Inspection system and inspection method for river management facilities

Abstract

This system provides an indoor inspection system that allows a drone to recognize its current position, calculate an appropriate flight path, and perform autonomous inspections along that flight path. [Solution] The inspection system comprises a drone equipped with a position recognition device that recognizes its own position based on the position information, a shooting device that captures images of the inspection target and outputs image information, a flight unit that is controlled according to its own position and a flight route received from the outside, and a communication device. The remote monitoring device is equipped with a flight route creation unit that creates a flight route for the drone in a virtual indoor space reproduced by 3D map information based on the survey results of a 3D scanner, an inspection mode determination unit that determines the inspection mode of the drone and selects a flight route according to the inspection mode, and a communication unit. The server is equipped with an image analysis unit that detects abnormalities in the inspection target by analyzing image information, and a communication unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inspection system and an inspection method for causing a drone to inspect a facility having an outdoor section and an indoor section.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 is known as a document disclosing an inspection system using a drone. For example, the abstract of the document describes, as a problem, "To provide a patrol inspection system that can contribute to reducing the burden on workers in patrol inspection work.", and as a solution, "A patrol inspection system 10 that sets a flight path for a drone 20 having a camera 22 as an imaging unit, and performs patrol inspection on inspection equipment based on imaging data obtained when the drone 20 is caused to fly automatically along the set flight path, wherein a flight path setting unit that sets the flight path includes: a coordinate information storage unit that stores coordinate information including latitude, longitude, altitude, and equipment height for power distribution equipments A to C that are the inspection equipments; an equipment display unit that displays the wiring equipments stored in the coordinate information storage unit; a flight path calculation unit that calculates a flight path based on coordinates corresponding to a power distribution equipment selected from the power distribution equipments displayed by the equipment display unit; and a path display unit that displays the flight path calculated by the flight path calculation unit on a map together with the position of the selected power distribution equipment."

[0003] In addition, paragraph 0039 of the same document describes that the three-dimensional coordinates of the current position of the drone are detected using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and paragraph 0199 lists power transmission equipments, power plants (water channels of dams), substations, communication equipments (radio towers, utility poles, electric wires, etc.), and railway equipments (rails, traffic signals, electric wires, etc.) as patrol inspection targets other than power distribution equipments.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

[0005] As described above, the inspection system described in Patent Document 1 is a system for inspecting outdoor facilities such as power distribution equipment, power transmission equipment, dams, and communication equipment. Therefore, it was possible to use GNSS to detect the drone's current position, calculate an appropriate flight path, and have the drone perform inspections along that flight path.

[0006] However, because GNSS cannot be used indoors, the system described in Patent Document 1 could not detect the drone's current position or calculate an appropriate flight path, making it impossible to have the drone inspect indoor equipment.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an inspection system and inspection method that allows a drone to calculate an appropriate flight path while recognizing its current position, even when conducting inspections indoors, and to enable the drone to perform autonomous inspections along that flight path. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an inspection system that connects a remote monitoring device, a drone, and a server in a communicative manner, and uses the drone to inspect an inspection target installed indoors in a river management facility, wherein a beacon that transmits location information is placed inside the indoors, the drone comprises a location recognition device that recognizes its own position based on the location information, a shooting device that captures an image of the inspection target and outputs image information, a flight unit that is controlled according to its own position and a flight route received from the outside, and a communication device, the remote monitoring device comprises a flight route creation unit that creates a flight route for the drone in a virtual indoor space reproduced by 3D map information based on the survey results of a 3D scanner, an inspection mode determination unit that determines the inspection mode of the drone and selects a flight route according to the inspection mode, and a communication unit, and the server comprises an image analysis unit that detects abnormalities in the inspection target by analyzing the image information, and a communication unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the inspection system and inspection method of the present invention, even when performing inspections indoors, the drone can calculate an appropriate flight path while recognizing its current position, and the drone can be made to perform autonomous inspections along that flight path. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram of an inspection system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] A functional block diagram of an inspection system according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] A flowchart illustrating the flight route determination procedure according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] A table illustrating the basic functions of the inspection time determination unit in one embodiment. [Figure 5] A flowchart illustrating the flight route correction procedure according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an inspection system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The inspection system 100 illustrated here is a system in which a remote monitoring device 1 operated by a facility manager, a drone 2 for inspecting various equipment, and a server 3 for analyzing the inspection results from the drone 2 are connected to each other via a wireless communication network such as a mobile phone network. In Figure 1, a configuration using the server 3 is illustrated, but in cases where the remote monitoring device 1 and the drone 2 are operated on the same site, the functions of the server 3, which will be described later, may be incorporated into the remote monitoring device 1.

[0012] GNSS satellite 4 is an artificial satellite that transmits GNSS information. Drone 2 can determine its absolute position based on multiple GNSS information received from multiple GNSS satellites 4. Beacon 5 is a device that transmits its own position information and is placed in various locations indoors. Even indoors where GNSS information cannot be received, Drone 2 can determine its relative position based on the beacon position information received from beacon 5, as long as it is near beacon 5.

[0013] While facilities to be inspected by Drone 2 could include factories, for example, this embodiment will describe a river management facility with both outdoor and indoor sections as the facility to be inspected. A river management facility is a facility for ensuring proper river management, and it is equipped with various devices necessary for pumping and draining, such as sluice gates, pumps, engines, motors, and debris removers, as well as various control panels to control them and measuring instruments to measure environmental information such as water levels. Hereinafter, the various devices, control panels, and measuring instruments of the river management facility that are scheduled to be inspected by Drone 2 will be referred to as "Inspection Target 6". In this embodiment, docks 20 (not shown) for Drone 2 to take off and land are installed at various locations within the river management facility, and Drone 2 can be charged at these docks 20.

[0014] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the remote monitoring device 1, drone 2, and server 3. The details of each component will be explained sequentially below. Note that, as mentioned above, the functions of server 3 may also be integrated into the remote monitoring device 1.

[0015] <Drone 2> The drone 2 of the present embodiment is a multicopter-type drone, which includes a flight unit 21, a position recognition device 22, an imaging device 23, a sound recording device 24, a control device 25, and a communication device 26. Hereinafter, each configuration will be outlined in sequence.

[0016] The flight unit 21 is a unit used when the drone 2 flies, and includes a plurality of propellers, motors for rotating each propeller, a battery for supplying power to each motor, and the like.

[0017] The position recognition device 22 is a device that recognizes its own position based on GNSS information outdoors, and recognizes its own position based on beacon position information indoors.

[0018] The imaging device 23 is a device that outputs image information obtained by two-dimensionally imaging an arbitrary direction around the drone 2, and specifically, is a CCD camera, an infrared camera, or the like added with a drive unit that controls the imaging direction.

[0019] The sound recording device 24 is a device that outputs sound information obtained by recording the surroundings of the drone 2, and specifically, is a microphone or the like.

[0020] The control device 25 is a device that realizes movement within the river management facility along a predetermined route by appropriately controlling the flight unit 21, and is also a device that generates and stores a data set DS that aggregates all or part of the self-position information, three-dimensional information, image information, and sound information at the same time. This control device 25 is provided with a timer 25a, and it is assumed that a timestamp which is the output of the timer 25a is added to each piece of data in the data set DS. In addition, in an environment where safe flight cannot be guaranteed (for example, an environment where the wind speed and rainfall observed by the anemometer and rain gauge of the dock 20 are equal to or higher than predetermined values), the control device 25 can also disobey the flight command from the remote monitoring device 1 and determine not to take off.

[0021] The communication device 26 is a receiving device that receives commands and the like from the remote monitoring device 1, and is also a transmitting device that transmits the data set DS aggregated by the control device 25 to the server 3.

[0022] <<Image Information>> Here, the details of the image information acquired by the imaging device 23 will be described. Before the flight of the drone 2, the control device 25 correlates the timestamp of the imaging device 23 with the timestamp of the timer 25a, then drives the flight unit 21 to start the flight of the drone 2. After the flight starts, the imaging device 23 records the appearance of each inspection target 6 together with the timestamp and the imaging point name during the period until landing. Accordingly, the image information output by the imaging device 23 is composite information composed of the appearance of the inspection target 6, the timestamp, and the imaging point name.

[0023] For example, if the inspection target 6 is a valve, the imaging device 23 captures the appearance required for valve inspection. Specifically, the imaging device 23 captures the appearance that allows the open / closed state of the valve to be known (the position with the open / closed pointer or the position where the length of the valve stem can be recognized), the appearance of the instrument part of the valve drive unit (the meter from which the open / closed value can be read), the appearance of the connection part of the power wiring (the part where cracks or deterioration of the wiring can be recognized), the appearance that allows corrosion of the valve body to be recognized, the appearance that allows misalignment of the valve installation to be determined, and the like, and outputs them as image information.

[0024] Similarly, for example, if the inspection target 6 is a measuring instrument, the meter value is captured; if it is an operation lever, the lever position is captured; if it is appearance deterioration of equipment, the appearance that allows paint peeling, rust, leakage and the like to be detected is captured, and these are output as image information.

[0025] It is desirable that additional information is arranged in the vicinity of the inspection target 6 so that the inspection target 6 can be identified from the appearance in the image information, and the additional information can be captured together when the appearance of the inspection target 6 is imaged. Here, the additional information is information that contributes to the identification of the inspection target 6 and the specification of its position, such as a two-dimensional code, a color marker, and character information.

[0026] If the relative relationship between the drone 2's camera 23 and the inspection target 6 is not appropriate, the appearance of the inspection target 6 may not be properly photographed due to the influence of light reflection, obstacles, etc. Therefore, it is desirable to pre-set the position of the drone 2 and the direction of the camera 23 at each shooting point and take pictures according to those settings. In addition, since self-position recognition based on beacon 5 indoors is less accurate than self-position recognition based on GNSS information, it is desirable to photograph the inspection target 6 under multiple shooting conditions with different positions for the drone 2 and orientations for the camera 23 to ensure proper exterior photography.

[0027] <<Audio Information>> Next, the details of the acoustic information acquired by the recording device 24 will be explained. Before the drone 2 takes flight, the control device 25 correlates the timestamp of the recording device 24 with the timestamp of the timer 25a, and then drives the flight unit 21 to start the flight of the drone 2. After the start of flight, the recording device 24 records the sounds generated around the drone 2 along with the timestamps until landing. Therefore, the acoustic information output by the recording device 24 is composite information consisting of sounds made during the flight of the drone 2 and the timestamps. However, since recording all sounds that can be recorded during flight would result in an enormous amount of data, it is also possible to select sounds generated near the inspection target 6 using one of the following methods and output them as acoustic information.

[0028] (1) The first selection method focuses on hovering sounds and flight order. To collect sound from each device, the drone must hover in front of the device, which is the same behavior as filming, so recording is done in parallel with filming. Taking advantage of the fact that the propeller sound of drone 2 is different during flight and when hovering, when the propeller sound is loud, it is judged that the drone is in flight and excluded from acoustic analysis, and when the propeller sound is quiet, it is considered that the drone is filming in front of the device and this is used for the acoustic analysis of each device. The order in which each device is flown and the time the drone reaches each device are calculated using the aforementioned flight time calculation formula, so it is possible to extract the acoustic data of the corresponding device.

[0029] (2) The second selection method focuses on mechanical sounds. Mechanical sounds behave differently depending on the equipment. For example, pumps produce pulsating sounds due to the period of the pump impeller, and engines can measure pulsating sounds at even faster rotational speeds. Therefore, the type of inspection target 6 can be determined by focusing on mechanical sounds, and only acoustic information acquired in the vicinity of inspection target 6 can be selected.

[0030] (3) The third selection method is one that focuses on dB values. During periodic inspections, the operation of each piece of equipment is not a high-load operation such as pump draining, but rather a steady operation such as idling, so the load fluctuations of each piece of equipment are small. Therefore, the noise level emitted from each piece of equipment during periodic inspections does not change much. On the other hand, if, for example, the impeller of a pump is damaged, the noise level of the equipment will be higher. During periodic inspections, acoustic information is selected by considering the dB values ​​of each piece of equipment in order to check for such differences in sound.

[0031] (4) The fourth selection method is one that focuses on alarm sounds. For example, when a rise in coolant temperature is detected, an alarm sound is emitted after the engine has started, so acoustic information can be selected based on the time the alarm sound was emitted. However, this judgment is difficult unless one is familiar with the operation of the equipment, so it may be better not to use it for analysis and simply record the time the alarm sound was emitted.

[0032] <Server 3> In this embodiment, the server 3 is a computer that analyzes image and acoustic information in the dataset DS received from the drone 2 to detect abnormalities in the inspection target 6 and reports the analysis results to the remote monitoring device 1. It has an image analysis unit 31, an acoustic analysis unit 32, and a communication unit 33. The details of each unit will be described in order below.

[0033] <<Image Analysis Unit 31>> The image analysis unit 31 is a functional unit that detects abnormalities in the inspection target or facility by analyzing image information acquired by the drone 2's camera 23.

[0034] During equipment operation, it is necessary to perform surrounding area checks to ensure the safety of the equipment and people at each stage: before, during, and after operation. In particular, before operation, it is necessary to check whether the status of each piece of equipment and the operating mode settings are correct, and to check whether there are any people entering the river. For this reason, the drone 2's camera 23 takes aerial photographs of the entire equipment both indoors and outdoors, photographs of each control panel to check the operating mode, and aerial photographs of the area around the river. The image analysis unit 31 processes the captured image information to automatically detect people and the presence or absence of malfunction indications, and determines whether it is safe or abnormal. The following are examples of the methods of analysis performed by the image analysis unit 31 and how the analysis results are used.

[0035] (1) In the case of image information taken of an outdoor river, it is necessary to determine whether a person has entered the river, so image processing for person detection is performed, and if a person is detected, an alarm is issued via the remote monitoring device 1.

[0036] (2) In the case of image information taken of each piece of equipment, the captured image information is stored and saved in order to check the time-series changes in the condition of the equipment, and deterioration of the item being inspected is detected by comparing past image information with current image information.

[0037] (3) When analyzing image information taken of the control panel surface, there are two methods: analyzing the time-series changes in the panel state and analyzing the panel display itself. In the latter case, the abnormality of the inspection target 6 can be identified by analyzing the characters displayed on the panel, or by analyzing the illuminated position of the fault lamps. Then, an alarm is issued via the remote monitoring device 1 to notify the user of the abnormality. Note that the location and name of the fault lamps are known in advance from the drawings, so there is no need to read the characters, and the abnormality can be easily understood by detecting the coordinates of the illuminated lamps in the image and comparing them with the drawings.

[0038] <<Acoustic analysis section 32>> The acoustic analysis unit 32 is a functional unit that analyzes acoustic information acquired by the recording device 24 of the drone 2 to detect abnormalities in the inspection target 6. If the acoustic information received from the drone 2 is before extraction, the acoustic analysis unit 32 may perform processing equivalent to the acoustic information extraction method described for the recording device 24 of the drone 2 to extract acoustic information acquired near the inspection target before determining whether the inspection target 6 is abnormal.

[0039] The acoustic analysis unit 32 determines abnormalities in the inspection target 6 as follows: For example, first, it quantifies newly acquired acoustic information by frequency analysis, and then compares it with the frequency analysis results of acoustic information previously acquired for the same inspection target 6 to determine if any abnormal frequencies are observed. If abnormal frequencies are observed, it determines that there is an abnormality in the inspection target 6.

[0040] <<Communications Section 33>> The communication unit 33 is a functional unit that transmits commands from the remote monitoring device 1 to the drone 2 and reports the analysis results of the dataset DS received from the drone 2 to the remote monitoring device 1.

[0041] <Remote monitoring device 1> Remote monitoring device 1 is a device used by facility managers, etc., to set inspection routes for drone 2, send various commands to drone 2, and monitor analysis results from server 3. Specifically, it is a stationary computer or portable tablet equipped with hardware such as a computing device such as a CPU, main memory such as semiconductor memory, auxiliary storage such as a hard disk or SSD, and communication equipment. The computing device then executes a predetermined program while referring to a database to realize the functions described later, but in the following explanation, such well-known technologies will be omitted as appropriate.

[0042] The remote monitoring device 1 of this embodiment includes a flight route creation unit 11, an inspection mode determination unit 12, a flight route correction unit 13, and a communication unit 14. The details of each unit will be described in order below.

[0043] <<Flight Route Creation Section 11>> The flight route creation unit 11 is a functional unit that creates the flight route for the drone 2. First, we will explain how to create a basic flight route using this flight route creation unit 11.

[0044] First, we will explain how to create a basic flight route for outdoor use. Outdoors, drone 2 can recognize its absolute position based on GNSS information received from GNSS satellite 4. Therefore, if a facility manager or the like manually flies drone 2 along a desired route, drone 2 can store the manually operated flight route based on its absolute position recognized during that flight. Then, by appropriately processing the flight route stored during manual operation using the flight route creation unit 11, the facility manager or the like can easily set a desired basic flight route.

[0045] Next, we will explain how to create a basic indoor flight route. As illustrated in Figure 1, inspection targets 6 are discretely placed in various locations inside the river management facility. However, GNSS information from GNSS satellite 4 does not reach inside the building, so a basic indoor flight route cannot be planned using the same methods as for the outdoors. Therefore, in this embodiment, a basic indoor flight route is planned using the following procedure: (1) First, the facility manager, etc., carries a portable 3D scanner (such as a laser scanner) and surveys the indoor space while sequentially moving along a route that is assumed to be the flight route of the drone 2 (for example, from the roof to the basement), thereby acquiring indoor space information. (2) Next, the flight route creation unit 11 creates 3D map information based on the indoor space information. (3) Finally, the facility manager, etc., sets the basic flight route of the drone 2 in the virtual indoor space reproduced by the 3D map information.

[0046] Furthermore, if 3D map information is created using a 3D scanner not only indoors but also at the boundary between indoors and outdoors, the indoor and outdoor spaces can be recognized as a single continuous space, making it possible to create a basic flight route that integrates outdoor and indoor flight routes. In addition, although the above explanation described a facility manager carrying a 3D scanner, it is also possible to equip drone 2 with a 3D scanner and create 3D map information from indoor space information acquired by the 3D scanner while manually operating drone 2.

[0047] The basic flight route created using the method described above was created without considering the position of the inspection target 6. Therefore, the flight route creation unit 11 in this embodiment uses the inspection order determination unit 11a and the inspection time determination unit 11b in combination to create the flight route for inspection. The details of each part will be explained in order below.

[0048] <<<Inspection sequence determination unit 11a>>> A characteristic of river management facilities is that the operating sequence after the start switch is turned ON is programmed using a single-person control system. That is, when a facility manager or other person turns ON any start switch, the river management facility will sequentially execute the following actions according to the operating sequence assigned to that start switch: starting of outdoor equipment, starting of indoor common auxiliary equipment, starting of indoor pumps and pump auxiliary equipment, stopping of indoor pumps and pump auxiliary equipment, stopping of indoor common auxiliary equipment, and stopping of outdoor equipment. Therefore, when executing any operating sequence, the start and stop times of individual pieces of equipment can be estimated based on the start time of that operating sequence.

[0049] Another characteristic of river management facilities is that the operating time of pumps and auxiliary pump equipment is short, for example, about 5 minutes. This is because it is sufficient to operate the pumps only for the period required to pump or drain the necessary amount of water. Here, the optimal timing for detecting abnormalities in inspection target 6 is often immediately after the start-up or just before the shutdown of various equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the order of inspections by drone 2 by considering the characteristics of the river management facilities described above and the optimal timing for detecting abnormalities.

[0050] Therefore, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a in this embodiment determines the inspection sequence for each inspection target using the flowchart in Figure 3. Needless to say, if the facilities to be inspected are different, a different inspection sequence must be determined. Furthermore, even for the same facility to be inspected, if the inspection mode is different (for example, annual, monthly, daily, and abnormal inspection modes, where the inspection target or inspection content differs), a different inspection sequence must be determined. In other words, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a creates an inspection sequence for each facility and each inspection mode.

[0051] In step S31, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a sets the inspection targets 6, which have been registered in advance by the facility manager, as inspection points and assigns a unique name to each inspection point. It should be assumed that when the facility manager registers the inspection targets 6, a unique name is assigned to each inspection target in accordance with a prescribed naming convention. For example, if there are three pumps installed in a river management facility, they may be named Pump 1, Pump 2, and Pump 3, respectively. Therefore, if the inspection sequence determination unit 11a reuses the names of each inspection target as the names of each inspection point, naming them Pump 1, Pump 2, and Pump 3, the inspection points and inspection targets can be easily associated.

[0052] In step S32, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a extracts inspection points related to the pump based on the names of the inspection points, and then determines the inspection sequence corresponding to the combination of extracted points by referring to the pump sequence database. The pump sequence database has pre-registered inspection sequences corresponding to various combinations of pumps and pump auxiliary equipment, such as (1) vacuum pump → intake valve → water level detector → motor → pump → discharge valve, and (2) cooling water pump → motor → pump → discharge valve. Therefore, by referring to the pump sequence database, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a can determine the inspection sequence of pumps and pump auxiliary equipment according to the facility and inspection mode.

[0053] In step S33, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a extracts inspection points related to common auxiliary equipment based on the names of the inspection points, and then determines the inspection sequence corresponding to the combination of extracted points by referring to the common auxiliary equipment sequence database. The common auxiliary equipment sequence database has pre-registered inspection sequences corresponding to various combinations of common auxiliary equipment, such as (1) elevated water tank → fuel discharge tank → air tank → air compressor → ventilation equipment, or (2) ventilation equipment → cooling water tank. Therefore, by referring to the common auxiliary equipment sequence database, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a can determine the inspection sequence of common auxiliary equipment according to the facility and inspection mode.

[0054] In step S34, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a extracts inspection points related to outdoor equipment based on the names of the inspection points, and then determines the inspection sequence according to the combination of extracted points by referring to the outdoor equipment sequence database. The common auxiliary equipment sequence database has pre-registered inspection sequences corresponding to various combinations of outdoor equipment, such as (1) elevated water tank → fuel outlet tank → air tank → air compressor → ventilation equipment, or (2) ventilation equipment → cooling water tank. Therefore, by referring to the outdoor equipment sequence database, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a can determine the inspection sequence of outdoor equipment according to the facility and inspection mode.

[0055] In step S35, the inspection sequence determination unit 11a determines the flight route based on the inspection sequence determined in steps S31 to S34. Specifically, for a flight route for inspection immediately after startup of each inspection target, the inspection sequence can be determined by appropriately arranging the inspection sequence of outdoor equipment determined in step S34, the inspection sequence of common auxiliary equipment determined in step S33, and the inspection sequence of pump-related equipment determined in step S32. Similarly, for a flight route for inspection immediately before shutdown of each inspection target, the inspection sequence can be determined by appropriately arranging the reverse order of the pump-related equipment inspection sequence determined in step S32, the reverse order of the inspection sequence of common auxiliary equipment determined in step S33, and the reverse order of the inspection sequence of outdoor equipment determined in step S34. Note that here, both flight routes for inspection immediately after startup and inspection immediately before shutdown are determined, but it is also possible to determine only one of the flight routes.

[0056] While the basic operating sequence does not vary significantly across river management facilities, the combinations of equipment differ from facility to facility, including the combination of pump drive units (engine, motor), the combination of pump auxiliary equipment (presence or absence of cooling water system, fuel system), the presence or absence of water tanks, and the number of pieces of equipment. Therefore, it is desirable to create patterns of various shooting sequences and store them in server 3 to accommodate any combination, and to make each database acquired from server 3 available for use by any remote monitoring device 1.

[0057] <<<Inspection Time Determination Unit 11b>>> The flight unit 21 of the drone 2 is battery-powered, and since there is a limit to the battery's supply time, the flight time of the drone 2 must be set to be less than or equal to the battery's supply time. Therefore, the inspection time determination unit 11b in this embodiment determines the takeoff time from the dock 20, the inspection time at each inspection point, and the landing time at the dock 20 so that the flight route determined by the inspection order determination unit 11a can be completed within the battery's supply time.

[0058] Figure 4 is a table illustrating the general function of the inspection time determination unit 11b. This table shows the time of photography for the inspection targets 6 (vacuum pump, water level detector, discharge valve) along with the operation sequence of the single-person control system after pressing the "drain pump operation" switch. As mentioned above, the optimal timing for detecting abnormalities in the inspection targets 6 is immediately after the start-up or immediately before the stop-down of each piece of equipment, but here, the time of photography for each target is set to immediately before the stop-down of the inspection targets 6.

[0059] In this example, at the reference time (time 0 seconds), when the facility manager presses the "Drain Pump Operation" switch on the control panel, the vacuum pump starts simultaneously. Then, at time 240 seconds, when the water level detector detects that the tank is full, the engine starts at time 241 seconds, the drain pump starts at time 250 seconds, and the discharge valve opens. Subsequently, the vacuum pump stops at time 300 seconds, and the discharge valve stops fully open at time 350 seconds. Since these operating sequences are controlled by a single operator, the stopping time of the vacuum pump and the fully open stop time of the discharge valve can be determined at the time the "Drain Pump Operation" switch is pressed, and therefore, the optimal time for photographing the vacuum pump and discharge valve can also be determined. The following explanation assumes that the flight time from dock 20, the initial position of drone 2, to the first inspection point, the vacuum pump, is 10 seconds, the flight time from the vacuum pump to the second inspection point, the water level detector, is 5 seconds, and the flight time from the water level detector to the third inspection point, the discharge valve, is 5 seconds.

[0060] As shown in Figure 4, No. 9, the vacuum pump stops at 300 seconds. Therefore, the most suitable time to photograph the vacuum pump, which is the first inspection point, is 290 seconds, just before it stops, as exemplified in No. 8. Since the flight time from dock 20 to the vacuum pump is 10 seconds, drone 2 should take off from dock 20 and head towards the water level detector by 280 seconds at the latest.

[0061] As shown in Figure 4, No. 12, the discharge valve stops at 350 seconds. Therefore, the most suitable time for photographing the discharge valve, which is the third inspection point, is 340 seconds, just before it stops, as exemplified in No. 11. Since the flight time from the water level detector to the discharge valve is 5 seconds, drone 2 should head from the water level detector to the discharge valve by 335 seconds at the latest.

[0062] As shown in Figure 4, No. 3, the water level detector detects full water at 240 seconds, so the optimal time for photographing this water level detector is after 240 seconds. However, if there is sufficient time between the vacuum pump's stop time and the discharge valve's full-open stop time, the flight time before photographing the vacuum pump and after photographing the discharge valve can be shortened by setting the photographing time for the water level detector between the photographing times of the vacuum pump and the discharge valve. Therefore, in the example in Figure 4, the photographing time for the water level detector was set to 310 seconds, between the optimal photographing time for the vacuum pump at 290 seconds and the optimal photographing time for the discharge valve at 340 seconds (see Figure 4, No. 10). In this case, the difference in photographing times between the vacuum pump and the water level detector is longer than the flight time between them, and the difference in photographing times between the water level detector and the discharge valve is also longer than the flight time. Therefore, the drone 2 may be landed near one of the inspection points to reduce power consumption, or the photographing time at each inspection point may be extended to improve inspection accuracy.

[0063] As described above, the inspection time determination unit 11b can determine the takeoff and landing times of the drone 2, as well as the shooting times for each target, using the switch press time (time 0 seconds) as the reference time. The "flight route" mentioned below will include not only the 3D position information of the flight route, but also the shooting time information for each target determined by the inspection time determination unit 11b.

[0064] <<Inspection Mode Determination Unit 12>> The inspection mode determination unit 12 is a functional unit that determines the inspection mode to be performed by the drone 2 and transmits a corresponding flight route to the drone 2. Here, the inspection mode is a mode that is set in advance by the facility manager, etc., and includes, for example, (1) a periodic inspection mode in which a comprehensive inspection is performed once a month or once a year on a large number of inspection targets 6, (2) a patrol inspection mode in which a simple inspection is performed multiple times a day on a small number of inspection targets 6, and (3) an emergency inspection mode in which an abnormal equipment is automatically inspected when an equipment malfunction occurs. The details of each inspection mode will be explained below.

[0065] (1) Periodic inspection mode The periodic inspection mode is used to verify that the pump is operating normally during monthly or annual maintenance operations, and it comprehensively inspects the soundness of each piece of equipment and the building. The flight route used in this periodic inspection mode is created by the flight route creation unit 11 after the facility manager has identified the inspection targets 6 for the periodic inspection. In this inspection mode, in addition to each piece of equipment in operation, the control panel and measuring devices are also photographed in sequence. It is assumed that the date and time for executing this inspection mode are pre-registered in the inspection mode determination unit 12.

[0066] (2) Inspection mode The patrol inspection mode is an inspection mode in which each piece of equipment is inspected, for example, every hour, to perform a simple check for any abnormalities in the pump's drainage operation. It does not record measurement values, but rather performs a simple check to see if there are any abnormal noises. In order to execute this inspection mode, the inspection mode determination unit 12 is assumed to have the execution frequency of the inspection mode pre-registered.

[0067] (3) Emergency inspection mode The emergency inspection mode is an inspection mode in which, when the abnormal signal receiving unit 12a of the inspection mode determination unit 12 receives an abnormal signal from the inspection target 6 equipped with an abnormality reporting function, the drone 2 is automatically flown to take a photograph of the condition of the equipment. Because this emergency inspection mode is an operation requiring urgency, it does not use a time-consuming flight route that sequentially inspects each piece of equipment like the periodic inspection mode or patrol inspection mode, but instead goes directly to the equipment with the abnormality and targets only that equipment for photography and recording.

[0068] If equipment failure occurs, and there are workers nearby, they can immediately begin restoration work. In such cases, the workers also need to report the equipment failure to relevant parties, but there is a possibility that they may forget to do so while working on restoration. For these reasons, the deployment of Drone 2 in emergency inspection mode, which allows information about equipment failure to be quickly shared with relevant parties, is extremely useful from a crisis management perspective. In particular, if equipment failure occurs at night or on a holiday, the likelihood of workers being near the faulty equipment is lower, so the effectiveness of emergency inspection by Drone 2 is even greater.

[0069] <<Flight Route Correction Section 13>> The indoor flight route created by the flight route creation unit 11 is a flight route that was previously flyable, based on 3D map information derived from the survey results of a 3D scanner. Therefore, if the number of obstacles increases due to construction work or other reasons within the facility, it is not guaranteed that the indoor flight route created by the flight route creation unit 11 can be flown as is. To address this, the flight route modification unit 13 in this embodiment modifies the indoor flight route created by the flight route creation unit 11 as needed, using the flowchart in Figure 5, and makes the modified indoor flight route available for use in subsequent inspections.

[0070] In step S51, the flight route correction unit 13 recognizes the combination of the facility to be inspected and the inspection mode.

[0071] In step S52, the flight route correction unit 13 selects a combination corresponding to the one in question from among several pre-prepared indoor flight routes and transmits it to the drone 2.

[0072] In step S53, drone 2 takes photographs at each inspection point according to the shooting time specified by the flight route received from the flight route correction unit 13 (see Figure 4). At this time, if there is a change in the indoor environment (for example, an increase in obstacles due to construction, etc.), it may not be able to fly the planned route and may have to detour around the obstacles to reach the shooting point. In that case, drone 2, which was unable to photograph the inspection target 6 at the specified time, reports the time difference between the specified shooting time and the actual shooting time to the flight route correction unit 13.

[0073] In step S54, the flight route correction unit 13 determines whether the time difference between the designated shooting time and the actual shooting time is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold. If the requirement is met, the process proceeds to step S55; otherwise, the process terminates.

[0074] In step S55, the flight route correction unit 13 corrects the position and shooting time of the flight route based on the time difference reported by the drone 2, and stores the corrected flight route in the flight route database as a new basic flight route. For example, if the shooting time in Figure 4 is corrected, the flight route may be corrected to set the shooting time of the vacuum pump to 270 seconds, or to set the shooting time of the water level detector to 320 seconds.

[0075] <<Communications Department 14>> The communication unit 14 is a functional unit for communicating with the drone 2 and the server 3. Therefore, the remote monitoring device 1 can use the communication unit 14 to send commands to the drone 2, receive inspection data from the drone 2, and receive analysis results from the server 3.

[0076] <Effects of this embodiment> According to the inspection system of this embodiment described above, even when conducting inspections indoors, the drone can recognize its current position and calculate an appropriate flight path, and the drone can be made to perform autonomous inspections along that flight path.

[0077] Furthermore, if the image or audio information acquired by the drone includes anything indicating an abnormality in the area being inspected, the nature of that abnormality will be notified to the facility manager via a remote monitoring device. This allows for the rapid sharing of information about any abnormalities that occur at night or on holidays among relevant parties. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0078] 100 Inspection Systems 1. Remote monitoring device 11. Flight Route Creation Section 11a Inspection sequence determination unit 11b Inspection time determination unit 12 Inspection mode determination unit 12a Abnormal signal receiving unit 13. Flight Route Correction Section 14 Communications Department 2 Drones 20 Dock 21 Flight Units 22 Location recognition device 23. Imaging device 24 Recording device 25 Control device 25a timer 26 Communication equipment 3 servers 31 Image Analysis Department 32 Acoustic analysis section 33 Communications Department 4 GNSS satellites 5 Beacons 6. Items to be inspected

Claims

1. An inspection system that connects a remote monitoring device, a drone, and a server in a communication manner, and uses the drone to inspect an object to be inspected installed indoors at a river management facility, A beacon that transmits location information is placed inside the aforementioned building. The drone comprises a position recognition device that recognizes its own position based on the position information, a shooting device that captures images of the inspection target and outputs image information, a flight unit that is controlled according to its own position and a flight route received from an external source, and a communication device. The remote monitoring device comprises a flight route creation unit that creates a flight route for the drone in a virtual indoor space reproduced by 3D map information based on the survey results of a 3D scanner, an inspection mode determination unit that determines the inspection mode of the drone and selects a flight route according to the inspection mode, and a communication unit. The inspection system is characterized in that the server comprises an image analysis unit that detects abnormalities in the object to be inspected by analyzing the image information, and a communication unit.

2. In the inspection system described in claim 1, The drone is further equipped with a recording device that records the object being inspected and outputs acoustic information. The inspection system is characterized in that the server further comprises an acoustic analysis unit that detects abnormalities in the object to be inspected by analyzing the acoustic information.

3. In the inspection system described in claim 1, The inspection system is characterized in that the flight route creation unit of the remote monitoring device includes an inspection order determination unit that determines the order in which to inspect each inspection target according to the combination of multiple inspection targets installed indoors.

4. In the inspection system described in claim 3, The inspection system is characterized in that the inspection order determination unit determines the inspection order according to the combination of inspection targets by referring to a database held by the server.

5. In the inspection system described in claim 3, The inspection system is characterized in that the flight route creation unit of the remote monitoring device includes an inspection time determination unit that determines the time to inspect each inspection target.

6. In the inspection system described in claim 5, The inspection system is characterized in that the inspection time determination unit determines the takeoff time and landing time of the drone, taking into consideration the battery supply time of the drone.

7. In the inspection system described in claim 5, The inspection time determination unit is characterized in that it determines the time immediately after the start-up or immediately before the stop-down of each inspection target as the time of photography by the photography device.

8. In the inspection system described in claim 5, The inspection system is further characterized in that the remote monitoring device includes a flight route correction unit that corrects the inspection time included in the flight route when the time difference between the inspection time specified by the inspection time determination unit and the actual inspection time by the drone is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

9. In the inspection system described in claim 1, The aforementioned image analysis unit is characterized in that, when inspecting a predetermined inspection target, it detects abnormalities related to the inspection target by comparing past image information with current image information.

10. In the inspection system described in claim 1, The inspection system is characterized in that, when inspecting a predetermined inspection target, the image analysis unit detects abnormalities related to the inspection target by analyzing the position of characters or lamps in the image information.

11. In the inspection system described in claim 2, The aforementioned acoustic analysis unit is characterized in that, when inspecting a predetermined inspection target, it detects abnormalities related to the inspection target by comparing past acoustic information with current acoustic information.

12. In the inspection system described in claim 1, The inspection system is characterized in that, when the inspection mode determination unit receives an abnormality signal from an inspection target equipped with an abnormality reporting function, it selects an emergency inspection mode that proceeds directly to the inspection target.

13. An inspection system that connects a remote monitoring device and a drone in a communication manner, and uses the drone to inspect an object to be inspected installed indoors at a river management facility, A beacon that transmits location information is placed inside the aforementioned building. The drone comprises a position recognition device that recognizes its own position based on the position information, a shooting device that captures images of the inspection target and outputs image information, a flight unit that is controlled according to its own position and a flight route received from an external source, and a communication device. The remote monitoring device is an inspection system characterized by comprising: a flight route creation unit that creates a flight route for the drone in a virtual indoor space reproduced by 3D map information based on the survey results of a 3D scanner; an inspection mode determination unit that determines the inspection mode of the drone and selects a flight route according to the inspection mode; an image analysis unit that detects abnormalities of the inspection target by analyzing the image information; and a communication unit.

14. An inspection method for inspecting objects installed indoors at river management facilities using a drone, A flight route creation step involves creating a flight route for the drone in a virtual indoor space reproduced using 3D map information based on the survey results of a 3D scanner, and An inspection mode determination step involves determining the inspection mode of the drone and selecting a flight route corresponding to the inspection mode. A position recognition step in which the drone's own position is recognized based on location information transmitted by a beacon placed indoors, A flight step that controls the flight of the drone according to its own position and the flight route, A camera that captures images of the object to be inspected and outputs image information, An image analysis step in which abnormalities of the object to be inspected are detected by analyzing the aforementioned image information, An inspection method characterized by having the following features.

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