Information processing system, method for processing propagation environment data, and program

Abstract

To reduce the read time of environment data used for simulation of radio wave propagation, an information processing system according to the present invention includes a dividing unit that divides a target area into multiple meshes with a predetermined size, an extracting unit that extracts height information of each of the multiple meshes by using one or more sets of three-dimensional data representing the shapes of objects in the target area, and a generating unit that generates mesh data in which each of the multiple meshes has the height information.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a method for processing propagation environment data, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Ray tracing is a method for simulating radio wave propagation used in area evaluation of wireless communication systems, etc. In ray tracing, radio waves (rays) transmitted from a transmitting point are reflected or diffracted by structures along the way, and the trajectory of each ray is traced to arrive at a receiving point, and the power of all rays that reach the receiving point is added up to estimate the strength of the radio waves at the receiving point.

[0003] Also, an indoor wireless communication system is known that uses ray tracing to simulate the propagation characteristics between a wireless base station and a terminal station, and reduces electromagnetic interference based on the simulation results (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-168812 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] For example, when simulating radio wave propagation using ray tracing or the like, propagation environment data (hereinafter referred to as "environmental data") is required that represents the shapes of structures or buildings within the area to be simulated. For this environmental data, it is desirable to be able to use data in various formats, such as CAD data from 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design), point cloud data acquired by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), or a building database.

[0006] However, because this environmental data is huge and three-dimensional, using conventional technology it took a long time to load the environmental data, which was an obstacle to speeding up radio wave propagation simulations.

[0007] The embodiments of the present invention have been made in consideration of the above problems, and provide an information processing system that reduces the time required to read environmental data used in a simulation of radio wave propagation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: Inside the building A division unit that divides a target area into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size, and an object in the target area and the inside of the building an extraction unit that extracts height information of each of the plurality of meshes using environmental data that represents a position and a shape of the plurality of meshes; 1. Mesh Data and second mesh data in the same format as the first mesh data, the second mesh data representing the ceiling height of each of the plurality of meshes. A creation unit that creates a simulation unit that performs a radio wave propagation simulation within the building by using the first mesh data and the second mesh data; has. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing system that reduces the time required to read environmental data used in a simulation of radio wave propagation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of data processing according to the present embodiment; [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an overview of data processing according to the present embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a method of dividing regional meshes. [Figure 4]4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of data processing according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of data processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0012] <System configuration> 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to this embodiment. For example, the information processing system 1 realizes a data processing unit 10, a storage unit 20, a simulation unit 30, an interface unit 40, and the like by a computer included in the information processing system 1 executing a predetermined program. Note that each of the above functional configurations is not limited to a physical machine (computer), and may be realized by a program executed by a virtual machine on a cloud, for example. Also, each of the above functional configurations may be distributed and arranged on separate physical machines or virtual machines.

[0013] The storage unit 20 pre-stores environmental data 22 of a target area to be subjected to a radio wave propagation simulation. The environmental data 22 may include, for example, CAD (Computer Aided Design) data 101, building data 102, and point cloud data 103.

[0014] The CAD data 101 is, for example, three-dimensional CAD data including data indicating the width, height, shape, and position of each surface of an object (structure, building, etc.) in a target area, and information such as the reflectance of radio waves on each surface. The CAD data 101 may be, for example, data input by an operator or the like into a three-dimensional CAD or the like, or may be data generated based on point cloud data acquired by a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) or the like.

[0015] The building data 102 is a database (building database) including data indicating the width, height, shape, and position of each side of the buildings in the target area, and information on the radio wave reflectance of each side, etc. Preferably, the building data 102 includes information on each side of the building, such as the walls, floors, ceilings, and pillars inside the building.

[0016] The point cloud data 103 is, for example, three-dimensional point cloud data that indicates distances to each surface of an object in a target area, acquired using a LIDAR, etc. Alternatively, the point cloud data 103 may be three-dimensional environmental map data created based on three-dimensional point cloud information using a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technique.

[0017] The storage unit 20 may be, for example, an external storage server of the information processing system 1, a cloud service, or the like.

[0018] The data processing unit 10 creates mesh data of a predetermined area in which the simulation unit 30 performs a radio wave propagation simulation, using environmental data 22, such as CAD data 101, building data 102, or point cloud data 103. The data processing unit 10 includes, for example, a division unit 11, an extraction unit 12, and a creation unit 13.

[0019] The division unit 11 divides a target area to be subjected to radio wave propagation simulation into a plurality of meshes. For example, the division unit 11 divides a target area 200 into a plurality of meshes 201 of a predetermined size as shown in Fig. 2A. As an example, the division unit 11 divides the target area into the plurality of meshes 201 based on a regional mesh that divides a region into mesh-like regions based on latitude and longitude.

[0020] Fig. 3 shows a method of dividing a regional mesh published on the website of the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (https: / / www.stat.go.jp / data / mesh / m_tuite.html). As an example, the division unit 11 divides the target area 200 into a plurality of meshes 201 according to the regional mesh division method of Fig. 3. Note that the regional mesh division method shown in Fig. 3 specifies only up to a quarter regional mesh, but the division unit 11 may extend the regional mesh division method of Fig. 3 according to a predetermined size, for example, to a quarter regional mesh, a sixteenth regional mesh, ..., etc.

[0021] As another example, the division unit 11 may divide the target area 200 into multiple meshes 201 based on relative coordinates of CAD data 101, etc., when latitude and longitude information is not required, such as when the simulation unit 30 performs an indoor radio wave propagation simulation.

[0022] Returning to FIG. 1, the functional configuration of the data processing unit 10 will be described. The extraction unit 12 extracts height information of each of a plurality of meshes 201, for example, as shown in FIG. 2A, from the environmental data 22. For example, the extraction unit 12 analyzes the CAD data 101, and when a structure with a height of 3 m is present in the mesh 201, the height information of the mesh 201 is set to 3 m. Note that, when the height information of the mesh 201 cannot be obtained, the extraction unit 12 may analyze other environmental data 22, such as the building data 102 or the point cloud data 103, to extract the height information of the mesh 201. Also, when the extraction unit 12 analyzes the environmental data 22 and cannot obtain the height information of the mesh 201, the height information of the mesh 201 is set to 0.

[0023] The creation unit 13 creates mesh data 21 as shown in Fig. 2B, for example, using the height information of each mesh 211 extracted by the extraction unit 12. In the mesh data 21 shown in Fig. 2B, the x and y directions correspond to the position of each mesh 201 (for example, latitude, longitude, or row, column, etc.), and the value of each data indicates the height information of each mesh 201. Therefore, for example, in the mesh data 21, area 202 with height information "3" indicates that there is, for example, a structure with a height of 3m, and area 203 with height information "6" indicates that there is, for example, a structure with a height of 6m. Also, an area with height information "0" indicates that there is, for example, no structure.

[0024] As a result, the data processing unit 10 can convert data indicating the width, height, shape, position, etc. of each surface of objects (structures, buildings, etc.) within the target area, among the environmental data 22 stored in the storage unit 20, into two-dimensional mesh data 21 as shown in Fig. 2B. In addition, since this mesh data 21 has an image data format, it has the characteristic that it can be read and processed at high speed using a GPU (Graphicss Processing Unit).

[0025] The simulation unit 30 reads out the mesh data 21 created by the data processing unit 10 and information such as the reflectance of radio waves on each surface included in the environmental data 22 from the storage unit 20 etc., and performs a radio wave propagation simulation for the target area. Preferably, the simulation unit 30 uses a GPU provided in the computer to quickly read the mesh data 21 in the form of image data.

[0026] For example, the simulation unit 30 performs a radio wave propagation simulation by ray tracing using the read mesh data 21 and information such as the reflectance of radio waves on each surface. In ray tracing, the way in which radio waves (rays) transmitted from a transmission point are reflected, diffracted, or transmitted by structures along the way to reach a reception point is tracked (traced) as the trajectory of each ray, and the power of all rays that reach the reception point is added up to estimate the strength of the radio waves at the reception point. However, the radio wave propagation simulation performed by the simulation unit 30 may use a method other than ray tracing.

[0027] In addition, since the mesh data 21 can be reused, when the simulation unit 30 performs a second or subsequent radio wave propagation simulation in the target area, the data processing unit 10 can omit the process of creating the mesh data 21.

[0028] In this way, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an information processing system that reduces the time required to read environmental data used in a simulation of radio wave propagation.

[0029] The interface unit 40 provides an API (Application Programming Interface) for other systems to utilize various functions provided by the information processing system 1, or a UI (User Interface) for users to utilize the functions. For example, a user (or another system) can use the interface unit 40 to request the data processing unit 10 to create mesh data 21, or to execute a radio wave propagation simulation. In addition, a user (or another system) can use the interface unit 40 to set parameters (e.g., the position of the transmission point, the position of the reception point, the frequency, the transmission output, etc.) required for the radio wave propagation simulation, or to register the environmental data 22 in the storage unit 20.

[0030] <Processing flow> Next, a process flow of the propagation environment data processing method according to this embodiment will be described.

[0031] [Example 1] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of data processing according to the embodiment 1. This processing shows an example of data processing in which the data processing unit 10 creates mesh data 21 using environmental data 22.

[0032] In step S401, the division unit 11 of the data processing unit 10 selects a regional mesh that is equal to or smaller than a predetermined size from, for example, a regional mesh as shown in Fig. 3 or an expanded regional mesh (for example, a 1 / 8 regional mesh, a 1 / 16 regional mesh, ..., etc.). Here, the predetermined size may be set by a user or another system via the simulation unit 30, for example, or may be set in advance in the data processing unit 10.

[0033] In step S402, the division unit 11 divides the target area to be processed into a plurality of meshes each having the size of the regional mesh. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the division unit 11 divides the target area 200 into a plurality of meshes 201 each having the size of the regional mesh selected in step S401.

[0034] In step S403, the extraction unit 12 of the data processing unit 10 acquires the environmental data 22 of the target area, for example, from the storage unit 20. If the environmental data 22 uses relative coordinates instead of latitude and longitude, it is preferable to acquire latitude and longitude information of any point in the environmental data 22 in advance and store it, for example, in the environmental data 22. This allows the data processing unit 10 to associate the relative coordinates of the environmental data 22 with the latitude and longitude.

[0035] In step S404, the data processing unit 10 executes the processes of steps S405 to S408 for each of the plurality of meshes 201.

[0036] In step S405, the extraction unit 12 of the data processing unit 10 extracts height information of the mesh 201 to be processed from the environmental data 22. When there are multiple pieces of environmental data 22, such as CAD data 101, building data 102, and point cloud data 103, it is advisable to determine the priority of each piece of data in advance. In this case, the extraction unit 12 may attempt to obtain height information from data with a higher priority and extract the height information that is obtained first.

[0037] In step S405, the creation unit 13 of the data processing unit 10 judges whether or not the environmental data 22 contains height information for the mesh 201 to be processed. For example, if the extraction unit 12 is able to acquire height information from the environmental data 22, the creation unit 13 judges that there is height information. On the other hand, if the extraction unit 12 is unable to acquire height information from the environmental data 22, the creation unit 13 judges that there is no height information. If there is height information, the creation unit 13 shifts the process to step S407. On the other hand, if there is no height information, the creation unit 13 shifts the process to step S408.

[0038] In step S407, the creation unit 13 inputs the height information extracted by the extraction unit 12 to the mesh data of the mesh 201 to be processed. On the other hand, in step S408, the creation unit 13 inputs 0 to the mesh data of the mesh 201 to be processed.

[0039] The data processing unit 10 executes the processes of steps S405 to S408 described above for each of the plurality of meshes 201, thereby generating mesh data 21 as shown in FIG. 2B, for example.

[0040] [Example 2] In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the data processing unit 10 divides the target area into regional meshes, for example, as shown in Fig. 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the data processing unit 10 may divide the target area into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size, for example, based on the relative coordinates of the environmental data 22 (for example, the CAD data 101, etc.).

[0041] For example, when performing a radio wave propagation simulation indoors, such as inside a building, latitude and longitude information is often not required. Also, since indoor structures are often arranged along the walls or pillars of a building, for example, it may be better to divide the target area into a predetermined size based on the relative coordinates of the environment data 22.

[0042] In the second embodiment, therefore, an example of processing in which the data processing unit 10 divides a target area into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size based on the relative coordinates of the environmental data 22 will be described.

[0043] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of data processing according to the embodiment 2. This processing shows another example of data processing in which the data processing unit 10 creates mesh data 21 by using environmental data 22. Among the processing shown in Fig. 5, the processing of steps S404 to S408 is similar to the processing of the embodiment 1 described in Fig. 4, so the following description will focus on the differences from the processing of the embodiment 1.

[0044] In step S501, the division unit 11 of the data processing unit 10 acquires the environmental data 22 of the target area, for example, from the storage unit 20. For example, when performing a radio wave propagation simulation on a certain floor in a building, the division unit 11 acquires the environmental data 22 of the floor.

[0045] In step S502, the dividing unit 11 divides the target area into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size. For example, the dividing unit 11 divides the target area 200 into a plurality of meshes 201 of a predetermined size, as shown in FIG. 2A, based on the relative coordinates of the acquired environmental data 22.

[0046] In step S404, the data processing unit 10 executes the processes of steps S405 to S408 for each of the multiple meshes 201, similarly to the first embodiment. As a result, the data processing unit 10 can create mesh data 21, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B.

[0047] However, when performing indoor radio wave propagation simulation, data on the ceiling is required. In this case, as an example, the simulation unit 30 may obtain the mesh data 21 and the building data 102 from the storage unit 20, and obtain the ceiling data from the building data 102. Even in this case, since the building data 102 has a smaller amount of data than the CAD data 101 or the point cloud data 103, etc., it is expected to have an effect of shortening the reading time of the environmental data used in the radio wave propagation simulation.

[0048] As another example, in steps S404 to S408 of Fig. 5, the data processing unit 10 may create separate mesh data representing the ceiling height of each mesh in a similar format in addition to the mesh data 21 as shown in Fig. 2B. In this case, the simulation unit 30 acquires the mesh data 21 and the separate mesh data representing the ceiling height from the storage unit 20 and performs a radio wave propagation simulation. In this case, since the mesh data 21 and the separate mesh data representing the ceiling height both have an image data format, the simulation unit 30 can read the data at high speed using a GPU.

[0049] (Hardware configuration example) The information processing system 1 according to this embodiment can be realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute a program in which the processing contents described in this embodiment are described.

[0050] The above program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (such as a portable memory) and can be stored or distributed. The above program can also be provided via a network such as the Internet or e-mail.

[0051] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the computer. The computer 600 in Fig. 6 includes a drive device 1000, an auxiliary storage device 1002, a memory device 1003, a CPU 1004, an interface device 1005, a display device 1006, an input device 1007, an output device 1008, and a GPU 1009, all of which are connected to each other via a bus B.

[0052] A program for implementing processing in computer 600 is provided by a recording medium 1001 such as a CD-ROM or a memory card. When recording medium 1001 storing the program is set in drive device 1000, the program is installed from recording medium 1001 to auxiliary storage device 1002 via drive device 1000. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from recording medium 1001, but may be downloaded from another computer via a network. Auxiliary storage device 1002 stores the installed program as well as necessary files, data, etc.

[0053] The memory device 1003 reads out and stores the program from the auxiliary storage device 1002 when an instruction to start the program is received. The CPU 1004 realizes the functions related to each unit described in this embodiment according to the program stored in the memory device 1003. The interface device 1005 is used as an interface for connecting to a network. The display device 1006 displays a GUI or the like according to a program. The input device 1007 is composed of a keyboard and a mouse, buttons, a touch panel, or the like, and is used to input various operation instructions. The output device 1008 outputs the results of calculations. Note that the information processing system 1 may not include either or both of the display device 1006 and the input device 1007. The GPU 1009 is a processor that executes various processes related mainly to image processing (especially 3D graphics processing) faster than the CPU 1004.

[0054] (Effects of the embodiment) According to the technique of the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an information processing system 1 that reduces the time required to read environmental data used in a simulation of radio wave propagation.

[0055] (Summary of the embodiment) This specification discloses at least the following information processing system, propagation environment data processing method, and program. (Section 1) A division unit that divides a target area into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size; an extraction unit that extracts height information of each of the plurality of meshes using environmental data that represents the position and shape of an object in the target area; a creation unit that creates mesh data representing the height information of each of the plurality of meshes; An information processing system having the above configuration. (Section 2) 2. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the mesh data has a data format that can be read by a GPU. (Section 3) 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit divides the target area into a plurality of regional meshes based on latitude and longitude. (Section 4) 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit divides the target area into a plurality of meshes of the predetermined size based on relative coordinates of three-dimensional data included in the environmental data. (Section 5) 5. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the environmental data includes three-dimensional CAD data representing the positions and shapes of structures in the target area. (Section 6) 6. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the environmental data includes three-dimensional point cloud information representing the positions and shapes of structures in the target area. (Section 7) 7. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the environmental data includes a building database representing the exterior or interior position and shape of buildings in the target area. (Section 8) 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, further comprising a simulation unit that reads the mesh data using a GPU and performs a radio wave propagation simulation. (Section 9) The information processing system Dividing the target area into a number of meshes of a given size; extracting height information for each of the plurality of meshes using environmental data representing the positions and shapes of objects in the target area; A process of creating mesh data representing the height information of each of the plurality of meshes; A method for processing propagation environment data, comprising: (Section 10) Information processing system, Dividing the target area into a number of meshes of a given size; extracting height information for each of the plurality of meshes using environmental data representing the positions and shapes of objects in the target area; A process of creating mesh data representing the height information of each of the plurality of meshes; A program to execute.

[0056] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1. Information Processing Systems 11 Division 12 Extraction part 13 Creation Department 21 Mesh data 22 Environmental Data 30 Simulation Section 101 CAD data 102 Building Data 103 Point Cloud Data 1000 Drive Device 1001 Recording media 1002 Auxiliary storage device 1003 Memory device 1004 CPU 1005 Interface device 1006 Display device 1007 Input Device 1008 Output device 1009 GPU

Claims

1. A division unit that divides a target area within a building into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size; an extraction unit that extracts height information for each of the plurality of meshes using environmental data that represents the positions and shapes of objects in the target area and the interior of the building; a generating unit that generates first mesh data representing the height information of each of the plurality of meshes, and second mesh data representing a ceiling height of each of the plurality of meshes and having the same format as the first mesh data; a simulation unit that performs a radio wave propagation simulation within the building by using the first mesh data and the second mesh data; An information processing system having the above configuration.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the mesh data has a data format readable by a GPU.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the dividing unit divides the target area into a plurality of regional meshes based on latitude and longitude.

4. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the dividing unit divides the target area into a plurality of meshes of the predetermined size based on relative coordinates of three-dimensional data included in the environmental data.

5. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the environmental data includes three-dimensional CAD data representing the positions and shapes of structures in the target area.

6. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the environmental data includes three-dimensional point cloud information representing positions and shapes of structures in the target area.

7. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the environmental data includes a building database representing the positions and shapes of buildings in the target area.

8. The mesh data has a format of image data, The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the simulation unit reads the mesh data with a GPU and performs the radio wave propagation simulation.

9. The information processing system A process of dividing a target area within a building into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size; extracting height information for each of the plurality of meshes using environmental data representing the positions and shapes of objects in the target area and the interior of the building; creating first mesh data representing the height information of each of the plurality of meshes, and second mesh data representing a ceiling height of each of the plurality of meshes, the second mesh data having the same format as the first mesh data; A process of performing a radio wave propagation simulation within the building using the first mesh data and the second mesh data; A method for processing propagation environment data, comprising:

10. Information processing system, A process of dividing a target area within a building into a plurality of meshes of a predetermined size; extracting height information for each of the plurality of meshes using environmental data representing the positions and shapes of objects in the target area and the interior of the building; creating first mesh data representing the height information of each of the plurality of meshes, and second mesh data representing a ceiling height of each of the plurality of meshes, the second mesh data having the same format as the first mesh data; A process of performing a radio wave propagation simulation within the building using the first mesh data and the second mesh data; A program to execute.

Images