Management System

Abstract

To provide a management system capable of accurately managing the whereabouts of crew members in a ship.SOLUTION: A management system 1 includes: a transmitter 10 that is worn by a crew member 100 and periodically transmits a wireless signal for identifying the crew member 100; a plurality of receivers 20 installed within a ship 200 and for receiving the wireless signal; and a management device 30. The management device 30 includes a database that stores distribution information associating, for each of a plurality of locations within the ship 200, the location with the radio wave intensity distribution of a signal transmitted from the location and received by the plurality of receivers 20. Furthermore, the management device 30 includes an estimation unit that identifies distribution information indicating radio wave intensity distribution closest to the radio wave intensity distribution of the wireless signal received by the plurality of receivers 20 from the database, and based on a location indicated by the identified distribution information, estimates the whereabouts of the crew member 100 identified by the wireless signal. The number of the plurality of locations is more than the number of the plurality of receivers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a management system for managing crew members of a ship. [Background technology]

[0002] JP 2020-008492 A (Patent Document 1) discloses a management system for managing the location of crew members on board a ship. This management system includes a device worn by a crew member on board and transmitting advertising packets in accordance with the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy standard, and multiple receivers arranged on board. The management system estimates the location of the crew members based on the position of the receiver that received the advertising packet among the multiple receivers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-008492 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The management system described in Patent Document 1 estimates the location of the passenger based on the location of the receiver with the strongest reception strength of the advertising packet. The area of ​​the transmission location of the advertising packet that a certain receiver can receive with stronger reception strength than any other receiver is relatively wide. Therefore, the management system described in Patent Document 1 estimates the location of the passenger with low accuracy.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a management system that can accurately manage the location of crew members on board a ship. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A management system for managing crew members on a ship according to the present disclosure includes a transmitter worn by a crew member and periodically emitting a radio signal to identify the crew member, a plurality of receivers installed on the ship for receiving the radio signals, a database, and an estimation unit. The database stores distribution information for each of a plurality of positions on the ship, the distribution information associating the position with the radio wave intensity distribution of the signal emitted from the position and received by the plurality of receivers. The estimation unit identifies from the database distribution information indicating a radio wave intensity distribution that is closest to the radio wave intensity distribution of the radio signals received by the plurality of receivers, and estimates the location of the crew member identified by the radio signal based on the position indicated by the identified distribution information. The number of the plurality of positions is greater than the number of the plurality of receivers. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the location of crew members on board a ship can be managed with high accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a ship to which the management system is applied; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a transmitter according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a management device. [Diagram 5] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a management device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an initial setting table generated for each section. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a database according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a management table. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an advertising packet transmission process in a transmitter. [Figure 10]13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an advertising packet receiving process in a receiver. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a measurement data receiving process in the management device. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a management table update process in the management device. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a notification process in a management device. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the terminal device. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a management device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen provided by a user interface unit. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a database according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, various embodiments according to the present invention will be described. In the following, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings will be given the same reference numerals, and in principle, the description thereof will not be repeated. Note that the various embodiments and modifications described below may be appropriately and selectively combined.

[0010] [Embodiment 1] <Overall configuration of the management system> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a ship to which the management system is applied. As shown in Fig. 1, the ship 200 has a plurality of rooms surrounded by walls 202. Each room is provided with a door 203.

[0011] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the management system 1 according to embodiment 1 includes a transmitter 10, a plurality of receivers 20, a management device 30, and a communication cable 60.

[0012] The transmitter 10 is attached to the occupant 100. The transmitter 10 periodically transmits a wireless signal for identifying the occupant 100. For example, the transmitter 10 wirelessly transmits an advertising packet (also called an advertising packet) in the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE) standard by radio waves 300. Below, an example will be described in which the wireless signal transmitted from the transmitter 10 is an advertising packet. However, the wireless signal transmitted from the transmitter 10 is not limited to an advertising packet.

[0013] Each of the receivers 20-1, 20-2, ... is installed at a fixed position within the ship 200 (see FIG. 1) and receives advertising packets from the transmitter 10. A receiver ID is assigned to each of the receivers 20-1, 20-2, .... In the following, when there is no particular distinction between the receivers 20-1, 20-2, ..., each of the receivers 20-1, 20-2, ... will be referred to as "receiver 20."

[0014] When the receiver 20 receives an advertising packet transmitted from the transmitter 10, it measures the radio wave strength of the advertising packet and outputs measurement data indicating the measured radio wave strength, the reception time, the receiver ID, and the information indicated by the advertising packet to the management device 30.

[0015] The management device 30 manages the occupant 100 based on the measurement data received from the receiver 20. Specifically, the management device 30 estimates the location of the occupant 100 and manages the location of the occupant 100.

[0016] The communication cable 60 communicably connects the receiver 20 and the management device 30. Note that the communication cable 60 may also be connected to other devices (for example, a fire extinguishing device).

[0017] <Transmitter configuration> Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a transmitter according to embodiment 1. The example transmitter 10 shown in Fig. 3 is a wristwatch type. However, the shape of the transmitter 10 is not limited to a wristwatch type. For example, the transmitter 10 may be a type that is embedded in a part of clothing, or a type that is attached to the skin.

[0018] 3, the transmitter 10 includes a biosensor 11 and a communication unit 12. The biosensor 11 outputs bioinformation (e.g., pulse, heart rate, body temperature, etc.) of the occupant 100 wearing the transmitter 10. The biosensor 11 may measure values ​​such as pulse, heart rate, body temperature, etc. and output the measured values ​​as bioinformation, or may evaluate the condition of the occupant 100 based on the measured values ​​and output the evaluation result as bioinformation.

[0019] The communication unit 12 generates an advertising packet conforming to the BLE standard and wirelessly transmits the generated advertising packet at a predetermined transmission period. The predetermined transmission period is determined by the BLE standard and is an integer multiple of 0.625 ms in the range of 20 ms to 10.24 s. The communication unit 12 transmits the advertising packet, for example, approximately every 0.5 s. The communication unit 12 transmits the advertising packet at a predetermined transmission strength (transmission power).

[0020] The advertising packet includes a transmitter ID that identifies the transmitter 10. The transmitter 10 is always attached to the occupant 100. Therefore, the transmitter ID can be said to be information that identifies the occupant 100 who is wearing the transmitter 10.

[0021] Furthermore, the advertisement packet includes an information element "Manufacturer Specific Data" that can be used by a BLE device supplier by defining its own format. The communication unit 12 includes the latest biometric information output from the biometric sensor 11 in the Manufacturer Specific Data. The data length of the Manufacturer Specific Data is determined in advance. Therefore, the biometric sensor 11 outputs biometric information that fits within the data length of the Manufacturer Specific Data.

[0022] <Hardware configuration of management device> Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the management device 30. As shown in Fig. 4, the management device 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 302, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 303, a network interface 304, a display 305, a storage device 306, and an input device 307.

[0023] The CPU 301 executes various programs such as a management program 310 for managing the occupant 100 (see FIG. 2). Upon receiving an instruction to execute the management program 310, the CPU 301 loads the management program 310 stored in the storage device 306 onto the RAM 303. The RAM 303 functions as a working memory and temporarily stores various data required for the execution of the management program 310.

[0024] A communication cable 60 (see FIG. 2) is connected to the network interface 304. The network interface 304 transmits and receives data to and from the receiver 20 via the communication cable 60.

[0025] The display 305 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input device 307 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like.

[0026] The storage device 306 is, for example, a storage device such as a hard disk or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage device 306 may be built into the management device 30, or may be externally attached to the management device 30. The management program 310 is stored in the storage device 306, but the storage location of the management program 310 is not limited to the storage device 306, and may be stored in a storage area (e.g., cache) of the management device 30, the ROM 302, the RAM 303, an external communication device (e.g., a server), or the like.

[0027] Management program 310 does not have to exist as a standalone program, but may exist as part of an arbitrary program. Furthermore, some or all of the functions provided by management program 310 may be realized by dedicated hardware.

[0028] The storage device 306 further stores a database 320. The database 320 is used when the management program 310 is executed.

[0029] <Functional configuration of management device> The functional configuration of the management device will be described with reference to Fig. 5 to Fig. 8. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the management device according to the first embodiment.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 5, the management device 30 includes a storage unit 31, a measurement data acquisition unit 32, a database creation unit 33, an estimation unit 34, a management unit 35, and a notification unit 36. The storage unit 31 is configured with a storage device 306, a ROM 302, and a RAM 303 shown in Fig. 4. The measurement data acquisition unit 32 is realized by a network interface 304 shown in Fig. 4 and a CPU 301 that executes a management program 310. The database creation unit 33, the estimation unit 34, and the management unit 35 are realized by the CPU 301 shown in Fig. 4 executing the management program 310. The notification unit 36 ​​is realized by the network interface 304, a display 305, and the CPU 301 that executes the management program 310 shown in Fig. 4.

[0031] (Measurement data acquisition section) The measurement data acquisition unit 32 acquires measurement data from each of the multiple receivers 20. As described above, the measurement data indicates radio wave intensity, reception time, receiver ID, and information indicated by an advertising packet. The information indicated by an advertising packet includes a transmitter ID and biological information. The measurement data acquisition unit 32 stores the acquired measurement data in the storage unit 31 as a part of a measurement data group 311.

[0032] As described above, the transmitter 10 transmits an advertising packet at a predetermined transmission period (for example, 0.5 seconds). Therefore, the measurement data acquisition unit 32 acquires measurement data from each receiver 20 at each transmission period (for example, 0.5 seconds).

[0033] (Database Creation Department) The database creation unit 33 performs initial settings of the management device 30. The database creation unit 33 operates before the process of estimating the location of the occupant 100 begins.

[0034] The initial setting of the management device 30 is performed with the cooperation of one or more crew members 100. Each of the one or more crew members 100, wearing one or more transmitters 10, moves sequentially to a plurality of positions within the ship 200. The number of the plurality of positions is greater than the number of receivers 20 installed within the ship 200.

[0035] For example, two crew members 100 move inside the ship 200 with a transmitter 10 attached to each of their arms. Note that the crew members 100 attach the transmitter 10 to both arms only during the initial setup, and attach the transmitter 10 to only one arm during other than the initial setup.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, each floor in the ship 200 is divided into a plurality of sections 201 (e.g., square sections with sides of 1 m). The center position of each section 201 is expressed by XYZ coordinates. The X and Y coordinates indicate positions along the horizontal direction in the ship. For example, the X coordinate is positive toward the stern, the Y coordinate is positive toward the starboard, and the Z coordinate is positive in the height (i.e., floor) direction. The two crew members 100 stay at the center position of one of the multiple sections 201 for a first time or more (e.g., five minutes or more) that is equal to or longer than the transmission period of the transmitter 10, and then move to another section 201 and stay there for the first time or more. The two crew members 100 repeatedly perform this operation, thereby staying at each of the center positions of the multiple sections 201 for the first time or more.

[0037] The two occupants 100 record, for each of the multiple sections 201, the XYZ coordinates of the center position of that section 201 and the time of arrival at the center position of that section 201 (hereinafter referred to as the "arrival time"). Each of the two occupants 100 inputs input information indicating the transmitter IDs of the two transmitters 10 worn on both arms, the recorded XYZ coordinates, and the recorded arrival time into the input device 307 of the management device 30.

[0038] When two occupants 100 wearing transmitters 10 on both arms cooperate in the initial setup, the input device 307 accepts four pieces of input information for each section 201. Specifically, one of the two occupants 100, occupant "A", inputs input information indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 worn on his left arm and input information indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 worn on his right arm. The other of the two occupants 100, occupant "B", also inputs input information indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 worn on his left arm and input information indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 worn on his right arm.

[0039] The database creation unit 33 performs initial settings based on the input information entered through the input device 307 .

[0040] The database creation unit 33 extracts, for each section 201, at least one piece of input information indicating the XYZ coordinates of the center position of the section 201 from the multiple pieces of input information input to the input device 307. When two occupants 100 wearing transmitters 10 on both arms cooperate with the initial setup, the database creation unit 33 extracts four pieces of input information for each section 201.

[0041] For each piece of extracted input information, the database creation unit 33 extracts, from the measurement data group 311, measurement data indicating a reception time within a 5-minute period from the arrival time indicated by the input information and indicating the transmitter ID indicated by the input information. For each section 201, the database creation unit 33 generates an initial setting table 312 for that section 201 based on the extracted measurement data.

[0042] The database creation unit 33 creates an initial setting table 312 including records in the number n×m, which is the product of the number n of receivers 20 and the number m of input information (i.e., the number of transmitters 10) for each section 201. In other words, the database creation unit 33 creates an initial setting table 312 including a record for each combination of one receiver 20 and one transmitter 10.

[0043] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an initial setting table generated for each section. Fig. 6 shows an initial setting table 312 generated for section 201-1. As shown in Fig. 6, each record 312a of the initial setting table 312 has a field 312b in which a transmitter ID is described, a field 312c in which a receiver ID is described, a field 312d in which a time when measurement of radio wave strength started (measurement start time) is described, a field 312e in which a transmission period is described, and a field 312f in which a value of radio wave strength measured for 5 minutes is described.

[0044] For each record 312a, the database creation unit 33 writes in a field 312b the receiver ID of the receiver 20 corresponding to the record 312a, and writes in a field 312c the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 corresponding to the record. Note that, instead of the transmitter ID, information indicating the location where the transmitter 10 is worn (for example, the name of the occupant 100 and information identifying the right arm or the left arm on which the transmitter 10 is worn, etc.) may be written in the field 312c.

[0045] Furthermore, for each record 312a, the database creation unit 33 identifies, from the extracted measurement data, measurement data that indicates the receiver ID of the receiver 20 corresponding to that record and that indicates the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 corresponding to that record. The database creation unit 33 writes the radio wave intensity indicated by the identified measurement data in field 312f.

[0046] If the distance between the section 201 in which the occupant 100 is located and the receiver 20 is long, the receiver 20 cannot receive the advertising packet from the transmitter 10 attached to the occupant 100. Therefore, there may be a record 312a whose measurement data cannot be identified from the extracted measurement data. The database creation unit 33 writes "0" in the field 312f for the record 312a whose measurement data cannot be identified from the extracted measurement data.

[0047] The database creation unit 33 indicates the XYZ coordinates of the center position of the section 201 corresponding to the initial setting table 312, and writes in a field 312d the arrival time indicated by the input information indicating the transmitter ID written in the field 312c. The database creation unit 33 writes in a field 312e a predetermined transmission period (e.g., 0.5 s).

[0048] The database creation unit 33 creates a database 320 by performing statistical processing using the initial setting table 312 created for each partition 201 .

[0049] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a database according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 7, database 320 has a data area 321 for each partition 201. Data area 321 includes field 320a in which identification information for identifying partition 201 is described, and field 320b in which XYZ coordinates of the center position of partition 201 are described. Furthermore, data area 321 includes records 322 the same number as the number n of receivers 20. Each record 322 includes field 320c in which a receiver ID is described, and one or more fields 320d in which statistical values ​​of received radio wave intensity obtained by statistical processing using initial setting table 312 are described.

[0050] The database creation unit 33 writes data for each section 201 in each field of the data area 321 corresponding to the section 201 based on the initial setting table 312 corresponding to the section 201. Specifically, the database creation unit 33 writes identification information of the section 201 in field 320a, and writes the XYZ coordinates of the center position of the section 201 in field 320b. For each receiver 20, the database creation unit 33 reads out a record 312a in which the receiver ID of the receiver 20 is written from the initial setting table 312 (see FIG. 6). The database creation unit 33 performs statistical processing on the radio wave intensity written in field 312f (see FIG. 6) of the read record 312a. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, for the radio wave reception strength described in field 312f, the maximum value, the minimum value, the average value for each transmitter 10 of the occupant 100 (for example, the A-left average is the average value of the reception strength of the radio wave emitted from the transmitter 10 worn on the left arm of occupant "A", and the A-right average is the average value of the reception strength of the radio wave emitted from the transmitter 10 worn on the right arm of occupant "A". The same applies to the B-left average and the B-right average), the average value (simple average) of all occupants 100, and the standardized average are calculated. The standardized average is a value (standardized average radio wave strength) converted when radio waves from a predetermined standard transmitter 10 are received, taking into account the difference in the output radio wave strength of each transmitter 10. Specifically, the output radio wave strength of the reference transmitter 10 is P0, the output radio wave strength of the transmitter 10 attached to the left arm of occupant "A" is Pal, the output radio wave strength of the transmitter 10 attached to the right arm of occupant "A" is Par, the output radio wave strength of the transmitter 10 attached to the left arm of occupant "B" is Pbl, and the output radio wave strength of the transmitter 10 attached to the right arm of occupant "B" is Pbr. In this case, if the A-left average of receiver 20 is Eal, the A-right average is Ear, the B-left average is Ebl, and the B-left average is Ebr, the normalized average radio wave strength is as follows: Normalized average radio field strength =(Eal / Pal+Ear / Par+Ebl / Pbl+Ebr / Pbr)·P0 / 4 The database creation unit 33 writes the receiver ID of each receiver 20 in a field 320c, and writes various statistical values ​​calculated from the radio wave intensity written in the record 312a corresponding to that receiver 20 in a field 320d.

[0051] The multiple records 322 included in each data area 321 indicate the radio wave intensity distribution of wireless signals received by the multiple receivers 20. Thus, each data area 321 indicates distribution information that associates the center position of the corresponding section 201 with the radio wave intensity distribution of advertising packets emitted from that center position and received by the multiple receivers 20. The database 320 includes a data area 321 that indicates the distribution information for each of the center positions of the multiple sections 201 in the ship 200.

[0052] (Estimation Department) The estimation unit 34 starts operation after the initial setting is completed. The estimation unit 34 estimates the location of the occupant 100 by using the measurement data acquired by the measurement data acquisition unit 32 and the database 320. The estimation unit 34 identifies, from the database 320, a data region 321 that indicates a radio wave intensity distribution that is closest to the radio wave intensity distribution of the advertising packets received by the multiple receivers 20, and estimates the location of the occupant 100 based on the central position indicated by the identified data region 321. Typically, the estimation unit 34 estimates the central position indicated by the identified data region 321 as the location of the occupant 100.

[0053] Specifically, the estimation unit 34 extracts, from the measurement data group 311, measurement data indicating a reception time within a period going back by the transmission cycle from the present. For each occupant 100, the estimation unit 34 identifies, from the extracted measurement data, measurement data indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 worn by the occupant 100. The identified measurement data is transmitted from one or more receivers 20 that were able to receive the advertising packet transmitted from the transmitter 10 worn by the occupant 100. Therefore, one or more measurement data can be identified.

[0054] The estimation unit 34 calculates the similarity between the radio wave intensity distribution indicated by the specified measurement data and the radio wave intensity distribution indicated by each of a plurality of data areas 321 (see FIG. 7) included in the database 320.

[0055] For example, the estimation unit 34 calculates the difference between the radio wave intensity indicated by each measurement data and the statistical value described in the field 320d corresponding to the field 320c in which the receiver ID indicated by the measurement data is described. For example, the estimation unit 34 calculates the difference between the radio wave intensity indicated by the measurement data and the simple average value described in the field 320d for each measurement data. Alternatively, the radio wave intensity indicated by the measurement data is normalized in a manner similar to the normalized electric field intensity described above, and the difference between the normalized radio wave intensity indicated by the measurement data and the normalized average radio wave intensity described in the field 320d is calculated, taking into account the influence of the output radio wave intensity of each transmitter 10. As described above, the specified measurement data is transmitted from one or more receivers 20 that were able to receive the advertising packet transmitted from the transmitter 10 worn by the occupant 100. Therefore, the measurement data corresponding to the receiver 20 that was unable to receive the advertising packet is not specified. Therefore, the estimation unit 34 calculates the difference between the radio wave intensity "0" and the statistical value described in the field 320d for the receiver 20 having a receiver ID that is not indicated by any of the identified measurement data. In this manner, the estimation unit 34 calculates the difference for all receivers 20.

[0056] The estimation unit 34 calculates the sum of the calculated differences for each of the multiple data regions 321 (see FIG. 7) as the similarity. In this case, the smaller the similarity value, the more similar the data tends to be. Note that the method of calculating the similarity is not limited to this.

[0057] The estimation unit 34 identifies the data area 321 showing the radio wave intensity distribution with the smallest similarity calculated in this manner, and estimates the central position indicated by the identified data area 321 as the location of the occupant 100. If the similarity of the data area 321 is not within a predetermined range, the central position determined from the measurement data of the receivers 20 at three locations with strong radio wave intensity by a so-called triangulation method may be estimated as the location of the occupant 100.

[0058] (Management Department) The management unit 35 manages the location and biometric information of each occupant 100. The management unit 35 updates the management table 313 stored in the memory unit 31.

[0059] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the management table. As shown in Fig. 8, the management table 313 includes a record 313a for each occupant 100. Each record 313a has a field 313b in which an occupant ID is described, a field 313c in which a transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 attached to the occupant 100 is described, a field 313d in which the latest biometric information of the occupant 100 is described, a field 313e in which the latest location of the occupant 100 is described, and a field 313f in which the latest reception time of an advertising packet from the transmitter 10 attached to the occupant 100 is described.

[0060] The management unit 35 updates the contents written in fields 313d, 313f corresponding to field 313c in which the transmitter ID is written, based on the transmitter ID, biometric information, and reception time indicated by the latest measurement data acquired by the measurement data acquisition unit 32.

[0061] The management unit 35 updates the contents described in the field 313e based on the latest location of each crew member 100 estimated by the estimation unit 34. In the field 313e, XYZ coordinates indicating a position within the ship 200 are described.

[0062] (Notification Department) The notification unit 36 ​​constantly monitors the management table 313 and notifies various kinds of information. For example, the notification unit 36 ​​displays on the display 305 a screen showing various kinds of information.

[0063] The notification unit 36 ​​may display a screen including a map on the display 305, and display a mark for identifying each occupant 100 at a position on the map corresponding to the latest location of the occupant 100. This allows the manager looking at the screen to easily recognize the location of each occupant 100.

[0064] Furthermore, the notification unit 36 ​​constantly monitors the latest reception time described in the field 313f of each record 313a in the management table 313. The notification unit 36 ​​extracts the record 313a including the latest reception time for which the time difference between the latest reception time and the current time exceeds a specified time (second time). The specified time is set to a time longer than the transmission cycle of the wireless signal by the transmitter 10. The time difference between the latest reception time and the current time exceeding the specified time means that none of the receivers 20 has received an advertising packet for the specified time.

[0065] The notification unit 36 ​​determines whether the location described in the field 313e of the extracted record 313a is an end of the ship 200. The notification unit 36 ​​pre-stores the range of the end of the ship 200. When the XYZ coordinates described in the field 313e are within that range, the notification unit 36 ​​determines that the location described in the field 313e is an end of the ship 200.

[0066] When the latest estimated location of the crew member 100 is an end of the ship 200 and none of the receivers 20 has received a wireless signal from the transmitter 10 of the crew member 100 for a specified time, the crew member 100 may have fallen outside the ship 200. In this case, when the location described in the field 313e is an end of the ship 200, the notification unit 36 ​​issues an alarm indicating that the crew member 100 having the crew member ID described in the field 313b may have fallen outside the ship 200. For example, the notification unit 36 ​​may display the alarm on the display 305, or may output a sound indicating the possibility of falling from one or more speakers installed in the ship 200.

[0067] Furthermore, when a fire breaks out in a room of the ship 200, the notification unit 36 ​​may use the management table 313 to confirm whether or not a crew member 100 is present in the room, and notify the control device that controls the fire extinguisher of the confirmation result. This allows the control device to select a fire extinguishing method depending on whether or not a crew member 100 is present in the room, and control the fire extinguisher according to the selected fire extinguishing method.

[0068] <Processing flow of the management system> (Management table update process flow) With reference to Figs. 9 to 12, the flow of various processes in the transmitter 10, the receiver 20, and the management device 30 will be described. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an advertising packet transmission process in the transmitter 10. First, the transmitter 10 determines whether the current time is the transmission time or not (step S01). Since the transmission period of the advertising packet by the transmitter 10 is determined in advance, the next transmission time is the time when the transmission period has elapsed since the previous transmission time. If the current time is not the transmission time (NO in step S01), the advertising packet transmission process returns to step S01.

[0069] If the current time is the transmission time (YES in step S01), the transmitter 10 generates an advertising packet including the latest bioinformation output from the biosensor 11, and transmits the generated advertising packet (step S02). The processes from step S01 to step S02 are repeatedly executed. This allows the transmitter 10 to transmit advertising packets at a predetermined transmission period.

[0070] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an advertising packet reception process in the receiver 20. In step S11, the receiver 20 determines whether or not an advertising packet has been received. If not (NO in step S11), the advertising packet reception process returns to step S11. If the receiver 20 has received an advertising packet from any of the transmitters 10 (YES in step S11), the advertising packet reception process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the receiver 20 transfers measurement data corresponding to the received advertising packet to the management device 30. The measurement data indicates the biometric information and transmitter ID indicated by the advertising packet, the radio wave intensity, the reception time, and the receiver ID.

[0071] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of measurement data reception processing in the management device 30. In step S21, the management device 30 determines whether or not measurement data has been received from the receiver 20. If not (NO in step S21), the measurement data reception processing returns to step S21. If the management device 30 has received measurement data from any of the receivers 20 (YES in step S21), the measurement data reception processing proceeds to step S22. In step S22, the management device 30 stores the received measurement data as part of the measurement data group 311. The processing from step S21 to step S22 is executed repeatedly.

[0072] 12 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of the management table update process in the management device 30. The CPU 301 of the management device 30 selects an occupant 100 (hereinafter referred to as a "target occupant") whose location is to be estimated (step S31). Next, in step S32, the CPU 301 analyzes measurement data indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 attached to the target occupant and indicating the reception time within a period going back from the present by the transmission cycle, and identifies the radio wave intensity distribution for each receiver 20. In order to reduce the difference in output intensity of the transmitter 10, the radio wave intensity distribution for each receiver 20 is identified by converting it into the radio wave output of a reference transmitter 10, as in the above-mentioned normalized average.

[0073] Next, the CPU 301 identifies a data area 321 that shows a radio wave intensity distribution closest to the identified radio wave intensity distribution from the database 320. Alternatively, if the data area 321 cannot identify the center position of the transmitter 10, the CPU 301 may estimate the center position of the transmitter 10 from the measurement data of the three receivers 20 in descending order of radio wave intensity (step S33).

[0074] Next, the CPU 301 estimates the location of the target occupant based on the center position indicated by the identified data area 321 or the estimated center position (step S34). The CPU 301 updates the management table 313 based on the estimation result (step S35). Specifically, the biometric information, location, and latest reception time in the management table 313 are updated.

[0075] Next, the CPU 301 determines whether or not there is an unselected occupant 100 (step S36). If there is an unselected occupant 100 (YES in step S36), the update process of the management table 313 returns to step S4. This allows the locations of all occupants 100 to be estimated. If there is no unselected occupant 100 (NO in step S36), the update process of the management table ends.

[0076] The update process of steps S31 to S36 is repeatedly performed. The location of the occupant 100 is updated every transmission cycle or every few cycles by the processes of Fig. 9 to Fig. 12.

[0077] (Notification process flow) 13 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of the notification process in the management device. First, CPU 301 of management device 30 judges whether the time difference between the latest reception time of each record 313a of management table 313 and the current time exceeds a specified time (step S41). If NO in step S41, the notification process returns to step S41.

[0078] If the answer is YES in step S41, the CPU 301 extracts from the management table 313 a record 313a in which the time difference between the latest reception time and the current time exceeds a specified time, and identifies the occupant ID written in the extracted record 313a (step S42).

[0079] Next, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the location described in the extracted record 313a (that is, the latest location of the crew member 100) is an end of the ship 200 (step S43).

[0080] If the crew member 100's most recent location is at the end of the ship 200 (YES in step S43), the CPU 301 notifies the crew member 100 whose crew member ID is described in the extracted record 313a that he or she may have fallen from the ship 200 (step S44).

[0081] If the latest location of the crew member 100 is not at the end of the ship 200 (NO in step S43), the CPU 301 notifies that the location of the crew member 100 with the crew member ID described in the extracted record 313a is unknown (step S45).

[0082] After steps S44 and S45, the notification process ends. Note that the notification process of steps S41 to S45 is repeatedly executed.

[0083] <Modification> In the above description, the update process shown in Fig. 12 may be performed every P times (P is 1 or more) the transmission period of the advertising packet. In this case, in step S32, the CPU 301 analyzes a plurality of measurement data indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 attached to the target occupant and indicating the reception time within a period going back from the present by P times the transmission period. The plurality of measurement data to be analyzed includes P pieces of measurement data indicating the same receiver ID.

[0084] CPU 301 may specify the radio wave intensity distribution for each receiver 20 by calculating a plurality of statistical values ​​(e.g., maximum value, minimum value, average value, etc.) from the radio wave intensity indicated by the P pieces of measurement data. CPU 301 may use the plurality of statistical values ​​to calculate the similarity with the radio wave intensity distribution indicated by each data area 321 of database 320. For example, when the plurality of statistical values ​​include a maximum value, a minimum value, and an average value, CPU 301 may calculate the difference between the maximum value, minimum value, and average value calculated from the P pieces of measurement data and the maximum value, minimum value, and average value described in field 320d of each data area 321, and calculate the sum of these differences as the similarity.

[0085] Alternatively, CPU 301 identifies the radio wave intensity distribution for each of the P transmission cycles by analyzing a plurality of measurement data indicating the reception time within the transmission cycle. CPU 301 then identifies, from database 320, the center position indicated by data area 321 indicating the radio wave intensity distribution closest to the identified radio wave intensity distribution. In this manner, CPU 301 identifies the center position for each of the P transmission cycles. CPU 301 may estimate the most common center position among the identified P center positions as the location of occupant 100.

[0086] In the above description, the management device 30 includes the database 320 and the estimation unit 34. However, the database 320 and the estimation unit 34 may be included in two different devices.

[0087] In the above description, database 320 has table-format data area 321 for storing data indicating radio wave intensity distribution. However, database 320 may store image data indicating radio wave intensity distribution instead of table-format data area 321. The image data indicates radio wave intensity as pixel values ​​of XYZ coordinates of the positions where each of multiple receivers 20 is located.

[0088] <Advantages> As described above, the management system 1 manages the crew members 100 in the ship 200. The management system 1 includes a transmitter 10, a plurality of receivers 20, a database 320, and an estimation unit 34. The transmitter 10 is attached to the crew member 100 and periodically transmits a wireless signal (e.g., an advertising packet) that identifies the crew member 100. The plurality of receivers 20 are installed in the ship 200 and receive the wireless signal. The database 320 includes a data area 321 that associates, for each of the central positions of the plurality of compartments 201 in the ship 200, the central position with the radio wave intensity distribution of the signal emitted from the central position and received by the plurality of receivers 20. The estimation unit 34 identifies, from the database 320, the data area 321 that indicates the radio wave intensity distribution closest to the radio wave intensity distribution of the wireless signal received by the plurality of receivers 20, and estimates the location of the crew member 100 identified by the wireless signal based on the central position indicated by the identified data area 321. The number of the multiple partitions 201 is greater than the number of the multiple receivers 20 .

[0089] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, the location of the crew member is estimated based on the position of the receiver with the strongest reception strength of the advertising packet. Therefore, the accuracy of the estimated location of the crew member is determined according to the interval between the receivers 20. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the management system 1 uses radio wave intensity distribution, and the accuracy of the estimated location of the crew member 100 is determined according to the interval between the central positions of the multiple sections 201. The number of the multiple sections 201 is greater than the number of the multiple receivers 20. Therefore, compared to the technology described in Patent Document 1, the location of the crew member 100 in the ship 200 can be managed with higher accuracy.

[0090] The management system 1 further includes a notification unit 36. The notification unit 36 ​​issues an alarm indicating that the crew member 100 may have fallen outside the ship 200 in response to a case where the latest location of the crew member 100 estimated by the estimation unit 34 is an end of the ship 200 and a wireless signal identifying the crew member 100 is not received by any of the multiple receivers 20 after the latest location is estimated.

[0091] This allows the manager to immediately rescue the crew member 100 if the crew member 100 falls outside the ship 200.

[0092] [Embodiment 2] The management system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 14 to Fig. 18. The management system according to the second embodiment adds data to the database 320 as needed.

[0093] In the first embodiment, in the initial setting, the crew member 100 moves sequentially to the center positions of the multiple sections 201 (e.g., square sections with sides of 1 m) of the ship 200. Therefore, the database 320 has the same number of data areas 321 as the multiple sections 201. Therefore, the accuracy of estimating the location of the crew member 100 depends on the spacing between the multiple sections 201. In order to increase the accuracy of estimating the location of the crew member 100, it is possible to narrow the spacing between the multiple sections 201. In this case, the time required for the initial setting will be longer.

[0094] Furthermore, the radio wave strength of the advertising packet received by the receiver 20 may vary depending on the environment of the ship 200. For example, the radio wave strength may vary depending on whether the doors 203 (see FIG. 1) of each room of the ship 200 are open or closed. The radio wave strength may also vary depending on humidity. Therefore, if the environment at the time of initial setup differs from the environment at the time the location of the occupant 100 is estimated, the estimation accuracy may decrease.

[0095] In view of this, in order to prevent a decrease in the accuracy of estimating the location of the occupant 100, in the second embodiment, data areas 321 indicating the distribution of radio wave intensity at various positions are added to the database 320 as needed.

[0096] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to embodiment 2. As shown in Fig. 14, the management system 1A according to embodiment 2 differs from the management system 1 according to embodiment 1 in that the management system 1A includes a management device 30A instead of the management device 30, and further includes a terminal device 50.

[0097] The terminal device 50 is carried by at least one or more passengers 100. The terminal device 50 includes, for example, a smartphone, a smart watch, a tablet, a notebook computer, and the like.

[0098] 15 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a terminal device 50. As shown in FIG. 15, the terminal device 50 includes a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, a network interface 504, a display 505, an input device 506, and a storage device 507.

[0099] The CPU 501 supports the process of adding data to the database 320. Upon receiving an instruction to execute an application 510, the CPU 501 loads the application 510 stored in the storage device 507 onto the RAM 503. The RAM 503 functions as a working memory and temporarily stores various data necessary for the execution of the application 510.

[0100] The network interface 304 transmits and receives data to and from the management device 30A via the network.

[0101] The display 505 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input device 506 includes, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like.

[0102] The storage device 507 is, for example, a storage device such as a hard disk or an SSD. The storage device 507 stores an application 510 for performing a process of adding data to the database 320. The application 510 is stored in the storage device 507, but the storage location of the application 510 is not limited to the storage device 507, and may be stored in a storage area (for example, a cache) of the management device 30A, the ROM 502, the RAM 503, an external communication device (for example, a server), or the like.

[0103] The application 510 does not have to exist as a standalone program, but may exist as a part of an arbitrary program. Furthermore, some or all of the functions provided by the application 510 may be realized by dedicated hardware.

[0104] Fig. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device. As shown in Fig. 16, the terminal device 50 includes a user interface unit 51 (denoted as "UI unit" in the figure) and a communication unit 52. The user interface unit 51 is realized by a display 505, an input device 506, and a CPU 501 that executes an application 510 shown in Fig. 15. The communication unit 52 is realized by a network interface 504 and the CPU 501 that executes the application 510.

[0105] Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a management device according to embodiment 2. As shown in Fig. 17, management device 30A differs from management device 30 according to embodiment 1 in that management device 30A further includes a database update unit 37. Like management device 30 according to embodiment 1, management device 30A includes the hardware configuration shown in Fig. 4. Database update unit 37 is realized by CPU 301 shown in Fig. 4 executing management program 310.

[0106] The functions of the user interface unit 51 and the communication unit 52 included in the terminal device 50, and the database update unit 37 included in the management device 30A will be described below.

[0107] The user interface unit 51 provides a screen for supporting the process of adding data to the database 320, and accepts input to the screen. The communication unit 52 performs data communication with the management device 30A.

[0108] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a screen provided by the user interface unit. The screen 70 shown in Fig. 18 is displayed on the display 505 of the terminal device 50. As shown in Fig. 18, the screen 70 includes a map 71 of the inside of the ship 200, buttons 72 and 73, and marks 74 and 75.

[0109] The communication unit 52 acquires the latest estimated location of the occupant 100 carrying the terminal device 50 from the database 320 of the management device 30A. The user interface unit 51 places a mark 74 on the map 71 at a position corresponding to the acquired latest location. This allows the occupant 100 to check the estimated location on the map 71.

[0110] The user interface unit 51 includes a message on the screen 70 stating, "If the current location differs from the estimated location, click on the current location and then click on the 'Register' button." Upon checking the message, the occupant 100 clicks on the current location on the map 71 if the estimated location differs from the current location. This causes the user interface unit 51 to accept the input of the current location of the occupant 100 and display a mark 75 on the map 71 at the input current location.

[0111] In response to the button 72 being clicked, the communication unit 52 transmits the current position accepted by the user interface unit 51 to the database update unit 37. The current position is indicated by XYZ coordinates within the ship 200.

[0112] The database update unit 37 adds a new data area 321 to the database 320 that associates the current location received from the terminal device 50 with the radio wave intensity distribution of the advertising packet transmitted from the transmitter 10 attached to the occupant 100 carrying the terminal device 50 and received by multiple receivers 20.

[0113] Specifically, when the terminal device 50 receives the current location, the database update unit 37 adds a new data area 321 to the database 320. Then, in the added data area 321, the database update unit 37 writes information identifying the received current location in field 320a, and writes the XYZ coordinates indicating the received current location in field 320b.

[0114] Furthermore, the database update unit 37 extracts, from the measurement data group 311, measurement data indicating a reception time within a predetermined time period in the past (third time period) and indicating the transmitter ID of the transmitter 10 worn by the occupant 100 carrying the terminal device 50. The predetermined time period (third time period) is determined in advance in consideration of the time required for inputting information into the screen 70 shown in Fig. 18, and is, for example, 30 seconds. The database update unit 37 performs statistical processing on the radio wave intensity indicated by the extracted measurement data, and describes the result of the statistical processing in field 320d.

[0115] When the button 73 is clicked, the user interface unit 51 closes the screen 70 .

[0116] According to this embodiment, new data areas 321 are continually added to the database 320. As a result, the accuracy of estimating the location of the occupant 100 is prevented from decreasing.

[0117] [Embodiment 3] The third embodiment is a further modification of the second embodiment. The radio wave strength of the advertising packet received by the receiver 20 may vary depending on the environment of the ship 200. For example, the radio wave strength may vary depending on whether the doors 203 (see FIG. 1) of each room of the ship 200 are open or closed. The radio wave strength may also vary depending on humidity. Therefore, if the environment at the time of initial setup differs from the environment when the location of the occupant 100 is estimated, the estimation accuracy may decrease. Therefore, the management system according to the third embodiment estimates the location of the occupant 100 taking into account the environmental fluctuations.

[0118] Fig. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to embodiment 3. As shown in Fig. 19, the management system 1B according to embodiment 3 differs from the management system 1A according to embodiment 2 in that it includes a management device 30B instead of the management device 30A, and further includes sensors 204 and 205.

[0119] The sensors 204 and 205 operate as acquisition units that acquire environmental information indicating the environment inside the ship 200 .

[0120] Each of the multiple sensors 204 detects the open / closed state of the corresponding door 203. For example, sensors 204-1, 204-2, and 204-3 detect the open / closed states of doors 203-1, 203-2, and 203-3, respectively. That is, the sensor 204 acquires information indicating the open / closed state of the door 203 as environmental information.

[0121] The sensor 205 measures the humidity inside the ship 200. That is, the sensor 205 obtains information indicating humidity as environmental information.

[0122] The sensors 204 and 205 periodically acquire environmental information, and store the acquired environmental information in association with the acquisition time.

[0123] Management device 30B has the same functional configuration as management device 30A shown in Fig. 17. However, in storage unit 31 of management device 30B, database 320B shown in Fig. 20 is stored instead of database 320.

[0124] Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a database according to embodiment 3. As shown in Fig. 20, database 320B includes a field 320e in which environmental information is written. Database 320B includes multiple data areas 321 with different environmental information for the same XYZ coordinates.

[0125] When the measurement data acquisition unit 32 acquires the measurement data from each receiver 20, it acquires environmental information at the time when the measurement data was acquired from the sensors 204, 205, and adds the acquired environmental information to the measurement data.

[0126] When the database creation unit 33 and the database update unit 37 write the results of statistical processing of the radio wave intensity indicated by the measurement data in the data area 321 of the database 320B, they write the environmental information added to the measurement data in the field 320e.

[0127] The estimation unit 34 extracts from the database 320B a data area 321 corresponding to the environmental information at the time when the multiple receivers 20 received the advertising packet, and estimates the location of the occupant 100 using the extracted data area 321.

[0128] Specifically, the estimation unit 34 acquires environmental information from the sensors 204, 205 during a period going back from the present by the transmission cycle. If the environmental information varies during that period, the most frequently occurring environmental information is identified. The estimation unit 34 may estimate the location of the occupant 100 by using the data area 321 corresponding to the identified environmental information.

[0129] The management system 1B may include only one of the sensor 204 and the sensor 205.

[0130] According to the third embodiment, the location of the occupant 100 can be estimated with higher accuracy by taking into account environmental information.

[0131] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0132] 1,1A,1B Management system, 10 Transmitter, 11 Biometric sensor, 12,52 Communication unit, 20 Receiver, 30,30A,30B Management device, 31 Memory unit, 32 Measurement data acquisition unit, 33 Database creation unit, 34 Estimation unit, 35 Management unit, 36 Notification unit, 37 Database update unit, 50 Terminal device, 51 User interface unit, 60 Communication cable, 70 Screen, 71 Map, 72,73 Button, 74,75 Mark, 100 Crew member, 200 Ship, 201 Compartment, 202 Wall, 203 Door, 204,205 Sensor, 300 Radio wave, 301,501 CPU, 302,502 ROM, 303,503 RAM, 304,504 Network interface, 305,505 Display, 306,507 Storage device, 307, 506 Input device, 310 Management program, 311 Measurement data group, 312 Initial setting table, 312a, 313a, 322 Records, 312b-312f, 313b-313f, 320a-320e Fields, 313 Management table, 320, 320B Database, 321 Data area, 510 Application.

Claims

1. A management system for managing crew members on a ship, a transmitter attached to the occupant and configured to periodically transmit a radio signal for identifying the occupant; a plurality of receivers installed on board the vessel for receiving the radio signals; a database that stores distribution information that associates each of a plurality of positions on the ship with a radio wave intensity distribution of signals emitted from the position and received by the plurality of receivers; an estimation unit that identifies, from the database, distribution information that indicates a radio wave intensity distribution closest to a radio wave intensity distribution of the wireless signals received by the multiple receivers, and estimates a location of the occupant identified by the wireless signal based on a position indicated by the identified distribution information; A terminal device carried by the passenger; a database update unit for adding new distribution information to the database, a number of the plurality of locations is greater than a number of the plurality of receivers; The terminal device a user interface unit that receives an input of a current position of the occupant; a communication unit that transmits the current location accepted by the user interface unit to the database update unit, The database update unit adds to the database as new distribution information information correlating the current location received from the terminal device with the radio wave intensity distribution of the radio signal transmitted from the transmitter worn by the occupant carrying the terminal device and received by the multiple receivers.

2. The user interface unit includes: A display is provided. Displaying a map of the interior of the ship on the display; displaying on the map the latest location of the occupant estimated by the estimation unit; If the latest location is different from the current location, the user is prompted to input the current location; The management system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a controller configured to input the current location on the map.

3. A management system for managing crew members on a ship, comprising: a transmitter attached to the occupant and configured to periodically transmit a radio signal for identifying the occupant; a plurality of receivers installed on board the vessel for receiving the radio signals; a database that stores distribution information that associates each of a plurality of positions on the ship with a radio wave intensity distribution of signals emitted from the position and received by the plurality of receivers; an estimation unit that identifies, from the database, distribution information that indicates a radio wave intensity distribution closest to a radio wave intensity distribution of the wireless signals received by the multiple receivers, and estimates a location of the occupant identified by the wireless signal based on a position indicated by the identified distribution information; an acquisition unit that acquires environmental information indicating an environment inside the ship, a number of the plurality of locations is greater than a number of the plurality of receivers; The database further stores, in association with the distribution information, the environmental information at the time when the radio wave intensity distribution indicated by the distribution information was measured; The estimation unit is extracting, from the database, the distribution information corresponding to the environmental information at the time when the plurality of receivers received the wireless signals; A management system that estimates the location of the occupants using the extracted distribution information.

4. The management system according to claim 3 , wherein the environmental information indicates at least one of an open / closed state of a door inside the ship and humidity.

5. A management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a notification unit that issues an alarm indicating that the crew member may have fallen outside the ship when the latest location of the crew member estimated by the estimation unit is at the end of the ship and when the radio signal identifying the crew member is not received by any of the multiple receivers after the latest location is estimated.

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