Patrol surveillance system

Abstract

A patrol monitoring system comprising a mobile body that patrols a plurality of patrol points, and a control server that notifies the mobile body of a patrol route indicating the plurality of patrol points and the order in which the patrol points will be patrolled, and instructs the mobile body to patrol the patrol route, wherein when the control server instructs a first mobile body of the plurality of mobile bodies to take a new action that does not pass through at least some of the patrol points included in the notified patrol route, the control server generates a new patrol route for another mobile body different from the first mobile body that patrols points among the patrol points included in the notified patrol route of the first mobile body that will not be passed by the first mobile body due to the notification of the new action, and instructs the other mobile body to patrol the generated new patrol route.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a patrol surveillance system. [Background technology]

[0002] Due to the decline in the working population, there is a need to reduce the number of security personnel required in facility management of buildings, airports, train stations, etc., and there is a demand to provide a solution by having autonomous mobile objects such as robots carry out patrol monitoring and inspections in facility management.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes an automatic transport system that automatically moves a transport robot to a charging station when the remaining battery power of the transport robot is low. However, a transport robot as described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that operations are delayed for a long time while the robot is charging. In response to this problem, Patent Document 2 describes a control device that, when a task of a robot cannot be performed while each of a plurality of robots is performing a task, instructs other robots performing a task of a lower priority to suspend the task, and instructs the other robots to take over the task that the robot cannot perform and the travel route for performing the task. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-055183 A [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-043520 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, as described in Patent Document 2, if a robot is unable to perform teaching duties and other robots take over the duties according to the priority of the tasks, there is a risk that only the high-priority tasks will be taken over and the low-priority tasks will be left untouched.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its objective to provide a patrol monitoring system that can allow a robot to efficiently patrol patrol points according to the location of the patrol points, while preventing patrol work from being delayed for long periods of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present disclosure is a patrol monitoring system comprising a mobile body that patrols a plurality of patrol points, and a control server that notifies the mobile body of a patrol route indicating the plurality of patrol points and the order in which to patrol the patrol points, and instructs the mobile body to patrol the patrol route, wherein when the control server instructs a first mobile body of the plurality of mobile bodies to take a new action that does not pass through at least some of the patrol points included in the notified patrol route, the control server generates a new patrol route for another mobile body different from the first mobile body that patrols points among the patrol points included in the notified patrol route of the first mobile body that will not be passed by the first mobile body due to the notification of the new action, and instructs the other mobile body to patrol the generated new patrol route. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to have a robot efficiently patrol patrol points according to the location of the patrol points, and to prevent patrol work from being delayed for long periods of time. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a patrol surveillance system in accordance with a first embodiment. [Diagram 2]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored as tour point information in the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing state transitions of the patrol surveillance system in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a diagram for explaining a route generation process performed by the control server in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] 4 is a diagram for explaining a route generation process performed by the control server in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of waypoints and route generation time in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a route generated by a control server in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 4 is a diagram for explaining a process in which the control server in the first embodiment generates a tour route. FIG. [Figure 9] 10 is a diagram for explaining an operation performed by a control server in response to a cut-in task occurring while a mobile body is making a round in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10] 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation performed by the control server in the first embodiment when an alert point is detected. FIG. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram for explaining an operation performed by the control server in the second embodiment when an alert point is detected. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing state transitions of the patrol surveillance system in the third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation performed by the control server in the third embodiment when the control server detects an alert location. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiment, and can be changed as desired within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure. In addition, in the following drawings, the scale and number of each structure may be different from the scale and number of the actual structure in order to make each configuration easier to understand.

[0011] <Embodiment 1> First, a first embodiment will be described. This is a configuration diagram of a patrol monitoring system in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a patrol monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment is composed of a control server 101, patrol point information 102, and a plurality of mobile objects 103. The control server 101 is a computer connected to the mobile objects 103 so as to be able to communicate with each other. For example, a server, a cloud, a personal computer, or the like can be applied as the control server 101. The patrol point information 102 is information related to the patrol points. The mobile object 103 patrols the patrol points according to instructions from the control server 101. For example, a mobile robot can be applied as the mobile object 103.

[0012] In this figure, an example is shown in which there are three mobile objects 103: mobile object 103A, mobile object 103B, and mobile object 103C. There may be more than one mobile object 103 in the patrol surveillance system 100, and the number may be two or four or more. In the following, an example is described in which three mobile objects 103 are provided in the patrol surveillance system 100.

[0013] The control server 101 controls the patrol of the patrol points by the mobile body 103. For example, the control server 101 refers to the patrol point information 102 and assigns each of all patrol points to be patrolled to one of the multiple mobile bodies 103 that can patrol the points. The control server 101 generates a patrol route that is the order in which each mobile body 103 will patrol the patrol points assigned to the mobile body 103. The control server 101 notifies each mobile body 103 of the generated patrol route, thereby instructing the mobile body 103 to patrol the patrol route.

[0014] The mobile object 103 includes a surveillance camera, a communication function, and a moving mechanism. The mobile object 103 patrols a patrol point in response to an instruction from the patrol surveillance system 100, captures an image of the surroundings of the patrol point, and transmits the captured image to the control server 101 by a communication function such as WiFi communication. The control server 101 receives the video transmitted from the mobile object 103 and displays the received video on a liquid crystal monitor monitored by a monitor, thereby enabling the monitor to remotely monitor the patrol points.

[0015] The mobile object 103 may be equipped with various sensors and devices. Examples of the various sensors include a position sensor that acquires position information such as a current position, a clock sensor that acquires the current time, a detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of a suspicious person or an injured person by detecting the presence or absence and movement of an object in the vicinity, a contact sensor, a malfunction detection device, an error detection device, etc. For example, when the mobile object 103 detects a suspicious person or an injured person during patrol, it notifies the control server 101.

[0016] When the control server 101 is notified by the mobile object 103 that a suspicious person or an injured person has appeared, it notifies the monitor and displays the image from the monitoring camera or the detection result by the detection sensor, thereby enabling the monitor to respond to the suspicious person or the injured person. When each of the mobile bodies 103 completes the tour of all the designated tour points and returns to the starting point where the tour began, it notifies the control server 101 of the completion of the tour. When the control server 101 receives a tour completion notification from the mobile unit 103, it notifies the mobile unit 103 that has notified the tour completion notification of a tour route to be traveled in the next second week, and instructs the mobile unit 103 to travel along the tour route for the second week.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information stored as tour point information in embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the tour point information 102 stores information corresponding to each of a tour point, a position coordinate, a security level, a tour request time, and a tour progress status. The patrol point field stores identification information of points to be patrolled by the patrol monitoring system 100. The position coordinates store the position coordinates of a position corresponding to a tour point. The security level stores information indicating how frequently a patrol point needs to be patrolled. In this figure, three security levels are set: "high," "medium," and "low." This security level is referred to by the control server 101. The control server 101 generates a patrol route so that the mobile body 103 patrols the patrol points at different periods depending on the security level. For example, the control server 101 makes the mobile body 103 patrol the patrol points whose security level is set to "high" every period. The control server 101 makes the mobile body 103 patrol the patrol points whose security level is set to "medium" once every two periods. The control server 101 makes the mobile body 103 patrol the patrol points whose security level is set to "low" once every three periods. The requested round time is the time interval from the previous visit to the visit point to the next visit to the visit point, that is, the visit period. The control server 101 controls the visit by the mobile unit 103 so that the visit satisfies the requested round time. The tour progress status indicates the degree of time that has passed since the mobile object 103 last visited a certain point, using a value between 0 and 1. Specifically, it is a value obtained by dividing the time that has passed since the mobile object 103 last visited the tour point by the tour request time. When the mobile object 103 visits the tour point, the time that has passed since the mobile object 103 visited the tour point becomes 0 (zero), and the tour progress status at the tour point is cleared to 0 (zero). In addition, if the mobile object 103 is unable to visit the tour point by the time the tour request time has elapsed since the mobile object 103 last visited the tour point, the tour progress status becomes 1 or more. Therefore, when the tour progress status becomes 1 or more, it indicates that the tour request time was not met.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing state transitions of the patrol monitoring system in the first embodiment. The operation of the patrol monitoring system 100 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a state transition diagram of the mobile object 103. The states of the mobile object 103 include waiting, patrolling, and performing other tasks. The waiting state is a state in which the mobile object 103 is waiting for an instruction from the control server 101. The patrolling state is a state in which the mobile object 103 is patrolling a patrol point in accordance with an instruction from the control server 101. The performing other task is a state in which the mobile object 103 is instructed by the control server 101 to perform another task (cut-in task) during patrol, and performs the other task (cut-in task) in accordance with the instruction.

[0019] The mobile object 103 transitions its state in response to an instruction from the control server 101. In the patrol monitoring system 100, when the mobile object 103 is started up, the state of the started mobile object 103 becomes standby. When the patrol monitoring system 100 notifies the mobile object 103 of a patrol route and instructs it to start patrol according to the patrol route, the mobile object 103 starts patrol in response to the instruction from the patrol monitoring system 100, and transitions from standby to patrol state.

[0020] Here, during the patrol, other tasks may occur that are different from the patrol. The other tasks include, for example, a tracking task when a suspicious person or an injured person is detected, a moving task in which the mobile body 103 moves to a specific location in response to an instruction from a monitor, and a guide task in which a user is guided to a specific location in response to a request from the user. These other tasks occur as interruption tasks that interrupt the patrol.

[0021] When such a cutting-in task occurs during a tour, the control server 101 instructs the mobile unit 103 to perform the cutting-in task. When instructing a cutting-in task, the control server 101 causes the mobile unit 103 to leave the tour task. Specifically, the control server 101 reallocates the patrol points taking into consideration the positions of all the mobile bodies 103 in the patrol monitoring system 100 and the positions of the patrol points to be patrolled at the time of issuing an instruction to perform the cut-in task. At this time, the control server 101 assigns the patrol points that were handled by the mobile body 103 to which the notification is addressed, to another mobile body 103 other than the mobile body 103 to which the notification is addressed to issue an instruction to perform the cut-in task. The control server 101 generates, as a patrol route, the order of patrol of the patrol points reallocated to each of the mobile bodies 103 other than the mobile body 103 to which the notification is addressed. The patrol monitoring system 100 instructs the mobile object 103 to be notified to execute the cut-in task, and notifies each of the mobile objects 103 other than the mobile object 103 to be notified of the generated patrol route. As a result, the mobile object 103 to which the cut-in task is instructed transitions from a patrol state to a state of performing another task. The states of each of the mobile objects 103 other than the mobile object 103 to be notified maintain the patrol state, and start patrol according to the newly notified patrol route.

[0022] The mobile unit 103 that has received the instruction to perform the cut-in task starts the cut-in task according to the instruction, and transitions from a patrol state to a state of another task. When the mobile unit 103 completes the cut-in task, it transmits a notification to the control server 101 that the cut-in task has been completed. When the control server 101 receives a notification from the mobile unit 103 that the cut-in task has been completed, it returns the mobile unit 103 to the patrol task. Specifically, the control server 101 reallocates the patrol points taking into consideration the positions of all the mobile bodies 103 in the patrol monitoring system 100 and the positions of the patrol points to be patrolled at the time when the control server 101 receives a notification that the cut-in task has been completed. At this time, the control server 101 assigns the patrol points that were in charge of the mobile body 103 performing the cut-in task to another mobile body 103 different from the mobile body 103 that performed the cut-in task. The control server 101 generates the patrol order of the patrol points assigned to each mobile body 103 as a patrol route. The patrol monitoring system 100 instructs each mobile object 103 to patrol the patrol route by notifying the mobile object 103 of the generated patrol route. As a result, the mobile object 103 that has completed the interrupt task transitions from a state of being in another task to a state of being on patrol. All mobile objects 103 that are capable of patrol in the patrol monitoring system 100, including the mobile object 103 that has completed the interrupt task, start patrol according to the newly notified patrol route.

[0023] In this way, when a cut-in task occurs, the control server 101 reviews the allocation of tour points to all mobile bodies 103 that can patrol, and generates and notifies them of tour routes again, at the timing when the cut-in task is instructed to be executed and at the timing when the cut-in task is completed. This prevents a delay in patrol to the tour points that the mobile body 103 was responsible for while the mobile body 103 to be notified is executing a cut-in task.

[0024] 4 is a diagram for explaining the route generation process performed by the control server in the embodiment 1. The process in which the control server 101 generates a route, that is, the route generation process, will be explained with reference to FIG. First, the control server 101 grasps the number of mobile objects 103 that can patrol in the patrol monitoring system 100. Next, the control server 101 assigns each of all patrol points to be patrolled in the patrol monitoring system 100 to one of the mobile objects 103 that can patrol, according to the position of each patrol point. As shown in FIG. 4(1), the control server 101 divides all of the tour points to be visited into clusters, the number of which corresponds to the number of the mobile units 103, using the k-means method or the like. Next, as shown in (2) of Fig. 4, the control server 101 generates a tour route for each divided cluster that visits each of the tour points included in the cluster. The control server 101 can apply a process for solving a traveling sales problem using mixed integer linear programming or the like as a process for generating the tour route, and generates, as the tour route, a tour order that allows each of the tour points to be visited in the shortest route.

[0025] Here, in the process of solving the traveling sales problem, it is known that there is a problem in that the time required to calculate the shortest route increases exponentially as the number of travel points increases. In the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, when a cut-in task occurs, the mobile body 103 on patrol is instructed to execute the cut-in task. At this time, in order to prevent a delay in patrol to the patrol point that the mobile body 103 instructed to execute the cut-in task was responsible for, another mobile body 103 different from the mobile body 103 executing the cut-in task is made to take charge of the patrol point that the mobile body 103 executing the cut-in task was responsible for. In this way, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, in response to the occurrence of an interruption during a patrol, the patrol points are reallocated and the patrol route is regenerated so that the patrol to the patrol point is not delayed. In order to maintain the security level of the patrol point, it is desirable to be able to regenerate the patrol route in as short a time as possible. As a countermeasure to this, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, control is performed so that the number of patrol points included in each cluster does not increase when regenerating the patrol route. This makes it possible to suppress the time required to calculate the shortest route to the patrol points from increasing exponentially, and to maintain the security level of the patrol points by preventing patrols to the patrol points from being delayed.

[0026] Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining a route generation process performed by the control server in the embodiment 1. A method for generating a route while preventing an increase in the number of route points included in each cluster will be described with reference to Fig. 5. As shown in FIG. 5(1), the control server 101 divides all the patrol points to be patrolled in the patrol monitoring system 100 into k predetermined clusters according to the positions of the patrol points. The method of determining the value of k, that is, the number of divisions, will be described later. The control server 101 can use the k-means method or the like as a method of dividing into clusters. That is, the control server 101 performs a cluster division process of dividing all the patrol points to be patrolled into a plurality of clusters based on the positions of the patrol points. After dividing into k clusters, the control server 101 calculates the center of gravity of the patrol points included in each divided cluster. FIG. 5(1) shows an example in which the control server 101 divides all the patrol points to be patrolled into three clusters G1 to G3. For example, as shown in FIG. 5(2), the control server 101 calculates the center of gravity GP1 of cluster G1, the center of gravity GP2 of cluster G2, and the center of gravity GP3 of cluster G3.

[0027] As shown in (2) of Fig. 5, next, the control server 101 performs a process of solving a traveling salesman problem for the center of gravity of each cluster, and calculates a visiting order for visiting the center of gravity of each cluster obtained as a result. That is, the control server 101 performs a cluster visiting order generation process of generating a cluster visiting order, which is a visiting order for visiting the visiting center of gravity of the cluster by optimization calculation, so that the length of a path for visiting each of the visiting center of gravity of the cluster is the shortest, with the center of gravity of the cluster being the visiting center of gravity. Fig. 5 (2) shows an example in which the control server 101 generates a cluster visiting order in the order of the center of gravity GP1 of cluster G1, the center of gravity GP2 of cluster G2, and the center of gravity GP3 of cluster G3.

[0028] Furthermore, the control server 101 determines a starting point and an ending point among the tour points included in each cluster based on the cluster tour order in which the control server 101 visits the tour center position of each cluster. The starting point here is a tour point that is a starting point in the tour order in which the control server 101 visits the tour center position of each cluster. The ending point here is a tour point that is an ending point in the tour order in which the control server 101 visits the tour center position of each cluster. Based on the cluster patrol order, the control server 101 identifies a first cluster that comes first in the cluster patrol order and a second cluster that comes later in the cluster patrol order. The control server 101 extracts a patrol point that is located at the shortest distance from any of the patrol points included in the second cluster among the patrol points included in the first cluster, and sets the extracted patrol point as the end point in the first cluster. The control server 101 sets a patrol point that is located at the shortest distance from the patrol point that is set as the end point in the first cluster among the patrol points included in the second cluster as the start point in the second cluster. For example, the control server 101 determines an end point GE1 of cluster G1 and a start point GS2 of cluster G2 as shown in FIG. 5(3). The control server 101 identifies the third cluster that is next to the second cluster in the cluster visiting order, extracts a tour point that is located at the shortest distance from any of the tour points included in the third cluster among the tour points included in the second cluster, and sets the extracted tour point as the end point in the second cluster. The control server 101 sets a tour point that is located at the shortest distance from the tour point set as the end point in the second cluster among the tour points included in the third cluster as the start point in the third cluster. For example, as shown in FIG. 5(3), the control server 101 determines the end point GE2 of cluster G2 and the start point GS3 of cluster G3. The control server 101 extracts a tour point that is located at the shortest distance from any of the tour points included in the first cluster among the tour points included in the third cluster, and sets the extracted tour point as the end point in the third cluster. The control server 101 determines the starting point in the first cluster as the tour point that is the shortest distance from the tour point that is the end point in the third cluster among the tour points included in the first cluster. For example, as shown in Fig. 5(3), the control server 101 determines the end point GE3 of cluster G3 and the start point GS1 of cluster G1. In this way, the control server 101 determines the start point and end point of each cluster according to the cluster tour order.In other words, in the cluster tour order generation process, the control server 101 performs an inter-cluster connection point determination process in which the two tour points between a tour point included in one cluster and a tour point included in the other cluster in two clusters whose tour orders are adjacent to each other are determined as connection points in the two clusters whose tour orders are adjacent to each other.

[0029] As shown in (3) of FIG. 5, next, the control server 101 generates a tour route from a tour point serving as a start point to a tour point serving as an end point for each cluster by using a traveling salesman problem or the like. That is, the control server 101 performs a point tour route generation process in which the connection points in two clusters whose tour orders determined in the inter-cluster connection point determination process are adjacent to each other as the start point or end point of a route that tours each of the tour points included in the cluster, and the tour order of the tour points included in the cluster is generated for each cluster by optimization calculation so that the route length of the route that tours each of the tour points included in the cluster is the shortest. At this time, the control server 101 generates a tour route based on the distance between the tour points, but the distance between the tour points may be a distance weighted according to the presence or absence of walls or structurally static obstacles, instead of a simple Euclidean distance. By using the weighted distance, it is possible to obtain an optimal tour route that takes into account the presence or absence of obstacles.

[0030] As shown in (4) of FIG. 5, finally, the control server 101 connects the start point and the end point obtained in (3) of FIG. 5. Specifically, the control server 101 connects the tour point serving as the end point in each cluster with the tour point serving as the start point in the cluster that is the next in the cluster tour order of the cluster. For example, the control server 101 connects the tour point GE1 serving as the end point in the first cluster with the tour point GS2 serving as the start point in the second cluster. The control server 101 connects the tour point GE2 serving as the end point in the second cluster with the tour point GS3 serving as the start point in the third cluster. The control server 101 connects the tour point GE3 serving as the end point in the third cluster with the tour point GS1 serving as the start point in the first cluster.

[0031] As described above, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, a large number of patrol points to be patrolled are divided into k clusters, a route for patrolling the center of gravity of each cluster is determined, a patrol point as a starting point and a patrol point as an end point in each cluster are determined, a patrol route is generated in each cluster, and finally the starting points and end points between the clusters are connected. By determining a patrol point as a starting point and a patrol point as an end point in each cluster, the number of combinations of patrol points to be considered when generating a patrol route for each cluster can be reduced to less than the total number of combinations of patrol points that all patrol points to be patrolled can have. Therefore, the patrol route can be generated quickly by optimization calculation, and the security level can be maintained without delay in monitoring the patrol points.

[0032] Here, a method for determining the value of k, that is, the number of divisions, in the cluster division shown in Fig. 5(1) will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of waypoints and the route generation time in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the number of tour points and the time required to generate a tour route. The horizontal axis of FIG. 6 indicates the number of tour points included in a cluster as the number of tour points in a cluster. The vertical axis of FIG. 6 indicates the time required to generate a tour route as the route generation time. For example, several numbers of tour points are set, tour routes are generated for each of the set numbers of tour points, and the time required to generate the tour route is measured in advance. The graph shown in FIG. 6 can be generated by plotting the average value of the time required to generate a tour route for cases with the same number of tour points, and smoothly connecting the plotted average values ​​with a curve. Here, a curve smoothly connecting the plotted average values ​​with the average values ​​may be obtained by applying a regression process to the data sample points as the plotted average values.

[0033] As shown in this figure, the time required to generate a tour route increases exponentially as the number of tour points increases. As already explained, the timing when the control server 101 generates a route is when an instruction to execute a cut-in task is issued and when the cut-in task is completed, as shown in Fig. 3. This is the timing when the number of mobile objects that can circulate has changed, and indicates that a route is generated again depending on the number of mobile objects that can circulate. Here, when generating a tour route, if the number of tour points included in each cluster is large, the time required to generate the tour route becomes enormous. If the time required to generate a tour route becomes enormous, it takes time from the timing when the number of mobile units that can patrol changes to the timing when a new tour route is instructed, and the waiting time for the mobile unit 103 to wait for a new instruction becomes long, the time to start patrolling the new tour route becomes late, and the security of the tour points decreases. Therefore, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, a target time that is allowable as the time for generating a patrol route is set in advance. Then, the control server 101 controls the number of patrol points included in a cluster so that a patrol route can be generated in less time than the target time. This prevents the number of patrol points included in a cluster from becoming too large, and prevents the time required for generating a patrol route from exceeding the target time.

[0034] 6, the control server 101 sets a target upper limit processing time as a target time. This target time is set, for example, by a person in charge operating and inputting using an input device such as a keyboard connected to the control server 101. The control server 101 determines the number N of patrol points included in the cluster as the number of patrol points in the cluster corresponding to the set time. The control server 101 then divides the total number of all patrol points to be patrolled in the patrol monitoring system 100 by N, rounds up the decimal point to obtain an integer value as the number of clusters k.

[0035] As described above, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment, the relationship between the number of waypoints in a cluster and the route generation time is obtained in advance, and the control server 101 determines, from this relationship, the maximum number of waypoints in a cluster that allows route generation to be completed in a processing time that does not exceed the target time. The control server 101 determines the cluster division number k according to the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of patrol points to be patrolled in the patrol monitoring system 100 by the maximum number of waypoints in a cluster. This makes it possible to prevent the time required for generating a patrol route from becoming excessive, and to generate a patrol route for each cluster in a reasonable processing time.

[0036] Next, the generation of a route by the control server 101 will be described with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a route generated by the control server in the first embodiment. As described with reference to FIG. 2, a security level is set for each patrol point, and patrols are performed at a frequency according to the security level. 7 shows an example of a route that a certain mobile unit 103 is instructed to travel. It is assumed that the mobile unit 103 is instructed to repeatedly travel the routes from (1) to (6) shown in this figure in order. Figure 8 shows the relationship between security levels and tour patterns. The tour patterns correspond to any of the tour routes from (1) to (6) in Figure 7, and here, the tour routes (1) and (5) are tour pattern A, which visits only tour points with a security level set to "high." The tour routes (2) and (4) are tour pattern B, which visits tour points with a security level set to "high" or "medium." The tour route (3) is tour pattern C, which visits tour points with a security level set to "high" or "low." The tour route (6) is tour pattern D, which visits all tour points regardless of security level.

[0037] In this diagram, it is shown that a patrol point with a security level set to "high" is patrolled every time. A patrol point with a security level set to "medium" is patrolled once every two times. A patrol point with a security level set to "low" is patrolled once every three times. The control server 101 instructs the mobile unit 103 to repeat such patrol patterns in the order of patrol patterns A, B, C, B, A, and D. This controls the patrol to be performed at a frequency according to the security level of the patrol point.

[0038] As described above, the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment generates a plurality of patrol patterns according to security levels, and instructs to perform patrols combining the plurality of generated patrol patterns. This makes it possible to prevent situations in which patrol points with low security levels are frequently patrolled, or patrol points with high security levels are patrolled less frequently than other patrol points, and to perform patrols at a frequency according to the security level set for the patrol points.

[0039] Next, the operation when a cut-in task occurs during a tour will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation performed by the control server in response to the occurrence of a cut-in task during a tour of the mobile body in the first embodiment.

[0040] 9, the control server 101 notifies each of the three moving bodies, a moving body A as a moving body 103A, a moving body B as a moving body 103B, and a moving body C as a moving body 103C, of ​​a tour route and instructs each of the moving bodies to travel along the notified tour route. Upon receiving the tour route from the control server 101, each of the moving bodies 103 starts traveling according to the received tour route. 9, when the mobile unit 103C detects, for example, an injured person during patrol, it notifies the control server 101 of the detection result. This causes a cut-in task to occur. As shown in the upper right of Fig. 9, when a cut-in task occurs, the control server 101 instructs the mobile unit 103C to temporarily suspend the patrol task and perform the cut-in task. As the cut-in task, the control server 101 instructs the mobile unit 103C to move a display installed in the mobile unit 103 to a position where the injured person can see it, so that the injured person and the monitor can talk remotely. As a result, the mobile unit 103C transitions from a patrol state to a cut-in task state for another task.

[0041] As shown in the lower right of FIG. 9, the control server 101 generates a new tour route that assigns the tour of the tour points that the mobile unit 103C was in charge of to the mobile units 103 other than the mobile unit 103C that performs the cut-in operation, that is, the mobile units 103A and 103B, and instructs the mobile units 103A and 103B to start the tour along the new tour route. When assigning the tour points, the control server 101 divides all the tour points into two clusters by clustering with a division number corresponding to 2, which is the number of mobile units 103 that can make the tour, that is, by using the above-mentioned k-means method with the number of clusters being 2. As described above, the control server 101 generates the tour routes of the tour points included in each of the two clusters by applying the optimized calculation of the traveling salesman problem that has been accelerated (see FIG. 4). Here, if the number of tour points included in each cluster is large, the clusters are further divided into k clusters according to the target time. The control server 101 determines a route for visiting the center of gravity of each cluster, determines a starting point and an ending point in each cluster, generates a route for each cluster, and finally connects the starting points and ending points between the clusters (see FIG. 5). The control server 101 notifies the mobile units 103A and 103B of the generated route and instructs them to visit according to the notified route.

[0042] As shown in the lower right of FIG. 9, when the execution of the cut-in task by the mobile unit 103C is completed, the control server 101 instructs the two mobile units 103A and 103B to stop patrolling. The control server 101 generates a new tour route that assigns tour points to all of the mobile units 103 that can patrol, including the mobile unit 103C that has completed the cut-in task and is now able to perform the patrol task, that is, to each of the mobile units 103A to 103C. For example, the control server 101 divides the clusters into three clusters using the aforementioned k-means method or the like, with the number of clusters set to three, and generates a tour route that visits each of the tour points included in each divided cluster. If the number of tour points included in each cluster is greater than the threshold value (N), the clusters are further divided into k clusters, and the center of gravity, the tour point to be the starting point, and the tour point to be the end point are determined, and a tour route is generated. The control server 101 notifies the mobile units 103A to 103C of the generated tour route and instructs them to patrol according to the notified tour route. This causes the three mobile units 103A to 103C to start normal patrol operations again.

[0043] As described above, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment, even when a cutting-in task is performed on a mobile unit 103 that is on patrol, the patrol of a plurality of patrol points that was the responsibility of the mobile unit 103 performing the cutting-in task is shared and patrolled by the other mobile units 103. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which patrol to the patrol points is delayed until the cutting-in task is completed, thereby suppressing a decrease in the security level and maintaining the security level.

[0044] As described with reference to FIG. 2, a requested tour time is set for each tour point, and the robot makes a tour at time intervals according to the requested tour time. Here, the behavior of the control server 101 when a tour alert point occurs as a tour point that is difficult to tour so as to satisfy the tour request time will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation performed when the control server in the first embodiment detects a tour alert point.

[0045] First, as a premise, the control server 101 periodically monitors which patrol points are being patrolled by the mobile object 103, and periodically refers to the patrol point information 102 to monitor whether the time elapsed since the mobile object 103 last patrolled the patrol point exceeds the patrol request time set for the patrol point. For example, each of the mobile objects 103 periodically notifies the control server 101 of the time when the mobile object 103 patrolled the patrol point that it was instructed to patrol. The control server 101 determines whether the time elapsed since the mobile object 103 last patrolled the patrol point exceeds the patrol request time set for the patrol point, based on the patrol time received from each of the mobile objects 103. If the time elapsed since the mobile object 103 last patrolled the patrol point exceeds the patrol request time set for the patrol point, the control server 101 determines that the patrol point is a patrol alert point and a patrol alert has occurred.

[0046] 10(1) shows that a tour alert with the tour alert point AP is generated while the mobile unit 103A is executing the tour pattern A. When a tour alert is generated, the control server 101 generates a tour pattern D including the tour alert point AP as the next tour pattern, regardless of which tour pattern the mobile unit 103A is to perform next. (2) and (3) in FIG. 10 show that if no cyclic alert occurs, cyclic patterns B and C are scheduled to be executed in this order as the subsequent cyclic patterns. 10, when the mobile unit 103A in charge of patrolling the patrol alert point AP completes a full circuit of patrol pattern A, the control server 101 instructs the mobile unit 103A to perform a patrol using patrol pattern D as the next patrol route. Then, when the mobile unit 103A completes a full circuit of patrol using patrol pattern D, the control server 101 instructs the mobile unit 103A to start patrolling using a normal patrol route using patrol pattern C as the next patrol pattern.

[0047] As described above, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, the occurrence of a patrol alert is detected depending on whether or not the time interval of patrol for the patrol point exceeds the patrol request time. When a patrol alert occurs, the control server 101 instructs patrol according to a patrol pattern including the patrol alert point as the next patrol pattern. This allows patrol to be performed preferentially to the patrol alert point. Therefore, even if a patrol alert occurs after the patrol request time has been exceeded, the time at which the patrol alert point is next patrolled can be advanced, increasing the probability that the patrol by the mobile unit 103 is performed so as to satisfy the patrol request time set for the patrol alert point, and making it possible to maintain the security level of the patrol point.

[0048] <Embodiment 2> Here, a description will be given of embodiment 2. In the following description, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to embodiment 2, the configuration and processing that are different from the patrol monitoring system in embodiment 1 will be mainly described, and the configuration and processing equivalent to those in the patrol monitoring system in embodiment 1 will be given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0049] This embodiment differs from the above-described first embodiment in that, when a travel alert occurs, another mobile object 103 travels to the travel alert point. Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation performed when the control server in the embodiment 2 detects an alert point. Each of the patrol patterns (1) to (3) in Fig. 11 is similar to each of the patrol patterns (1) to (3) in Fig. 10. In this embodiment, when the control server 101 detects the patrol alert point shown in (1) of Figure 11, it generates a patrol pattern E including the patrol alert point as the next patrol pattern for a mobile body 103B, which is different from the mobile body 103A that was in charge of patrolling the patrol alert point. 11, when the mobile unit 103B completes a full circuit of the circuit pattern, the control server 101 instructs the mobile unit 103B to perform a circuit of the circuit pattern E as the next circuit route. Then, when the mobile unit 103B completes a full circuit of the circuit route of the circuit pattern E, the control server 101 instructs each of the mobile units 103A and 103B to perform a circuit of the normal circuit pattern as the next circuit route. As a result, the mobile unit 103A performs a circuit of the normal circuit pattern of the circuit pattern C.

[0050] As described above, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment, when the control server 101 detects the occurrence of a patrol alert, it instructs the other mobile body 103 to patrol the patrol alert point in the next patrol pattern. Therefore, in a case where the mobile body 103 encounters an obstacle during patrol and falls into a difficult driving situation, causing a patrol alert to be generated, the other mobile body 103 can be made to patrol the patrol alert point, and the other mobile body 103 can recover from patrol to the patrol alert point, so that the security level of the patrol point can be maintained.

[0051] <Embodiment 3> Here, a description will be given of embodiment 3. In the following description, the configuration and processing of the patrol monitoring system 100 according to embodiment 3 that are different from the patrol monitoring system in embodiment 1 will be mainly described, and the configuration and processing equivalent to those of the patrol monitoring system in embodiment 1 will be given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0052] This embodiment differs from the above-described first and second embodiments in that, when a patrol alert point occurs, the mobile object 103 located closest to the patrol alert point is instructed to immediately patrol the alert point.

[0053] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing state transitions of the patrol monitoring system in embodiment 3. In Fig. 12, a state indicating "in recovery" is added to the state transitions shown in Fig. 3. "In recovery" indicates that the mobile object 103 closest to the patrol alert point is executing an instruction to patrol the patrol alert point. When the control server 101 detects that a patrol alert has occurred, it identifies the mobile object 103 on patrol that is closest to the patrol alert point. For example, the control server 101 identifies the mobile object 103 on patrol that is closest to the patrol alert point based on the position coordinates of the patrol alert point stored in the patrol point information in Fig. 2 and information indicating the patrol point by the mobile object 103 and the time of patrol, which is periodically received from the patrol mobile object 103 on patrol. The control server 101 notifies the identified mobile object 103 of an alert point rush instruction, and instructs it to immediately patrol the alert point. As a result, the mobile object 103 that has received the alert point rush instruction makes a state transition from patrol to recovery. When the mobile body 103 that has received an instruction to rush to the alert point arrives at the patrol alert point and transmits an image of the surrounding situation including the patrol alert point to the control server 101, the mobile body 103 transmits a notification to the control server 101 that the recovery operation has been completed. Upon receiving a notification that the recovery operation has been completed, the control server 101 assigns patrol points to each of the mobile bodies 103 that can patrol, including the mobile body 103 for which the recovery operation has been completed, based on the position of the mobile body 103 at that time and the positions of each of the patrol points to be patrolled, and generates a patrol route for each mobile body 103. The control server 101 notifies each mobile body 103 of the generated patrol route, and instructs them to start patrol according to the patrol route.

[0054] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an operation performed by the control server in the third embodiment when the control server detects an alert point. The upper part of FIG. 13 shows that a patrol alert with a patrol alert point AP has occurred while the mobile object 103A is executing the patrol pattern A, as in FIG. 10 (1). The upper part of FIG. 13 further shows that the mobile object 103B is patrolling at a position closest to the patrol alert point. When the control server 101 detects that a patrol alert has occurred, the control server 101 identifies the mobile object 103B that is different from the mobile object 103A that was in charge of patrolling to the patrol alert point and is patrolling at a position closest to the patrol alert point. The control server 101 issues an alert point rush instruction to the identified mobile object 103B to temporarily suspend patrol to other patrol points and rush to the patrol alert point with the highest priority, thereby controlling the mobile object 103B to immediately patrol the alert point.

[0055] As described above, in the patrol monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, when the control server 101 detects the occurrence of a patrol alert, it instructs another mobile object 103 on patrol that is closest to the patrol alert point AP to patrol the patrol alert point AP. This allows the mobile object 103 closest to the patrol alert point AP to patrol the nearby patrol alert point AP, and even if a patrol alert occurs, it is possible to efficiently patrol the patrol alert points. Therefore, a high security level can be maintained.

[0056] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and may be appropriately combined within a range not mutually contradictory.

[0057] The above-mentioned control server 101 and mobile object 103 each have a computer system therein. The process steps of the above-mentioned processing are stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above-mentioned processing is performed by the computer reading and executing the program. Here, the computer-readable recording medium refers to a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, etc. Also, the computer program may be distributed to a computer via a communication line, and the computer that receives the program may execute the program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 100... patrol monitoring system, 101... control server, 102... patrol point information, 103... mobile body

Claims

1. A mobile object that travels between a plurality of travel points; a control server that notifies the mobile object of a tour route indicating the plurality of tour points and an order in which the mobile object should visit the tour points, and instructs the mobile object to travel along the tour route; A patrol surveillance system comprising: The control server, When a first moving object among the plurality of moving objects is instructed to take a new action that does not pass through at least any of the tour points included in the notified tour route, generating a new tour route for the other moving body different from the first moving body, the new tour route being a tour of points among the tour points included in the tour route of the notified first moving body that will not be passed by the first moving body due to the notification of the new action, and instructing the other moving body to tour the generated new tour route; A storage unit is further provided for storing location importance information associated with each of the patrol locations and a security level, the control server generates the tour route based on the point importance information, the tour route having a different period for visiting the tour points depending on a security level of the tour point, and instructs the vehicle to travel along the generated tour route. Patrol surveillance system.

2. the control server generates the tour route, based on the point importance information, with a tour request time set as a time interval until the next tour of the previously visited tour points, and issues an instruction to tour the generated tour route; each of the plurality of moving bodies notifies the control server of the time it has taken to travel around the designated travel points; the control server detects, for each of the plurality of moving bodies, a tour point that could not be visited within the tour request time set for the tour route as a tour alert point, generates the tour route including the detected tour alert point in the tour route, and instructs the moving body to tour the generated tour route. The patrol surveillance system according to claim 1 .

3. the control server generates the tour route, based on the point importance information, with a tour request time set as a time interval until the next tour of the previously visited tour points, and issues an instruction to tour the generated tour route; each of the plurality of moving bodies notifies the control server of the time it has taken to travel around the designated travel points; the control server detects, for each of the plurality of moving bodies, a tour point that could not be visited within the tour request time set in the tour route as a tour alert point, generates the tour route including the tour alert point in the tour route of the moving body different from the moving body that could not be visited, and instructs the moving body to travel along the generated tour route. The patrol surveillance system according to claim 1 .

4. A mobile object that travels between a plurality of travel points; a control server that notifies the mobile object of a tour route indicating the plurality of tour points and an order in which the mobile object should visit the tour points, and instructs the mobile object to travel along the tour route; A patrol surveillance system comprising: The control server, A cluster division process is performed to divide all the travel points to be visited into a plurality of clusters based on the positions of the travel points; a cluster circulating order generation process is performed to generate a circulating order for visiting the circulating center positions by optimization calculation so that the length of a path visiting each of the circulating center positions of the clusters is the shortest; performing an inter-cluster connection point determination process in which, in the cluster visiting order generation process, two visiting points between a visiting point included in one cluster and a visiting point included in the other cluster, the two visiting points being the shortest distance between the visiting points, are determined as connecting points between the two clusters whose visiting orders are adjacent to each other; performing a point visiting route generation process for generating a visiting order of the visiting points included in each cluster by using an optimization calculation to generate a visiting order of the visiting points included in each cluster for each cluster, the visiting order being determined by the inter-cluster connecting point determination process as a start point or end point of a route visiting each of the visiting points included in the cluster, so that the length of the route visiting each of the visiting points included in the cluster is the shortest; Patrol surveillance system.

5. The control server, determining the number of clusters to be divided in the cluster division process based on relationship information between a route generation time required to generate the travel route and a number of waypoints, which is the number of travel points included in the clusters after division; determining the number of waypoints from the related information in response to the route generation time being designated as a target upper limit value; determining the number of clusters to be divided by dividing the total number of tour points by the number of waypoints; The patrol surveillance system according to claim 4.

6. A mobile object that travels between a plurality of travel points; a control server that notifies the mobile object of a tour route indicating the plurality of tour points and an order in which the mobile object should visit the tour points, and instructs the mobile object to travel along the tour route; A patrol surveillance system comprising: The control server, When a first moving object among the plurality of moving objects is instructed to take a new action that does not pass through at least any of the tour points included in the notified tour route, generating a new tour route for the other moving body different from the first moving body, the new tour route being a tour of points among the tour points included in the tour route of the notified first moving body that will not be passed by the first moving body due to the notification of the new action, and instructing the other moving body to tour the generated new tour route; The control server instructs the vehicle to travel along the generated route, each of the plurality of moving bodies notifies the control server of the time it has taken to travel around the designated travel points; The control server refers to the set tour request time, detects a tour point that could not be toured within the set tour request time on the tour route in each of the plurality of moving bodies as a tour alert point, and instructs a moving body that is different from the moving body that could not tour the tour alert point and is located closest to the tour alert point, to tour the tour alert point. Patrol surveillance system.

7. A mobile object that travels between a plurality of travel points; a control server that notifies the mobile object of a tour route indicating the plurality of tour points and an order in which the mobile object should visit the tour points, and instructs the mobile object to travel along the tour route; A patrol surveillance system comprising: The control server, When a first moving object among the plurality of moving objects is instructed to take a new action that does not pass through at least any of the tour points included in the notified tour route, generating a new tour route for the other moving body different from the first moving body, the new tour route being a tour of points among the tour points included in the tour route of the notified first moving body that will not be passed by the first moving body due to the notification of the new action, and instructing the other moving body to tour the generated new tour route; A cluster division process is performed to divide all the travel points to be visited into a plurality of clusters based on the positions of the travel points; a cluster circulating order generation process is performed to generate a circulating order for visiting the circulating center positions by optimization calculation so that the length of a path visiting each of the circulating center positions of the clusters is the shortest; performing an inter-cluster connection point determination process in which, in the cluster visiting order generation process, two visiting points between a visiting point included in one cluster and a visiting point included in the other cluster, the two visiting points being the shortest distance between the visiting points, are determined as connecting points between the two clusters whose visiting orders are adjacent to each other; performing a point visiting route generation process for generating a visiting order of the visiting points included in each cluster by using an optimization calculation to generate a visiting order of the visiting points included in each cluster for each cluster, the visiting order being determined by the inter-cluster connecting point determination process as a start point or end point of a route visiting each of the visiting points included in the cluster, so that the length of the route visiting each of the visiting points included in the cluster is the shortest; Patrol surveillance system.

8. A mobile object that travels between a plurality of travel points; a control server that notifies the mobile object of a tour route indicating the plurality of tour points and an order in which the mobile object should visit the tour points, and instructs the mobile object to travel along the tour route; A patrol surveillance system comprising: The control server, When a first moving object among the plurality of moving objects is instructed to take a new action that does not pass through at least any of the tour points included in the notified tour route, generating a new tour route for the other moving body different from the first moving body, the new tour route being a tour of points among the tour points included in the tour route of the notified first moving body that will not be passed by the first moving body due to the notification of the new action, and instructing the other moving body to tour the generated new tour route; when the new action has not been instructed for each of the moving objects, a tour route is generated in which a tour period of at least any of the tour points is different based on the tour priority of the tour points, and an instruction is given to tour the tour route. Patrol surveillance system.

9. A mobile object that travels between a plurality of travel points; a control server that notifies the mobile object of a tour route indicating the plurality of tour points and an order in which the mobile object should visit the tour points, and instructs the mobile object to travel along the tour route; A patrol surveillance system comprising: At least one of the plurality of travel points has a different travel period; The control server, When a first moving object among the plurality of moving objects is instructed to take a new action that does not pass through at least any of the tour points included in the notified tour route, generating a new tour route for the other moving body different from the first moving body, the new tour route for the other moving body that travels around points among the tour points included in the tour route of the notified first moving body that will not be passed by the first moving body due to the notification of the new action, and instructing the other moving body to travel along the generated new tour route; Patrol surveillance system.

Images