Information processing system, information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

To provide an information processing system, an information processing device, an information processing method and an information processing program for estimating an environment at a position where sensors are not installed.SOLUTION: In an information processing system, an information processing device 100 comprises: an acquisition unit 131 for acquiring time information and the sensing data of a measurement object from a plurality of stationary sensors installed at stationary positions and acquiring time information, sensing data, and position information from a non-fixed mobile body sensor; an identification unit 132 for identifying the characteristic of a change over time of sensing data in each stationary sensor from the sensing data and the time information corresponding to the sensing data; an estimation unit 133 for estimating a change over time of a measurement object at a position indicated by the position information, on the basis of the characteristic of a change over time of the measurement object of a stationary sensor present at the nearest position, as referenced to the sensing data, time information and position information acquired from the mobile body sensor; and an output unit 150 for outputting the estimated change over time of the measurement object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program capable of estimating an environmental change at a desired position. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, sensors are installed in greenhouses and the like to acquire information about the environment in the greenhouse and control the temperature, humidity, watering, and the like in the greenhouse. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for acquiring the environment of a farm field by mounting a sensor on a drone and flying it above the field. Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for installing a sensor node in a vinyl greenhouse and grasping the environment inside the greenhouse. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-38148 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-151265 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it is not possible to keep the drone flying all the time, and therefore it is not possible to obtain information when the drone is not flying. Also, the technology described in Patent Document 2 has a problem in that, although sensor nodes are installed, it is not possible to obtain information from places where sensor nodes are not installed, and therefore it is insufficient for more accurate environmental control.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can estimate changes in the environment at a location even if a sensor is not permanently installed at that location. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires time information and sensing data obtained by sensing a measured object at a time indicated by the time information from a plurality of fixed sensors installed at fixed positions, and time information and sensing data obtained by sensing at a time indicated by the time information and position information from a mobile sensor that is not fixed; an identification unit that identifies characteristics of changes over time in the sensing data at each fixed sensor from the sensing data acquired from the plurality of fixed sensors and the time information to which the sensing data corresponds; an estimation unit that estimates the changes over time of the measured object at the position indicated by the position information based on the characteristics of the changes over time of the measured object of a fixed sensor that is located at least closest to the position indicated by the position information, based on the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and the time information and position information to which the sensing data corresponds; and an output unit that outputs the estimated changes over time of the measured object.

[0007] Moreover, an information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing system that processes information related to an environment, the information processing system including a plurality of fixed sensors installed at fixed positions, an unfixed mobile sensor, and a server, wherein each of the plurality of fixed sensors includes a first sensor that senses a measurement target and generates first sensing data, and a first communication unit that transmits the first sensing data and first time information indicating the time when the first sensing data was acquired to the server, and the mobile sensor includes a second sensor that senses the measurement target and generates second sensing data, an acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating the location of the mobile sensor, and a second communication unit that transmits the second sensing data, the location information when the second sensing data was sensed, and second time information indicating the time when the second sensing data was acquired to the server. the server comprises: a third communication unit that receives first sensing data and first time information corresponding to the first sensing data from each fixed sensor, and receives second sensing data, second time information corresponding to the second sensing data, and location information from the mobile sensor; an identification unit that identifies a characteristic of change over time of the measured object of the fixed sensors from the first sensing data and the first time information; an estimation unit that estimates the change over time of the measured object at the position indicated by the location information based on the characteristic of the change over time of the measured object of the fixed sensor that is located at least closest to the position indicated by the location information, based on the second sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and the second time information and location information to which the second sensing data corresponds; and an output unit that outputs the estimated change over time of the measured object.

[0008] In addition, an information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition step in which a computer acquires, from a plurality of fixed sensors installed at fixed positions, time information and sensing data sensed of a measured object at a time indicated by the time information, and from a mobile sensor that is not fixed, time information and sensing data sensed at the time indicated by the time information and position information; an identification step in which a computer identifies characteristics of changes over time in the sensing data at each fixed sensor from the sensing data acquired from the plurality of fixed sensors and the time information to which the sensing data corresponds; an estimation step in which a change over time of the measured object at the position indicated by the position information is estimated based on the characteristics of the change over time of the measured object of a fixed sensor that is located at least closest to the position indicated by the position information, based on the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and the time information and position information to which the sensing data corresponds; and an output step in which a computer outputs the estimated change over time of the measured object.

[0009] In addition, an information processing program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to realize an acquisition function that acquires, from a plurality of fixed sensors installed at fixed positions, time information and sensing data obtained by sensing a measured object at a time indicated by the time information, and from a mobile sensor that is not fixed, time information and sensing data obtained by sensing at a time indicated by the time information and position information; an identification function that identifies characteristics of changes in the sensing data over time at each fixed sensor from the sensing data acquired from the plurality of fixed sensors and the time information to which the sensing data corresponds; an estimation function that estimates the changes in the measured object over time at the position indicated by the position information based on the characteristics of the changes in the measured object over time of the fixed sensor that is located at least closest to the position indicated by the position information, based on the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and the time information and position information to which the sensing data corresponds; and an output function that outputs the estimated changes in the measured object over time.

[0010] In addition, in the above-mentioned information processing device, the estimation unit may utilize characteristics of changes over time in the object to be measured of a fixed sensor that is located within a predetermined distance from the position information of the mobile sensor, to estimate changes over time in the object to be measured at the position indicated by the position information.

[0011] In addition, in the above-mentioned information processing device, when multiple fixed sensors are present within a predetermined distance from the position information of the mobile sensor, the estimation unit may weight the characteristics of the change over time of the measured object of each fixed sensor, and estimate the change over time of the measured object at the position indicated by the position information.

[0012] In addition, in the above-mentioned information processing device, the estimation unit may be configured to estimate the change over time of the measured object in the position information by linearly interpolating between multiple sensing data based on the characteristics of the change over time of the measured object of a fixed sensor located at a position closest to the position indicated by the position information, using as a reference sensing data acquired from a mobile sensor and sensing data having the same position information as the position information to which the sensing data corresponds.

[0013] In addition, in the above-mentioned information processing device, one of the fixed sensors may be a parent unit, and the remaining fixed sensors and the mobile sensor may be child units, and the acquisition unit may acquire sensing data of each child unit and location information and time information corresponding to the sensing data of the parent unit from the parent unit. Effect of the Invention

[0014] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention can estimate the change over time of the measured object at a location from the actual measurement value (sensing data) of the measured object at the location passed by the mobile sensor and the characteristics of the change over time of the measured object at the fixed sensor located in the closest position at the time to which the measurement value corresponds, thereby making it possible to obtain information with high accuracy at locations where fixed sensors are not installed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the sensor. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a data conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of sensor data. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of communication between devices in the information processing system. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the slave sensor. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the master sensor. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the information processing device. [Figure 9] FIG. 9(a) is an example of sensing data from a fixed sensor, FIG. 9(b) is an example of sensing data from a mobile sensor, and FIG. 9(c) is an example of complemented sensing data from the mobile sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] An information processing system and an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0017] <Embodiment 1> <Summary> Fig. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of the system configuration of an information processing system. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 100, a plurality of fixed sensors 200a to 200f, and a mobile sensor 200m. As an example, the information processing system 1 is an environment estimation system for estimating the environment inside a vinyl greenhouse 10, and may also be an environmental control system. Furthermore, the information processing system 1 is not limited to being one that estimates the environment inside a vinyl greenhouse, and may also be one that estimates the environment in a factory, a theme park, or a city within a predetermined range (for example, a shopping mall, a smart city, etc.).

[0018] Each of the fixed sensors 200a to 200f senses information about the surroundings where it is installed. Here, the measurement target of the sensing may be, for example, temperature, humidity, illuminance, carbon dioxide concentration, or other information. Similarly, the mobile sensor 200m senses information about the surroundings at each location, and the measurement target is the same as that of the fixed sensor. One of the fixed sensors 200a to 200f (here, the fixed sensor 200a) functions as a parent sensor, and the other fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m function as child sensors. The fixed sensor 200a functioning as a parent sensor receives sensing data from the fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m, which are child sensors, and transmits the received data together with its own sensing data to the information processing device 100 via the network 300.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, fixed sensors 200a to 200f are installed in a vinyl greenhouse 10. In the vinyl greenhouse 10, a user, who is an operator, moves within the vinyl greenhouse 10, for example, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 1, while holding a mobile sensor 200m. Therefore, the sensing data measured by the mobile sensor 200m at the time when the user was present at each position on the route along which the user moved is a determined value. On the other hand, at the time when the user was not present on the route, determined information cannot be obtained.

[0020] Therefore, the information processing device 100 uses the received sensing data from each of the fixed sensors 200a to 200f to interpolate the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor 200m, thereby estimating changes over time in the measurement target at positions where no fixed sensors are installed.

[0021] A detailed description will be given below. The network 300 is a network for connecting various devices to each other, and is, for example, a wireless network or a wired network. Specifically, the network is a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), integrated service digital networks (ISDNs), wireless LANs, long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), code division multiple access (CDMA), WCDMA (registered trademark), Ethernet (registered trademark), and the like. The network is not limited to these examples, and may be, for example, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Bluetooth Low Energy, an optical line, an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), a satellite communication network, or any other network. When the network is provided in a user's residence, it may be called a home network. The network may be, for example, Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) or enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC). NB-IoT and eMTC are wireless communication methods for IoT, and are networks capable of long-distance communication at low cost and low power consumption. The network may be a combination of these. The network may include a plurality of different networks that combine these examples. For example, the network may include a wireless network using LTE and a wired network such as an intranet, which is a closed network.

[0022] <Configuration> <Sensor configuration example> 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the sensor 200. The fixed sensors 200a to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m all have the same configuration, and therefore will be collectively referred to as the sensor 200 here. As shown in FIG. 2, the sensor 200 includes a communication unit 210, a sensor group 220, a position information acquisition unit 230, a clock unit 240, a control unit 250, and a storage unit 260. The sensor 200 is a device that sequentially senses a measurement target and transmits the sensed data to a predetermined device. The units of the sensor 200 may be connected to each other via a connection line 270 so as to be capable of data communication, or may be configured so as to be capable of data communication wirelessly.

[0023] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface having a function for executing communication with other devices. The communication unit 210 may communicate with other devices using any communication protocol, and may communicate either wired or wirelessly, as long as it can communicate with other devices. The communication unit 210 transmits information about the measurement target measured by the sensor 200, time information when the information was acquired, and location information when the information was acquired, according to an instruction from the control unit 250. When the sensor 200 is a child device, the communication unit 210 transmits this information (sensing data, time information, location information) to the fixed sensor 200a, which is a parent device. When the sensor 200 is a parent device, the communication unit 210 transmits information (sensing data, time information, location information of each sensor) that is aggregating the sensing data transmitted from each child device and the sensor data of the sensor itself, to the information processing device 100. When the sensor 200 is a parent device, the communication unit 210 receives the sensing data, time information, and location information transmitted from the child device, and transmits them to the control unit 250.

[0024] The communication unit 210 may include a short-distance wireless function for communicating with other sensors and a wireless function for communicating with the information processing device 100, and each of these may be implemented separately. The communication between the communication unit 210 and the information processing device 100 may be performed using, for example, a mobile phone network.

[0025] The sensor group 220 senses information of the measurement target and transmits it to the control unit 250 as sensing data. Here, although it is described as a sensor group, when there is one measurement target, it may be one sensor. The sensor group 220 is a sensor according to the measurement target. The sensor group 220 may be any one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, and a carbon dioxide concentration sensor, or may be a plurality of sensors, and may include sensors other than these sensors. For example, the other sensor may be an infrared sensor, etc., but is not limited to this. However, the measurement target measured by each sensor is the same.

[0026] The position information acquisition unit 230 acquires the position of the sensor 200 and transmits it to the control unit 250. The position information acquisition unit 230 is realized by GNSS, but is not limited to this and may be GPS or the like. When the sensor 200 is a fixed sensor 200, the sensor 200 is installed at a fixed position, so the position information acquisition unit 230 continues to measure the same position, but when the sensor 200 is a mobile sensor 200m, the position information corresponding to the position of the worker is measured.

[0027] The clock unit 240 keeps track of the current time and transmits it to the control unit 250. Since the location information acquisition unit 230 communicates with a positioning satellite that holds accurate time information, the location information acquisition unit 230 may function as the clock unit 240, or may be realized by a clock function that uses a separate crystal oscillator or the like.

[0028] The control unit 250 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of the sensor 200. The control unit 250 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 260 to realize the functions to be performed by the sensor 200. When the control unit 250 acquires sensing data from the sensor group 220, the control unit 250 stores the sensing data in the storage unit 260 in association with the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 230 at that time and the time information measured by the clock unit 240. The control unit 250 also transmits the sensing data, the position information corresponding to the sensing data, and the time information to the information processing device 100 or the parent sensor 200a via the communication unit 210. The control unit 250 transmits untransmitted information, which is a combination of the sensing data, the position information, and the time information stored in the storage unit 260, via the communication unit 210.

[0029] The storage unit 260 has a function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the sensor 200. The storage unit 140 can be realized by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc., but is not limited to these.

[0030] The above is an example of the configuration of the sensor 200. Note that, although the fixed sensor and the mobile sensor are configured in the same manner, they do not have to be configured in the same manner. For example, if the fixed position and the position information are known in advance, the fixed sensor does not need to include a position information acquisition unit.

[0031] <Configuration example of information processing device> Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing device 100. As shown in Fig. 3, the information processing device 100 includes a communication unit 110, an input unit 120, a control unit 130, a storage unit 140, and an output unit 150. The information processing device 100 is a computer system including a processor and a memory. The information processing device 100 is realized by a server device, a PC, a tablet terminal, or the like, but is not limited to these.

[0032] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for communicating with an external device. The communication unit 110 communicates with the fixed sensors 200a, receives sensing data from each sensor, and transmits the sensing data to the control unit .

[0033] The input unit 120 is an input interface that accepts input from an operator of the information processing device 100, and may be realized by, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, etc., but is not limited to these. The input unit 120 may directly input data (numerical values) sensed by the sensor 200, for example, and transmit the data to the control unit 130. The input unit 120 also accepts input of information on a location (position) where a change in the measurement target is desired to be observed, and transmits the information to the control unit 130.

[0034] The control unit 130 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of the information processing device 100. The control unit 130 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 140 to perform the functions that the information processing device 100 should perform.

[0035] The control unit 130 includes an acquisition unit 131 , a specification unit 132 , and an estimation unit 133 .

[0036] The acquiring unit 131 acquires, from a plurality of fixed sensors 200a-200f installed at fixed positions, time information and sensing data obtained by sensing a measurement target at a time indicated by the time information, and, from an unfixed mobile sensor 200m, the time information and sensing data obtained by sensing at a time indicated by the time information and position information. The acquiring unit 131 acquires information on the fixed sensors 200a-200f and information on the mobile sensor 200m from sensor information 141 stored in the storage unit 140.

[0037] The identification unit 132 identifies the characteristics of the change over time of the sensing data for each fixed sensor 200 from the sensing data acquired from the fixed sensors 200a to 200f and the time information to which the sensing data corresponds. For example, when the measurement target is temperature, the identification unit 132 identifies the characteristics of the change over time of the temperature, and when the measurement target is carbon dioxide concentration, the identification unit 132 identifies the characteristics of the change over time of the carbon dioxide concentration. Note that the characteristics of the change over time of the measurement target may be the data itself of the time conversion of the measurement target, or may be information obtained by applying some kind of filter to the data.

[0038] The estimation unit 133 estimates the change over time of the measurement target at the position indicated by the position information based on the characteristics of the change over time of the measurement target of at least the fixed sensor located closest to the position indicated by the position information, based on the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor 200m and the time information and position information to which the sensing data corresponds. The estimation unit 133 acquires the sensing data and time information measured by the mobile sensor 200m when passing through a certain position in the vinyl greenhouse 10 from the storage unit 140. Then, the estimation unit 133 performs an interpolation by linear interpolation, for example, using the characteristics of the change over time of the sensing data of the nearest fixed sensor 200 for a time period in which there is no sensing data at the position. Note that the method of interpolation is not limited to linear interpolation. As another example, an interpolation using an approximation curve may be performed, or a learning model that learns the positions of a plurality of fixed sensors and the change over time of the measurement target at the positions may be used to input a desired position into the learning model to perform the interpolation.

[0039] The control unit 130 may output the time-dependent change in the measurement target obtained by interpolation as a graph to the output unit 150, or may transmit it via the communication unit 110 to another external device.

[0040] The storage unit 140 has a function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the information processing device 100. The storage unit 140 can be realized by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc., but is not limited to these. The storage unit 140 stores sensor information 141. The sensor information 141 is a collection of information sensed by each sensor. The sensor information 141 will be described in detail later. The storage unit 140 also stores an information processing program for estimating a change over time of a measurement target at a position where the fixed sensor 200 is not installed.

[0041] The output unit 150 outputs designated information in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 130. The output unit 150 may output information by image or text, or may output information by sound. For example, the output unit 150 may display information indicating a change over time at a desired position of the measurement target as an image on a monitor provided in or connected to the information processing device 100 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 130.

[0042] The configuration of the information processing device 100 has been described above.

[0043] <Sensor information> Fig. 4 is a configuration example of the sensor information 141. In the example of Fig. 4, information is held individually for each sensor, but this may be a collection of information. As shown in Fig. 4, the sensor information 141 is information in which a sensor ID 401, date and time information 402, location information 403, and sensing data 404 are associated with each other.

[0044] The sensor ID 401 is information for identifying which of the fixed sensors 200a to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m the information belongs to, and is an identifier for uniquely identifying each sensor on the information processing system 1.

[0045] Date and time information 402 is information indicating the date and time when sensing was performed.

[0046] The location information 403 corresponds to the date and time information 402 and is information indicating the location where sensing was performed. The location may be stored as longitude and latitude information, for example. The location information 403 does not basically change in the case of the fixed sensors 200a to 200f, but changes appropriately in response to the movement of the worker in the case of the mobile sensor 200m.

[0047] The sensing data 404 is information indicating a measurement value when a measurement target is measured at a date and time indicated by the corresponding date and time information 402 and at a location indicated by the corresponding location information 403. As described above, the sensing data 404 may be temperature, humidity, illuminance, carbon dioxide concentration, etc., but is not limited to these. Note that in FIG. 4, carbon dioxide is written as CO2.

[0048] Thanks to the sensor information 141, the information processing device 100 can use the data sensed by the mobile sensor 200m at each position as a reference to identify the fixed sensor 200 located closest to that position at that time, and can interpolate the sensing data obtained by measurement by the mobile sensor using the changes over time in the object measured by the fixed sensor.

[0049] <Operation> Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of interactions between devices in the information processing system 1. Fig. 5 shows interactions between the fixed sensor 200b serving as a child device, the fixed sensor 200a serving as a parent device, the mobile sensor 200m, and the information processing device 100, but the fixed sensor 200b also includes the fixed sensors 200c to 200f.

[0050] As shown in Fig. 5, each of the different fixed sensors 200 including the fixed sensor 200b measures the measurement object at a predetermined timing (step S501). This predetermined timing, i.e., the timing of measurement, may be performed simultaneously and sequentially in all the sensors 200. Similarly, the mobile sensor 200m acting as a child also measures the measurement object (step S502). The fixed sensor 200a acting as a parent also measures the measurement object (step S503). The predetermined timing at which each sensor measures may basically be the same. Also, the measurement object measured by each sensor is the same.

[0051] The child fixed sensor 200b (the fixed sensors 200c to 200f) transmits sensing data obtained by measurement to the parent fixed sensor 200a (step S504). Similarly, the child mobile sensor 200m transmits sensing data obtained by measurement to the fixed sensor 200a (step S505). Here, time information indicating the time when sensing was performed and location information indicating the place where sensing was performed are also transmitted together with the sensing data.

[0052] The fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m basically transmit sensing data almost simultaneously, but this is not necessary and the transmission times may be staggered depending on the degree of congestion in communication traffic.

[0053] The fixed sensor 200a receives the sensing data transmitted from each child device, and aggregates the received sensing data with the sensing data measured by the fixed sensor (step S506). Here, aggregation may mean clarifying which sensing data, time information, and location information correspond to which sensor, and packaging the data for transmission.

[0054] The fixed sensor 200a transmits the aggregated sensing data of each sensor to the information processing device 100 (step S507).

[0055] The information processing device 100 stores the received sensing data in the storage unit 140 (step S508).

[0056] The information processing device 100 uses the received sensing data from the mobile sensor 200m as a reference and performs interpolation of the sensing data based on the characteristics of the changes over time of the object being measured at the fixed sensor 200 located closest to it at any given time (step S509), and then terminates the process.

[0057] As described above, in the information processing system 1, information required for the information processing device 100 to estimate changes over time in the object to be measured is efficiently transmitted from each sensor 200 to the information processing device 100 in a location where the fixed sensors 200a to 200f are not installed.

[0058] 5 is executed sequentially in the information processing system 1. Here, "sequentially" means at predetermined time intervals, which may be, for example, every second, but is not limited to every second and may be every 10 seconds, every minute, or every 10 minutes.

[0059] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m, which are child devices for implementing the exchange in FIG.

[0060] 6, the sensor group 220 including the fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m serving as child sensors senses various pieces of information to be measured (step S601). The sensor group 220 transmits the sensed data to the control unit 250.

[0061] The position information acquisition unit 230 acquires the position information of the own device (step S602). The position information acquisition unit 230 transmits the acquired position information to the control unit 250.

[0062] The timing unit 240 acquires the current time (step S603). Then, the timing unit 240 transmits the acquired current time to the control unit 250.

[0063] The control unit 250 transmits the transmitted sensing data, the position information, and the current time to the parent fixed sensor 200a via the communication unit 210 (step S604), and ends the process. At this time, the control unit 250 stores the sensing data, the position information, and the current time in the storage unit 260.

[0064] The above is an example of the operation of the child fixed sensors 200b to 200f or the mobile sensor 200m. As a result, each child sensor can transmit sensing data to the parent fixed sensor 200a.

[0065] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the fixed sensor 200a serving as a master for implementing the exchange in FIG.

[0066] 7, the sensor group 220 of the master fixed sensor 200a senses various pieces of information to be measured (step S701). The sensor group 220 transmits the sensed data to the control unit 250.

[0067] The position information acquisition unit 230 of the fixed sensor 200a acquires its own position information (step S702). The position information acquisition unit 230 transmits the acquired position information to the control unit 250.

[0068] The clock unit 240 of the fixed sensor 200a acquires the current time (step S703). Then, the clock unit 240 transmits the acquired current time to the control unit 250. At this time, the control unit 250 may store the transmitted sensing data, position information, and time information in the storage unit 260 in association with each other.

[0069] The communication unit 210 of the fixed sensor 200a receives the sensing data of each sensor 200 from the slave fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m (step S704).

[0070] The control unit 250 aggregates the transmitted sensing data of the own device and the sensing data of each child device (step S705). Then, the control unit 250 transmits the aggregated sensing data to the information processing device 100 via the communication unit 210 (step S706), and ends the process.

[0071] As a result, the sensing data of all the sensors is transmitted to the information processing device 100 in association with the place and time of measurement.

[0072] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of information processing device 100 for implementing the exchange in FIG.

[0073] The communication unit 110 of the information processing device 100 receives sensing data sensed by all the sensors 200 from the parent fixed sensor 200a (step S801). Each piece of sensing data is associated with information on which sensor measured the data, when (time information), and where (location information). The communication unit 110 transmits the received sensing data to the control unit 130.

[0074] The control unit 130 stores the transmitted sensing data in the sensor information 141 of the storage unit 140 in association with each sensor (in association with the sensor ID 401) (step S802).

[0075] The identification unit 132 of the control unit 130 identifies the fixed sensor closest to the position information of the sensing data (step S803). The identification unit 132 identifies the fixed sensor 200 located at the shortest distance from the desired position where the change in the environment in the vinyl greenhouse 10 is to be identified, by referring to the position information of the sensor information 141. The desired position where the change in the environment is to be identified may be specified by an operator of the information processing device 100 via the input unit 120, or may be specified as the position of information required by a program for the control when the information processing device 100 also controls the environment in the vinyl greenhouse 10.

[0076] Using the sensing data that is the actual measurement value of the measurement target measured at the desired location by the mobile sensor 200m as a reference, the estimation unit 133 estimates the change over time of the measurement target at the desired location using the characteristics of the change over time of the sensing data of the specified nearest fixed sensor 200. That is, the estimation unit 133 interpolates the time period in which there is no actual measurement value of the sensing data of the measurement target measured at the desired location by the mobile sensor 200m, using the characteristics of the change over time of the sensing data of the nearest fixed sensor 200 (step S804).

[0077] Then, the control unit 130 generates a graph showing the change over time of the sensing data at the interpolated desired position, and causes the output unit 150 to output the graph (step S805), and the process ends.

[0078] As a result, even in a location within the greenhouse 10 where the fixed sensors 200a-200f are not installed, the information processing device 100 can obtain information on the change over time of the measured object by interpolating using the change over time of the measured object of the nearest fixed sensor 200 based on the actual measurement value of the point where the mobile sensor 200 passed.

[0079] <Example of interpolation of sensing data from a moving sensor> An example of estimation (interpolation) by the estimation unit 133 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. In each of the graphs in Fig. 9(a) to Fig. 9(c), the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents temperature.

[0080] Fig. 9(a) is a graph showing an example of a change over time in sensing data measured by the fixed sensor 200. In the example shown in Fig. 9(a), the graph shows a change over time when the temperature is the measurement object. As shown in Fig. 9(a), the graph showing the change over time in the measurement object obtained from the fixed sensor 200 is all actual measured values, so it can be used as highly accurate information on the change in the environment at the location where the fixed sensor 200 is installed.

[0081] On the other hand, the worker holding the mobile sensor 200m moves to the location where the worker worked within the vinyl greenhouse 10 each time. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 9(b), the sensing data for a certain location (hereinafter referred to as location A) within the vinyl greenhouse 10, i.e., location A on the movement path of the mobile sensor 200m, is only information measured while the worker does not move from that location. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 9(b), this alone is information with gaps in it as information showing the change over time of the measurement target at location A.

[0082] 9(b) is interpolated by utilizing the characteristics of the time-dependent change in the measurement target of the fixed sensor 200 located closest to the location A. This is because it can be inferred that the environmental change around the fixed sensor 200 located closest to the location A will be similar to the environmental change at the location A.

[0083] Therefore, if the information shown in Fig. 9(b) is, for example, information on the position of the mobile sensor 200m in Fig. 1, the fixed sensor located closest to the mobile sensor 200 is the fixed sensor 200f. In this case, if the change over time of the measurement object shown in Fig. 9(a) is that of the fixed sensor 200f, the estimation unit 133 can estimate the change over time of the measurement object shown in Fig. 9(c) by interpolating (applying) the change over time in Fig. 9(a) based on Fig. 9(b). In Fig. 9(c), the solid line portion indicates the actual measurement value by the mobile sensor 200m, and the dotted line portion indicates the interpolated portion.

[0084] In this way, the information processing device 100 can estimate changes over time in the measurement target at a position where the fixed sensor 200 is not installed.

[0085] <Summary> According to the information processing device 100 of the above embodiment, the change over time of the object to be measured at a position where no fixed sensor 200 is installed is linearly interpolated using the change over time of the object to be measured by the fixed sensor 200 located at the nearest position, based on the actual measurement value measured when the mobile sensor 200m passes that position, thereby making it possible to obtain highly accurate information on the change over time of the object to be measured at a position where no fixed sensor 200 is installed.

[0086] Therefore, since it is possible to estimate the change over time of the environment at any position in a predetermined place (for example, inside the vinyl greenhouse 10), it is possible to control the predetermined place based on the estimated information. For example, if the measurement target is temperature, it is possible to control the air conditioning of the predetermined place, and if the measurement target is humidity, it is possible to control humidification, drying, etc. in the predetermined place and control the water supply to plants, etc.

[0087] <Supplementary Information> The information processing device according to the above embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be realized by other methods. Various modified examples will be described below.

[0088] (1) In the above embodiment, the fixed sensor 200a-200f closest to the position of the mobile sensor 200m at a certain point in time is identified based on the sensing data at that time, and the characteristics of the change over time in the measurement target of the identified fixed sensor 200 are utilized. However, this does not have to be limited to the closest fixed sensor.

[0089] For example, the characteristics of the fixed sensor 200 present within a predetermined distance from the mobile sensor 200m may be used. In this case, weighting may be applied to the characteristics to be used according to the distance from the mobile sensor 200m to the fixed sensor 200 present within the predetermined distance. For example, when the fixed sensors present within the predetermined distance from the mobile sensor 200m are three fixed sensors 200d to 200f, and the distances to the respective sensors are L1, L2, and L3, the weight value for the characteristics of the fixed sensor 200d may be L1 / (L1+L2+L3) as an example, the weight value for the characteristics of the fixed sensor 200e may be L2 / (L1+L2+L3) as an example, and the weight value for the characteristics of the fixed sensor 200f may be L3 / (L1+L2+L3) as an example. Then, the estimation unit 133 may estimate other times (times at which the same position has not been sensed) using the weight values ​​based on the data sensed by the mobile sensor 200m. Note that the weight value is merely an example and may be calculated using other formulas, for example, the above formula may be multiplied by or added to some coefficient.

[0090] (2) In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the fixed sensor 200a functions as a parent sensor, the other fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m function as child sensors, and the fixed sensor 200a aggregates all sensing data and transmits it to the information processing device 100, but this is not limited to the above.

[0091] Each sensor (the fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m) may be configured to transmit sensing data individually to the information processing device 100. With this configuration, even if the master fixed sensor 200a breaks down for some reason, the sensing data from each of the fixed sensors 200b to 200f and the mobile sensor 200m can be uploaded to the information processing device 100.

[0092] As shown in the above embodiment, if the parent fixed sensor 200a collects information on all child devices and transmits it to the information processing device 100, the number of communications between the sensor 200 and the information processing device 100 can be reduced, and communication charges can be reduced if a mobile phone network is used for communication between the sensor 200 and the information processing device 100.

[0093] (3) In the above embodiment, if the parent fixed sensor 200a breaks down, another fixed sensor 200 may be configured to switch from a child sensor to a parent sensor, aggregate the sensing data, and transmit the data to the information processing device 100.

[0094] Each child fixed sensor 200 transmits sensing data to the parent fixed sensor 200a as appropriate. At this time, the parent device 200a is configured to return an ACK to the child device that transmitted the sensing data when the parent device 200a receives the sensing data. Therefore, if there is no ACK even after a predetermined time has passed after transmitting the sensing data, the child device can assume that the parent fixed sensor 200a has broken down for some reason. Alternatively, if the information processing device 100 does not receive aggregated sensing data from the fixed sensor 200a for a predetermined time, the information processing device 100 can assume that the fixed sensor 200a has broken down.

[0095] In such a case, the child devices 200 may communicate with each other and determine the next parent device according to a predetermined criterion (for example, priority order or communication sensitivity, but not limited to these). Alternatively, the information processing device 100 may specify the fixed sensor 200 to be the parent device.

[0096] In this way, the information processing system 1 can prevent a situation in which the sensing data is not uploaded to the information processing device 100.

[0097] (4) In the above embodiment, the change over time of the measurement target at a position where the fixed sensors 200a-200f are not installed and where the mobile sensor 200m has not passed may be estimated by linear interpolation, an approximation curve, a learning model, etc., using the change over time of the measurement target at a position where the mobile sensor 200m has passed that is estimated by the estimation unit 133, and the change over time of the measurement target measured by the fixed sensors 200a-200f. In this way, the information processing device 100 can obtain the change over time of the measurement target at all positions in the vinyl greenhouse 10.

[0098] (5) In the above embodiment, the interpolation process does not necessarily have to be executed at the timing of step S509 in Fig. 5. The interpolation process can be executed at any appropriate timing as long as necessary sensing data is available.

[0099] (6) In the above embodiment, the method of identifying the nearest fixed sensor 200 uses the position information of the sensing performed by the mobile sensor 200m and the position information of the fixed sensor 200, but the method of identifying the nearest fixed sensor 200 is not limited to this, and other methods may be used. As an example of a method of identifying the nearest fixed sensor 200 from the mobile sensor 200m, the reception strength that can be measured when signals are exchanged between the two sensors may be used. That is, a predetermined signal is transmitted and received between the mobile sensor 200m and the fixed sensor 200, and the fixed sensor 200 that exchanged the signal with the highest reception strength at that time can be identified as the fixed sensor 200 located at the closest distance.

[0100] In the above embodiment, only the planar position has been described to facilitate understanding of the embodiment, but the height information of each of the fixed sensor 200 and the mobile sensor 200m may also be used as position information. In this case, the mobile sensor 200 may be configured to estimate the state of the worker (crouching, standing, etc.) by using, for example, an acceleration sensor, and to specify the nearest fixed sensor in the height direction when multiple fixed sensors 200 are provided in the height direction. In addition, the mobile sensor 200 may be configured to specify the height of the mobile sensor 200m or the fixed sensors 200a to 200f using an air pressure sensor in addition to the acceleration sensor, and to calculate the three-dimensional distance combining the planar and height to specify the distance from the mobile sensor 200m to the fixed sensor 200.

[0101] (7) In the above embodiment, the fixed sensors 200a to 200f, the mobile sensor 200m, and the information processing device 100 execute an information processing program or the like to perform the functions desired for each device to estimate the environment within a predetermined area, but this may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) or the like in the device. In addition, these circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and the functions of the multiple functional units shown in the above embodiment may be realized by one integrated circuit. LSIs are sometimes called VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc. depending on the degree of integration.

[0102] The information processing program may be recorded on a processor-readable recording medium, and the recording medium may be a "non-transitory tangible medium" such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, or a programmable logic circuit. The information processing program may be supplied to the processor via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) capable of transmitting the information processing program. The present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the information processing program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0103] In addition, the above information processing program can be implemented using programming languages ​​such as C, C++, and Basic, as well as scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages ​​such as HTML5.

[0104] (8) The configurations shown in the above embodiment and each supplementary section may be appropriately combined. Also, as long as the final result is the same, the execution order of the processes shown in each flowchart may be different from the order shown in each flowchart. For example, the processes of steps S601 to S603 shown in FIG. 6 may be executed in any order, for example, steps S602, S601, S603 may be executed in that order, or steps S601, S602, and S603 may be executed simultaneously by parallel processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1. Information Processing Systems 10. Greenhouse 100 Information processing device 110 Communications Department 120 Input section 130 Control section 131 Conversion unit 132 Placement section 133 Judgment section 140 Storage section 150 Output section 200 Sensors 200a~200f fixed sensor 200m moving sensor 210 Communications Department 220 Sensor Group 230 Location information acquisition unit 240 Timing section 250 Control section 260 Storage section

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires time information and sensing data obtained by sensing a measurement target at a time indicated by the time information from a plurality of fixed sensors that are installed at fixed positions and are disposed at different positions from each other, and acquires time information and sensing data obtained by sensing at a time indicated by the time information and position information from a mobile sensor that is not fixed; an identification unit that identifies a characteristic of a change over time in the sensing data of each of the fixed sensors based on the sensing data acquired from the plurality of fixed sensors and time information corresponding to the sensing data; an estimation unit that estimates a change over time of a measurement target at a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor based on a characteristic of the change over time of a measurement target of a fixed sensor that exists within a predetermined distance from a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor, based on the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and the time information and position information to which the sensing data corresponds; an output unit that outputs the estimated change over time of the measurement target; An information processing device comprising:

2. When a plurality of fixed sensors are present within a predetermined distance from the position information of the mobile sensor, the estimation unit weights characteristics of the change over time of the measurement target of each fixed sensor, and estimates the change over time of the measurement target at the position indicated by the position information.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

3. The estimation unit estimates a change over time of the measurement object in the position information by interpolating between a plurality of sensing data based on a characteristic of a change over time of the measurement object of a fixed sensor located in a position closest to the position indicated by the position information, using the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and sensing data having the same position information as the position information to which the sensing data corresponds.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is a computer.

4. A fixed sensor that exists within a predetermined distance from a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor is a fixed sensor that has the highest reception strength of a predetermined signal exchanged between the mobile sensor and the fixed sensor.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing device is a computer.

5. One of the fixed sensors is designated as a parent sensor, and the remaining fixed sensors and the mobile sensor are designated as child sensors; The acquisition unit acquires the sensing data of each of the child devices from the parent device, and position information and time information corresponding to the sensing data of the parent device.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is a computer.

6. An information processing system for processing information relating to an environment, the information processing system including a plurality of fixed sensors installed at fixed positions and arranged at different positions from each other, a non-fixed mobile sensor, and a server, Each of the plurality of fixed sensors includes: a first sensor that senses a measurement object and generates first sensing data; a first communication unit configured to transmit the first sensing data and first time information indicating a time when the first sensing data was acquired to the server; The moving object sensor includes: a second sensor that senses the measurement object and generates second sensing data; an acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating a location of the own device; a second communication unit configured to transmit to the server the second sensing data, position information at the time when the second sensing data was sensed, and second time information indicating a time when the second sensing data was acquired, The server, a third communication unit that receives the first sensing data and first time information corresponding to the first sensing data from each of the fixed sensors, and receives the second sensing data, the second time information corresponding to the second sensing data, and position information from the mobile sensor; an identification unit that identifies a characteristic of a time-dependent change in a measurement target of the fixed sensor from the first sensing data and the first time information; an estimation unit that estimates a change over time of a measurement target at a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor based on a characteristic of the change over time of a measurement target of a fixed sensor that is present within a predetermined distance from a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor, based on second sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and second time information and position information to which the second sensing data corresponds; and an output unit that outputs the estimated change over time of the measurement target. Information processing system.

7. The computer an acquisition step of acquiring time information and sensing data obtained by sensing a measurement target at a time indicated by the time information from a plurality of fixed sensors installed at fixed positions and disposed at different positions from each other, and acquiring time information and sensing data obtained by sensing at a time indicated by the time information and position information from a mobile sensor that is not fixed; a step of identifying a characteristic of a change over time in the sensing data of each of the fixed sensors based on the sensing data acquired from the plurality of fixed sensors and time information corresponding to the sensing data; an estimation step of estimating a change over time of a measurement target at a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor based on a characteristic of the change over time of a measurement target of a fixed sensor that exists within a predetermined distance from a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor, based on the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and the time information and position information to which the sensing data corresponds; an output step of outputting the estimated change over time of the measurement target; An information processing method for performing the above.

8. On the computer, an acquisition function for acquiring time information and sensing data obtained by sensing a measurement target at a time indicated by the time information from a plurality of fixed sensors installed at fixed positions and disposed at different positions from each other, and acquiring time information and sensing data obtained by sensing at a time indicated by the time information and position information from a mobile sensor that is not fixed; an identification function for identifying characteristics of changes over time in the sensing data of each of the fixed sensors based on the sensing data acquired from the plurality of fixed sensors and time information corresponding to the sensing data; an estimation function for estimating a change over time of a measurement target at a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor based on the characteristics of the change over time of a measurement target of a fixed sensor that exists within a predetermined distance from a position indicated by the position information of the mobile sensor, based on the sensing data acquired from the mobile sensor and the time information and position information to which the sensing data corresponds; an output function for outputting the estimated change over time of the measurement target; An information processing program that realizes this.

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