Mobile terminal, positioning method, program, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide an autonomous navigation device, a positioning method, a program and a storage medium for performing location positioning by autonomous navigation, even in the case where a dedicated external device for providing initial information is not available in a facility or an area uncovered by satellite radio waves.SOLUTION: In an autonomous navigation system comprising a portable terminal that is an autonomous navigation device, and a vehicle positioning device as a moving body that is mounted in a vehicle, a position control routine executed by a control part of the portable terminal includes: a moving body information acquisition part for acquiring moving body information that indicates a position and a direction of the moving body from a navigation device (vehicle positioning device); a relative information acquisition part for acquiring relative information that indicates a relative attitude and a relative position of the autonomous navigation device to the moving body when the autonomous navigation device is located indoors of the moving body; a reference information acquisition part for calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the autonomous navigation device on the basis of the moving body information and the relative information; and an autonomous navigation processing part for executing autonomous navigation processing using the reference attitude and the reference position as initial information of autonomous navigation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an autonomous navigation device that estimates its own position, a positioning method in an autonomous navigation device, a program, and a storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Mobile devices such as smartphones are equipped with an autonomous navigation function that uses inertial navigation that utilizes the device's built-in acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, geomagnetic sensors, and other sensors to determine the device's current location even in areas or facilities where satellite signals cannot reach.

[0003] Incidentally, in order to measure a position in a geographic coordinate system (latitude, longitude) by inertial navigation, it is necessary to acquire an initial position in the geographic coordinate system that serves as the base point for positioning.

[0004] In response to this, a proposal has been made for a mobile terminal that installs an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag at a location within a facility where radio waves from satellites cannot reach, and that stores location information that indicates the location of that location in the geographic coordinate system as its initial location, and that obtains the initial location from this NFC tag (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-42246 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in order to obtain the initial position using the mobile terminal described in Patent Document 1, an external device such as an NFC tag that stores information representing the initial position in a geographic coordinate system must be installed within the facility where the autonomous navigation function is used.

[0007] Therefore, in facilities or areas where such external devices are not available, the initial position and initial attitude used in inertial navigation cannot be obtained, making it difficult to estimate the current position with high accuracy.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an autonomous navigation device, a positioning method for an autonomous navigation device, a program, and a storage medium that are capable of performing highly accurate positioning using autonomous navigation, even if a dedicated external device for providing an initial position and initial attitude in a geographic coordinate system is not provided, for example in a facility or area where satellite radio waves cannot reach. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The invention described in claim 1 is a mobile Terminal and is mounted on a moving body. Mobile Positioning a moving object information acquiring unit that acquires moving object information indicating a position and a direction of the moving object from a device; Mobile devices When the vehicle is located, Mobile devices a relative information acquisition unit that acquires relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the moving body and the relative information; Mobile devices a reference information acquisition unit for calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the First Autonomous navigation used as time information Positioning by and an autonomous navigation processing unit that executes the processing.

[0010] Claim 12 The invention described in Mobile devices A positioning method implemented by a positioning system mounted on a moving object. Mobile Positioning A moving object information acquisition step of acquiring moving object information indicating a position and a direction of the moving object from a device; Mobile devices When the vehicle is located, Mobile devices a relative information acquisition step of acquiring relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the moving body and the relative information; Mobile devicesa reference information acquisition step of calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the reference attitude and the reference position First Autonomous navigation used as time information Positioning by and an autonomous navigation processing step for executing processing.

[0011] Claim 13 The invention described in Mobile devices A program executed by a control unit included in Mobile Positioning A moving object information acquisition step of acquiring moving object information indicating a position and a direction of the moving object from a device; Mobile devices When the vehicle is located, Mobile devices a relative information acquisition step of acquiring relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the moving body and the relative information; Mobile devices a reference information acquisition step of calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the reference attitude and the reference position; First Autonomous navigation used as time information Positioning by The method is characterized in that the control unit is caused to execute an autonomous navigation processing step of executing processing.

[0012] Claim 14 The invention described in Included in your mobile device A computer-readable storage medium, the computer being mounted on a mobile body. Mobile Positioning A moving object information acquisition step of acquiring moving object information indicating a position and a direction of the moving object from a device; Mobile devices When the vehicle is located, Mobile Positioning a relative information acquisition step of acquiring relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the device; Mobile devices a reference information acquisition step of calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the reference attitude and the reference position; First Autonomous navigation used as time information Positioning by The autonomous navigation processing step for executing the processing and the program for executing the processing are stored. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an autonomous navigation system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view that illustrates a schematic appearance of a terminal holder. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing a position measurement control routine. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing a display control routine. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing another example of a position measurement control routine. [Figure 7] 7 is a flowchart showing a modification of the positioning control routine shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing another example of a position measurement control routine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail. EXAMPLES

[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an autonomous navigation system 100 including a mobile terminal 10 as an autonomous navigation device according to the present invention.

[0016] The autonomous navigation system 100 includes a mobile terminal 10 which is a mobile autonomous navigation device, and a vehicle positioning device 20 and a terminal holder 30 which are mounted on a vehicle M which is a moving body.

[0017] The mobile terminal 10 is a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone that includes, for example, an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor and has the function of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that measures its own position and moving direction based on the detection results of these sensors. The mobile terminal 10 is capable of performing autonomous navigation based on inertial measurement, and is also capable of measuring its own position by satellite navigation based on radio waves from a satellite. That is, the mobile terminal 10 measures its own position by satellite navigation when satellite navigation is feasible, and estimates its own position by autonomous navigation when satellite navigation is not feasible.

[0018] In order for the mobile terminal 10 to estimate its own position by autonomous navigation, it is necessary to acquire an initial position in a geographic coordinate system of the mobile terminal 10, which serves as a base point of estimation, and an initial attitude of the mobile terminal 10. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 10 acquires the initial position and initial attitude, which serve as a base point of estimation, based on vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the vehicle M acquired by a vehicle positioning device 20, which is an in-vehicle navigation device.

[0019] The vehicle positioning device 20 is a positioning device that measures the position and orientation of the vehicle M in a geographic coordinate system, and includes, for example, a positioning unit 21, a satellite receiver 23, an IMU 25, and a vehicle speed sensor 27.

[0020] The IMU 25 is an inertial measurement device including an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle M and a gyro sensor that detects the angular velocity of the vehicle M. The IMU 25 acquires inertial information indicating the acceleration and moving direction of the vehicle M while it is traveling based on the detection results of the acceleration sensor and the gyro sensor. The IMU 25 supplies the acquired inertial information to the positioning unit 21.

[0021] The vehicle speed sensor 27 detects speed information indicating the traveling speed of the vehicle M from, for example, the vehicle speed pulse or wheel speed of the vehicle M, and supplies this to the positioning unit 21.

[0022] The satellite receiver 23 includes a satellite antenna that receives satellite signals for positioning transmitted from, for example, GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites, QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) satellites, etc. The satellite receiver 23 supplies the received satellite signals to the positioning unit 21.

[0023] While receiving satellite signals from the satellite receiver 23, the positioning unit 21 acquires vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the vehicle M by locating the position (latitude, longitude, altitude) and orientation (azimuth) of the vehicle M in the geographic coordinate system based on the satellite signals. If it becomes impossible to receive satellite signals, the positioning unit 21 continues to acquire the above-mentioned vehicle information by performing autonomous navigation positioning based on inertial information and speed information using the vehicle information acquired immediately before it became impossible to receive as initial information. The positioning unit 21 has, for example, a map matching function, and can acquire accurate vehicle information by performing a correction to pull the position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the vehicle M into an area where the vehicle can travel (for example, a road or a parking lot within a facility).

[0024] In this way, the vehicle positioning device 20 is an in-vehicle navigation device that employs hybrid navigation that combines satellite navigation using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and autonomous navigation.

[0025] Furthermore, the vehicle positioning device 20 has a wireless communication function conforming to, for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard. As a result, the vehicle positioning device 20 wirelessly transmits vehicle information (position and orientation of the vehicle M) measured by the positioning unit 21 to the mobile terminal 10, for example, when the vehicle M is parked (for example, the ignition is off) or when a request is made from the mobile terminal 10. Note that the wireless communication function may be a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) function conforming to a standard other than the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, for example, the IEEE802.11 communication standard, and may be connectable to an Internet connection network. In this case, for example, vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the vehicle M measured by the positioning unit 21 when the vehicle M is stopped may be transmitted to a server (not shown) that stores the vehicle information via the Internet connection network, and the mobile terminal 10 may be connected to the server via the Internet connection network. That is, the vehicle positioning device 20 and the mobile terminal 10 may be connected to each other via an external server device. Furthermore, the communication between the vehicle positioning device 20 and the mobile terminal 10 may be performed by wired communication via wiring such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) instead of wireless communication.

[0026] The terminal holder 30 is installed on the dashboard, center console, or windshield of the vehicle M, and holds and mounts the mobile terminal 10 in a predetermined position so that the mobile terminal 10 can be detachably mounted thereon.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a perspective view that generally illustrates the appearance of the terminal holder 30. As shown in FIG.

[0028] The terminal holder 30 has a support part 31, a movable arm 32, and a holder main body part 33. A pad (not shown) is provided on the lower surface of the support part 31 to be fixed to a surface such as the dashboard, center console, or windshield of the vehicle M, and one end of the movable arm 32 is connected to the upper surface of the pad.

[0029] The holder main body 33 has a back plate 33a, side plates 33b and 33c, and a bottom plate 33d. The other end of the movable arm 32 is connected to the rear surface of the back plate 33a. Side plates 33b and 33c for sandwiching and holding the mobile terminal 10 from both sides are formed on the right and left sides of the four sides of the back plate 33a, and a bottom plate 33d on which the mobile terminal 10 is placed is formed on the bottom side.

[0030] That is, the terminal holder 30 has a holding section (33) for placing and holding the mobile terminal 10, and a support mechanism section (31, 32) for fixing and installing the holding section to the interior (dashboard, center console, windshield, etc.) of the vehicle M. The holding section (33) places and fixes and holds the mobile terminal 10 in a predetermined orientation, for example, an orientation (predetermined orientation) in which the direction of the back surface of the mobile terminal 10 faces coincides with the direction of the vehicle M.

[0031] In addition, a terminal detection sensor CS is provided on the back plate 33a.

[0032] As the terminal detection sensor CS, for example, an IC tag (hereinafter also referred to as a near field wireless tag) that complies with the near field communication standard is adopted, which operates by receiving wireless power from the mobile terminal 10 and transmits information to the communication unit of the mobile terminal 10.

[0033] When the mobile terminal 10 is separated from the holder main body 33 after being temporarily held in the holder main body 33, the mobile terminal 10 acquires reference information indicating a reference position (latitude, longitude, altitude) and a reference attitude in a geographic coordinate system that serves as a base point for positioning by autonomous navigation, and executes an autonomous navigation process using the reference information as initial information for autonomous navigation. In this way, the mobile terminal 10 realizes positioning of the current position represented by the geographic coordinate system in a facility or area where radio waves from a satellite cannot reach.

[0034] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an extracted configuration of the mobile terminal 10 that is required for acquiring reference information and performing autonomous navigation processing.

[0035] The mobile terminal 10 includes functional blocks consisting of a memory unit 12, a control unit 13, a communication unit 14, an output unit 15, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) 16, a satellite positioning unit 17 that performs positioning using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and an imaging unit 18, all of which are connected to a system bus 11.

[0036] The storage unit 12 is composed of, for example, a hard disk device, an SSD (solid state drive), a flash memory, etc., and stores an operating system and programs for various controls including positioning control and display control, which will be described later. The programs stored in the storage unit 12 are provided to the mobile terminal 10 in a form stored in an information and communication network such as the Internet, or in a computer-readable storage medium such as a semiconductor, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0037] Furthermore, the storage unit 12 prestores relative information indicating, for example, the relative position of the terminal holder 30 with respect to a satellite antenna as a base point, that is, the relative position of the mobile terminal 10 held by the terminal holder 30 in the vehicle, and the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the direction of the vehicle M. When the mobile terminal 10 is held by the terminal holder 30, if the mobile terminal 10 is held in an attitude (predetermined attitude) in which the direction of the back side of the mobile terminal 10 faces is the same as the forward direction of the vehicle M, the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the vehicle M is expressed as being the same as the forward direction of the vehicle M, and if the mobile terminal 10 is held in an attitude inclined with respect to the forward direction of the vehicle M, the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the vehicle M is expressed by the inclination.

[0038] Furthermore, the memory unit 12 stores normal map information showing a map on which roads, parking lots, and various facilities are displayed, as well as specific map information showing a map of specific facilities or areas where satellite signal reception is not possible. Note that the above-mentioned various programs, normal map information, and specific map information may be obtained, for example, from a server device or the like via the Internet, or may be read from a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory.

[0039] The control unit 13 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 13A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13B, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13C, etc. The CPU 13A reads out various programs stored in the ROM 13B and the storage unit 12, and executes them to realize the measurement of the current position of the mobile terminal 10, the display of a map image showing the current position, etc.

[0040] The communication unit 14 is a communication device capable of wireless communication according to, for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard. The communication unit 14 may also include a reader device capable of reading information from a short-range wireless tag. The communication unit 14 is capable of communicating with a vehicle positioning device 20 mounted on the vehicle M and a terminal detection sensor CS of the terminal holder 30. The vehicle positioning device 20 is capable of acquiring parking status information from the vehicle M, which is information indicating the parking status of the vehicle M, such as the ignition status of the vehicle M and the position of the shift lever.

[0041] The communication unit 14 is capable of reading information from a short-range wireless tag, which is a terminal detection sensor CS, when the mobile terminal 10 is held in the terminal holder 30. When the mobile terminal 10 is separated from the terminal holder 30 and the communication unit 14 is unable to read information from the short-range wireless tag, the communication unit 14 transmits a vehicle information request signal requesting vehicle information to the vehicle positioning device 20, and receives a vehicle information signal including vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle positioning device 20, and supplies this to the control unit 13. Furthermore, the communication unit 14 acquires parking / stopping state information of the vehicle M from the vehicle positioning device 20 by communicating with the vehicle positioning device 20, and supplies this to the control unit 13.

[0042] When the vehicle positioning device 20 transmits vehicle information to a server via an Internet connection network, the communication unit 14 may be a communication device conforming to the IEEE802.11 communication standard. In this case, the communication unit 14 may connect to the Internet via a surrounding access point and acquire vehicle information from a predetermined server. Furthermore, the communication unit 14 may have a function capable of connecting to the Internet via a WAN (Wide Area Network) provided by a telecommunications carrier.

[0043] The output unit 15 is composed of information output devices such as a display 15A and a speaker 15B, and performs image display and audio output based on image signals and audio signals supplied from the control unit 13. For example, when an image signal representing a map image on which a mark indicating the position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the mobile terminal 10 is superimposed is supplied, the display 15A displays this map image to inform the holder of the mobile terminal 10 of the current position.

[0044] The IMU 16 is an inertial measurement device including an acceleration sensor 16A and a gyro sensor 16B. The acceleration sensor 16A detects acceleration in each direction of three axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system acting on the mobile terminal 10 as the mobile terminal 10 moves. The gyro sensor 16 detects the rotational angular velocity of the mobile terminal 10. The IMU 16 acquires inertial information indicating the movement or rotation angle acting on the mobile terminal 10 based on the detection results (acceleration, angular velocity) of the acceleration sensor 16A and the gyro sensor 16B, and supplies this to the control unit 13.

[0045] The satellite positioning unit 17 includes a satellite antenna that receives satellite signals for positioning transmitted from, for example, GPS satellites or QZSS satellites, and measures the position (latitude, longitude, altitude) and orientation (direction) of the mobile terminal 10 in a geographic coordinate system based on the received satellite signals. The satellite positioning unit 17 supplies the control unit 13 with a terminal position signal that indicates the measured position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the vehicle M.

[0046] The imaging unit 18 is, for example, an imaging device such as a camera that is mounted on the mobile terminal 10. The imaging unit 18 transmits the captured image to the control unit 13.

[0047] When the control unit 13 receives a position measurement execution command by a user operation, the control unit 13 reads out from the storage unit 12 a program for performing position measurement control for measuring the position of the mobile terminal 10 in the geographic coordinate system, and executes the position measurement control.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a position measurement control routine executed by the control unit 13.

[0049] 4, the control unit 13 judges whether or not it is no longer possible to read information from a short-distance wireless tag serving as the terminal detection sensor CS, that is, whether or not the mobile terminal 10 has been separated from the state in which it is held by the terminal holder 30 (step S11). That is, in step S11, the control unit 13 judges whether or not the attitude of the mobile terminal 10 relative to the vehicle M has changed after the mobile terminal 10 has been fixed and held to the vehicle M by the terminal holder 30. If it is judged in step S11 that the mobile terminal 10 has not been separated from the terminal holder 30, the control unit 13 leaves this position measurement control routine and returns to the processing of the main flow (not shown), and then executes the position measurement control routine, for example, at predetermined intervals.

[0050] In step S11, when it is determined that the mobile terminal 10 held by the terminal holder 30 has been separated from the terminal holder 30, the control unit 13 controls the communication unit 14 to transmit a vehicle information request signal requesting vehicle information to the vehicle positioning device 20 (step S12). That is, when the control unit 13 determines that the attitude of the mobile terminal 10 relative to the vehicle M has changed after the mobile terminal 10 was fixed and held by the terminal holder 30 to the vehicle M, the control unit 13 transmits the vehicle information request signal to the vehicle positioning device 20 mounted on the vehicle M.

[0051] Next, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the communication unit 14 has received a vehicle information signal (step S13) until the communication unit 14 receives the vehicle information signal.

[0052] If it is determined in step S13 that the vehicle information signal has been received, the control unit 13 stores the vehicle information (the position and orientation of the vehicle M in the geographic coordinate system) indicated in the received vehicle information signal in the RAM 13C (step S14).

[0053] Next, the control unit 13 reads out the relative information stored in the storage unit 12, that is, the relative information representing the relative position of the mobile terminal 10 in the vehicle and the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the direction of the vehicle, from the storage unit 12, and writes it to the RAM 13C (step S15). The relative information here indicates the relative position of the mobile terminal 10 in the vehicle when the mobile terminal 10 is fixed and held in the vehicle M by the terminal holder 30, and the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the direction of the vehicle, and is stored in advance in the storage unit 12 by a user operation or the like.

[0054] Next, the control unit 13 acquires reference information indicating the reference position and reference attitude of the mobile terminal 10 in the geographic coordinate system based on the vehicle information and the relative information stored in the RAM 13C (step S16). Here, the vehicle position (latitude, longitude, altitude) indicated by the vehicle information is, strictly speaking, the position where the satellite receiver 23 is installed, and the relative position indicated by the relative information is the relative position of the mobile terminal 10 with the satellite receiver 23 as the base point. Thus, a reference position indicating the position of the mobile terminal 10 in the geographic coordinate system is obtained from the vehicle position and the relative position. In addition, the mobile terminal 10 moves in the same direction as the vehicle M while being placed and fixedly held on the terminal holder 30. Thus, a reference attitude indicating the attitude of the mobile terminal 10 in the geographic coordinate system is obtained from the direction (azimuth) of the vehicle in the geographic coordinate system indicated by the vehicle information and the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the direction of the vehicle indicated by the relative information.

[0055] Next, the control unit 13 executes an autonomous navigation process using the reference position and reference attitude obtained in step S16 as initial information for the autonomous navigation (step S17). That is, the control unit 13 uses the reference position and reference attitude expressed in the geographic coordinate system as initial information to sequentially calculate the position of the mobile terminal 10 after it moves based on the detection results of the acceleration sensor 16A and the gyro sensor 16B of the IMU 16 (autonomous navigation process). Note that in step S17, if satellite positioning by the satellite positioning unit 17 is possible, the current position may be determined by satellite navigation instead of autonomous navigation.

[0056] Here, the control unit 13 reads out from the storage unit 12 a program responsible for display control for displaying an image informing the current position on the display 15A, and executes the display control at predetermined intervals while the autonomous navigation or satellite navigation is being performed.

[0057] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a display control routine executed by the control unit 13.

[0058] 5, first, the control unit 13 determines whether the vehicle M is parked or stopped based on the parking / stopping state information (step S171). If it is determined in step S171 that the vehicle M is parked or stopped, the control unit 13 searches for map information including the current position acquired by the positioning in step S17 from various map information stored in the storage unit 12 (step S172).

[0059] Next, the control unit 13 judges whether or not the searched map information is normal map information (step S173).

[0060] When it is determined in step S173 that the map information is normal map information, the control unit 13 causes the display 15A to display a map image in which the mark indicating the current position is superimposed on the map shown in the normal map information (step S174).

[0061] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S173 that the specific map information is not normal map information, the control unit 13 causes the display 15A to display a map image in which the mark indicating the current position described above is superimposed on the map indicated by the specific map information (step S175).

[0062] After the above steps S174 and S175 are completed, or if it is determined in the above step S171 that the vehicle M is not parked or stopped, the display control routine is exited and the autonomous navigation process is performed in step S17 shown in FIG.

[0063] In this manner, the mobile terminal 10 according to the first embodiment acquires vehicle information indicating the position (latitude, longitude, altitude) in the geographic coordinate system measured by the vehicle positioning device 20 (navigation device) mounted on the vehicle M and the orientation of the vehicle M (S12 to S14). Furthermore, the mobile terminal 10 is held in a predetermined orientation (for example, an orientation in which the back side of the mobile terminal 10 faces the same direction as the orientation of the vehicle M) in the terminal holder 30 installed on the vehicle M, thereby acquiring relative information indicating the relative position and relative orientation of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the position of the vehicle M. Next, based on the acquired vehicle information and relative information, the mobile terminal 10 calculates the position of the geographic coordinate system of the mobile terminal 10 as a reference position (initial position), and calculates the orientation of the mobile terminal 10 at the reference position as a reference orientation (initial orientation) (S16). Then, the mobile terminal 10 executes an autonomous navigation process using the reference position and reference orientation as initial information (S17), thereby locating the current position of the mobile terminal 10.

[0064] Therefore, for example, when vehicle M, with mobile terminal 10 held in terminal holder 30, drives through an indoor parking lot where radio waves from satellites are difficult to reach, and then parks and stops at an arbitrary parking position, when mobile terminal 10 is moved away from terminal holder 30 at this parking position, mobile terminal 10 acquires vehicle information indicating the position and orientation in the geographic coordinate system of vehicle M from an in-vehicle navigation device of vehicle M that is capable of relatively high-precision positioning even when positioning using satellite signals is impossible. Then, based on the vehicle information and the relative position and relative orientation of mobile terminal 10 with respect to the position and orientation of vehicle M, mobile terminal 10 determines initial information indicating a reference position (initial position) and reference attitude (initial attitude) that serve as the base point for positioning using autonomous navigation.

[0065] Therefore, according to the mobile terminal 10, even if a dedicated external device for providing the above-mentioned initial information is not provided in a facility or area where satellite radio waves cannot reach, it is possible to perform highly accurate positioning of the current position within the facility or area by autonomous navigation using relatively high-precision initial information.

[0066] In the above embodiment, when the mobile terminal 10 becomes unable to read the information of the short-range wireless tag due to being separated from the holder main body 33, the mobile terminal 10 transmits a vehicle information request signal to request vehicle information from the vehicle positioning device 20.

[0067] However, when the terminal detection sensor CS, which detects that the mobile terminal 10 is held in the holder main body part 33, detects that the mobile terminal 10 held in the holder main body part 33 has been separated from the holder main body part 33, it may request vehicle information from the vehicle positioning device 20. In this case, for example, the terminal detection sensor CS may be a photoelectric sensor and a communication circuit, and when it detects that the mobile terminal 10 has been once held in the holder main body part 33 and then separated from the holder main body part 33, the communication circuit of the terminal detection sensor CS may notify the mobile terminal 10, and the mobile terminal 10 that has received this notification may request vehicle information from the vehicle positioning device 20.

[0068] In addition, at this time, a vehicle information request signal may be transmitted directly from a communication circuit installed in the holder main body 33 to the vehicle positioning device 20. In other words, when the terminal detection sensor CS detects that the mobile terminal 10 has moved away, the communication circuit transmits a vehicle information request signal to the vehicle positioning device 20.

[0069] In addition, by utilizing an optical sensor provided in the mobile terminal 10 to detect the surrounding brightness, it is also possible to detect that the mobile terminal 10 has been separated from the holder main body 33. At this time, when the optical sensor detects that the mobile terminal 10 has been separated from the holder main body 33, the mobile terminal 10 transmits a vehicle information request signal to the in-vehicle navigation device (20). With this configuration, the holder main body 33 does not require a terminal detection sensor CS. EXAMPLES

[0070] In addition, in the above-mentioned Example 1, by placing and holding the mobile terminal 10 in the terminal holder 30 installed in the vehicle M, it is possible to obtain the relative position and relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the position of the geographic coordinate system of the vehicle M.

[0071] However, it is possible to obtain the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 even when the mobile terminal 10 is present in a place other than the terminal holder 30 within the vehicle M, for example, on an empty seat, or inside the clothes or bag of a passenger.

[0072] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another example of a position measurement control routine that has been made in consideration of the above points.

[0073] In the positioning control routine shown in Fig. 6, step S11 shown in Fig. 4 is deleted, and steps S201 to S204 are adopted instead of step S15. In this case, steps S12 to S14, S16, and S17 in the positioning control routine shown in Fig. 6 are the same as those shown in Fig. 4.

[0074] 6, first, the control unit 13 acquires vehicle information by executing steps S12 to S14. After executing step S14, the control unit 13 identifies the moving direction of the mobile terminal 10 in the reference coordinate system of the mobile terminal 10 based on the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 16A (step S201).

[0075] Next, the control unit 13 assumes that the mobile terminal 10 is moving together with the vehicle M, i.e., assumes that the identified moving direction coincides with the forward direction of the vehicle (i.e., the traveling direction) indicated in the above-mentioned vehicle information, and acquires the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the vehicle M (step S202).

[0076] Next, the control unit 13 writes relative information indicating the relative position and relative attitude into the RAM 13C (step S203).

[0077] Next, the control unit 13 determines whether the vehicle M is parked or stopped based on the parking / stopping state information of the vehicle M (step S204).

[0078] If it is determined in step S204 that the vehicle M is not parked or stopped, the control unit 13 exits this positioning control routine and returns to the processing of the main flow (not shown), and then executes the positioning control routine, for example, at predetermined intervals.

[0079] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S204 that the vehicle M is parked or stopped, the control unit 13 proceeds to execution of step S16. That is, the control unit 13 acquires reference information indicating a reference position and a reference attitude of the mobile terminal 10 in the geographic coordinate system based on the vehicle information and relative information acquired immediately before parking and stopping, which are stored in the RAM 13C (step S16).

[0080] Then, the control unit 13 executes the above-mentioned autonomous navigation process using the acquired reference position and reference attitude as initial information for the autonomous navigation (step S17). Note that, in step S17, if satellite positioning by the satellite positioning unit 17 is possible, the current position may be determined by satellite navigation instead of the autonomous navigation.

[0081] In the example shown in FIG. 6, the reference information acquisition process (S16) and the autonomous navigation process (S17) are executed in response to the parking or stopping of the vehicle M as a trigger, but the reference information acquisition process (S16) and the autonomous navigation process (S17) may also be executed when the mobile terminal 10 moves outside the vehicle M.

[0082] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a modification of the position measurement control routine shown in FIG. 6, which has been made in consideration of the above points.

[0083] Note that Fig. 7 is a modified example of the positioning control routine shown in Fig. 6, and each step is the same as each step shown in Fig. 6 except that step S304 is adopted instead of step S204. Therefore, only the operation of step S304 will be described below.

[0084] The control unit 13 determines whether the mobile terminal 10 has moved outside the vehicle M (step S304). For example, the control unit 13 receives a polling signal wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle M in a smart entry system (not shown) mounted on the vehicle M via the communication unit 14, and determines that the mobile terminal 10 has moved outside the vehicle M when the polling signal transitions to a state where it cannot be received.

[0085] 6 and 7, first, in the position measurement control routine shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, movement direction information related to the movement direction of the mobile terminal 10 is acquired (S201) from the output result of a sensor capable of detecting the movement direction in the reference coordinate system of the mobile terminal 10 moving together with the vehicle M, that is, the acceleration sensor 16A. Then, based on the movement direction information of the mobile terminal 10 acquired immediately before the vehicle M is parked or stopped (i.e., stopped moving) or the ignition is turned off, or immediately before the mobile terminal 10 moves out of the vehicle M, the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the vehicle M is acquired (S202).

[0086] In addition, in the embodiment shown in Figures 6 and 7, the acquisition of vehicle information (S12 to S14) is performed before the acquisition of relative information (S15, S201 to S203), but the acquisition of vehicle information may be performed after the acquisition of the relative information. EXAMPLES

[0087] In addition, in the above-mentioned Example 1, by placing and holding the mobile terminal 10 in the terminal holder 30 installed in the vehicle M, it is possible to obtain the relative position and relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the position of the geographic coordinate system of the vehicle M.

[0088] However, by performing a photographing operation on the mobile terminal 10, it is possible to obtain the relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 within the vehicle M at any timing.

[0089] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of a position measurement control routine that has been made in consideration of the above points.

[0090] In addition, in the positioning control routine shown in Fig. 8, steps S301 and S302 are adopted instead of step S11 shown in Fig. 4. In this case, steps S12 to S17 in the positioning control routine shown in Fig. 8 are the same as those shown in Fig. 4.

[0091] 8, first, the control unit 13 acquires an interior image of the vehicle M captured by the imaging unit 18 through a user operation (step S301). In step S301, when the control unit 13 receives a position measurement execution command through a user operation, the control unit 13 displays an instruction image on the display 15A to capture an image of a preset object (e.g., a steering wheel, a dashboard, etc.) that is always visible from inside the vehicle M, or outputs a voice message from the speaker 15B, and acquires the interior image of the vehicle M captured through the user operation.

[0092] Next, the control unit 13 analyzes the interior image acquired in step S301 to acquire relative information indicating the relative position and relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the vehicle M when the image was captured (step S302). For example, the storage unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 stores a plurality of reference images captured from a plurality of previously known relative positions and relative attitudes of a preset object (e.g., a steering wheel, a dashboard, etc.) that is always visible from inside the vehicle M. The control unit 13 compares the arrangement and size ratio of the feature points in the acquired interior image with those in the reference image, calculates the amount of deviation from the relative position and relative attitude of the reference image, and corrects the calculated amount of deviation to the relative position and relative attitude of the reference image, thereby acquiring relative information indicating the accurate relative position and relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the vehicle M. Then, the acquired relative information is stored in the storage unit 12.

[0093] Thereafter, similarly to the first embodiment, by executing steps S12 to S14, the control unit 13 receives vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the vehicle M from the vehicle positioning device 20 and stores it in the RAM 13C. Next, in step S15, the control unit 13 reads out the relative information stored in the storage unit 12 from the storage unit 12 and writes it to the RAM 13C. Then, in step S16, the control unit 13 acquires reference information indicating the reference position and reference attitude in the geographic coordinate system of the mobile terminal 10 based on the vehicle information and relative information stored in the RAM 13C, and in step S17, executes an autonomous navigation process using the reference position and reference attitude indicated by the reference information as initial information for autonomous navigation. In the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when satellite positioning by the satellite positioning unit 17 is possible in step S17, the current position may be measured by satellite navigation instead of autonomous navigation.

[0094] In this manner, in the third embodiment, when the mobile terminal 10 is located inside the vehicle M, the occupant uses the mobile terminal 10 to capture an image of a preset object that is always visible from inside the vehicle M, and the control unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 can identify the relative position and relative attitude of the mobile terminal 10 with respect to the vehicle M at the time of capturing the image, and acquire this as relative information. Therefore, for example, when the vehicle M is parked in an indoor parking lot where radio waves from a satellite are difficult to reach, the occupant of the vehicle M can capture an image of the interior of the vehicle M with the mobile terminal 10 at any timing as necessary, and the mobile terminal 10 can acquire an accurate reference position and reference attitude for performing autonomous navigation.

[0095] In the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the position measurement process in the geographic coordinate system of the mobile terminal 10 is realized by executing the program (position measurement control and display control shown in Figures 4 to 8) stored in the memory unit 12, but the position measurement process may be realized by hardware.

[0096] In addition, in the first to third embodiments, vehicle information is acquired from the vehicle positioning device 20 mounted on the vehicle M, but the vehicle M is not limited to a four-wheeled ordinary passenger car. For example, the vehicle M may be a moving body such as a motorcycle, a bus, or a construction vehicle.

[0097] In short, the mobile terminal 10 as an autonomous navigation device may include the following moving body information acquisition unit, relative information acquisition unit, reference information acquisition unit, and autonomous navigation processing unit.

[0098] The moving body information acquisition unit (S12 to S14) acquires moving body information indicating the position and orientation of the moving body from the navigation device (20). The relative information acquisition unit (S15, S201a, S201 to S203, S301, S302) acquires relative information indicating the relative attitude and relative position of the autonomous navigation device (10) with respect to the moving body when the autonomous navigation device is located inside the moving body. The reference information acquisition unit (S16) calculates the reference position and reference attitude of the autonomous navigation device based on the moving body information and the relative information. The autonomous navigation processing unit (16) executes autonomous navigation processing using the reference attitude and reference position as initial information for autonomous navigation.

[0099] The autonomous navigation device (10) also includes a map acquisition unit (S171 to S173, S175) that acquires map information of a specific facility or area when it detects that the mobile body has parked in the facility or area, and a display processing unit (S176) that displays on the display (15A) an image in which a mark indicating the current position acquired by the autonomous navigation processing is superimposed on a map indicated by the map information.

[0100] According to this configuration, the autonomous navigation device acquires mobile body information indicating the position and orientation of the mobile body in the geographic coordinate system from a navigation device mounted on the mobile body, and then acquires initial information indicating a reference position (initial position) and a reference orientation (initial orientation) that are the base points for positioning by the autonomous navigation based on the mobile body information and the relative position and relative orientation of the autonomous navigation device with respect to the position and orientation of the mobile body.

[0101] As a result, even if a dedicated external device for providing the above-mentioned initial information is not provided in a facility or area where satellite radio waves cannot reach, it is possible to perform highly accurate current positioning within the facility or area by autonomous navigation using initial information based on mobile body information indicating the position and orientation of the mobile body and relative information indicating the relative attitude and relative position of the autonomous navigation device with respect to the mobile body. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 10 Mobile devices 13 Control section 14 Communications Department 16 IMU 17 Satellite positioning unit 18 Imaging section 21 Positioning unit 30 Terminal holder 100 Autonomous Navigation System

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, a mobile object information acquisition unit that acquires mobile object information indicating a position and an orientation of the mobile object from a mobile object positioning device mounted on the mobile object; a relative information acquisition unit that acquires relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the mobile terminal with respect to the moving body when the mobile terminal is located inside the moving body; a reference information acquisition unit that calculates a reference position and a reference attitude of the mobile terminal based on the moving body information and the relative information; an autonomous navigation processing unit that executes a positioning process by an autonomous navigation method using the reference attitude and the reference position as initial information; A mobile terminal comprising:

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the relative information acquisition unit acquires, as the relative attitude, an attitude of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal is fixedly held on the moving body.

3. a communication unit for communicating with the mobile positioning device; The mobile terminal according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the mobile terminal is fixedly held to the mobile body and then its attitude changes relative to the mobile body, the communication unit requests the mobile body positioning device to transmit information indicating the position and orientation of the mobile body at a point immediately before the attitude change.

4. 4. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit issues the transmission request to the mobile object positioning device when the mobile terminal is separated from a holding unit for holding the mobile terminal fixedly relative to the mobile object.

5. the holding unit has a short-range wireless communication tag that can be read by the mobile terminal in a state in which the mobile terminal is fixedly held, The mobile terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that the communication unit makes the transmission request to the mobile positioning device when the mobile terminal becomes separated from the holding unit and the short-range wireless communication tag becomes unreadable.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , characterized in that the relative information acquisition unit acquires, as the relative attitude, the attitude at the time when the image of the interior of the moving body captured by an imaging unit possessed by the mobile terminal, based on the image of the interior of the moving body captured by the imaging unit possessed by the mobile terminal.

7. A memory in which map information of a specific facility or area where satellite signal reception is not possible is stored; a map acquisition unit that reads out the map information from the memory when detecting that the moving object is parked or stopped in the specific facility or area, The autonomous navigation processing unit includes: an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration; A gyro sensor for detecting angular velocity; a current position calculation unit that calculates a current position of the mobile terminal based on the acceleration and the angular velocity by using the reference position and the reference attitude as initial information; The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a display processing unit that displays on a display an image in which a mark indicating the current location is superimposed on a map shown in the map information.

8. a sensor capable of detecting a moving direction of the mobile terminal in a reference coordinate system; a movement information acquisition unit that acquires movement direction information related to a movement direction of the mobile terminal based on an output of the sensor, The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the relative information acquisition unit acquires the relative attitude of the mobile terminal with respect to the moving object based on the moving direction information when the mobile terminal moves together with the moving object.

9. The sensor includes an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, The mobile terminal according to claim 8, characterized in that the relative information acquisition unit acquires the relative attitude of the mobile terminal with respect to the moving body by assuming that the movement direction of the mobile terminal identified based on the direction of the acceleration coincides with the orientation of the moving body.

10. The mobile terminal according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that when the ignition of the moving body is turned off or the movement of the moving body stops, the autonomous navigation processing unit uses the reference position and the reference attitude calculated by the reference information acquisition unit based on the position and orientation of the moving body acquired by the moving body information acquisition unit and the relative position and the relative attitude acquired by the relative information acquisition unit as the initial information for positioning by autonomous navigation.

11. a mobile outside determination means for determining whether the mobile terminal has moved outside the mobile body, The mobile terminal according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that when it is determined that the mobile terminal has moved outside of a moving body, the autonomous navigation processing unit uses the reference position and the reference attitude calculated by the reference information acquisition unit based on the position and orientation of the moving body acquired by the moving body information acquisition unit immediately before that determination and the relative position and the relative attitude acquired by the relative information acquisition unit as the initial information for positioning by autonomous navigation.

12. A positioning method executed by a mobile terminal, comprising: a mobile object information acquiring step of acquiring mobile object information indicating a position and an orientation of the mobile object from a mobile object positioning device mounted on the mobile object; a relative information acquisition step of acquiring relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the mobile terminal with respect to the moving body when the mobile terminal is located inside the moving body; a reference information acquisition step of calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the mobile terminal based on the moving body information and the relative information; an autonomous navigation processing step of executing a positioning process by an autonomous navigation method using the reference attitude and the reference position as initial information.

13. A program executed by a control unit included in a mobile terminal, a mobile object information acquiring step of acquiring mobile object information indicating a position and an orientation of the mobile object from a mobile object positioning device mounted on the mobile object; a relative information acquisition step of acquiring relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the mobile terminal with respect to the moving body when the mobile terminal is located inside the moving body; a reference information acquisition step of calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the mobile terminal based on the moving body information and the relative information; an autonomous navigation processing step of executing a positioning process by an autonomous navigation method using the reference attitude and the reference position as initial information,

14. A computer-readable storage medium included in a mobile terminal, comprising: The computer includes: a mobile object information acquiring step of acquiring mobile object information indicating a position and an orientation of the mobile object from a mobile object positioning device mounted on the mobile object; a relative information acquisition step of acquiring relative information indicating a relative attitude and a relative position of the mobile object positioning device with respect to the mobile object when the mobile terminal is located inside the mobile object; a reference information acquisition step of calculating a reference position and a reference attitude of the mobile terminal based on the moving body information and the relative information; An autonomous navigation processing step for executing a positioning process by an autonomous navigation method using the reference attitude and the reference position as initial information, and a storage medium having a program for executing the step stored therein.

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