Information distribution device, information distribution method, and computer program

Abstract

To provide an information distribution device capable of efficiently distributing information even among a plurality of management systems.SOLUTION: An information distribution device according to the present invention includes information acquisition means for acquiring information about each device provided in one or more locations of a target area, information management means for managing all information acquired in the target area in association with the target area and types together, information selection means for selecting necessary information according to a purpose of a system to be constructed from among the information managed by the information management means, and information distribution means for distributing the selected information to the system to be constructed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information distribution device, an information distribution method, a computer program, and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] There are systems that obtain information using cameras and sensors and control objects such as robots and drones. However, each system is designed for a different purpose or application, and it is necessary to prepare separate cameras, sensors, and control objects.

[0003] Therefore, a system is known that controls devices and the like using information acquired between multiple management systems. Patent Document 1 discloses a computer network system that allows group members to access and view information entered by other group members by integrating group-related information from multiple sources. Patent Document 2 discloses a central information processing system for a mobile service robot that provides necessary room information to a mobile service robot in a room and receives changed information from the mobile service robot, thereby integrating and managing information about a space and objects in the room so that multiple mobile service robots in the room can share the room information. Patent Document 3 discloses a robot control server that compares image data received from a mobile robot with image data stored in a storage unit, and when similar image data with a similarity degree exceeding a threshold is detected, controls the operation content of the mobile robot based on attribute data linked to the similar image data. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-067261 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2008-254167 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2015-163415 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the invention described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 requires the selection of a specific location, time frame, and organization in order to search for information by time, organization, time frame, and location from within a computer network system, which makes it time-consuming to obtain the desired information. The invention described in Patent Document 2 requires the exchange of a large amount of information, since information is provided by each mobile service robot. Moreover, the invention described in Patent Document 3 can only use attribute data linked to similar image data when similar image data is detected.

[0006] An example of an objective of the present disclosure is to provide an information distribution device that can efficiently distribute information even between multiple management systems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An information distribution device in one aspect of the present disclosure comprises an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding each device provided in one or more locations in a target area, an information management means that manages all information acquired in the target area by linking it with the target area and type, an information selection means that selects necessary information from the information managed by the information management means according to the purpose of the system to be constructed, and an information distribution means that distributes the selected information to the system to be constructed in a specified area.

[0008] An information distribution method in one aspect of the present disclosure is an information distribution method for distributing information to a system to be constructed in a specified area, which obtains information regarding each device provided in one or more locations in the target area, manages all of the obtained information by linking it with the target area and type, selects necessary information from the managed information according to the purpose of the system to be constructed, and distributes the selected information to the system to be constructed in the specified area.

[0009] A program in one aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to acquire information regarding each piece of equipment installed in one or more locations in a target area, manage all of the acquired information by linking it to the target area and type, select necessary information from the managed information depending on the purpose of the system to be constructed, and distribute the selected information to the system to be constructed in a specified area. Effect of the Invention

[0010] One of the effects of the present invention is that information can be distributed efficiently even among a plurality of management systems. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information distribution device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration in which the information distribution device in the first embodiment is realized by a computer device and its peripheral devices. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a series of steps from when the information acquisition unit acquires information to when the information distribution unit distributes the information. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an information distribution operation in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information distribution device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a series of steps up to distribution of information acquired by the information acquisition unit. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining information management in a first information management unit in the second embodiment. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a diagram for explaining information management in the second information management unit in the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the simulation unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the state of information distribution in the information distribution unit in the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an information distribution operation in the second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining another modified example of information distribution in the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining information distribution when the robot moves to area L3 in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Next, an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] [First embodiment] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information distribution device 100 in the first embodiment. Referring to Fig. 1, information distribution device 100 includes an information acquisition unit 101, an information management unit 102, an information selection unit 103, and an information distribution unit 104. Next, the configuration of information distribution device 100 in the first embodiment will be described in detail.

[0014] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration in which the information distribution device 100 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure is realized by a computer device 500 including a processor. As shown in FIG. 2, the information distribution device 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 501, a memory such as a read only memory (ROM) 502 and a random access memory (RAM) 503, a storage device 505 such as a hard disk for storing a program 504, a communication interface (I / F) 508 for network connection, and an input / output interface 511 for inputting and outputting data. In the first embodiment, information acquired by the information acquisition unit 101 is input to the information distribution device 100 via the input / output interface 511. In addition, the information distribution device 100 is connected to an input device 509 and an output device 510 via a bus 512.

[0015] CPU 501 operates an operating system to control the entire information distribution device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. CPU 501 also reads programs and data from a recording medium 506 mounted in a drive device 507 or the like into a memory. CPU 501 also functions as information acquisition unit 101, information management unit 102, information selection unit 103, and information distribution unit 104 in the first embodiment, and as a part of these, and executes processes or commands in the flowchart shown in Fig. 4, which will be described later, based on the programs.

[0016] The recording medium 506 is, for example, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, an external hard disk, or a semiconductor memory card. The semiconductor memory card or the like, which is a part of the recording medium, is a non-volatile storage device, and stores the program therein. The program may also be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) connected to a communication network.

[0017] The input device 509 is realized by, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, built-in key buttons, etc., and is used for input operations. The input device 509 is not limited to a mouse, a keyboard, or built-in key buttons, and may be, for example, a touch panel. The output device 510 is realized by, for example, a display, and is used to check the output.

[0018] As described above, the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is realized by the computer hardware shown in Fig. 2. However, the means for realizing each part of the information distribution device 100 in Fig. 1 is not limited to the configuration described above. The information distribution device 100 may be realized by one physically combined device, or may be realized by two or more physically separated devices connected by wire or wirelessly. For example, the input device 509 and the output device 510 may be connected to the computer device 500 via a network.

[0019] In FIG. 1, the information acquisition unit 101 is a means for acquiring information about each device provided at one or more locations in the target area. "Provided at one or more locations" is a concept including being provided at one location or two or more locations. The target area is, for example, an area in which devices controlled on the same system are installed. The system here includes, for example, a business system such as a building management system or an elevator management system, and the program of these business systems stores work information to be performed by devices in the business systems. These work information are input to the information distribution device 100 through a communication I / F 508 for network connection. The device is, for example, a means for acquiring signals such as a sensor for detecting a person or a camera for capturing an image of the target area, as well as a mobile object such as a robot or a drone. The mobile object may also include a case in which a sensor or a camera is provided inside the mobile object. The information about the device is information about the performance of the device, task information set in the device, and information about people, objects, and maps in the vicinity of the device. Specifically, the information about people or objects is information obtained by the information acquisition unit 101 or an external device detecting a signal from the above-mentioned sensor or analyzing an image from the camera. For example, the information about a person is the presence of a person in the target area and the attributes of the person. The attributes are, for example, information related to age, sex, or appearance. The information about an object is an image or attribute of an obstacle in the target area, and the information about a map is map information of the target area and connectable network information. The map information may include position information or coordinate information that can identify the area of ​​the target area. When the device is an information moving object such as a robot or a drone, the set task information includes the task content to be executed by the moving object, the start requirement of the task, the end requirement of the task, the position of the moving object, the moving direction, the moving path, or the moving range. When the information acquisition unit 101 acquires the information about the device, it outputs the information to the information management unit 102.

[0020] The information management unit 102 is a means for managing information on all devices acquired in the target area by linking them with the target area and type. The type of information is information classified into elements constituting the situation of the target area and the classification is identified. More specifically, for example, information on tasks performed by devices in the target area, people in the target area, objects in the target area, and a map of the target area can be given. The information management unit 102 acquires multiple pieces of information of different types for each target area and manages them as multiple information groups (layers). The information management unit 102 is, for example, an edge computer or a parent robot. When information on each device is input from the information acquisition unit 101, the information management unit 102 stores the information by classifying the information according to the type of information in the target area for each location information indicating the target area, that is, by type such as task, person, object, map, etc.

[0021] The information selection unit 103 is a means for selecting necessary information from the information managed in the information management unit 102 according to the purpose of the system to be constructed. The system here is a system realized by the operation of a control device such as a robot or a drone, and for example, in the case of management within a building, cleaning, security / inspection, guidance, etc. are included. If the system to be constructed is a cleaning service system, the necessary information is, for example, information on people in the target area to be cleaned, obstacles in the target area, the performance of the control device to be operated, and the cleaning range and movable range of the control device. The information selection unit 103 selects this necessary information and outputs it to the information distribution unit 104.

[0022] The information distribution unit 104 is a means for distributing the information selected by the information selection unit 103 to the system to be constructed. When the information distribution unit 104 receives the information selected by the information selection unit 103, it controls the information to be distributed to the parent robot and edge computer of the system to be constructed via a network.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a series of flows from when the information acquisition unit 101 acquires information about the device to when the information distribution unit 104 distributes the information to the system constructed. In the example of FIG. 3, information held by the robots a1 and a2 that have cleaned the floor in an area A, which is one of the target areas, is distributed to the robots a3, a4, and a5 that will perform an inspection work in the same area A. In FIG. 3, the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of information flow when the information held by the robots a1 and a2 is distributed. When the robots a1 and a2 perform floor cleaning under the management of the parent robot A1 in the area A, the information acquisition unit 101 acquires people, objects, and map information of the area A and outputs it to the information management unit 102. The information management unit 102 divides the information input from the information acquisition unit 101 into types and manages them as layers.

[0024] In the example of floor cleaning in Fig. 3, when the task is floor cleaning, the requirements for finishing the floor cleaning are managed as task information set for robots a1 and a2 in area A. In addition, people in area A and their attributes are managed as people information. Images and attributes of obstacles in area A are managed as object information. Areas in which the robots can move and information on networks that can be connected in area A are managed as map information.

[0025] Next, when another parent robot A2 performs an inspection with robots a3, a4, and a5 under its control in the same area A, the information selection unit 103 selects information required when the parent robot A2 performs the inspection in the area A. Next, the information distribution unit 104 controls so that the information selected by the information selection unit 103 is transmitted to the parent robot A2. In the example of FIG. 3, the information selection unit 103 selects information on people, information on objects, and map information in the area A from within the parent robot A1, and controls so that the information distribution unit 104 transmits the selected information to the parent robot A2. Next, the parent robot A2 transmits the selected information to the robots a3, a4, and a5 performing the inspection in the area A.

[0026] The operation of the information distribution device 100 configured as above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0027] 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the information distribution device 100 in the first embodiment. Note that the processing according to this flowchart may be executed based on program control by the above-mentioned processor.

[0028] 4, first, the information acquisition unit 101 acquires information about each device provided at one or more locations in the target area, and outputs the information to the information management unit 102 (step S101). Next, the information management unit 102 manages all the information acquired in the target area by linking it with the target area and the type (step S102). Next, the information selection unit 103 selects necessary information according to the purpose of the system to be constructed from the information managed by the information management unit 102 (step S103). Finally, the information distribution unit 104 distributes the selected information to the system to be constructed (step S104). With this, information distribution device 100 ends the information distribution operation.

[0029] Next, the effect of the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The information distribution device 100 in the above-mentioned embodiment can efficiently distribute information in a plurality of management systems. The reason is that the information selection unit 103 selects necessary information according to the purpose of the system to be constructed from the information managed in the information management unit 102 in association with the target area and type, and distributes it to the system to be constructed by the information distribution unit 104. In the conventional management system, each control target had to exchange information with each other individually. This caused an increase in communication volume and communication congestion / interference, as well as an increase in the battery consumption of the control targets, which led to a decrease in activity time.

[0030] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Below, the description of the second embodiment will be omitted to the extent that the description of the present embodiment is not unclear. Each component in each embodiment of the present disclosure can be realized not only by hardware but also by a computer device based on program control and firmware, as in the computer device shown in FIG. 2.

[0031] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information distribution device 110 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 5, the information distribution device 110 according to the second embodiment will be described, focusing on parts different from the information distribution device 100 according to the first embodiment. The information distribution device 110 according to the second embodiment includes an information acquisition unit 111, an information management unit 112, an integrated management unit 113, an information selection unit 114, a simulation unit 115, an information distribution unit 116, and an equipment information distribution unit 117. The information acquisition unit 111 of the second embodiment includes a first information acquisition unit 111a and a second information acquisition unit 111b. The information management unit 112 in the second embodiment includes a first information management unit 112a and a second information management unit 112b.

[0032] In the second embodiment, the first information management unit 112a receives information from the first information acquisition unit 111a, and manages the information by linking it to the type, the target area, and the acquisition time. The second information management unit 112b receives information from the second information acquisition unit 111b, and manages the information by linking it to the type, the target area, and the acquisition time. FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining a series of flows from when the information acquisition unit 111 acquires information about the device to when it distributes the necessary information. In the example of FIG. 6, there are robots a1 and a2 that operate in the area L1, robots a3, b1, and b2 that operate in the area L2, and robots b3 and b4 that operate in the area L3. There are also parent robots R1 that control the robots a1 and a2 in the area L1, parent robot R2 that controls the robots a3, b1, and b2 in the area L2, and parent robot R3 that controls the robots b3 and b4 in the area L3. In the second embodiment, the first information acquisition unit 111a and the second information acquisition unit 111b are different in the areas in which the robots operate. The first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b receive information acquired from robots operating in different areas, and manage the information by linking it to the type, target area, and acquisition time. That is, the first information acquisition unit 111a in the second embodiment corresponds to the robots a1 and a2, and the second information acquisition unit 111b corresponds to the robot a3. Also, the first information management unit 112a in the second embodiment corresponds to the parent robot R1, and the second information management unit 112b corresponds to the parent robot R2. In FIG. 6, the direction of the arrow indicates the direction in which information held by the robots a1, a2, and a3 flows when the information is distributed.

[0033] FIG. 7A shows an example of managing information managed by the first information management unit 112a by linking each type of information with a target area and an acquisition time. FIG. 7B shows an example of managing information managed by the second information management unit 112b by linking each type of information with a target area and an acquisition time. As shown in FIG. 7A, in the first information management unit 112a, information acquired by the robot a1 and the robot a2 performing the inspection service is managed by linking each type (task, object, person, map) with a target area and an acquisition time. As shown in FIG. 7B, in the second information management unit 112b, information acquired by each robot performing the inspection service is linked each type (task, object, person, map) with a target area and an acquisition time. The first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b output this information to the integrated management unit 113. Note that, in the case where there are multiple pieces of information with the same type and target area but different contents, the information acquired by the robot more recently is managed preferentially. For example, in the example of FIG. 7A, the first information management unit 112a manages information for the purpose of having the robots a1 and a2 perform inspection services in the area L1. In the first information management unit 112a, when the robot a1 executes the inspection service system, the acquisition time of the image of the obstacle on the floor of the area L1 and the information on the attributes is 2021 / 2 / 22 11:00:00 JST (February 22, 2021, 11:00:00 Japan time), whereas when the robot a2 executes the inspection service system, the acquisition time of the image of the obstacle on the floor of the same area L1 and the information on the attributes is 2021 / 2 / 22 10:00:00 JST (February 22, 2021, 10:00:00 Japan time). In this case, the first information management unit 112a prioritizes management of the information received from the robot a1. As shown in Figures 7A and 7B, in this embodiment, the time when the information is obtained from the robot is expressed in Japanese time as the reference time and is shown down to the second, but the expression is not limited to this as long as it allows for comparison of the time when the robot obtained the information.

[0034] The integrated management unit 113 is a means for integrating information managed by the first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b for each related target area. Here, integration means consolidating information related to the target area into one. The integrated management unit 113 manages the information received from the first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b after consolidating information related to the target area into one. For example, when the purpose of the system is cleaning the entire building, the integrated management unit 113 consolidates and manages information acquired from a robot that cleaned the first floor of the building and information acquired from a robot that guided the second floor of the building. In other words, the information for each target area acquired by the information acquisition unit 111 is managed in a hierarchical structure with the first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b at the lower level and the integrated management unit 113 at the upper level. However, in this embodiment, the configuration for managing the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 111 is not limited to this, and may be a three or more layer hierarchical structure in which an intermediate layer is provided between the first information management unit 112a, the second information management unit 112b, and the integrated management unit 113. Specifically, there may be a plurality of information management means linked to the first information management unit 112a, the second information management unit 112b, and information management means located at the same layer as these in an upper layer, and these upper layer information management means may be linked to the comprehensive management unit 113. Note that, in the case where there are a plurality of pieces of information with the same type and target area but different contents, the comprehensive management unit 113 prioritizes and manages the information acquired by the robot more recently, as in the above-mentioned information management unit 112.

[0035] The information selection unit 114 is a means for selecting information required according to the purpose of the system to be constructed from the information managed by the integrated management unit 113. Returning to FIG. 6, the operation method in the integrated management unit 113 will be described. The example in FIG. 6 is an example in which the integrated management unit 113 receives information acquired by a robot that performed an inspection service in the area L1 from the first information management unit 112a, receives information acquired by a robot that performed an inspection work in the area L2 from the second information management unit 112b, and selects information required for a system to newly perform a floor cleaning service in the areas L2 and L3. As shown in FIG. 6, the newly performed floor cleaning system requires information on people, objects, and maps related to the area L2 acquired by the robot a3 that performed the inspection work in the area L2. Therefore, the information selection unit 114 selects information held by the robot a3 that performed the inspection work in the area L2 from the integrated management unit 113, and outputs it to the simulation unit 115.

[0036] The simulation unit 115 is a simulation means that executes a simulation of a system to be constructed using digital twin technology in a virtual space before the information selected by the information selection unit 114 is distributed to equipment, etc. within the system constructed by the information distribution unit 116.

[0037] Here, the digital twin is a solution for predicting what will happen in the real world by collecting information acquired in real time, reproducing a situation that may actually occur in a virtual space such as a computer using technology such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), and executing a simulation. When simulating in a virtual space, a dynamic map is created by overlaying time series information and future prediction information acquired through sensor terminals installed in various places on data showing map information, and the actual situation is reproduced as it is in the virtual space as a twin. In order to express real-world events on a dynamic map, information used in the simulation is accumulated in a state of layers classified by purpose. In this embodiment, a group of information classified by the purpose of the system to be constructed is called World. In this embodiment, a simulation is performed by reproducing in a virtual space what may occur when performing a floor cleaning service in the real world.

[0038] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration when a simulation using a digital twin is executed by the simulation unit 115 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, the input / output interface 601 inputs signal information acquired by a device installed in the real space, such as a sensor, and setting information of the device to the information storage unit 602. In addition to information from the input / output interface 601, the information storage unit 602 stores a simulation model used in the simulation and past simulation results. In this embodiment, information input from the information selection unit 114 is stored in the information storage unit 602 via the input / output interface 601. The input / output device 603 receives settings corresponding to the situation in the real space input by the user. The simulation execution unit 604 selects a model to be used in the simulation from the information storage unit 602, and executes a simulation while reproducing the situation in the real space in the virtual space based on the information input from the information selection unit 114 and the setting conditions input from the input / output device 603. The evaluation unit 605 evaluates whether the simulation result is normal based on the result output from the simulation execution unit 604. If the evaluation unit 605 evaluates the simulation result as abnormal, the simulation execution unit 604 changes the simulation model and setting conditions, and repeats the simulation until the evaluation unit 605 evaluates the simulation result as normal. If the evaluation unit 605 judges the simulation result as normal, the simulation application unit 606 outputs the judgment result to the information distribution unit 116, and starts controlling devices such as actuators to be reflected in the actual system based on the simulation conditions.

[0039] The information distribution unit 116 is a means for distributing the information selected by the information selection unit 114 to the system to be constructed when the simulation unit 115 evaluates the simulation result as normal. An example in which the information distribution unit 116 selects information required by the floor cleaning service system from the information acquired by the inspection service system and distributes it to the floor cleaning service system will be described with reference to FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 6, there is an inspection service system (WorldA) existing in the real world, and in WorldA, there are WorldA-L1 that manages information groups from robots a1 and a2 operating in area L1 and WorldA-L2 that manages information groups from robot a3 operating in area L2. In addition, in the example of FIG. 6, the system to be constructed is a floor cleaning service system (WorldB), and in WorldB, there are WorldB-L2 that manages information groups from robots b1 and b2 operating in area L2 and WorldB-L3 that manages information groups from robots b3 and b4 operating in area L3. Here, two Worlds, WorldA-L2 and WorldB-L2, exist in area L2, and a World is a group of information required for a purpose or task, and parent robot R2 in area L2 holds two groups of information as Worlds. Note that, depending on the group of information that constitutes a World, there may be information that is difficult to manage by dividing it into units of location, acquisition time, etc., such as compressed streaming video from multiple cameras. Even in this case, the information distribution unit 116 only needs to divide the necessary information into units of acquisition location, time, etc. and distribute it, and the essence of the invention remains unchanged.

[0040] When the simulation results of the floor cleaning service system executed in the areas L2 and L3 are evaluated as normal, the information distribution unit 116 distributes the information acquired from the robot a3 selected in the information selection unit 114 to the equipment information distribution unit 117 (World B of the floor cleaning service system). That is, the information distribution unit 116 does not distribute all of the information held by the integrated management unit 113 of World A, but distributes only the information required by World B. Note that, among the information required by World B, information that cannot be acquired from the robot a3 is acquired from another World or by accepting information input from the input / output device 603. Note that in FIG. 6, the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of information flow when information is distributed in the second embodiment.

[0041] The device information distribution unit 117 is a means for distributing information received from the information distribution unit 116 to devices under its control. The information distribution unit 116 is configured in three layers on a network with itself as the apex. One layer below the information distribution unit 116 are parent robots or edge computers, and one layer below are devices controlled by the system. The information distribution unit 116 distributes only difference information that differs between parent robots or between robots, etc., among information required by the parent robots and devices, to each parent robot or device. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the device information distribution unit 117 (WorldB) of the floor cleaning service system in FIG. 6 distributes information to parent robots R2 and R3 under its control, and distributes information to robots managed by each parent robot. As shown in FIG. 9, the device information distribution unit 117 receives information on tasks, people, objects, and maps in both areas L2 and L3 as information required according to the purpose of the system. The device information distribution unit 117 controls to distribute only information on tasks, people, objects, and maps of the area L2 to the parent robot R2 that performs the floor cleaning service of the area L2, and sends only information on tasks, people, objects, and maps of the area L3 to the parent robot R3 that performs the floor cleaning service of the area L3. The device information distribution unit 117 also controls to distribute only difference information that differs between the robots to the robots b1 and b2 under the management of the parent robot R2. That is, the device information distribution unit 117 distributes only information on tasks (cleaning completion requirements of the robot b1, cleaning completion requirements of the robot b2) and maps (cleaning range of the robot b1, cleaning range of the robot b2) from the parent robot R2 to the robots b1 and b2, respectively. The device information distribution unit 117 does not distribute information on people (people and attributes in L2) and objects (obstacles in L2) that are common to the robots b1 and b2, but keeps them in common in the parent robot R2.

[0042] In this embodiment, when new information is acquired by the information acquisition unit 111 and the information managed by the integrated management unit 113 is updated, the information distribution unit 116 distributes only the updated information among the types of information required for the purpose to the system to be constructed. That is, in the example of Fig. 6, when only information about people in the area L2 is updated in the floor cleaning service, the information distribution unit 116 distributes only information about people without distributing information about objects and maps to the floor cleaning service system. Also, when the device information distribution unit 117, parent robot, or robot in the floor cleaning service system already holds the received information, the information distribution unit 116 refers to the acquisition time of the information managed by the integrated management unit 113, and updates the information only if the information is newer than the information held by the information distribution unit 116 itself.

[0043] Next, the operation of information distribution device 110 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 10. Note that the processing according to this flowchart may also be executed based on program control by the CPU described above.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 10, first, the first information acquisition unit 111a and the second information acquisition unit 111b acquire information about each device installed in one or more locations in the target area, and output the information to the first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b (step S201). Next, the first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b manage all information acquired in the target area by linking it with the target area, type, and acquisition time, and output it to the integrated management unit 113 (step S202). Next, the integration management unit 113 integrates the information received from the first information management unit 112a and the second information management unit 112b for each related target area (step S203). Next, the information selection unit 114 selects necessary information from the information managed by the integrated management unit 113 according to the purpose of the system to be constructed, and outputs the information to the simulation unit 115 (step S204). Next, the simulation unit 115 executes a simulation in a virtual space using the information selected by the information selection unit 114 (step S205). If the simulation result is evaluated as normal (step S206; Yes), the simulation unit 115 outputs the information selected by the information selection unit 114 to the information distribution unit 116 and starts controlling the system according to the simulation. If the simulation result is not evaluated as normal (step S206; No), the simulation is repeated until the simulation result is evaluated as normal. Next, the information distribution unit 116 distributes the selected information to the device information distribution unit 117 in the system to be constructed (step S207). Next, the device information distribution unit 117 distributes the received information to devices under its own management (step S208). After the device information distribution unit 117 distributes information to the device, if the distributed information is updated, only the updated information is updated (step S209).

[0045] With this, information distribution device 110 ends the information distribution operation.

[0046] Next, the effect of the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The information distribution device 110 in the above-mentioned second embodiment distributes only information necessary for the system constructed by the information distribution unit 116. Therefore, since unnecessary information is not sent, the communication cost associated with the information distribution can be reduced. In addition, since the device information distribution unit 117 manages all information necessary for the system constructed, and the parent robot and control device in the lower layer hold only the minimum information, the information distribution configuration can be simplified, and communication costs and quality can be reduced.

[0047] According to the simulation using the digital twin by the simulation unit 115 in this embodiment, the simulation can be performed by reproducing the situation in the real space using information acquired in real time, so that the highly accurate simulation results can be applied to the real space.

[0048] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

[0049] For example, although a number of operations are described in a sequence in the form of a flowchart, the sequence does not limit the order in which the operations are performed. Therefore, when implementing each embodiment, the sequence of the operations can be changed as long as it does not affect the content.

[0050] In the second embodiment, the information distribution unit 116 distributes information necessary for the purpose of the system to be constructed from the integrated management unit 113, but the method of distributing information by the information distribution unit 116 is not limited to this. For example, the information held by the integrated management unit 113 may be distributed within the system to be constructed by controlling a moving body such as a robot. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, when the robot b1 operating in the same area L2 obtains information about the robot a3, the robot a3 and the robot b1 may physically approach each other to receive the information. In this case, the communication cost for information distribution can be reduced compared to distribution via the integrated management unit 113 or the parent robot R2. Also, in the example of FIG. 6, the information distribution unit 116 may control the parent robot R2 in the area L2 to distribute the information to the parent robot R3 in the area L3. In this way, in this embodiment, an information distribution method that does not require communication costs can be selected depending on the situation.

[0051] In the second embodiment, multiple systems (Worlds) with different purposes may be constructed in the same area. FIG. 11 is an example of holding information when multiple systems with different purposes are constructed as new systems. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, assume that three systems with different purposes, floor cleaning, security / inspection, and guidance, are executed in the same area. In this case, the device information distribution unit 117 that distributes necessary information to these three systems controls to distribute only the difference, which is the necessary information that differs between the systems, to each system when distributing necessary information to a parent robot that controls each system present in a lower layer. In the example of FIG. 11, floor cleaning, security / inspection, and guidance have in common "people on the floor, attributes" as person information, "obstacles on the floor" as object information, and "movable area" as map information. On the other hand, the security / inspection and guidance systems require information on "security target" and "guidance target", respectively. In this case, the common information is not sent to each system, but may be held by the device information distribution unit 117 in the upper layer that manages these parent robots. On the other hand, information on the difference between these systems, that is, information on "targets for security" and "targets for guidance", is distributed to each system. In this way, the upper device information distribution unit 117 that manages these areas holds the necessary information common to the same area, and does not need to distribute it to each system, so that communication costs associated with information distribution can be reduced. The device information distribution unit 117 can arbitrarily set whether or not to distribute the information on the difference to the lower layer depending on the environmental conditions for information distribution. For example, in a place where the communication environment is poor, even information common to each system can be distributed to each parent robot in order to improve the reliability of information distribution. The device information distribution unit 117 can also set the redundancy of redundantly distributing information common to each system in stages depending on the conditions of information distribution. Information on the presence or absence of distribution of common information and the redundancy is input to the device information distribution unit 117 from the input device 509, for example.

[0052] In the second embodiment described above, an example was shown in which the information distribution unit 116 distributes information required by World B, which constructs a floor cleaning service system, from the integrated management unit 113 of World A. In the second embodiment, a case where information required for systems for constructing both an inspection service system (World A-L2) and a floor cleaning service system (World B-L2) in the area L2 is distributed may also be considered. In this case, for example, information acquired from each information acquisition unit 111 that operated in a system previously constructed in the area L2 may be distributed to World A-L2 and World B-L2 via the information management unit 112 and the integrated management unit 113. In this case, the direction of the arrow between World A and World A-L2 and the direction of the arrow between World A-L2 and the robot a3 in FIG. 6 are reversed. In this example, the information distribution unit 116 may control a robot that previously operated in a system previously constructed in the area L2 to distribute the information to each of the robot a3, the robot b1, and the robot b2. Alternatively, the information distribution unit 116 may control a parent robot that previously operated in the area L2 to distribute the information to the parent robot R2. Even in this case, the information distribution unit 116 does not distribute all of the information held by the integrated management unit 113 of the system operating in the area L2, but distributes only the information required by the inspection service system (WorldA-L2) and floor cleaning service system (WorldB-L2) in the area L2. When the parent robot R2 that controls the inspection service system and floor cleaning service system in the area L2 distributes necessary information to the robot a3, the robot b1, or the robot b2, it distributes only the difference, which is the information that differs between the inspection service system and the floor cleaning service system, to each robot.

[0053] In the second embodiment, in a situation where a specific robot moves to another area and operates, information held by the specific moving robot itself may be distributed. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining information distribution when the robot a3 in the area L2 moves to the area L3 in FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 12, information such as the performance of the robot a3 held by the robot a3 is required for the floor cleaning service in the area L3. In this case, the information distribution unit 116 may control the information held by the robot a3 to be distributed to the parent robot R3 when the robot a3 itself moves to the area L3, without distributing the information held by the robot a3 via the information management unit 112 or the integrated management unit 113.

[0054] In the second embodiment, the simulation unit 115 executes a simulation of the system to be constructed using digital twin technology in a virtual space before the information selection unit 114 distributes the information selected by the information distribution unit 116 to devices and the like in the system to be constructed, but the simulation means is not limited to this. The simulation unit 115 may execute a simulation of the system to be constructed using a simulation technology that does not use digital twin technology. In addition, the simulation method using digital twin technology is not limited to the above-mentioned method, and any method applicable to the present invention can be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 100, 110 Information distribution device 101, 111 Information acquisition section 102, 112 Information Management Department 103, 114 Information selection section 104, 116 Information Distribution Department 113 Integrated Management Department 115 Simulation Department 117 Equipment Information Distribution Department

Claims

1. An information acquisition means provided at one or more locations in the target area for acquiring information on each device; an information management means for managing all information acquired in the target area by linking the information with the target area and a type; an information selection means for selecting necessary information according to the purpose of the system to be constructed from the information managed by the information management means; an information distribution means for distributing the selected information to the system to be constructed; a device information distribution means for distributing the information received from the information distribution means to a plurality of devices under its control; The device information distribution means distributes, to each device, only difference information that differs between the devices among information required by each device.

2. The information management means manages the information acquired by the information acquisition means by further linking the information with the acquisition time of the information acquisition means, 2. The information distribution device according to claim 1, wherein, when there are a plurality of pieces of information having the same target area and the same type, said information selection means selects, with priority, the information that was acquired most recently by said information acquisition means.

3. The information management device further includes an integrated management unit that integrates information managed by the plurality of information management units for each related target area, 3. The information distribution device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information selection means selects necessary information from the information integrated by the integrated management means according to the purpose of the system to be constructed, and the information distribution means distributes the information selected by the information selection means to the system to be constructed.

4. An information distribution device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when information in the information acquisition means is updated, the information distribution means distributes only the updated information of the type of information required for the purpose to the system being constructed.

5. At least one of the devices installed in the target area is a mobile object, 5. The information distribution device according to claim 1, wherein said device information distribution means controls said mobile object to distribute said information selected by said information distribution means to devices in said system being constructed.

6. In the information distribution means, the device in the system to be constructed refers to the target area and the type of the received information, When the device already has information that makes both the target area and the type equal, the device refers to the acquisition time of the information by the information acquisition means; 6. The information distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the information obtained more recently is applied.

7. The system further includes a simulation means for executing a simulation in a virtual space by digital twin technology for the system to be constructed using the selected information before the information distribution means distributes the selected information to the system to be constructed; 7. The information distribution device according to claim 1, wherein, when a result of execution by said simulation means is judged to be normal, said information distribution means distributes said selected information to said system to be constructed.

8. An information distribution device, 1. An information distribution method for distributing information to a system constructed in a predetermined area, comprising: Obtaining information about each device located at one or more locations in the target area; All of the acquired information is linked to the target area and type and managed; Selecting necessary information from the managed information according to the purpose of the system to be constructed; Delivering the selected information to the system that constructs the predetermined area; An information distribution method for receiving the selected information, and distributing to each device only difference information that is included in the selected information and is required by each of a plurality of devices under management, the difference information being different between the respective devices.

9. Obtaining information about each device located at one or more locations in the target area; All of the acquired information is linked to the target area and type and managed; Selecting necessary information from the managed information according to the purpose of the system to be constructed; Delivering the selected information to the system that constructs the predetermined area; A program that causes a computer to receive the selected information, and distribute to each device only difference information that differs between the multiple devices among the information contained in the selected information and that is required by each of the multiple devices under management.

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