unit 2130...Request information acquisition unit 2140... Unmanned Vessel Data Acquisition Unit 2200... Search operation state determination unit 2210... Placement state determination unit 2220...Communication status determination unit 2230...Search rate determination unit 2300... Search operation control unit 2310... Group movement control unit 2320... Unmanned Vessel Movement Control Unit 2330... Measurement and Motion Control Unit 2400...Object detection and determination unit 2410...Primary detection and determination unit 2420...Secondary detection and determination unit 2500...Secondary measurement operation control unit 2510...Secondary measurement operation determination unit 2520...Other Action Determination Unit 2600...User Interface Section 2610...Display unit 2620...User input reception unit 2700... Records Department 2800... Information and Communications Department 3000...Communication satellite 4000...Ground base station 5000... Cooperative system 6000... External system 7000...Target object 7100...Maritime target object 7200...Underwater objects 8000...User terminal device

Claims

1. An object search system using a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting the object within a narrower detection range than the first measuring sensor, A search operation state determination unit that determines the search state including the measurement area measured by the aforementioned unmanned mobile device, When searching for the aforementioned object, the position of at least one of the second unmanned mobile units is An object search system comprising a search operation control unit that controls the movement state of at least one of the first unmanned mobile body and the second unmanned mobile body such that the movement state is within a range of a movement history surrounding area within a predetermined distance range from the position of the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within a range of a first measurement execution area by the first measurement sensor mounted on the first unmanned mobile body, or at a position where the first measurement execution area by the first measurement sensor and the measurable area of ​​the second measurement sensor overlap.

2. In the object search system according to claim 1, The first measurement sensor is one of a passive sonar, a magnetic sensor, or another passive sensor capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. An object search system in which the second measurement sensor is one of an active sonar, underwater LiDAR, or other underwater active sensor capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves.

3. In the object search system according to claim 1, The first measurement sensor is an S-band or X-hand radar sensor. The object search system wherein the second measurement sensor is one of the following: a laser sensor that irradiates and receives reflected laser light, an electro-optical sensor, an infrared camera, another optical camera, or a millimeter-wave radar sensor.

4. In the object search system according to claim 1, The aforementioned first measurement sensor is a laser that emits laser light and receives the reflected laser light, an electro-optical sensor, an infrared camera, or other optical camera. The object search system wherein the second measurement sensor is a high-resolution camera that has a higher resolution of measurement data than the laser, the optical camera, or the infrared camera.

5. In the object search system according to claim 1, The object search system includes a search operation control unit that controls at least one of the relative distance, position, and movement path of the plurality of unmanned mobile bodies when searching for the object.

6. In the object search system according to claim 1, The search operation control unit, during the period from the start of the search for the object to the present, The ratio of the second measurement area measured by the second unmanned mobile body to the area surrounding the movement history within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, Alternatively, a value relating to the size of the overlapping area between the area surrounding the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history, and the second measurement area, Alternatively, the ratio of the second measurement area to the first measurement area measured by the first unmanned mobile body, Alternatively, an object search system that controls the movement state of the multiple unmanned mobile bodies so that the value relating to the size of the overlapping heterogeneous overlapping search area where the first measurement area and the second measurement area overlap is greater than or equal to a target value.

7. In the object search system according to claim 6, An object search system in which the ratio of the second measurement area measured by the second unmanned mobile body to an area within a predetermined distance range from the position of the first unmanned mobile body is calculated from the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body and the movement history and measurement execution history of the second unmanned mobile body during the period from the start of the object search to the present.

8. In the object search system according to claim 6, The value relating to the size of the overlapping area between the area surrounding the movement history of the first unmanned mobile object, within a predetermined distance range from the location of the movement history, and the second measurement area is: The ratio of the overlapping area to the overall search area for searching for the object, Alternatively, the ratio of the overlapping area to the local search areas obtained by dividing the overall search area into multiple areas, or the ratio of the overlapping area to the elapsed time of searching for the object, Alternatively, an object search system that is the ratio of the overlapping area to the travel distance of the first or second unmanned mobile body.

9. In the object search system according to claim 6, The ratio of the second measurement area to the first measurement area measured by the first unmanned mobile device is: An object search system calculated from the movement history and measurement execution history of the first unmanned mobile unit and the movement history and measurement execution history of the second unmanned mobile unit, from the start of the search for the object to the present.

10. In the object search system according to claim 6, The value relating to the size of the overlapping heterogeneous overlap search area where the first measurement area and the second measurement area overlap is: The ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the overall search area for searching for the object, Alternatively, the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search areas to the local search areas obtained by dividing the overall search area into multiple parts, or the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the elapsed time of searching for the object, Alternatively, an object search system that is the ratio of the heterogeneous overlapping search area to the travel distance of the first unmanned mobile body or the second unmanned mobile body.

11. In the object search system according to claim 1, Object search system, wherein the search operation control unit controls at least one of the relative distance, arrangement, or movement path of the plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies such that the value indicating the size or ratio of the size of the overlapping search areas of the same type, where the second measurement areas measured by each of the plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies overlap, is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

12. In the object search system according to claim 1, The first unmanned mobile body and the second unmanned mobile body are equipped with a communication unit that communicates wirelessly with each other within a communication range between the first unmanned mobile body and the second unmanned mobile body. Object search system, wherein the search operation control unit controls at least one of the relative distance, arrangement, or movement path between the first and second unmanned mobile units so that the plurality of second unmanned mobile units do not deviate from the communication range from the first unmanned mobile unit.

13. In the object search system according to claim 1, When there are multiple of the aforementioned first unmanned mobile bodies, Object search system, wherein the search operation control unit controls at least one of the relative distance, arrangement, or movement path of a plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies such that the value indicating the size or ratio of the size of the overlapping search areas of the same type, where the first measurement areas measured by each of the plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies overlap, is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

14. In the object search system according to claim 1, The system includes an object detection and determination unit that performs object detection and determination based on measurement data measured by the measurement sensors of the plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, An object search system comprising a secondary measurement operation control unit that controls the secondary measurement operation of the object using the plurality of unmanned mobile bodies when the object detection and determination unit has detected the object as a primary object.

15. In the object search system according to claim 14, The system includes a request information acquisition unit that acquires request information for the secondary measurement operation, which is set in advance or entered by the user, and which includes detailed measurement of at least one of the shape, position, relative orientation, and relative distance of the object, as the request information. A target search system in which, when the request information acquisition unit acquires the request information, the secondary measurement operation control unit decides to perform the secondary measurement operation using the second measurement sensor.

16. In the object search system according to claim 14, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. If the object detection and determination unit determines through its initial detection of the object that the object is moving at a speed of a predetermined speed or higher, The object search system includes a secondary measurement operation control unit which determines that the passive sonar is used for the secondary measurement operation.

17. In the object search system according to claim 14, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. If the object detection and determination unit determines, through the initial detection of the object, that the sound level emanating from the object is below a predetermined value and is in a quiet state, The secondary measurement operation control unit determines that the active sonar is used for the secondary measurement operation, and is part of the object search system.

18. In the object search system according to claim 14, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. If the object detection determination unit determines, based on the primary detection of the object, that the detection position of the object is within the measurable range of the second measurement sensors of the plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies, Object search system, wherein the secondary measurement operation control unit determines that the active sonar of the second unmanned mobile body, in which the object is within the measurable range, should be used for the secondary measurement operation.

19. In the object search system according to claim 14, The search operation control unit performs the search operation for the target object using some of the multiple second unmanned mobile units. An object search system in which, when the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of the object, the secondary measurement operation control unit decides to perform the secondary measurement operation using a larger number of the second unmanned mobile units than the number of units used in the search operation.

20. In the object search system according to claim 14, Object Search System: When the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of the object, the secondary measurement operation control unit moves the first unmanned mobile body to approach the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection, and causes the first unmanned mobile body to acquire measurement data of the object.

21. In the object search system according to claim 20, An object search system in which, when the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of an object, the secondary measurement operation control unit narrows the relative distance between the plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies and moves the plurality of first unmanned mobile bodies to the area surrounding the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection.

22. In the object search system according to claim 14, Object Search System: When the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of an object, the secondary measurement operation control unit moves a plurality of the second unmanned mobile bodies to approach the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection, and causes the plurality of the second unmanned mobile bodies to acquire measurement data of the object.

23. In the object search system according to claim 22, Object Search System: When the object detection and determination unit performs the primary detection of the object, the secondary measurement operation control unit moves the multiple second unmanned mobile bodies to narrow the relative distance between them so that they approach the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection.

24. In the object search system according to claim 14, The first measurement sensor is a passive sonar capable of measuring underwater sound waves generated from the object. The second measurement sensor is an active sonar capable of detecting the object by measuring the reflected waves of the emitted sound waves. The system includes a request information acquisition unit that acquires, as the request information, the request information for the secondary measurement operation, which is set in advance or entered by the user, and which includes the measurement of the sea area around the detection position of the object determined by the primary detection. A target search system in which, when the request information acquisition unit acquires the request information, the secondary measurement operation control unit decides to measure the sea area using a sea surface measurement sensor capable of measuring the sea area mounted on the first unmanned mobile body or the second unmanned mobile body.

25. In the object search system according to claim 24, The object detection and determination unit determines, when it detects a vessel based on measurement data obtained from the measurement of the sea area, that the vessel is a sea object associated with the object detected by the primary detection, in this object search system.

26. A method for searching for an object using a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting the object with a narrower detection range than the first measuring sensor, Computers A search operation state determination step that determines the search state including the measurement area measured by the aforementioned unmanned mobile device, A method for searching for an object, comprising: a search operation control step, which controls the movement state of at least one of the second unmanned mobile bodies so that the position of the second unmanned mobile body is within a predetermined distance range from the position in the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within the range of the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor mounted on the first unmanned mobile body, or at a position where the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor and the measurable area of ​​the second measurement sensor overlap.

27. A program usable in an object search system using a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies, including a first unmanned mobile body equipped with a first measuring sensor capable of detecting an object, and a plurality of second unmanned mobile bodies equipped with a second measuring sensor capable of detecting the object with a narrower detection range than the first measuring sensor, On the computer, A search operation state determination command for determining the search state including the measurement area measured by the aforementioned unmanned mobile device, A program that executes a search operation control command to control the movement state of at least one of the second unmanned mobile bodies when searching for the aforementioned object, such that the position of the second unmanned mobile body is within a predetermined distance range from the position in the movement history of the first unmanned mobile body, or within the range of the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor mounted on the first unmanned mobile body, or at a position where the first measurement execution area of ​​the first measurement sensor and the measurable area of ​​the second measurement sensor overlap.

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