User mobility support system

Abstract

To provide a user movement support system with which a user can smoothly move to a destination at a facility such as a station.SOLUTION: A user movement support system includes: a plurality of mobile robots deployed at a predetermined facility and having self-localization grasping means, wireless communication means, control means, and running means; and a central server that accepts usage requests of the mobile robots from users. The central server has a function for selecting a position where one of the mobile robots will wait at a specified date and time based on usage start point information entered by a user and user's personal information, and a function for transmitting information on the usage request and information on the selected position to the mobile robot deployed at the facility. The mobile robot may be configured to include a wheelchair-mounting section on which a wheelchair can be placed so as to move with a user on the wheelchair, and / or a handle that can be held by the user's hand so as to be movable to guide the user who is not on the robot.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobility support system for users, for example, a mobility support system for users such as wheelchair users and people with weak eyesight who travel by rail. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, when wheelchair users or other passengers who require assistance getting on and off trains travel by rail, when they arrive at the ticket gate at the boarding station, station staff at the boarding station ask the passenger for the name of their destination station and contact station staff at the disembarking station. The station staff at the disembarking station then waits on the platform until the train the passenger has boarded arrives and guides the passenger to the desired ticket gate. Until now, the main means of communication between the boarding station and the disembarking station were telephone and memos. Moreover, in recent years, boarding and alighting communication apps have been developed and are being used that allow station staff to input the details of assistance required by a passenger on a smartphone or tablet when the passenger arrives at the ticket gate of the boarding station, and the input information is automatically sent to the relevant stations and crew members.Such apps make it possible to reduce waiting times for passengers and provide reliable guidance.

[0003] Also, an invention relating to a mobility support system that supports users who require assistance to move within a station is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. The mobility support system in Patent Document 1 includes a guide robot that travels with the user in a wheelchair to a destination designated in advance by an input operation while referring to route information and position information, and a station server that is installed in the station and that calculates a route from the departure point to the destination based on information on the departure point and destination of the guide robot acquired by communicating with the guide robot and prestored map information, and transmits the route information based on the calculation to the guide robot. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-32292 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] With conventional boarding and alighting communication apps, after a user arrives at the ticket gate at the boarding station, an attendant asks the user for the name of the disembarking station and enters the information into the user's smartphone or tablet. This means that the user has to wait while the information is being entered, so there is room for improvement. On the other hand, the invention described in Patent Document 1 requires that a user who arrives at the ticket gate of the boarding station ask a station staff member to wait for the arrival of a guide robot, and then the user must operate an operation unit on the guide robot to input the disembarking station, etc. Furthermore, at this time, users who are unfamiliar with guide robots or users with disabilities in their hands take time to input information. This poses the problem of longer travel times to reach the destination.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a mobility support system for users that enables them to move smoothly to their destinations in facilities such as stations. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobility support system for users that enables smooth movement from the ticket gate of a departure station to a destination station with minimal waiting time. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a travel support system that enables a user to input information into a familiar portable terminal before leaving for a station, eliminating the need to operate an unfamiliar robot operation unit to input information about a destination after arriving at the boarding station. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the user's mobility support system of the present invention comprises: A user mobility support system comprising: a plurality of mobile robots, each of which is installed in a predetermined facility and has a self-location determination means, a wireless communication means, a control means, and a driving means; and a central server that receives a request from a user to use the mobile robot, The central server includes: A function of selecting a position where any one of the mobile robots will wait at a specified date and time based on information on the usage start point input by the user and personal information of the user; and a function of transmitting the information on the utilization request and the information on the selected location to the mobile robot deployed in the facility.

[0008] According to the mobility support system configured as above, a user can smoothly move from a facility such as a station to a destination. Here, the mobile robot may be configured to have a wheelchair placement section on which a wheelchair can be placed, and to be able to move with the user in the wheelchair. Also, the mobile robot may be configured to have a handle section that a walking user can hold by hand, and to be able to guide the user without carrying him / her. In this way, it is possible to guide not only wheelchair users, but also walking users such as weak-sighted people who do not use wheelchairs, to a target location.

[0009] Here, preferably, the facility is a station, a plurality of local servers provided at each station for transmitting operation commands to the mobile robot, the central server having a function of transmitting information regarding reservations to the local servers; The local server includes: A function of receiving information transmitted by the central server and storing it in a storage device; a function of transmitting information on a ticket gate as a position where the mobile robot will wait to the mobile robot as information on a movement destination before the date and time indicated by the received date and time information, and moving the mobile robot to the ticket gate; The system is provided with a function of transmitting the arrival time and car number of the train the user has boarded to a local server of the station where the user alights, as specified by the user.

[0010] According to the above-mentioned configuration, when a user wishes to travel by train, the user can make a reservation in advance to use a robot that moves within the station premises, and the mobile robot will be waiting at the ticket gate of the desired boarding station on the reserved date and time, and the waiting mobile robot will be informed of the user's disembarking station, so the user can be promptly guided to the platform. In addition, information on the arrival time and car number of the train that the passenger has boarded is transmitted from the boarding station to the disembarking station by the server, so that a robot can be dispatched to guide the passenger at the disembarking station before the train arrives, allowing the passenger to travel smoothly from the ticket gate at the departure station to the ticket gate at the destination station with little waiting time. The robot may also be given the functions of verifying that the user is the one who made the reservation when the user arrives at the ticket gate at the boarding station, and of executing the ticket gate entry process at that time, as well as the function of executing the exit process (including electronic payment of the fare) when the user arrives at the ticket gate at the disembarking station.

[0011] Furthermore, users who wish to use a mobile robot within a station can make a reservation by inputting information such as the station and date and time using their own mobile terminal (smartphone), so when the user who made the reservation arrives at the ticket gate of the boarding station, there is no need to input information such as the disembarking station into the mobile robot. Therefore, users can move quickly to their destination station without having to operate the unfamiliar control unit of the robot.

[0012] Also, preferably, the central server A function for selecting a ticket gate to be used at a disembarking station based on information about a destination entered by a user who has made a reservation for use of a mobile robot at the time of the reservation request; a function of transmitting information on the ticket gate of the selected disembarking station together with information on the reservation date and time to the local server of the boarding station; When the local server receives information on the ticket gate of the selected disembarking station together with information on the reservation date and time from the central server, the local server transmits the information on the ticket gate when transmitting the arrival time and car number of the train boarded by the user to the local server of the disembarking station.

[0013] According to the above configuration, the central server selects the ticket gate to be used at the disembarking station based on the information about the destination entered by the user who made a reservation for the mobile robot when making a reservation request, and when the user boards the train at the reserved boarding station on the day of the reservation, information about the ticket gate to be used at the disembarking station is transmitted from the boarding station to the disembarking station together with the arrival time and car number of the train that the user boarded. This allows the user to move more smoothly from the ticket gate at the departure station to the ticket gate at the destination station.

[0014] Further, preferably, the central server A function of accepting reservations for use of the mobile robot from a terminal owned by a user; A function of registering personal information including information regarding the address of a user who uses the mobile robot reservation service; When a request for reservation for use of the mobile robot is received from a terminal possessed by a user, the boarding station and the ticket gate to be used are determined based on the registered address of the user. According to this configuration, if a user who reserves the use of the robot registers in advance, there is no need to input information about the user's address or the ticket gate he or she wishes to use when making the reservation, so the reservation can be made easily, and on the day of the reservation, the robot can be made to wait at the nearest ticket gate that is convenient for the user.

[0015] Also, preferably, the central server Equipped with a function of communicating data with a train operation information server having a function of collecting information on the operation of trains running within the jurisdiction, When a user boards a train, the local server at the boarding station obtains the train's arrival time at the disembarking station from the central server, and transmits the arrival time together with information on the boarded car number to the local server at the disembarking station. With this configuration, there is no need for each mobile robot to store train schedule information, and even if a train is delayed on the reserved day, the exact arrival time can be communicated to the mobile robot via the local server at the disembarking station.

[0016] Also, preferably, the local server a function of collecting position information grasped by the self-position grasping means of the mobile robot; A storage device storing 3D map data of the station premises where the user is located, The 3D map data read from the storage device is compared with the position information collected from the mobile robot, and information and commands regarding the traveling direction are transmitted to the mobile robot via high-speed wireless communication (such as local 5G); The mobile robot moves based on information and commands received from the local server.

[0017] According to the above configuration, 3D map data of the station premises is stored in the memory device of the local server installed at each station, and the mobile robot moves according to instructions from the local server, so there is no need for each mobile robot to carry the 3D map data. For example, if the 3D map needs to be revised due to renovation work within the station premises, the 3D map data stored in the local server can be changed, making it easy to change the 3D map and reducing the costs associated with the changes. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the mobility support system of the present invention, it is possible to smoothly move to a destination in a facility such as a station. In addition, when the present invention is applied to a station, a user can smoothly move from the ticket gate of the departure station to the ticket gate of the destination station with little waiting time. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a mobility support system in which a user does not need to operate an unfamiliar robot operation unit to input information about a destination after arriving at a boarding station by inputting information into a familiar mobile terminal before leaving for the station. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user's mobility support system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2]1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a mobile robot constituting a mobility support system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for reserving a mobile robot in the mobility assistance system of the embodiment. [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart showing a reservation execution process procedure of an edge server at a boarding station in the mobility support system of the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart showing a reservation execution process procedure of an edge server at a disembarking station in the mobility support system of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of a user's mobility support system (hereinafter, abbreviated as mobility support system) according to the present invention will be described in which the system is mainly applied to support the mobility of a wheelchair user. Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the mobility support system according to the embodiment. The mobility assistance system of this embodiment is applied to a system that assists the movement of a wheelchair-bound user within a station by an assistant mobile robot 10 that carries the wheelchair and moves the user around. As shown in Figure 1, the system is composed of edge servers 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, etc. installed in each station A, B, C, D, etc., and a central server 30 connected to the edge servers 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, etc. (hereinafter, when the individual servers do not need to be distinguished, they will be simply referred to as "20") via a transmission means such as a dedicated line or a communication network.

[0021] The central server 30 is installed in a data center or a base station, etc. However, it is not necessary for a company (railroad operator) providing a mobility support system to own the central server 30 itself, and for example, information processing devices such as a server (cloud server), PC (personal computer), WS (workstation), etc. owned by a company providing a cloud service may be used. In addition, the central server 30 has the function of communicating via a communication network 21 with mobile terminals 22, such as smartphones owned by general users, and a train operation information server 23, which has the function of collecting information on train operations, such as delay information on trains running within its jurisdiction.

[0022] The mobile robot 10 is deployed at each station, and the edge server 20 is equipped with a wireless communication means for communicating with the mobile robot 10 via local 5G, WiFi, or the like, and a storage device. The number of mobile robots deployed at each station is not limited to one, and may be two or more. Furthermore, although not particularly limited, the mobile robot 10 is equipped with crawlers for ascending and descending stairs, a mechanism for maintaining the platform (floor) on which the wheelchair is placed horizontally when ascending and descending stairs, a stopper for fixing the wheelchair, etc. If the mobile robot 10 is not equipped with crawlers, it can be adapted to stations where the ticket gate and the platform are on different floors by setting the route to move using an elevator.

[0023] The edge server 20 stores the number and identification codes of the mobile robots 10 deployed at its own station, and 3D map data (three-dimensional point cloud data) of its own station premises, and has the function of grasping the position and movement of each mobile robot 10 based on the data received from each mobile robot, and the function of sending commands to each mobile robot to instruct it on its movements. Specifically, the mobile robot 10 is equipped with a distance measuring device (distance sensor) using a laser scanner such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and 3D measurement data from the distance measuring device (LiDAR) of each mobile robot is transmitted to an edge server 20 at the local station. The edge server 20 compares the LiDAR measurement data with 3D map data to determine the position of the mobile robot and instructs the direction of movement, etc. based on pre-set route information.

[0024] In addition, the edge server 20 has the function of receiving image data from multiple surveillance cameras 24 installed at its own station via a transmission cable, and grasping the flow status of people and goods within its own station premises based on the received image data. Furthermore, the edge server 20 has the function of recognizing the mobile robot 10 based on image data from the surveillance camera 24, and grasping the status of the surrounding area and the wheelchair user riding on it. When instructing the direction of movement, etc. to the mobile robot at its own station, it is configured to determine and instruct the direction of movement according to the surrounding conditions and the flow of users within the station premises.

[0025] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the mobile robot 10. As shown in Figure 2, the mobile robot 10 is equipped with a wireless communication device 11 that communicates wirelessly with the edge server 20 via WiFi or the like, a signal receiver 12 that receives location information signals from multiple beacons (or WiFi routers) 25 installed in the station or GPS satellites, distance measuring devices (LiDAR) 13A, 13B using laser scanners, running motors 14A, 14B that rotate and drive the left and right running wheels, respectively, a control system controller 15 that controls the distance measuring devices 13A, 13B and processes data, a drive system controller 16 that controls the running motors 14A, 14B, and a battery 17 that supplies power to the above equipment, and is configured to move while recognizing its own position and the surrounding environment in real time.

[0026] In addition to forward and backward distance measuring devices, four or more distance measuring devices may be provided to scan left and right directions and diagonal directions. Although not shown, other types of sensors such as an imaging means (camera) for photographing the surroundings, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc. may also be installed. In addition, when the mobile robot 10 is equipped with crawlers, a motor for driving the crawlers or a switching mechanism capable of selectively transmitting the rotational force of the traveling motors 14A, 14B to the running wheels or the crawlers is provided separately from the traveling motors 14A, 14B.

[0027] The running wheels are configured so that the left and right wheels can move forward or backward by driving them in the same direction, and can change direction by driving the left and right wheels in opposite directions. Each wheel is provided with a rotary encoder, and the drive system controller 16 measures the rotation direction and number of rotations of the wheel based on the signal from the rotary encoder, and calculates the forward / backward movement amount and rotation angle from known data such as the wheel diameter and the distance between the wheels, and can grasp its own position and direction.

[0028] Next, an example of a procedure for using the above-mentioned mobility support system that supports the mobility of a wheelchair user using the mobility robot 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In order to use this mobility support system, it is assumed that an application (mobile robot reservation application) for using the system is installed on the user's mobile terminal (smartphone). This mobile robot reservation application may be an additional function added to an existing application provided by a railway operator. In addition, the mobile robot reservation application allows users to register as members, and when users register as members, personal information such as their email address and address is stored in the database of the central server 30.

[0029] When using this mobility support system, a user launches a mobile robot reservation application on a mobile terminal, specifies the boarding station and date and time, and requests the central server 30 to reserve the use of the robot (step S1). At this time, the reservation screen has a field for inputting information on the destination (the disembarking station or surrounding facilities or their addresses), and the destination is also transmitted to the central server 30 at the same time. The reservation request may also be made by voice.

[0030] When a request is made to reserve the use of a robot, the central server 30 checks the reservation status by referring to a reservation table in the database, etc., and determines whether the reservation can be accepted under the specified conditions (step S2). If all of the robots at the specified station and date and time are reserved, an alternative is proposed (step S3). On the other hand, if there is no reservation at the specified station and date and time, or if all of the robots at the specified station are not reserved and some are available for use, the central server proceeds to step S4.

[0031] In step S4, the central server 30 judges whether the user who has requested the robot reservation is a registered member. If it is judged that the user is not a registered member (No), the central server 30 proceeds to step S5, displays a screen for inputting the ticket gate to be used, waits for input, and proceeds to step S7 when input is received. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that the user is registered (Yes), the central server 30 searches the database for the user's address (step S6). Then, based on the searched address, the central server 30 selects the nearest ticket gate (e.g., the west gate or the north gate) or sets the ticket gate entered in step S5, and stores in the database the fact that the reservation has been accepted, as well as information on the station where the robot is waiting, the ticket gate, and the destination, and transmits this information to the user's mobile terminal (step S7).

[0032] Next, the central server 30 judges whether or not there is a confirmation response from the user's mobile terminal (step S8), and if there is a confirmation response, it transmits the reservation date and time, information on the waiting ticket gate, and information on the destination (the disembarking station or the facility to be used and its address) to the edge server 20 of the boarding station, and the edge server 20 stores the received information in a reservation table in its own storage device (step S9), and ends the reservation process. If there is no confirmation response in step S8, it transmits a message notifying that the reservation was not made (step S10), and ends the reservation process.

[0033] 4 and 5 show an example of a processing procedure of the edge server 20 when a reservation for use of the mobile robot 10 is made. Of these, Fig. 4 shows the processing of the edge server at the boarding station, and Fig. 5 shows the processing of the edge server at the disembarking station.

[0034] 4, the edge server of the boarding station first reads the reservation table in the storage device (step S11), and determines whether the reservation execution start time has arrived, which is a predetermined time earlier (e.g., 5 minutes earlier) than the reservation time received and stored from the central server 30 (step S12). If it determines that the reservation execution start time has arrived, it selects a mobile robot to be used, and sends a command to the robot to head to the ticket gate determined at the time of reservation, together with information about the user (step S13). The robot then receives the information and waits at the specified ticket gate. When the user who made the reservation performs a specified action, such as holding the mobile terminal 22 or a transportation IC card over a specified part of the robot, the robot reads the user's personal information and QR code (registered trademark) from the mobile terminal 22 and performs a process to confirm whether or not the user is the one who made the reservation.

[0035] Once it is confirmed that the user is the one who made the reservation, the robot starts moving with the wheelchair and transmits the confirmation to the edge server of the boarding station. Note that when the robot has confirmed the user, it may also execute the ticket gate entry process (including electronic payment of the fare) using the mobile terminal 22 or a transportation IC card, etc. Meanwhile, the edge server determines whether it has received information from the selected robot indicating that it has confirmed the user and started moving (step S14), and if it determines that the user has been confirmed (Yes), it determines the train to board and the platform to be used based on the name of the disembarking station specified at the time of reservation, and sends the information about the platform to be used as destination information to the robot selected in step S13 (step S15).

[0036] After that, the edge server at the boarding station grasps the position of the robot from the position signal information and measurement data received from the robot that issued the command, and starts to control the operation instructions such as the running direction (step S16).In addition, the edge server starts to monitor the robot that issued the command based on the image data from the video camera in the station (step S17). Then, the robot arrives at the destination platform with the user on board, and determines whether the user has boarded the train (step S18). If it is determined based on images from the video camera that a problem has occurred during the movement, a notification of the problem may be sent to a mobile terminal or the like of a station attendant at the station.

[0037] Next, the edge server of the boarding station obtains train operation information from the central server 30 (step S19), determines the estimated arrival time of the train the user boarded at the disembarking station, and transmits information such as the estimated arrival time and the boarded car number to the edge server of the user's planned disembarking station (step S20). Also, in step S20, if the edge server of the boarding station knows information or address of the facility or building the user is heading for from the information at the time of reservation, it determines the ticket gate to be used at the disembarking station based on that information and transmits the ticket gate information as well.

[0038] On the other hand, when the edge server of the disembarking station receives the disembarking information of the user sent in step S20 by the edge server of the boarding station (step S21), it determines the platform where the train the user boarded will arrive (step S22) and selects a mobile robot to be used (step S23), as shown in Fig. 5. Then, it transmits the platform information, the boarded car information, and the ticket gate information to be used determined in step S22 to the selected robot (step S24).

[0039] Thereafter, the edge server at the disembarking station grasps the position of the robot from the position signal information and measurement data received from the robot that issued the command, and starts issuing operational instructions such as the direction of travel (step S25). The edge server also starts monitoring the robot that issued the command based on image data from a video camera within the station (step S26). Then, when it is confirmed that the robot has arrived at the designated ticket gate with the user on board, it ends the process (step S27). Note that when the robot arrives at the ticket gate, it may execute the ticket gate exit process (including electronic payment of the fare) using the user's mobile terminal 22 or a transportation IC card, etc. Furthermore, if it is determined that a problem has occurred during travel based on images from a video camera, the problem may be notified to a mobile device or the like of a station attendant at the relevant station.

[0040] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible. For example, the central server 30 may be configured to have a function of grasping the congestion situation and the usage situation of the mobile robot 10 at each station based on information from the edge servers 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, etc., and estimating and predicting the flow of people using AI (artificial intelligence), and determining the allocation and allocation of the mobile robots 10 to each station. In addition, information about events in the vicinity may be stored in a database provided in the central server 30, and when a user who has requested a reservation for a mobile robot specifies an event as a destination, information (address) of the venue of the event may be read from the database, and the ticket gate of the station to be used by the user may be selected.

[0041] In addition, in the above embodiment, the mobile robot 10 is provided with distance measuring devices (LiDAR) 13A, 13B to obtain information for determining what is around it (people moving, posters that change daily, etc.) and for deciding the direction it will move in, and moves by comparing the distance information measured by the distance measuring devices 13A, 13B with a 3D map of the station. However, in stations with a small number of users or facilities with a large space, the robot can determine its own position and move using only GPS or beacons, etc., so the distance measuring devices are not necessarily required and can be omitted.

[0042] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an edge server (local server) 20 is installed at each station, but it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a central server 30 controls the mobile robots 10 at each station, or a configuration in which a common edge server 20 controls the mobile robots 10 at multiple stations. In addition, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which a user makes a reservation for use of the mobile robot 10 in advance using his / her own mobile terminal 22. However, the mobile robot 10 may also be configured to have the function of giving commands directly to the mobile robot 10 at a ticket gate or the like, rather than making a reservation, and having the robot carry or guide a wheelchair user.

[0043] The mobile robot 10 may also be provided with a function for determining failures or abnormalities, and when it is determined that a failure or abnormality has occurred, the occurrence of the failure or abnormality may be notified to a mobile terminal of a station staff member, etc. The mobile robot 10 may also be provided with a switch button or operation panel that can be operated by a wheelchair user, or a microphone and voice recognition function, so that the wheelchair user can select or specify the ticket gate that he or she wishes to use. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the edge server 20 receives measurement data and the like from the mobile robot 10, determines the direction of movement, and transmits commands. However, the mobile robot 10 may determine its own direction of movement and move based on the three-dimensional measurement data, information received from a beacon, a WiFi router, or a GPS, and map and route information stored in its own storage device.

[0044] In the above embodiment, the mobile robot 10 is configured to be able to carry a wheelchair user and move around, but it is also possible to provide the robot with a grip bar (handle) that the user can grasp with their hand and apply it to a system that guides and assists the movement of a walking visually impaired person. If a handle is provided, the mobile robot 10 does not need to have a platform for placing a wheelchair. Even if the mobile robot 10 has a platform, if the wheelchair user is able to walk, the robot may be configured to guide the user around without having the user ride on the robot. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the present invention is described as being applied to a system that supports the movement of wheelchair users within a station, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be used as a system that supports the movement of wheelchair users within event venues, large stores such as shopping malls, and amusement facilities. When applied to event venues, large stores, and amusement facilities, the above embodiment can be applied by replacing the boarding station with the usage start point and the disembarking station with the usage end point. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 10 Mobile Robot 11 Wireless communication device (WiFi) 12 Signal receiver (WiFi router / beacon / GPS receiver) 13A, 13B Distance measuring device (LiDAR) 14A, 14B Travel drive device (travel means: travel motor) 15 Control system controller (control means) 16 Drive system controller (driving means) 20 Edge Server (Local Server) 21 Communication Networks 22 User mobile terminal 23 Train operation information server 24 Surveillance Cameras 30 Control server (cloud server)

Claims

1. A user mobility support system comprising: a plurality of mobile robots each equipped with a self-location determination means, a wireless communication means, a control means, and a driving means, the plurality of mobile robots being arranged in a station; a central server that receives requests from users to use the mobile robots; and a plurality of local servers that are arranged in each station and transmit operational commands to the mobile robots, The central server includes: A function of selecting a position where any one of the mobile robots will wait at a specified date and time based on information on the usage start point input by the user and personal information of the user; a function of transmitting information regarding the usage request including the date and time and information regarding the selected location to the local server provided in the station; The local server includes: A function of receiving information transmitted by the central server and storing it in a storage device; a function of transmitting the received date and time information and information on a waiting position selected by the central server to the mobile robot; A function to transmit the arrival time and car number of the train the user boarded to a local server at the station the user specified for disembarking; A user mobility support system comprising:

2. 2. The user mobility support system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile robot is provided with a wheelchair placement section capable of placing a wheelchair thereon, and is configured to be capable of carrying and moving the user in a wheelchair.

3. The user mobility support system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the mobile robot is equipped with a handle portion that can be grasped by a walking user with the hand, and is configured to be able to move by guiding the user without carrying him / her.

4. The central server includes: A function for selecting a ticket gate to be used at a disembarking station based on information about a destination entered by a user who has made a reservation for use of a mobile robot at the time of the reservation request; a function of transmitting information on the ticket gate of the selected disembarking station together with information on the reservation date and time to the local server of the boarding station; A user mobility support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when the local server receives information about the ticket gate of the selected disembarking station along with information about the reservation date and time from the central server, it transmits the information about the ticket gate when transmitting the arrival time and car number of the train boarded by the user to the local server at the disembarking station.

5. The central server includes: A function of accepting reservations for use of the mobile robot from a terminal owned by a user; A function of registering personal information including information regarding the address of a user who uses the mobile robot reservation service; A user mobility support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that when a request for reservation to use the mobile robot is received from a terminal held by the user, the boarding station and the ticket gate to be used are determined based on the user's registered address.

6. The central server includes: Equipped with a function of communicating data with a train operation information server having a function of collecting information on the operation of trains running within the jurisdiction, A user mobility support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that when a user boards a train, the local server at the boarding station obtains the arrival time of the train at the disembarking station from the central server, and transmits the arrival time together with information on the car number of the user to the local server at the disembarking station.

7. The local server includes: a function of collecting position information grasped by the self-position grasping means of the mobile robot; A storage device storing 3D map data of the station premises where the user is located, comparing the 3D map data read from the storage device with the position information collected from the mobile robot, and transmitting information and commands regarding the direction of travel to the mobile robot via high-speed wireless communication; 7. The user movement support system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile robot moves based on information and commands received from the local server.

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