Search Support System and Search Support Method

Abstract

To secure a target person efficiently.SOLUTION: A time t1 indicates that a fixed receiver 1B detects a target person's wireless tag, and another receiver does not detected the tag (S1). A time t2 indicates that a mobile receiver 1A detects the target person's wireless tag, but the other receiver does not detects the tag. Due to change in the color of the boundary of a circle of the fixed receiver 1B to color 4, it is indicated that the target person's wireless tag is detected within a certain period of time in the past until the time t2 (S2). A time t3 indicates that neither receiver detects the target person's wireless tag, and the target person's wireless tag is detected within a certain period of time in the past until the time t3 due to display of the boundary of the circle in the color 4 at two locations along the fixed receiver 1B and a road A (S3).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a search support system and a search support method capable of efficiently securing a search target such as a lost child, an elderly person, an animal, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as "target person").

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, techniques for estimating the position of a target person such as a lost child or an animal have been known. For example, in Patent Document 1, a position estimation device acquires the position of its own device (first position information), specifies the distance between its own device and a transmitter based on a signal transmitted from a transmitter of a target person (first distance information), specifies the position of another position estimation device (second position information) and the distance between the other position estimation device and the transmitter (second distance information), and estimates the position of the target based on the first position information, the first distance information, the second position information, and the second distance information, and discloses a position estimation device that outputs the estimated position.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, since the device of Patent Document 1 estimates the position of the target person from the positional relationship between its own device and other position estimation devices, there is a limit to its estimation accuracy. This is because the radio wave transmitted from the transmitter may be diffracted by obstacles. As a result, even if the searcher goes to the estimated position, the target person may not be present at this estimated position. In such a case, the searcher has to search the entire conceivable area without limit, and it may take a long time to secure the target person. In some cases, the target person may be injured during the search.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a search support system and a search support method capable of efficiently securing a target person.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the present invention is a search support system including a terminal device of a search requester who requests a search for a target person, a search information providing device that provides information related to the target person to the terminal device, a wireless tag possessed by the target person, and a receiver that cooperates in the search for the target person, wherein the receiver , front if it detects the tag information of the wireless tag, notifies the search information providing device of detection information including the detected tag information, the detection time of the tag information, the position information of its own device, the distance and angle from the position of its own device to the wireless tag Further, the search information providing apparatus includes storage means for storing display range receiver management data including the position information of the receiver generated based on the detection information notified from the receiver, the wireless tag signal reception possible radius, and the ID of the wireless tag when the receiver detects the wireless tag; first calculation means for calculating the coordinate range of the area where the subject exists, the coordinate where the receiver exists at the predetermined time, and the coordinate range of the area where the subject exists and the angle of the moving direction from the coordinates where the receiver existed in the past for a predetermined time interval back from the predetermined time based on the wireless tag signal reception possible radius of the receiver at the predetermined time; storage means for storing in the storage means display data storing the coordinate range of the area where the subject existed within a certain period of time in the past up to the predetermined time and the angle of the moving direction obtained as an output of the first calculation means; and notification means for notifying the terminal device of the content of the display data. The terminal device includes display means for displaying, on a map in the form of an arrow having a width based on the wireless tag signal reception possible radius of the receiver, the area where the subject existed within a certain period of time in the past up to the predetermined time and the angle of the moving direction based on the content of the display data. characterized by this.

[0011] Further, the present invention In the above invention, the search information providing apparatus stores in the storage means an existence tendency density function map in which a value preset as a probability value representing the height of the existence tendency of pedestrians in an area is stored for each position coordinate; accumulation means for accumulating in the storage means time series information of the position coordinates, moving speed, and moving direction of the wireless tag; generation means for generating an expected position probability density function map by performing statistical processing on the time series information accumulated in the storage means; and second calculation means for calculating a probability density function from the existence tendency density function map and the expected position probability density function map. The display means is characterized in that information on an area where the subject is likely to exist after the predetermined time is displayed on the map in a color-coded form based on the value of each area obtained as an output of the second calculation means. Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the statistical processing obtains an average value and a variance value and reflects them in the expected position probability density function map. Further, in the present invention, in the above invention, the statistical process is characterized in that it performs an operation by giving a high weight to data closest to the predicted time. Further, in the present invention, in the above invention, in the statistical process, the predicted moving speed is calculated as an average value of the entire section weighted by a short-term scalar value, and the predicted moving direction is calculated as an average value of the moving direction angles weighted by values for a short time or a long time. Further, in the present invention, in the above invention, in the statistical process, the average value of the predicted moving direction is calculated as an average value of a long-term vector, and the variance value is calculated as a variance value of a short-term vector.

[0015] Further, the present invention is a search support method in a search support system including a terminal device of a search requester who requests a search for a target person, a search information providing device that provides information related to the target person to the terminal device, a wireless tag possessed by the target person, and a receiver that cooperates in the search for the target person, wherein if the receiver detects the tag information of the wireless tag, it notifies the search information providing device of detection information including the detected tag information, the detection time of the tag information, the position information of its own device, the distance and angle from the position of its own device to the wireless tag A notification step; a storage step in which the search information providing device stores, in a storage unit, display range receiver management data including the position information of the receiver, the wireless tag signal reception possible radius, and the ID of the wireless tag when the receiver detects the wireless tag, which are generated based on the detection information notified from the receiver; a first calculation step in which the search information providing device calculates the range of coordinates of the area where the subject exists, the coordinates where the receiver exists at the predetermined time, and the range of coordinates of the area where the subject exists and the angle of the moving direction from the coordinates where the receiver existed in the past for a predetermined time interval back from the predetermined time, based on the wireless tag signal reception possible radius of the receiver at the predetermined time; a first storage step in which the search information providing device stores, in the storage unit, display data storing the range of coordinates of the area where the subject existed within a certain period in the past up to the predetermined time and the angle of the moving direction, which are obtained as an output of the first calculation step; a second notification step in which the search information providing device notifies the terminal device of the content of the display data; and a display step in which the terminal device displays, on a map in the form of an arrow having a width based on the wireless tag signal reception possible radius of the receiver, the area where the subject existed within a certain period in the past up to the predetermined time and the angle of the moving direction, based on the content of the display data. characterized by including this.

Effects of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, a target person can be efficiently secured.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, the search support system and the search support method according to the first embodiment will be described in detail. In the first embodiment, a case where a searcher having a mobile receiver searches for a target person such as a lost child or an elderly person will be shown. Further, the target person is assumed to carry a wireless tag that emits radio waves of short-range wireless communication such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy; "Bluetooth" is a registered trademark).

[0019] <Overview of the Search Support System According to Embodiment 1> First, the overview of the search support system according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the overview of the search support system according to the first embodiment. Here, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the information aggregation server (HTTP server) generates image data in bitmap format and responds to an HTTP request from the web browser or application of the searcher's mobile terminal, and the information aggregation server transmits the image data in bitmap format to the searcher's mobile terminal and displays the image data on the operation display unit of the searcher's mobile terminal.

[0020] The search support system includes a receiver carried by a collaborator (mobile object) who cooperates in searching for a target person or a receiver provided on the bicycle or automobile of the collaborator (hereinafter referred to as "mobile receiver"), and a fixed receiver fixedly installed at a predetermined position. In this embodiment, the mobile receiver and the fixed receiver are collectively referred to as "receivers".

[0021] The receiver acquires the position coordinates of its own device measured by GPS (Global Positioning System) every preset time (for example, 10 seconds), and notifies the information aggregation server described later of the acquired position coordinates together with the current time as receiver position data. Further, if it receives the radio wave transmitted from the wireless tag held by the target person, it acquires the position coordinates of its own device measured by GPS, and notifies the information aggregation server of the acquired position coordinates and the identification information of the wireless tag (hereinafter referred to as "wireless tag ID") included in the radio wave received from the wireless tag as detection information (detection data) together with the time when the wireless tag ID was received.

[0022] The information aggregation server manages the position coordinates and time information of the receiver included in the receiver position data received from the receiver in association with each other. Further, the information aggregation server manages the wireless tag ID, the position coordinates of the receiver, and the time information included in the detection data received from the receiver in association with each other. If it receives a search request for the target person from the mobile terminal of the searcher, it generates search information indicating the area where the target person existed within a certain period (T2) in the past up to time t2 based on the wireless tag ID, the position coordinates of the receiver, and the time information, and transmits the generated search information to the mobile terminal. That is, this information aggregation server facilitates narrowing down the search range by the searcher by displaying an image of the area where the target person existed within a certain period (T2) in the past up to time t2. In the present Embodiment 1, the period from the time retrogressed by a certain time from a certain time t2 to time t2 is referred to as "a certain period in the past up to time t2".

[0023] For example, as an example of such search information, the image shown in FIG. 1 can be transmitted to a mobile terminal. This image includes a detectable circular area corresponding to the capabilities of the receiver (for example, a receivable radius of several meters to several tens of meters) centered on the position coordinates of the receiver. Here, when the receiver detects a wireless tag, the area inside the circle is set to color 1 (for example, blue), and when no wireless tag is detected, it is set to color 2 (for example, black). Also, for each location where the mobile receiver has moved within a certain past time (T1) up to time t1, the area where a wireless tag can be detected is set to color 3 (for example, gray). Further, when the receiver has detected a wireless tag within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2, a case is shown where the circular boundary line of the detectable area corresponding to the capabilities of the receiver centered on the position coordinates of the detected location is set to color 4 (for example, dark blue).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, at time t1, the fixed receiver 1B has detected the wireless tag of the target person, while other receivers have not detected the wireless tag (S1).

[0025] At time t2, the mobile receiver 1A has detected the wireless tag of the target person, while other receivers have not detected the wireless tag. Therefore, the color of the detectable area of the fixed receiver 1B changes from color 1 at time t1 to color 2 at time t2. Also, since the fixed receiver 1B has detected the wireless tag of the target person within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2, the circular boundary line of the detectable area of the fixed receiver 1B at time t2 changes to color 4 (S2).

[0026] At time t3, none of the receivers has detected the wireless tag of the target person. Therefore, the color of the detectable area of the mobile receiver 1A changes from color 1 at time t2 to color 2. Also, at the fixed receiver 1B and at two locations along the road, since a wireless tag has been detected within a certain past time (T3) up to time t3, the color of the boundary line of the detectable circular area of the receiver at each time point is displayed as color 4 (S3).

[0027] In this way, the search support system according to Embodiment 1 can narrow down the search range by the searcher by providing the area where the wireless tag of the target person existed within a certain period in the past.

[0028] <System Configuration> Next, the system configuration of the search support system according to Embodiment 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the search support system according to Embodiment 1. The search support system shown in FIG. 2 is a system including a wireless tag 10, a fixed receiver 20, a mobile receiver 30, an information aggregation server 40, and a mobile terminal 50. The wireless tag 10 can communicate with the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30 by BLE communication, and the fixed receiver 20, the mobile receiver 30, and the mobile terminal 50 can communicate with the information aggregation server 40 via the Internet. Note that other networks other than the Internet can also be used.

[0029] The wireless tag 10 is a device held by the target person and is a device that transmits its own wireless tag ID on BLE radio waves. Here, it is assumed that the wireless tag ID is transmitted every preset time (for example, 10 seconds).

[0030] The fixed receiver 20 is installed in a building along the road or the like and is a device that receives BLE radio waves from the wireless tag 10. This fixed receiver 20 stores the position coordinates of its own device measured by GPS and its own receiver ID, and every preset time (for example, 10 seconds), it transmits its own receiver ID, position coordinates, and current time to the information aggregation server 40 as receiver position data. Further, if it receives BLE radio waves, it transmits the wireless tag ID carried on the BLE radio waves, the receiver ID, the position coordinates of its own device, and the reception time of the wireless tag ID to the information aggregation server 40 as detection data. Note that in Embodiment 1, when a plurality of fixed receivers 20 are shown, they may be denoted as fixed receivers 1B, 2B, 3B.

[0031] The mobile receiver 30 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone held by a collaborator who cooperates in searching for a target person, and has a function of acquiring the position coordinates of its own device by GPS and a function of receiving BLE radio waves. Also, the receiver ID of its own device is stored in the storage unit. Further, a dedicated application is installed in this mobile receiver 30 in advance. Such a dedicated application transmits the receiver ID of its own device, the position coordinates of its own device acquired by GPS, and the current time to the information aggregation server 40 as receiver position data every preset time (for example, 10 seconds). Also, if BLE radio waves are received, the wireless tag ID carried on the BLE radio waves, the receiver ID, the position coordinates of its own device acquired by GPS, and the reception time of the wireless tag ID are transmitted to the information aggregation server 40 as detection data. Note that in the first embodiment, when indicating a plurality of mobile receivers 30, they may be denoted as mobile receivers 1A, 2A, and 3A.

[0032] The information aggregation server 40 is a server device that manages the position of the searcher and the like, and in response to a "search request for a target person" from the mobile terminal 50 of the searcher, transmits image data to the mobile terminal 50. Specifically, if it receives the receiver ID, position coordinates, and time information as receiver position data from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30, it stores these pieces of information in the storage unit. Also, if it receives the wireless tag ID, receiver ID, position coordinates, and the reception time of the wireless tag ID as detection data from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30, it stores these pieces of information in the storage unit. Further, if it receives a search request from the mobile terminal 50, it generates an image showing the search information of the target person and transmits it to the mobile terminal 50. The search information includes the current detection status, the moving area within a certain past time (T1) up to the time t1 of the mobile receiver 30, and the status detected by the fixed receiver 20 within a certain past time (T2) up to the time t2.

[0033] The mobile terminal 50 is a terminal device such as a smartphone held by a searcher (for example, a family member of the target person) who searches for the target person, and has a function of communicating with the information integration server 40 and a function of displaying an image transmitted from the information integration server 40. Note that a search application can be installed in advance in this mobile terminal 50, but it is also possible to access the information integration server 40 (HTTP server) etc. via a web browser to make a search request and display an image transmitted from the information integration server 40.

[0034] <Configuration of the information integration server 40 according to Embodiment 1> Next, the configuration of the information integration server 40 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information integration server 40 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the information integration server 40 is connected to a display unit 41 and an input unit 42, and has a communication unit 43, a storage unit 44, and a control unit 45.

[0035] The display unit 41 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel or a display device. The input unit 42 is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. The communication unit 43 is an interface unit for communicating with the fixed receiver 20, the mobile receiver 30, and the mobile terminal 50 via the Internet.

[0036] The storage unit 44 is a storage device such as a hard disk device or a non-volatile memory, and stores wireless tag management data 44a, receiver management data 44b, mobile receiver display setting data 44c, detection information display setting data 44d, in-range receiver management data 44e, image data 44f, map data 44g, and display data 44h.

[0037] The wireless tag management data 44a is data associating a target person ID, a wireless tag ID, a searcher ID, etc. related to the target person. The receiver management data 44b is data associating the position coordinates of the receiver at each time, the wireless tag ID received by the receiver, etc.

[0038] The mobile receiver display setting data 44c is data indicating the display setting time of the mobile receiver 30. It is the display setting time for displaying on a map the detection area covered by the mobile receiver 30 over a certain period in the past. The detection information display setting data 44d is data indicating the display setting time of the detection information. The in-range receiver management data 44e is data within the receiver management data 44b in the area searched for by the mobile terminal 50.

[0039] The display data 44h is data consisting of the coordinates of the center point of the detection range of the receiver, the radius, etc. for drawing on a map the existence area of the target person searched for by the mobile terminal 50. The map data 44g is color map data formed, for example, by RGB. Note that such map data 44g may be an image in another format such as a vector image. The image data 44f is image data for displaying on a map the existence area of the target person searched for by the mobile terminal 50. In this embodiment, after generating the display data 44h once, the image data 44f is generated from this display data 44h and the map data 44g.

[0040] The control unit 45 is a control unit that performs overall control of the information aggregation server 40, and has a wireless tag management unit 45a, a receiver management unit 45b, a display setting unit 45c, an image data generation unit 45d, and an image data notification unit 45i. Actually, by loading these programs into a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executing them, processes corresponding to the wireless tag management unit 45a, the receiver management unit 45b, the display setting unit 45c, the image data generation unit 45d, and the image data notification unit 45i are respectively executed.

[0041] The wireless tag management unit 45a is a processing unit that manages the wireless tag management data 44a. The wireless tag management unit 45a receives the wireless tag ID, the target person ID, the searcher ID, etc. from the input unit 42 and stores them in the wireless tag management data 44a.

[0042] The receiver management unit 45b is a processing unit that manages receiver management data 44b. If the receiver management unit 45b receives receiver position data from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30, it stores in the receiver management data 44b the time information, receiver ID, position coordinates included in the receiver position data, and sets the received wireless tag ID to "none". If the receiver management unit 45b receives detection data from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30, it stores in the receiver management data 44b the time when the wireless tag ID included in the detection data was received, the receiver ID, the position coordinates, and the received wireless tag ID.

[0043] The display setting unit 45c is a processing unit that manages mobile receiver display setting data 44c and detection information display setting data 44d. The display setting unit 45c receives from the input unit 42 the mobile receiver display setting time and the detection information display setting time, and stores them in the mobile receiver display setting data 44c and the detection information display setting data 44d. The image data notification unit 45i is a processing unit that notifies the mobile terminal 50 of the image data 44f.

[0044] The image data generation unit 45d is a processing unit that generates the image data 44f, and includes a display range data extraction unit 45e, a current information processing unit 45f, a mobile receiver past information processing unit 45g, a past detection information processing unit 45h, and a display data drawing unit 45j. The display range data extraction unit 45e is a processing unit that extracts data within the display range from the receiver management data 44b. The display range data extraction unit 45e extracts data within the display range corresponding to the search request from the mobile terminal 50 from the receiver management data 44b, and stores it in the display range receiver management data 44e.

[0045] The current information processing unit 45f is a processing unit that generates display data 44h including the current detection status. The current information processing unit 45f extracts from the display range receiver management data 44e the data at the nearest time to the specified time t included in the search request. The current information processing unit 45f includes in the display data 44h the time of the extracted data, the receiver ID, with the position coordinates of the extracted data as the drawing coordinates, the reception radius as the drawing radius, and the received wireless tag ID as the wireless tag ID.

[0046] The current information processing unit 45f identifies the wireless tag ID of the target person from the wireless tag management data 44a using the target person ID or the searcher ID included in the search request. If the received wireless tag ID of the extracted data includes the wireless tag ID of the target person, the area drawing color of the data is set to color 1; if not, the area drawing color of the data is set to color 2 and included in the display data 44h.

[0047] The mobile receiver past information processing unit 45g is a processing unit that processes the movement area within a certain past time (T1) up to time t1 of the mobile receiver 30 and includes it in the display data 44h. The mobile receiver past information processing unit 45g extracts data from the in-display range receiver management data 44e that is past the nearest time of the specified time t included in the search request and after the time obtained by subtracting the mobile receiver display setting time of the mobile receiver display setting data 44c from the specified time t.

[0048] The mobile receiver past information processing unit 45g searches the data extracted from the in-display range receiver management data 44e. If it corresponds to the mobile receiver 30, it includes the time of the searched data, the receiver ID, with the area drawing color of the searched data set to color 3, the position coordinates set to the drawing coordinates, and the reception radius set to the drawing radius, in the display data 44h.

[0049] The past detection information processing unit 45h is a processing unit that processes the situation detected by the receiver within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2 and includes it in the display data 44h. The past detection information processing unit 45h extracts data from the in-display range receiver management data 44e that is past the nearest time of the specified time t included in the search request and after the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time of the detection information display setting data 44d from the specified time t.

[0050] The past detection information processing unit 45h searches the data extracted from the in-display range receiver management data 44e. If the wireless tag ID of the target person is included in the received wireless tag ID, the boundary color is set to color 4, the position coordinates of the searched data are set as the drawing coordinates, the reception radius is set as the drawing radius, and the time of the searched data and the receiver ID are included in the display data 44h.

[0051] The display data drawing unit 45j is a processing unit that generates the image data 44f from the display data 44h and the map data 44g. The display data drawing unit 45j generates the image data 44f by superimposing and drawing a circle with the drawing coordinates included in the display data 44h as the center point and the drawing radius as the radius on the map data 44g, with the inside filled with the color corresponding to the area drawing color and the boundary filled with the color corresponding to the boundary color.

[0052] Next, an example of the data stored in the storage unit 44 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing examples of the wireless tag management data 44a, the receiver management data 44b, the mobile receiver display setting data 44c, the detection information display setting data 44d, the in-display range receiver management data 44e, and the display data 44h shown in FIG. 3.

[0053] The wireless tag management data 44a shown in FIG. 4(a) shows a situation where the target person ID "A101", the target person name "Patent Taro", the target person contact "090-1234-5678", the target person address "Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo...", the searcher ID "B101", the searcher name "Patent Hanako", and the searcher contact "080-2345-6789" are associated with the wireless tag ID "R001".

[0054] The receiver management data 44b shown in FIG. 4(b) associates the receiver ID "101" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", and received wireless tag ID "none", associates the receiver ID "102" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x2 / y2", reception radius "20m", and received wireless tag ID "none", associates the receiver ID "103" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x3 / y3", reception radius "20m", and received wireless tag ID "R001", and associates the receiver ID "201" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x11 / y11", reception radius "5m", and received wireless tag ID "none", showing the situation.

[0055] Also, it associates the receiver ID "202" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x21 / y21", reception radius "5m", and received wireless tag ID "none", associates the receiver ID "203" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x31 / y31", reception radius "5m", and received wireless tag ID "none", associates the receiver ID "101" at time "t2" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", and received wireless tag ID "none", and associates the receiver ID "102" at time "t2" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x2 / y2", reception radius "20m", and received wireless tag ID "none", showing the situation.

[0056] Also, it associates the receiver ID "103" at time "t2" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x3 / y3", reception radius "20m", and received wireless tag ID "none", associates the receiver ID "201" at time "t2" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x12 / y12", reception radius "5m", and received wireless tag ID "none", associates the receiver ID "202" at time "t2" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x22 / y22", reception radius "5m", and received wireless tag ID "R001", and associates the receiver ID "203" at time "t2" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x32 / y32", reception radius "5m", and received wireless tag ID "none", showing the situation.

[0057] The mobile receiver display setting data 44c shown in FIG. 4(c) indicates a situation where the mobile receiver display setting time is set to "1 minute". The detection information display setting data 44d shown in FIG. 5(a) indicates a situation where the detection information display setting time is set to "5 minutes".

[0058] The receiver management data 44e within the display range shown in FIG. 5(b) associates the receiver ID "101" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", and reception wireless tag ID "none", associates the receiver ID "103" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x3 / y3", reception radius "20m", and reception wireless tag ID "R001", associates the receiver ID "201" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x11 / y11", reception radius "5m", and reception wireless tag ID "none", and associates the receiver ID "202" at time "t1" with fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x21 / y21", reception radius "5m", and reception wireless tag ID "none", showing the associated situation.

[0059] Also, for the receiver ID "101" at time "t2", it associates fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", and reception wireless tag ID "none", for the receiver ID "103" at time "t2", it associates fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x3 / y3", reception radius "20m", and reception wireless tag ID "none", for the receiver ID "202" at time "t2", it associates fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x22 / y22", reception radius "5m", and reception wireless tag ID "R001", and for the receiver ID "203" at time "t2", it associates fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x32 / y32", reception radius "5m", and reception wireless tag ID "none", showing the associated situation.

[0060] Next, an example of the display data 44h will be described. FIG. 5(c) is a diagram showing an example of the display data 44h. As shown in FIG. 5(c), the display data 44h includes data of the receiver ID "101" at time "t8", the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates "x1 / y1", the drawing radius "20m", the area drawing color "color 1" and the border color "-", data of the receiver ID "102" at time "t8", the wireless tag ID "none", the drawing coordinates "x2 / y2", the drawing radius "20m", the area drawing color "color 2" and the border color "-", data of the receiver ID "103" at time "t8", the wireless tag ID "R005", the drawing coordinates "x3 / y3", the drawing radius "20m", the area drawing color "color 2" and the border color "-", and data of the receiver ID "201" at time "t8", the wireless tag ID "none", the drawing coordinates "x18 / y18", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "color 2" and the border color "-".

[0061] Also included are data of the receiver ID "202" at time "t8", the wireless tag ID "none", the drawing coordinates "x28 / y28", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "color 2" and the border color "-", data of the receiver ID "203" at time "t8", the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates "x38 / y38", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "color 2" and the border color "color 4", data of the receiver ID "201" at time "t7", the wireless tag ID "none", the drawing coordinates "x17 / y17", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "color 3" and the border color "-", and data of the receiver ID "202" at time "t7", the wireless tag ID "none", the drawing coordinates "x27 / y27", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "color 3" and the border color "-".

[0062] In addition, data including the receiver ID "203" at time "t7", the wireless tag ID "none", the drawing coordinates "x37 / y37", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "color 3", and the boundary color "-", the receiver ID "102" at time "t3", the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates "x2 / y2", the drawing radius "20m", the area drawing color "-", and the boundary color "color 4", for the receiver ID "202" at time "t2", data of the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates "x22 / y22", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "-", and the boundary color "color 4", and for the receiver ID "103" at time "t1", data of the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates "x3 / y3", the drawing radius "20m", the area drawing color "-", and the boundary color "color 4" are included.

[0063] <Display of Image Data According to Embodiment 1> Next, an example of the image data 44f according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the image data 44f according to the first embodiment. First, for the image data 44f, the display data drawing unit 45j expands the map data 44g on the bitmap memory, and generates a circle with the drawing coordinates included in the display data 44h as the center point and the drawing radius as the radius on the bitmap memory so as to overlay it thereon, and draws the area and the boundary of the circle with the colors corresponding to the area drawing color and the boundary color included in the display data 44h, respectively.

[0064] Specifically, the fixed receiver 1B shown in FIG. 6 is a circle with the center point "(x1, y1)" and the radius "r1" as the data at the most recent time of time t, and the color is "color 2" (for example, black). The mobile receiver 1A is a circle with the center point "(x18, y18)" and the radius "r2" as the data at the most recent time of time t, and the color is "color 1" (for example, blue).

[0065] In addition, as detection data between a time in the past from the most recent time of time t and a time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time of the detection information display setting data 44d from time t, it is a boundary portion of a circle with the center point "(x1, y1)" and the radius "r1", and the color is "color 4" (for example, dark blue).

[0066] Also, as the mobile receiver data from a time in the past closer to the current time t and up to the time obtained by subtracting the mobile receiver display setting time of the mobile receiver display setting data 44c from the time t, a plurality of circles are continuously displayed. For example, one of the continuously displayed mobile receivers 1A is a circle with a center point "(x12, y12)" and a radius "r2", and the color is "color 3" (for example, gray). When a plurality of circles are displayed overlapping, the circle with the newer time is displayed in front so as to overlap.

[0067] <Processing procedure of the information aggregation server 40 according to Embodiment 1> Next, the processing procedure of the information aggregation server 40 will be described. FIGS. 7 to 9 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the information aggregation server 40. As shown in the figure, if the information aggregation server 40 receives receiver position data or detection data from the fixed receiver 20 or the mobile receiver 30 (step S101; Yes), the received data is stored in the receiver management data 44b (step S102).

[0068] If neither the receiver position data nor the detection data has been received from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30 (step S101; No), or if a search request has not been received from the mobile terminal 50 (step S103; No), the process proceeds to step S101. On the other hand, if a search request is received from the mobile terminal 50 (step S103; Yes), data within the display range is extracted from the receiver management data 44b based on the display range included in the search request and stored in the in-display-range receiver management data 44e (step S104).

[0069] Thereafter, data at the closest time to the specified time t included in the search request is extracted from the in-display-range receiver management data 44e (step S105), and the position coordinates of the extracted data are included in the display data 44h as the drawing coordinates and the reception radius as the drawing radius (step S106).

[0070] Using the subject ID or the searcher ID included in the search request, identify the wireless tag ID of the subject from the wireless tag management data 44a (step S107), and extract the topmost data from the display data 44h (step S108).

[0071] If the wireless tag ID of the subject is included in the wireless tag ID of the extracted data (step S109; Yes), include it in the display data 44h with the area drawing color as color 1 (step S110). If the wireless tag ID of the subject is not included (step S109; No), include it in the display data 44h with the area drawing color as color 2 (step S111).

[0072] After that, extract the next data from the display data 44h (step S112). If there is the next data (step S113; No), go to step S109. If there is no next data (step S113; Yes), extract the topmost data from the display data 44h (step S114).

[0073] Identify, within the display range receiver management data 44e, the data with the same time and receiver ID as the extracted data, and extract the data one level above it (step S115).

[0074] If the receiver of the extracted data is the mobile receiver 30 (step S116; Yes), include it in the display data 44h with the area drawing color as color 3, the position coordinates of the data as the drawing coordinates, and the reception radius as the drawing radius (step S117). If the receiver of the data is the fixed receiver 20 (step S116; No), go to step S118.

[0075] Extract the data one level above the data from the display range receiver management data 44e (step S118). If the time of the extracted data is after the time obtained by subtracting the mobile receiver display setting time of the mobile receiver display setting data 44c from the time t (step S119; No), go to step S116.

[0076] If the time of the data is before the time obtained by subtracting the display setting time of the mobile receiver from time t (step S119; Yes), the topmost data is extracted from the display data 44h (step S120).

[0077] Identify data in the received receiver management data 44e within the display range that has the same time, time, and receiver ID as the extracted data, and extract the data one level above it (step S121).

[0078] If the wireless tag ID of the extracted data includes the wireless tag ID of the target person (step S122; Yes), set the boundary color to color 4, and include it in the display data 44h with the position coordinates of the data as the drawing coordinates and the reception radius as the drawing radius (step S123). If the wireless tag ID of the data does not include the wireless tag ID of the target person (step S122; No), proceed to step S124.

[0079] Extract the data one level above the data from the received receiver management data 44e within the display range (step S124). If the time of the extracted data is after the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time of the detection information display setting data 44d from time t (step S125; No), proceed to step S122.

[0080] If the time of the data is before the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t (step S125; Yes), generate image data 44f from the display data 44h and the map data 44g and transmit it to the mobile terminal 50 (step S126), and end the process.

[0081] <Example of displaying the image data 44f according to Embodiment 1> Next, a specific example of the display of the image data 44f according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the movement of the target person and the arrangement of the receivers, which is the premise of the specific example of the display of the image data 44f according to the first embodiment.

[0082] As shown in Fig. 10, a subject (indicated by a double white circle) carrying a wireless tag 10 moves along the path indicated by the dashed line in the order of times t1 to t9. The fixed receiver 20 has a reception radius of several tens of meters and is installed at the location of the black circles on the map as the fixed receivers 1B, 2B, and 3B. If the subject passes within the circle outside the black circle representing the range of several tens of meters of the reception radius of the fixed receiver 20, the fixed receiver 20 detects the wireless tag 10.

[0083] The mobile receiver 30 has a reception radius of 10 m or less, and the mobile receivers 1A, 2A, and 3A (indicated by black circles) move independently. At time t4, since the subject is passing within the circle outside the black circle representing the range of 10 m or less of the reception radius of the mobile receiver 1A, the mobile receiver 1A detects the wireless tag 10. Similarly, at time t2, the mobile receiver 2A detects the wireless tag 10, and at time t3, the mobile receiver 3A detects the wireless tag 10.

[0084] Next, an example of the display of the image data 44f according to the first embodiment will be described. Figs. 11 to 13 are diagrams showing an example of the display of the image data 44f according to the first embodiment. Fig. 11 is a display example at time t1. The area drawing color of the fixed receiver 3B is set to color 1, indicating that the wireless tag 10 has been detected. The area drawing colors of the other receivers are set to color 2 or color 3, indicating a situation where the wireless tag 10 has not been detected.

[0085] Fig. 12 is a display example at time t2. The area drawing color of the detectable circular area of the mobile receiver 2A is set to color 1, indicating that the wireless tag 10 has been detected. The area drawing colors of the other receivers are set to color 2 or color 3, indicating a situation where the wireless tag 10 has not been detected between time t2 and the time obtained by subtracting the mobile receiver display setting time from time t2. Note that the boundary color of the detectable circular area of the fixed receiver 3B is set to color 4, indicating a situation where the wireless tag 10 has been detected between the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t2 and time t2.

[0086] FIG. 13 shows a display example at time t9. The area drawing color of the circular area detectable by any receiver is set to color 2 or color 3, indicating a situation where the wireless tag 10 has not been detected between time t9 and the time from time t9 minus the moving receiver display setting time to time t9. Note that at four locations near the fixed receiver 1B, the fixed receiver 2B, the fixed receiver 3B, and the intersections a, b, and c, the boundary color of the circular area detectable by the receiver at each time point is set to color 4, indicating a situation where the wireless tag 10 has been detected between the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t9 and time t9.

[0087] Thus, the search support system according to Embodiment 1 can narrow down the search range by the searcher by providing the area where the target person existed within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2.

[0088] [Embodiment 2] By the way, in the above Embodiment 1, the case where the receiver can only detect the presence or absence of the radio wave received from the wireless tag 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the receiver can detect the distance and direction to the wireless tag 10 by the radio wave received, it can also be configured to provide the area and moving direction where the target person existed within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2.

[0089] In this Embodiment 2, the case where the receiver can detect the distance and direction to the wireless tag 10 by the radio wave received and provide the area and moving direction where the target person existed within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2 will be described.

[0090] [Outline of the Search Support System According to Embodiment 2] First, the overview of the search support system according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the overview of the search support system according to the second embodiment. First, the receiver notifies the information aggregation server 100, which will be described later, of the position coordinates of its own device together with the current time as receiver position data at preset time intervals. Also, if the receiver receives the radio wave transmitted from the wireless tag 10 held by the target person, the position coordinates, wireless tag ID, reception distance, and reception angle of its own device are used as detection information (detection data) and notified to the information aggregation server 100, which will be described later.

[0091] The information aggregation server 100 associates the position coordinates and time information of the receiver included in the receiver position data received from the receiver and manages them as receiver management data 111, which will be described later. Also, the information aggregation server 100 associates the position coordinates, wireless tag ID, reception distance, reception angle, and time information of the receiver included in the detection data received from the receiver and manages them as receiver management data 111, which will be described later. If the search request for the target person is received from the mobile terminal 50 of the searcher, based on the receiver management data 111, search information indicating the area and movement direction in which the target person existed within a certain period (T2) in the past up to the time t2 of the target person is generated, and the generated search information is transmitted to the mobile terminal 50.

[0092] For example, as an example of such search information, the image shown in FIG. 14 can be transmitted to the mobile terminal 50. In this image, when the receiver detects the wireless tag 10 at time t, among the areas detectable by the receiver that detects the wireless tag 10, the area with a low probability of the presence of the target person is shown as a circle of color 5 (for example, light blue), the area with a high probability of the presence of the target person is shown as a rounded rectangle of color 1 (for example, blue), the area with a high probability of the presence of the target person detected between the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t and time t is shown as a rounded rectangle of color 4 (for example, dark blue), and the movement direction of the target person is shown as an arrow of color 6 (for example, yellow).

[0093] Also, when the receiver does not detect the wireless tag 10, it is set to color 2 (e.g., black), and when the moving receiver 30 moves within the detectable area at each point where it has moved from the time obtained by subtracting the moving receiver display setting time from time t to time t, it is set to color 3 (e.g., gray).

[0094] As shown in FIG. 14, at time t1, the fixed receiver 1B detects the wireless tag 10 of the target person, indicating a situation where there is a high probability that the area indicated by the rounded rectangle of color 1 is moving in a 180-degree direction (S11).

[0095] At time t2, the moving receiver 1A detects the wireless tag 10 of the target person, indicating that there is a high probability that the area indicated by the rounded rectangle of color 1 is moving in a 270-degree direction, and that there is a high probability that the area indicated by the rounded rectangle of color 4 near the fixed receiver 1B is moving in a 180-degree direction from the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t2 to time t2 (S12).

[0096] At time t3, the wireless tag 10 of the target person is not detected, but there is a high probability that the areas indicated by the rounded rectangles of color 4 near the fixed receiver 1B and along the road are moving in their respective directions from the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t3 to time t3 (S13).

[0097] Thus, when the distance and direction to the wireless tag 10 can be detected by the radio wave received by the receiver, the search support system according to the second embodiment provides the area and moving direction in which the target person existed within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2, enabling the searcher to narrow down the search range.

[0098] <Configuration of the information integration server 100 according to the second embodiment> Next, the configuration of the information integration server 100 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information integration server 100 according to the second embodiment. Note that the description of the functional parts similar to those of the information integration server 40 shown in FIG. 3 is omitted.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 15, the information aggregation server 100 is connected to a display unit 41 and an input unit 42, and includes a communication unit 43, a storage unit 110, and a control unit 120.

[0100] The storage unit 110 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or a non-volatile memory, and stores wireless tag management data 44a, receiver management data 111, mobile receiver display setting data 44c, detection information display setting data 44d, in-range receiver management data 112, image data 113, map data 44g, display data 114, and display data generation flag data 115.

[0101] The receiver management data 111 is data that associates the position coordinates of the receiver, the wireless tag ID received by the receiver, the reception distance, the reception angle, etc. at each time. The in-range receiver management data 112 is data within the area searched for from the mobile terminal 50 among the receiver management data 111. The display data 114 is data including the drawing coordinates of the center point of the detection range of the receiver, the drawing radius, the drawing shape, etc. for drawing the existence area of the target person searched for from the mobile terminal 50 on the map. The image data 113 is image data showing the existence area of the target person searched for from the mobile terminal 50 on the map. In the second embodiment, after generating the display data 114 once, the image data 113 is generated from the display data 114 and the map data 44g. The display data generation flag data 115 is data indicating whether the generation of the display data representing the moving direction has started, and also indicating the receiver ID being updated in the display data.

[0102] The control unit 120 is a control unit that performs overall control of the information aggregation server 100, and includes a wireless tag management unit 45a, a receiver management unit 121, a display setting unit 45c, an image data generation unit 122, and an image data notification unit 45i. Actually, by loading and executing these programs in the CPU, processes corresponding to the wireless tag management unit 45a, the receiver management unit 121, the display setting unit 45c, the image data generation unit 122, and the image data notification unit 45i are executed respectively.

[0103] The receiver management unit 121 is a processing unit that manages receiver management data 111. When the receiver management unit 121 receives receiver position data from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30, it stores in the receiver management data 111 the time information, receiver ID, position coordinates included in the receiver position data, and sets the received wireless tag ID to "none".

[0104] When the receiver management unit 121 receives detection data from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30, it stores in the receiver management data 111 the time when the wireless tag ID included in the detection data was received, the receiver ID, the position coordinates, the received wireless tag ID, the reception distance, the reception angle, etc.

[0105] The image data generation unit 122 is a processing unit that generates image data 113, and includes a display range data extraction unit 123, a current information processing unit 124, a mobile receiver past information processing unit 45g, a detailed detection information processing unit 125, a coordinate calculation unit 126, a display data change processing unit 127, a moving direction calculation unit 128, and a display data drawing unit 129.

[0106] The display range data extraction unit 123 is a processing unit that extracts data within the display range from the receiver management data 111. The display range data extraction unit 123 extracts data corresponding to the display range included in the search request from the mobile terminal 50 from the receiver management data 111 and stores it in the display range receiver management data 112.

[0107] The current information processing unit 124 is a processing unit that generates display data 114 including the current detection status. The current information processing unit 124 extracts data at the closest time to the specified time t included in the search request from the display range receiver management data 112. The current information processing unit 124 includes in the display data 114 with a circular shape, using the position coordinates of the extracted data as the drawing coordinates 1 and the reception radius as the drawing radius.

[0108] The current information processing unit 124 identifies the wireless tag ID of the target person using the target person ID or the searcher ID included in the search request from the wireless tag management data 44a. The current information processing unit 124 searches the display data 114 and, if the wireless tag ID of the target person is included in the received wireless tag ID, sets the area drawing color of the data to color 5, and if the received wireless tag ID is "none", sets the area drawing color of the data to color 2 and includes it in the display data 114.

[0109] The detailed detection information processing unit 125 is a processing unit that processes the situations detected by the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30 within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2 and includes them in the display data 114. The detailed detection information processing unit 125 extracts data from the in-display range receiver management data 112 that is past the nearest time of the specified time t included in the search request and after the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time of the detection information display setting data 44d from the specified time t, and stores "not generated" in the movement direction data of the display data generation flag data 115.

[0110] The detailed detection information processing unit 125 searches the data extracted from the in-display range receiver management data 112. If the wireless tag ID of the target person is included in the received wireless tag ID and the receiver ID of the lowest-order data in the display data 114 is different from the receiver ID of the extracted data, or if it has received processing from the display data change processing unit 127, it stores the receiver ID of the extracted data and "generated" in the display data generation flag data 115. The detailed detection information processing unit 125 sets the drawing shape to a circle, includes the position coordinates of the received wireless tag 10 calculated by the coordinate calculation unit 126 as the drawing coordinates 1, and the received radius divided by 5 as the drawing radius in the display data 114. If the time of the extracted data is the same as t, the detailed detection information processing unit 125 includes it in the display data 114 with the area drawing color set to color 1, and if it is different from t, with the area drawing color set to color 4.

[0111] The detailed detection information processing unit 125 searches for the data extracted from the receiver management data 112 within the display range, and if the wireless tag ID of the target person is included in the received wireless tag ID and the receiver ID of the lowest-order data in the display data 114 is the same as the receiver ID of the extracted data, it transfers the process to the display data change processing unit 127.

[0112] The coordinate calculation unit 126 is a processing unit that calculates the position coordinates of the wireless tag 10. The coordinate calculation unit 126 calculates the position coordinates of the wireless tag 10 from the reception distance and reception angle related to the received wireless tag ID in the receiver management data 112 within the display range.

[0113] If the movement direction data in the display data generation flag data 115 is "not generated" or the receiver ID of the extracted data is different from the receiver ID being updated in the display data of the display data generation flag data 115, the display data change processing unit 127 transfers the process to the detailed detection information processing unit 125.

[0114] If the movement direction data in the display data generation flag data 115 is "generated" and the receiver ID of the extracted data is the same as the receiver ID being updated in the display data of the display data generation flag data 115, the display data change processing unit 127 checks the shape of the lowest-order data in the display data 114.

[0115] If the shape of the lowest-order data in the display data 114 is a circle, the display data change processing unit 127 sets the drawing shape of the data to a rounded rectangle, re-sets the position coordinates calculated by the coordinate calculation unit 126 for the received wireless tag 10 as coordinate 2, and includes it in the display data 114. The display data change processing unit 127 includes the midpoint coordinates calculated by the movement direction calculation unit 128 using the data, the drawing shape as an arrow·angle, and the area drawing color as color 6 in the display data 114.

[0116] If the shape of the lowest-order data in the display data 114 is not a circle, the display data change processing unit 127 extracts the data one level higher than the said data, re-sets the position coordinates calculated by the coordinate calculation unit 126 for the received radio tag 10 as the drawing coordinates 2 of the said data, and includes them in the display data 114. The display data change processing unit 127 re-sets the midpoint coordinates as the drawing coordinates 1 and the drawing shape as an arrow / angle for the lowest-order data in the display data 114 based on the midpoint coordinates and the angle calculated by the moving direction calculation unit 128 using the extracted data, and includes them in the display data 114.

[0117] The moving direction calculation unit 128 is a processing unit that calculates the position coordinates of the midpoint between two points and the angle from the drawing coordinates 1 to the drawing coordinates 2 from the given drawing coordinates 1 and drawing coordinates 2.

[0118] Next, a specific example of the data stored in the storage unit 110 of the information aggregation server 100 shown in FIG. 15 will be described. FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrams showing an example of the receiver management data 111, the in-display-range receiver management data 112, the display data 114, and the display data generation flag data 115 shown in FIG. 15.

[0119] The receiver management data 111 shown in FIG. 16(a) associates the fixed / movable "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", received radio tag ID "R001", reception distance "20m", and reception angle "300 degrees" with the receiver ID "101" at time "t1", associates the fixed / movable "fixed", position coordinates "x2 / y2", reception radius "20m", received radio tag ID "none", reception distance "-", and reception angle "-" with the receiver ID "102" at time "t1", associates the fixed / movable "fixed", position coordinates "x3 / y3", reception radius "20m", received radio tag ID "none", reception distance "-", and reception angle "-" with the receiver ID "103" at time "t1", and associates the fixed / movable "movable", position coordinates "x11 / y11", reception radius "5m", received radio tag ID "none", reception distance "-", and reception angle "-" with the receiver ID "201" at time "t1", showing the situation.

[0120] Also, for the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.4", the fixed / mobile status is "fixed", the position coordinates are "x1 / y1", the reception radius is "20m", the received wireless tag ID is "R001", the reception distance is "15m", and the reception angle is "240 degrees". For the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.5", the fixed / mobile status is "fixed", the position coordinates are "x1 / y1", the reception radius is "20m", the received wireless tag ID is "R001", the reception distance is "20m", and the reception angle is "210 degrees". For the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.6", the fixed / mobile status is "fixed", the position coordinates are "x1 / y1", the reception radius is "20m", the received wireless tag ID is "none", the reception distance is "-", and the reception angle is "-". This shows the associated situation.

[0121] Also, for the receiver ID "202" at time "t1.8", the fixed / mobile status is "mobile", the position coordinates are "x21i / y21i", the reception radius is "5m", the received wireless tag ID is "R001", the reception distance is "5m", and the reception angle is "330 degrees". For the receiver ID "202" at time "t1.9", the fixed / mobile status is "mobile", the position coordinates are "x21j / y21j", the reception radius is "5m", the received wireless tag ID is "R001", the reception distance is "5m", and the reception angle is "0 degrees". For the receiver ID "202" at time "t2", the fixed / mobile status is "mobile", the position coordinates are "x22a / y22a", the reception radius is "5m", the received wireless tag ID is "R001", the reception distance is "5m", and the reception angle is "30 degrees". For the receiver ID "202" at time "t2.1", the fixed / mobile status is "mobile", the position coordinates are "x22b / y22b", the reception radius is "5m", the received wireless tag ID is "none", the reception distance is "-", and the reception angle is "-". This shows the associated situation.

[0122] The receiver management data 112 within the display range shown in Fig. 16(b) associates, for the receiver ID "101" at time "t1", fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", received wireless tag ID "R001", reception distance "20m", and reception angle "300 degrees"; for the receiver ID "103" at time "t1", fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x3 / y3", reception radius "20m", received wireless tag ID "none", reception distance "-", and reception angle "-"; for the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.4", fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", received wireless tag ID "R001", reception distance "15m", and reception angle "240 degrees"; for the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.5", fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", received wireless tag ID "R001", reception distance "20m", and reception angle "210 degrees".

[0123] Also, for the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.6", it associates fixed / mobile "fixed", position coordinates "x1 / y1", reception radius "20m", received wireless tag ID "none", reception distance "-", and reception angle "-"; for the receiver ID "202" at time "t1.8", it associates fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x21i / y21i", reception radius "5m", received wireless tag ID "R001", reception distance "5m", and reception angle "330 degrees"; for the receiver ID "202" at time "t1.9", it associates fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x21j / y21j", reception radius "5m", received wireless tag ID "R001", reception distance "5m", and reception angle "0 degrees"; for the receiver ID "202" at time "t2", it associates fixed / mobile "mobile", position coordinates "x22a / y22a", reception radius "5m", received wireless tag ID "R001", reception distance "5m", and reception angle "30 degrees".

[0124] The display data 114 shown in Fig. 17(a) includes data of receiver ID "101" at time "t8", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x1 / y1", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "20m", area drawing color "color 2" and drawing shape "circle", data of receiver ID "102" at time "t8", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x2 / y2", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "20m", area drawing color "color 2" and drawing shape "circle", data of receiver ID "103" at time "t8", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x3 / y3", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "20m", area drawing color "color 2" and drawing shape "circle", data of receiver ID "201" at time "t8", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x18a / y18a", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "5m", area drawing color "color 2" and drawing shape "circle", and data of receiver ID "202" at time "t8", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x28a / y28a", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "5m", area drawing color "color 2" and drawing shape "circle".

[0125] Also included are data of receiver ID "203" at time "t8", wireless tag ID "R001", drawing coordinate 1 "x38a / y38a", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "5m", area drawing color "color 5" and drawing shape "circle", data of receiver ID "201" at time "t7.9", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x17j / y17j", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "5m", area drawing color "color 3" and drawing shape "circle", data of receiver ID "202" at time "t7.9", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x27j / y27j", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "5m", area drawing color "color 3" and drawing shape "circle", and data of receiver ID "203" at time "t7.9", wireless tag ID "none", drawing coordinate 1 "x37j / y37j", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "5m", area drawing color "color 3" and drawing shape "circle".

[0126] Also included are the data of the receiver ID "202", the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates 1 "x22aa / y22aa", the drawing coordinates 2 "x21ja / y21ja", the drawing radius "1m", the area drawing color "color 4", and the drawing shape "rounded rectangle" at time "t2", the data of the receiver ID "202", the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates 1 "x22ab / y22ab", the drawing coordinates 2 "-", the drawing radius "-", the area drawing color "color 6", and the drawing shape "180-degree arrow" at time "t2", the data of the receiver ID "101", the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates 1 "x11fa / y11fa", the drawing coordinates 2 "x11ca / y11ca", the drawing radius "4m", the area drawing color "color 4", and the drawing shape "rounded rectangle" at time "t1.5", and the data of the receiver ID "101", the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates 1 "x11fc / y11fc", the drawing coordinates 2 "-", the drawing radius "-", the area drawing color "color 6", and the drawing shape "270-degree arrow" at time "t1.5".

[0127] The flag data 115 for generating display data shown in Fig. 17(b) indicates a situation where the movement direction data is "not generated" and the receiver ID being updated in the display data is "202".

[0128] <Method for Identifying the Movement Direction of the Target Person According to Embodiment 2> Next, the method for identifying the movement direction of the target person according to Embodiment 2 will be described. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing the method for identifying the movement direction of the target person according to Embodiment 2. As shown in Fig. 18, consider a case where a receiver with position coordinates "x1 / y1" detects the wireless tag 10 of the target person at reception point A at time "t1.1", detects the wireless tag 10 of the target person at reception point B at time "t1.2", and detects the wireless tag 10 of the target person at reception point C at time "t1.3".

[0129] The detection data for reception point A is a reception distance of "19m" and a reception angle of "70 degrees", the detection data for reception point B is a reception distance of "18m" and a reception angle of "90 degrees", and the detection data for reception point C is a reception distance of "18m" and a reception angle of "120 degrees".

[0130] Using the reception distance r and the reception angle θ, the position coordinates "x1' / y1'" of the reception point from the position coordinates "x1 / y1" of the receiver are expressed by the following equations. x1' = x1 + r × sinθ (Equation 1) y1' = y1 + r × cosθ (Equation 2)

[0131] When calculating the position coordinates of each reception point using (Equation 1) and (Equation 2), the position coordinates of reception point A are "x1 + 17.9 / y1 + 6.5", the position coordinates of reception point B are "x1 + 18 / y1", and the position coordinates of reception point C are "x1 + 15.6 / y1 - 9".

[0132] When the same receiver continuously detects the wireless tag 10 of the subject, the first detected reception point and the last detected reception point are adopted, and using these two points, the moving direction of the subject at the receiver and the midpoint between the two points for drawing the moving direction are calculated.

[0133] When the subject moves from point P "x / y" to point Q "x' / y'", the angle φ of the moving direction and the midpoint "x'' / y''" are expressed by the following equations. φ = arctan((x' - x) / (y' - y)) (Equation 3) x'' = (x' + x) / 2 (Equation 4) y'' = (y' + y) / 2 (Equation 5)

[0134] Since the position coordinates of reception point A, which is the first detected reception point, are "x1 + 17.9 / y1 + 6.5", and the position coordinates of reception point C, which is the last detected reception point, are "x1 + 15.6 / y1 - 9", when calculating the angle φ of the moving direction and the position coordinates of the midpoint using (Equation 3), (Equation 4), and (Equation 5), the angle φ is "188 degrees" and the midpoint is "x1 + 16.75 / y1 - 1.25".

[0135] <Display of Image Data According to Embodiment 2> Next, an example of the image data 113 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the image data 113 according to the second embodiment. The image data 113 is generated by the display data drawing unit 129 by developing the map data 44g on the bitmap memory and generating a rounded rectangle and an arrow with the midpoint calculated from the drawing coordinates 1 and the drawing coordinates 2 included in the display data 114 as the center of gravity point, and a circle with the drawing coordinate 1 as the center point and the drawing radius as the radius on the bitmap memory, and drawing each area with the corresponding color.

[0136] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 19, when the shape included in the display data 114 is a "rounded rectangle" or an "arrow", the rounded rectangle is set to color 1 (for example, blue) or color 4 (for example, dark blue) with the midpoint calculated from the drawing coordinates 1 and the drawing coordinates 2 as the center of gravity point, and the arrow is set to color 6 (for example, yellow).

[0137] Also, the fixed receiver 1B is set to color 5 (for example, light blue), and the mobile receiver 1A is set to color 2 (for example, black) and color 3 (for example, gray). When drawing a figure on the bitmap memory where the map data 44g is developed, it is drawn in the priority order of "arrow", "rounded rectangle", "circle", and is displayed on the front of the screen in the priority order of "arrow", "rounded rectangle", "circle".

[0138] <Processing procedure of the information integration server 100 according to the second embodiment> Next, the processing procedure of the information integration server 100 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIGS. 20 to 23 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the information integration server 100 according to the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, if the information integration server 40 receives receiver position data or detection data from the fixed receiver 20 or the mobile receiver 30 (step S201; Yes), it stores the received data in the receiver management data 111 (step S202).

[0139] When neither the received position data nor the detection data is received from the fixed receiver 20 and the mobile receiver 30 (step S201; No), or when a search request is not received from the mobile terminal 50 (step S203; No), the process proceeds to step S201. On the other hand, if a search request is received from the mobile terminal 50 (step S203; Yes), data within the display range is extracted from the receiver management data 111 based on the display range included in the search request and stored in the display range receiver management data 112 (step S204).

[0140] After that, data at the closest time to the specified time t included in the search request is extracted from the display range receiver management data 112 (step S205). The shape is a circle, and the position coordinates of the extracted data are included in the display data 114 as the drawing coordinates 1, and the reception radius is used as the drawing radius (step S206).

[0141] The wireless tag ID of the target person is specified from the wireless tag management data 44a using the target person ID or the searcher ID included in the search request (step S207), and the topmost data is extracted from the display data 114 (step S208).

[0142] If the wireless tag ID of the extracted data is the wireless tag ID of the target person (step S209; Yes), the area drawing color is included in the display data 114 as color 5 (step S210). If the wireless tag ID of the target person is not included (step S209; No), the area drawing color is included in the display data 114 as color 2 (step S211).

[0143] After that, the next data is extracted from the display data 114 (step S212). If there is the next data (step S213; No), the process proceeds to step S209. If there is no next data (step S213; Yes), the topmost data is extracted from the display data 114 (step S214).

[0144] Identify the data within the display range receiver management data 112 where the time and receiver ID of the extracted data are the same, and extract the data one level higher (step S215).

[0145] If the receiver of the extracted data is the fixed receiver 20 (step S216; No), proceed to step S218. If the receiver of the data is the mobile receiver 30 (step S216; Yes), set the area drawing color to color 3, and include the position coordinates of the data as drawing coordinates 1, the reception radius as the drawing radius in the display data 114 (step S217).

[0146] An example of the display data 114 at this point is shown in Fig. 24(a). As shown in Fig. 24(a), the display data 114 associates the wireless tag ID "none", the drawing coordinates 1 "x17j / y17j", the drawing coordinates 2 "-", the drawing radius "5m", the area drawing color "color 3", and the drawing shape "circle" with the receiver ID "201" at time "t7.9".

[0147] Next, extract the data one level higher than the data from the display range receiver management data 112 (step S218). If the time of the extracted data is after the time obtained by subtracting the mobile receiver display setting time of the mobile receiver display setting data 44c from the time t (step S219; No), proceed to step S216.

[0148] If the time of the data is before the time obtained by subtracting the mobile receiver display setting time from the time t (step S219; Yes), extract the topmost data from the display data 114, set the time of the extracted data to t, and store "not generated" in the movement direction data of the display data generation flag data 115 (step S220).

[0149] Identify the data with time t in the display range receiver management data 112, and extract the bottommost data among them (step S221). If the wireless tag ID of the extracted data is the wireless tag ID of the target person (step S222; Yes), calculate the coordinates of the received wireless tag 10 (step S223).

[0150] Next, if the lowest data in the display data 114 is not the same as the receiver ID of the extracted data (step S224; No), the receiver ID of the extracted data and "generated" are stored in the display data generation flag data 115 (step S225). With the drawing shape being a circle, the position coordinates of the received wireless tag 10 are used as the drawing coordinates 1, and 1 / 5 of the reception radius is used as the drawing radius, which is newly included in the display data 114 (step S226).

[0151] If the time of the extracted data is t (step S227; Yes), the area drawing color is set as color 1 and included in the new display data 114 (step S228). If the time of the data is not t (step S227; No), the area drawing color is set as color 4 and included in the new display data 114 (step S229).

[0152] An example of the display data 114 at this point is shown in Fig. 24(b). As shown in Fig. 24(b), the display data 114 associates the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates 1 "x38aa / y38aa", the drawing coordinates 2 "-", the drawing radius "1m", the area drawing color "color 1", and the drawing shape "circle" with the receiver ID "203" at time "t8", and associates the wireless tag ID "R001", the drawing coordinates 1 "x22aa / y22aa", the drawing coordinates 2 "-", the drawing radius "1m", the area drawing color "color 4", and the drawing shape "circle" with the receiver ID "202" at time "t2".

[0153] Next, if the wireless tag ID of the data extracted in step S221 is not the wireless tag ID of the target person (step S222; No), the receiver ID being updated in the display data of the display data generation flag data 115 is compared with the receiver ID of the extracted data (step S230). If the comparison result is the same (step S230; Yes), the receiver ID being updated in the display data of the display data generation flag data 115 is cleared (step S231), and the process proceeds to step S232. Also, if the comparison result is different (step S230; No), the process proceeds to step S232.

[0154] Next, in the comparison in step S224, if the lowest-order data in the display data 114 and the receiver ID of the extracted data are the same (step S224; Yes), and the movement direction data of the flag data 115 for display data generation is "not generated" (step S235; Yes), or if the receiver ID in the display data being updated in the flag data 115 for display data generation and the receiver ID of the extracted data are not the same (step S236; No), the process proceeds to step S225.

[0155] Also, in the comparison in step S224, if the lowest-order data in the display data 114 and the receiver ID of the extracted data are the same (step S224; Yes), and the movement direction data of the flag data 115 for display data generation is not "not generated" (step S235; No), and the receiver ID in the display data being updated in the flag data 115 for display data generation and the receiver ID of the extracted data are the same (step S236; Yes), then the shape of the lowest-order data in the display data 114 is confirmed (step S237).

[0156] If the shape of the lowest-order data in the display data 114 is a circle (step S237; Yes), for the lowest-order data in the display data 114, the shape is changed to a rounded rectangle, and the position coordinates of the received wireless tag 10 are used as the drawing coordinates 2 and included in the display data 114 (step S238).

[0157] Using the drawing coordinates 1 and drawing coordinates 2 of the said data, the midpoint and angle between the two points are calculated (step S239). With the time of the said data as the time, the midpoint as the drawing coordinates 1, the drawing shape as an arrow · angle, and the area drawing color as color 6, it is newly included in the display data 114 (step S240), and the process proceeds to step S232.

[0158] An example of the display data 114 at this time is shown in FIG. 24(c). As shown in FIG. 24(c), the display data 114 associates the wireless tag ID “R001”, the drawing coordinate 1 “x22aa / y22aa”, the drawing coordinate 2 “x21ja / y21ja”, the drawing radius “1 m”, the area drawing color “color 4” and the drawing shape “rounded rectangle” with the receiver ID “202” at time “t2”. This is the data obtained by updating the drawing coordinate 2 and the drawing shape with respect to the data associated with the receiver ID “202” at time “t2” in an example of the display data 114 shown in FIG. 24(b) (step S238).

[0159] In addition, the display data 114 shown in FIG. 24(c) associates the wireless tag ID “R001”, the drawing coordinate 1 “x22ab / y22ab”, the drawing coordinate 2 “-”, the drawing radius “-”, the area drawing color “color 6” and the drawing shape “180-degree arrow” with the receiver ID “202” at time “t2”. This is the data newly included in the display data 114 in step S240.

[0160] Next, in the confirmation of the shape of the lowest-order data in the display data 114 in step S237, if the shape of the data is not a circle (step S237; No), the position coordinates of the received wireless tag 10 are included in the display data 114 as the drawing coordinate 2 in the data one level higher than the lowest-order data in the display data 114 (step S241).

[0161] Using the drawing coordinate 1 and the drawing coordinate 2 of the data, the midpoint and the angle between two points are calculated (step S242). The midpoint is included in the lowest-order data in the display data 114 as the drawing coordinate 1 and the shape is set as an arrow·angle, and the process proceeds to step S232.

[0162] An example of the display data 114 at this point is shown in Fig. 24(c). As shown in Fig. 24(c), the display data 114 associates the wireless tag ID "R001", drawing coordinate 1 "x11fa / y11fa", drawing coordinate 2 "x11ca / y11ca", drawing radius "4m", area drawing color "color 4", and drawing shape "rounded rectangle" with the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.5". This is the result of updating the drawing coordinate 2 in step S241.

[0163] Also, the display data 114 shown in Fig. 24(c) associates the wireless tag ID "R001", drawing coordinate 1 "x11fc / y11fc", drawing coordinate 2 "-", drawing radius "-", area drawing color "color 6", and drawing shape "arrow 270 degrees" with the receiver ID "101" at time "t1.5". This is the result of updating the drawing coordinate 1 and the drawing shape in step S243.

[0164] Next, as step S232, the data one level higher than the extracted data is extracted from the display range receiver management data 112 (step S232). If the time of the extracted data is after the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time of the detection information display setting data 44d from time t (step S233; No), the process proceeds to step S222.

[0165] If the time of the data is before the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t (step S233; Yes), the image data 113 is generated from the display data 114 and the map data 44g and transmitted to the mobile terminal 50 (step S234), and the process ends.

[0166] <Example of display of the image data 113 according to Embodiment 2> Next, an example of the display of the image data 113 according to this Embodiment 2 will be described. Figs. 25 to 27 are diagrams showing an example of the display of the image data 113 according to this Embodiment 2.

[0167] FIG. 25 is a display example at time t2. The figure drawn over the detection area of the mobile receiver 2A is the color 1 of a rounded rectangle, indicating that the wireless tag 10 is detected and its moving direction is 290 degrees. The figure drawn over the detection area of the fixed receiver 3B is the color 4 of a rounded rectangle, indicating the situation where the subject has moved in the 180-degree direction during the period from the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t2 to time t2.

[0168] FIG. 26 is a display example at time t3. The figure drawn over the detection area of the mobile receiver 3A is the color 1 of a rounded rectangle, indicating that the wireless tag 10 is detected and its moving direction is 170 degrees. The figures drawn over the detection areas of the fixed receiver 3B and the mobile receiver 2A are the color 4 of a rounded rectangle, respectively, indicating the situations where the subject has moved in the directions of the arrows during the period from the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t2 to time t2.

[0169] FIG. 27 is a display example at time t9. Each receiver is the color 2, indicating that the wireless tag 10 is not detected. The figures drawn over the detection areas of the fixed receiver 1B, the fixed receiver 2B, and the fixed receiver 3B, respectively, and the figures drawn at two locations near the intersection c are the color 4 of a rounded rectangle, indicating the situations where the subject has moved in the directions of the arrows during the period from the time obtained by subtracting the detection information display setting time from time t2 to time t2.

[0170] As described above, the search support system according to the second embodiment can narrow down the search range by the searcher by providing the area and moving direction in which the subject existed within a certain past time (T2) up to time t2.

[0171] In the above second embodiment, the generation of the display data related to the moving direction of the subject has been described for the case where the data corresponding in time series is extracted from the in-display-range receiver management data 112. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to configure to extract the corresponding data for each receiver and generate the display data related to the moving direction of the subject.

[0172] Specifically, the receiver ID included in the in-display-range receiver management data 112 is stored in the receiver list data without duplication. The topmost receiver ID in the receiver list data is extracted, the detection data of the target wireless tag ID related to the receiver ID is extracted from the in-display-range receiver management data 112, and the display data 114 regarding a round or rounded square shape is generated. This process is performed for all the receiver IDs in the receiver list data.

[0173] Next, the data with a rounded square shape in the display data 114 is extracted, the moving direction (angle) of the target person is calculated from the drawing coordinates 1 and drawing coordinates 2 of the data, and the display data 114 with an arrow·angle shape is generated. This process is performed for all the data with a rounded square shape in the display data 114.

[0174] In this way, by extracting the corresponding data for each receiver from the in-display-range receiver management data 112, generating the display data related to the moving direction of the target person, and providing the area and moving direction where the target person exists, it is possible to narrow down the search range by the searcher.

[0175] [Embodiment 3] Incidentally, in the above-described Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, the case of clarifying the area where the target person existed within a certain past time (T2) until time t2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it can also be configured to provide information predicting the area where the target person is likely to exist after the current time. Therefore, in this Embodiment 3, the case of providing information predicting the area where the target person is likely to exist after the current time will be described.

[0176] <Outline of the Search Support System According to Embodiment 3> First, the outline of the search support system according to Embodiment 3 will be described. FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the outline of the search support system according to Embodiment 3. As shown in FIG. 28, the position coordinates, moving speed, and moving direction of the detected wireless tag 10 are accumulated using the in-display range receiver management data 112 (S21). Here, the moving speed is obtained from the time and the position coordinates of the wireless tag when the same receiver continuously detects the wireless tag 10 of the target person, by adopting the first detected reception point and the last detected reception point.

[0177] For example, when the first detected reception point of the wireless tag 10 is the position coordinates "x1 / y1" at time "t1" and the last detected reception point is the position coordinates "x2 / y2" at time "t2", the speed v is expressed by the following formula. v = SQRT((x2 - x1)^2+(y2 - y1)^2) / (t2 - t1) (Formula 6) Here, "SQRT" represents the square root and "^2" represents the square.

[0178] Using the accumulated data, the predicted moving speed, predicted moving direction, and probability density function are calculated by statistical processing (S22), and the area with a high probability of the target person's presence at the next sampling time is predicted (S23). Here, the areas indicated by colors 7, 8, and 9 are shown to be the areas with a high probability of the target person's presence at the next sampling time.

[0179] Specifically, the predicted moving speed is set to the overall interval average value weighted by the short-term scalar value. The weighting gives a high weight to the data closest to the time to be predicted. This is because generally, the walking speed is considered to change in a relatively short time depending on momentary mood, fatigue over time, and environmental conditions such as the surrounding scenery.

[0180] The predicted moving direction is the average value of the moving direction angle weighted to the short-term or long-term value. When the destination position is clear, the weighting is performed by taking the moving vector as a long-term moving vector starting from the detection start point, and calculating the average and variance. This is because there is little fluctuation in the global direction, making it easy to narrow down the direction.

[0181] When the destination position is unclear, the weighting is performed by weighting the most recent value of the direction angle of the short-term movement vector and calculating the average. This is because the more irregular the walking, the more difficult it is to narrow down the direction, and conversely, it is important to display a wide range of variation.

[0182] The prediction of the moving direction may be performed by calculating the average value of the long-term vector as the average value and the variance of the short-term vector as the variance. This is because it is possible to narrow down the target direction while displaying a wide range of variation.

[0183] In addition, when displaying the probability density function, it is possible to display it in a different color corresponding to each of the above two types of prediction methods related to the movement direction, or it is also possible to configure it so that one of them is selected and displayed.

[0184] A predicted location probability density function is calculated with the predicted moving speed and predicted moving direction as average values ​​and a constant value as variance. Furthermore, the predicted location probability density function is multiplied by a presence tendency density function that sets a high presence tendency on roads and a low presence tendency off roads, and the probability density function is calculated by excluding areas where the presence of the wireless tag 10 is not detected by the receiver.

[0185] Assuming that the scalar velocity and direction angle follow a normal distribution or a von Mises distribution, respectively, the probability density function is used to predict the area where the subject is likely to be present at the next sampling time. Note that the distribution can also be configured to be obtained by machine learning.

[0186] <Display procedure using probability density function according to the third embodiment> Next, the display guidelines using the probability density function according to Embodiment 3 will be described. FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the display guidelines using the probability density function according to Embodiment 3. First, as shown in FIG. 29(a), using the probability density function, it is represented as a probability density function map for each position coordinate.

[0187] Specifically, the probability density function indicates that when the position coordinate is "X coordinate 1 / y" and y is Y coordinate 1, it is "0.0162"; when y is Y coordinate 2, it is "0.0187"; when y is Y coordinate 3, it is "0.0201"; when y is Y coordinate 4, it is "0.0192"; when y is Y coordinate 5, it is "0.0149"; when y is Y coordinate 6, it is "0.0085"; and when y is Y coordinate 7, it is "0.0034".

[0188] Also, when the position coordinate is "X coordinate 2 / y", it indicates that when y is Y coordinate 1, it is "0.0106"; when y is Y coordinate 2, it is "0.0169"; when y is Y coordinate 3, it is "0.0212"; when y is Y coordinate 4, it is "0.0234"; when y is Y coordinate 5, it is "0.0157"; when y is Y coordinate 6, it is "0.0156"; and when y is Y coordinate 7, it is "0.0051".

[0189] Also, when the position coordinate is "X coordinate 3 / y", it indicates that when y is Y coordinate 1, it is "0.0085"; when y is Y coordinate 2, it is "0.0089"; when y is Y coordinate 3, it is "0.0129"; when y is Y coordinate 4, it is "0.0200"; when y is Y coordinate 5, it is "0.0250"; when y is Y coordinate 6, it is "0.0214"; and when y is Y coordinate 7, it is "0.0116".

[0190] Also, when the position coordinate is "X coordinate 4 / y", it indicates that when y is Y coordinate 1, it is "0.0021"; when y is Y coordinate 2, it is "0.0027"; when y is Y coordinate 3, it is "0.0042"; when y is Y coordinate 4, it is "0.0143"; when y is Y coordinate 5, it is "0.0165"; when y is Y coordinate 6, it is "0.0240"; and when y is Y coordinate 7, it is "0.0103".

[0191] Also, it shows that when the position coordinates are "X coordinate 5 / y", the value is "0.0009" when y is Y coordinate 1, "0.0004" when y is Y coordinate 2, "0.0035" when y is Y coordinate 3, "0.0115" when y is Y coordinate 4, "0.0219" when y is Y coordinate 5, "0.0242" when y is Y coordinate 6, and "0.0156" when y is Y coordinate 7.

[0192] Also, it shows that when the position coordinates are "X coordinate 6 / y", the value is "0.0012" when y is Y coordinate 1, "0.0019" when y is Y coordinate 2, "0.0035" when y is Y coordinate 3, "0.0128" when y is Y coordinate 4, "0.0153" when y is Y coordinate 5, "0.0227" when y is Y coordinate 6, and "0.0098" when y is Y coordinate 7.

[0193] Also, it shows that when the position coordinates are "X coordinate 7 / y", the value is "0.0053" when y is Y coordinate 1, "0.0062" when y is Y coordinate 2, "0.0099" when y is Y coordinate 3, "0.0166" when y is Y coordinate 4, "0.0218" when y is Y coordinate 5, "0.0192" when y is Y coordinate 6, and "0.0106" when y is Y coordinate 7.

[0194] Next, the drawing map in Fig. 29(b) will be described. The drawing map extracts the position coordinates where the numerical value of the probability density function map is 0.0150 or more, and draws the position coordinates of 0.0240 or more in color 7 (for example, dark green), the position coordinates of 0.0200 or more and less than 0.240 in color 8 (for example, green), and the position coordinates of 0.0150 or more and less than 0.200 in color 9 (for example, light green).

[0195] <Example of display of image data 113 according to Embodiment 3> Next, an example of the display of the image data 113 according to the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the image data 113 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 30 shows a display example at time t3, and a region with a high probability of the presence of the target person at the next sampling time, which is obtained using the probability density function, is additionally displayed in the display example at t3 (FIG. 26) according to the second embodiment.

[0196] Regions with a high degree of certainty of the presence position at the next sampling time are indicated by color 7, color 8, and color 9. This display example shows that there is a region with a high probability of the presence of the target person at the next sampling time, centered along the road in the 180-degree direction from the position of the mobile receiver 3A.

[0197] As described above, the search support system according to the third embodiment can provide information predicting a region where the target person is likely to exist after the current time.

[0198] Note that each configuration illustrated in the above embodiments is functionally schematic, and it is not necessarily physically configured as illustrated. That is, the form of dispersion / integration of each device is not limited to that illustrated, and all or part of it can be functionally or physically dispersed / integrated in arbitrary units according to various loads, usage situations, and the like.

Industrial Applicability

[0199] The search support system and the search support method according to the present invention are suitable for efficiently securing a target person.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0200] 1A, 2A, 3A, 30 Mobile receivers 1B, 2B, 3B, 20 Fixed receivers 10 Wireless tag 40 Information aggregation server 41 Display unit 42 Input unit 43 Communication unit 44 Storage unit 44a Wireless tag management data 44b Receiver management data 44c Mobile receiver display setting data 44d Detection information display setting data 44e Receiver management data within display range 44f Image data 44g Map data 44h Display data 45 Control unit 45a Wireless tag management section 45b Receiver management section 45c Display setting section 45d Image data generation section 45e Data extraction section within display range 45f Current information processing section 45g Mobile receiver past information processing section 45h Past detection information processing section 45i Image data notification section 45j Display data drawing section 50 Mobile terminal 100 Information aggregation server 110 Memory unit 111 Receiver management data 112 Receiver management data within display range 113 Image data 114 Display data 115 Flag data for display data generation 120 Control unit 121 Receiver management section 122 Image data generation section 123 Data extraction section within display range 124 Current information processing section 125 Detailed detection information processing section 126 Coordinate calculation section 127 Display data change processing section 128 Moving direction calculation section 129 Display data drawing section

Claims

1. A search support system having a terminal device of a search requester who requests a search for a person who is a search target, a search information providing device that provides information related to the person to the terminal device, a wireless tag carried by the person, and a receiver that cooperates in the search for the person, The receiver includes: When the tag information of the wireless tag is detected, the search information providing device is notified of detection information including the detected tag information, the detection time of the tag information, the position information of the device itself, and the distance and angle from the position of the device itself to the wireless tag; The search information providing device includes: a storage means for storing within-display-range receiver management data including the position information of the receiver generated based on detection information notified from the receiver, a radio tag signal receivable radius, and an ID of the radio tag when the receiver detects the radio tag; a first calculation means for calculating a coordinate range of an area where the subject exists and an angle of a moving direction from a coordinate range of an area where the subject exists obtained based on a radio tag signal receivable radius of the receiver at a predetermined time point, the coordinates where the receiver exists at the predetermined time point, and the coordinates where the receiver existed in the past going back a predetermined time interval from the predetermined time point; a storage means for storing in said storage means display data that stores a coordinate range of an area in which said subject was present within a certain period of time in the past up to said predetermined time point, which is obtained as an output of said first calculation means, and an angle of said moving direction; a notification means for notifying the terminal device of the contents of the display data; Equipped with The terminal device A display means is provided for displaying on a map, based on the contents of the display data, the area in which the subject was present within a certain period of time up to the specified time point and the angle of the direction of movement of the subject, in the form of an arrow having a width based on the radius of radio tag signal reception of the receiver. A search support system comprising:

2. The search information providing device includes: storing a presence tendency density function map in the storage means, the presence tendency information representing the degree of the presence tendency of pedestrians in the area being stored as a probability value for each position coordinate; a storage means for storing time-series information of the position coordinates, the moving speed and the moving direction of the wireless tag in the storage means; a generating means for generating a predicted position probability density function map by performing statistical processing on the time series information stored in the storage means; a second calculation means for calculating a probability density function from the existence tendency density function map and the predicted position probability density function map; Further equipped with The display means includes: The information regarding the area where the subject is likely to be present from the predetermined time point onward is displayed on a map in a color-coded format based on the value of each area obtained as an output of the second calculation means.

2. The search support system according to claim 1,

3. The search support system described in Claim 2, characterized in that the statistical processing involves calculating an average value and a variance value and reflecting them in the predicted position probability density function map.

4. A search support system as described in claim 3, characterized in that the statistical processing is performed by giving a high weight to data most recent to the predicted time.

5. A search support system as described in Claim 4, characterized in that in the statistical processing, the predicted movement speed is calculated as the average value for the entire section weighted by a short-term scalar value, and the predicted movement direction is calculated as the average value of the movement direction angle weighted by a short-term or long-term value.

6. A search support system as described in Claim 5, characterized in that in the statistical processing, the average value of the predicted movement direction is calculated as the average value of a long-term vector, and the variance value is calculated as the variance value of a short-term vector.

7. A search support method in a search support system having a terminal device of a search requester requesting a search for a person who is a search target, a search information providing device that provides information related to the person to the terminal device, a wireless tag carried by the person, and a receiver that cooperates in the search for the person, comprising: a notification step of notifying the search information providing device of detection information including the detected tag information, the detection time of the tag information, the position information of the own device, and the distance and angle from the position of the own device to the wireless tag, when the receiver detects the tag information of the wireless tag; a storage step in which the search information providing device stores in a storage unit, within-display-range receiver management data including the position information of the receiver, the radio tag signal receivable radius, and the ID of the radio tag when the receiver detects the radio tag, the data being generated based on the detection information notified from the receiver; a first calculation step in which the search information providing device calculates a coordinate range of an area in which the subject exists and an angle of a moving direction from a coordinate range of an area in which the subject exists, which is obtained based on a radio tag signal receivable radius of the receiver at a predetermined time point, the coordinates at which the receiver exists at the predetermined time point, and the coordinates at which the receiver existed in the past going back a predetermined time interval from the predetermined time point; a first storage step in which the search information providing device stores in the storage unit display data that stores the range of coordinates of an area in which the subject was present within a certain period of time in the past up to the predetermined time point, the range being obtained as an output of the first calculation step, and an angle of the moving direction; a second notification step of the search information providing device notifying the terminal device of the content of the display data; a display step in which the terminal device displays, based on the contents of the display data, the area in which the subject person was present within a certain period of time up to the predetermined time point and the angle of the moving direction on a map in the form of an arrow having a width based on the radius of radio tag signal reception of the receiver; A search support method comprising:

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