Server device, movement control method, and computer program

Abstract

To enable the execution of operation plan to start from an arbitrary point within the operation plan.SOLUTION: A movement control system includes: a receiving unit that receives start information for deciding a start command to start execution of an operation plan in the operation plan which contains a plurality of commands to control a moving object; and an operation plan executing unit that starts executing the operation plan according to the start command decided on the basis of the start information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a movement control system, a movement control method, and a computer program.

Background Art

[0002] In facilities such as warehouses and factories, when operating a moving body such as a vehicle according to an operation plan to perform operations such as transporting goods, the operation of the moving body may stop due to some factor. When the moving body has a held stop position, it is possible to resume autonomous movement of the moving body from the stop position.

[0003] When the stop position is not held, it is necessary to have an operator or the like transport the moving body to the initial position and start autonomous movement again from the initial position. Further, even if the operator is asked to return the moving body to the initial position, when there are a plurality of initial positions, it is not possible to specify from which initial position the operation should be resumed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to enable the execution of an operation plan to be started from an arbitrary location within the operation plan.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The movement control system of the present disclosure includes a receiving unit that receives start information for determining a start command for starting the execution of the operation plan in an operation plan including a plurality of commands for controlling a moving body, and an operation plan execution unit that starts the execution of the operation plan from the start command determined based on the start information.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

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Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0009] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a movement control system according to this embodiment. The movement control system of FIG. 1 controls one or more moving bodies M in a space such as a warehouse or a facility according to an operation plan. The space is provided with a movement environment in which the moving body M can move (for example, travel or fly). The moving body M is a device capable of autonomous movement on the ground or in space, such as an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), a mobile robot, or a drone. In this embodiment, the moving body M is a device that travels on the ground, such as an AGV or a mobile robot, and it is assumed that the moving body M is used to carry goods. The moving body M operates according to the operation plan managed by the server 100. The operation plan includes a plurality of commands for controlling the moving body M and the order in which the commands are executed. This embodiment realizes the execution or resumption of the operation plan by the moving body M from an arbitrary plan or an arbitrary command. Thereby, even when the operation of the moving body M temporarily stops due to a trouble such as a system failure during the operation plan, the execution of the operation plan can be resumed from a desired location. Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0010] The movement control system of FIG. 1 includes a server 100 and one or more moving bodies M. Although only one moving body M is shown in the figure, there may be a plurality of moving bodies M. The server 100 includes an operation plan execution unit 110, a storage unit 120, a reception unit 130, and a transmission unit 140. The operation plan execution unit 110 includes a start information acquisition unit 111, an operation plan selection unit 112, and an execution instruction unit 113.

[0011] The receiving unit 130 communicates with an external device wirelessly or by wire and receives data or information. In the case of wireless communication, one or more antennas are connected to the receiving unit 130. The external device includes, for example, a terminal device of a user who performs work or management in a warehouse or facility, a moving body M, or devices (such as cameras and monitoring devices) installed in a moving environment. Depending on the number of types of devices that the server 100 can communicate with or the number of communication methods used, a plurality of receiving units 130 may be provided. The terminal device may be a general computer device equipped with an input unit (such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, voice input unit), an output unit (such as a display unit, speaker), a control unit, a communication unit, and the like.

[0012] The transmitting unit 140 communicates with an external device wirelessly or by wire and transmits data or information. In the case of wireless communication, one or more antennas are connected to the transmitting unit 140. The antennas may be shared by the transmitting unit 140 and the receiving unit 130. Specific examples of the external device are the same as those in the case of the receiving unit 130. Depending on the number of types of devices that the server 100 can communicate with or the number of communication methods used, a plurality of transmitting units 140 may be provided.

[0013] The memory unit 120 stores data on the operation plan of the mobile body M to be controlled. The operation plan may be provided for each mobile body M, or one operation plan may be commonly applied to a plurality of mobile bodies M. The memory unit 120 may also store map data of the movement environment, graph map data, specification information of each mobile body M, etc. The map data stores detailed information of the movement environment (for example, movement routes, positions of obstacles, positions of shelves for storing transported goods, etc.). The map data may be created by the mobile body M using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping technology). Alternatively, the map data may be drawing data for facility construction or design. The graph map data may be created by a computer analyzing the map data based on graph map creation technology, or may be created by a human with reference to the map data. The graph map data corresponds to the map data, and the server 100 can control the operation of the mobile body M using the graph map data. The graph map data includes a plurality of nodes and edges connecting the nodes. Each node corresponds to an actual point in the movement environment (a point on the map data). The edge corresponds to a route between the points corresponding to the nodes at both ends of the edge.

[0014] Figure 2 shows an example of a simplified representation of a movement environment including the route and points where the mobile body M moves. A plurality of points A, B, C, D, E, F are shown. Routes are formed between points A and C, between points B and C, between points C and D, between points D and E, and between points D and F. The mobile body M cannot move between points where no route is formed. The route between points X and Y is denoted as route X-Y. The above-mentioned graph map data includes a plurality of nodes A, B, C, D, E, F corresponding to points A to F and edges connecting the nodes. The edge corresponds to the route between the points.

[0015] Figure 3 shows the data of the operation plan stored in the storage unit 120 in a table format. This operation plan is for operating the moving body M in the moving environment of FIG. 2. The operation plan includes a plurality of plans and the execution order of the plurality of plans. Each plan is assigned a plan ID which is a number in ascending order starting from 0, meaning that the plans are executed in ascending order of the plan ID. Each plan is a collection of a plurality of processes (purposes) necessary to achieve the operation plan as a group of commands for each purpose. The plan with the plan ID of 0 is referred to as Plan 0. The plans with other plan IDs are also denoted in the same way. Plan 0 is a plan for the moving body M to work at point B and then move to point C. Plan 1 is a plan for the moving body M to make a sound and then move to point D after working. Plan 2 is a plan for the moving body M to move to point E, make a sound, and then work.

[0016] Each plan includes one or more commands in the form of commands executable by the moving body M. A command is code that can be interpreted and executed by the moving body M. Each plan includes the execution order of the commands. More specifically, for each plan, each command is assigned a command ID which is a number in ascending order starting from 0, meaning that the commands are executed in ascending order of the command ID. The command with the command ID of 0 is referred to as Command 0. The commands with other command IDs below are also denoted in the same way. By executing the commands in ascending order of the plan ID and in ascending order of the command ID, the operation plan is executed.

[0017] The operation plan includes start information for starting (including resuming) the execution of the operation plan from a command (instruction) at any position within the operation plan or from a plan at any position. The start information is provided for one or more commands within the operation plan. As a specific example of the start information, a value indicating the location ID (or node ID) shown in FIG. 2 is stored. The command associated with the start information may be a command to be executed by the moving body M at the location corresponding to the location ID indicated by the start information. For example, when starting the operation of the moving body M from a certain location, the user transports the moving body M to that location and arranges it at that location, and then transmits an operation start instruction including the location ID corresponding to that location as start information to the server 100 from the terminal device 200 or the like. The server 100 identifies the command corresponding to the location ID indicated by the start information included in the operation start instruction as the start command (start instruction), and starts (including resuming) the execution of the operation plan from the start command.

[0018] The start information acquisition unit 111 receives, via the reception unit 130, an operation start instruction for instructing the start of operation, including start information, from an external device such as the terminal device 200, and acquires the start information from the operation start instruction. The user arranges the moving body M to be the target of the start of operation at the location where the operation is to be started, and transmits an operation start instruction including the location ID corresponding to the arranged location as start information to the server 100 using the terminal device 200. A medium including the location ID may be provided on the floor or wall at or near the location corresponding to the location ID, and the user may specify the location ID by referring to the medium. The medium may be printed character information or pasted character information.

[0019] If the operation start instruction does not include start information or the same location ID as the location ID indicated by the start information is not stored in the operation plan, the start information acquisition unit 111 may transmit a transmission request for requesting the transmission of start information to the terminal device 200 via the transmission unit 140. The start information acquisition unit 111 may acquire the start information by receiving a response including the start information from the terminal device 200 in response to the transmission request.

[0020] The operation plan selection unit 112 acquires the start information acquired by the start information acquisition unit 111. The operation plan selection unit 112 detects the location ID indicated by the start information from the operation plan by searching, and sets the command (instruction) corresponding to the detected location ID, in other words, the command corresponding to the detected location ID among the plans including the detected location ID as the start command. The operation plan selection unit 112 determines to start the operation plan from the start command.

[0021] The execution instruction unit 113 transmits, to the mobile body M via the transmission unit 140, instruction data for instructing the execution of the command selected by the operation plan selection unit 112. The instruction data includes the command, and the mobile body M executes the command included in the instruction data. Thereby, the server 100 can cause the mobile body M to start or resume the operation plan from the desired location. The execution instruction unit 113 sequentially transmits, to the mobile body M, instruction data for instructing execution according to the execution status of the command also for the commands in the order subsequent to the selected command. Alternatively, in the plan including the selected command, the commands to be executed after the selected command may be transmitted together with the selected command. After that, the server 100 may transmit a command group to the mobile body M in plan units. The mobile body M executes the commands received from the server 100 in ascending order of the command ID.

[0022] The mobile body M may determine whether the own vehicle exists at the point where the command included in the received instruction data should be executed. If the mobile body M does not exist at the said point, it may not execute the command. In this case, the mobile body M may send an error message to the server 100. The server 100 may send warning data indicating that the mobile body M does not exist at the point where the command should be executed to the user's terminal device 200, and prompt the user to place the mobile body M at the point where the command should be executed. The mobile body M may be provided with a detection unit that detects the location where the own vehicle exists. The detection unit of the mobile body M may detect the position of the own vehicle using a camera or the like based on a mark representing a point provided in the moving environment. When there is a position management server that manages the position of the mobile body M, the detection unit of the mobile body M may detect the position of the own vehicle by communicating with the position management server.

[0023] Hereinafter, an operation example of the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. As an operation example, assume a case where the server 100 starts the operation plan shown in FIG. 2 with the mobile body M placed at point B.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining this operation example. In FIG. 4, the route along which the mobile body M is planned to be moved according to the operation plan is indicated by a dashed line.

[0025] The mobile body M executes command 0 in plan 1 at point B and performs the work (for example, receiving luggage) instructed by command 0.

[0026] Next, the mobile body M starts moving towards point C by executing Command 1 of Plan 1. During the movement of the mobile body M, suppose that due to some accident (such as system down, dropping luggage, falling, etc.) on the route B - C, the operation of the mobile body M is interrupted and the mobile body M stops. In FIG. 4, the location where the mobile body M stops is indicated by an 'x'. The user who is monitoring the mobile body M in the moving environment notices that the operation of the mobile body M has been interrupted and decides to resume the work on the mobile body M from point C. The user moves to the stop location of the mobile body M, picks up the mobile body M, transports it to point C, and drops off the mobile body M. Note that the user may visually notice the interruption of the operation of the mobile body M, or may grasp that the interruption has occurred through a notification of the interruption from the system.

[0027] When the user places the mobile body M at point C, the user operates the terminal device 200 to generate start information indicating the location ID of point C, and transmits a start operation instruction including the start information to the server 100.

[0028] FIG. 5 shows an example of transmitting a start operation instruction from the user's terminal device 200 to the server 100.

[0029] The server 100 detects the start information included in the start operation instruction received from the user's terminal device 200, searches for and identifies the command corresponding to the start information in the operation plan. In this example, the command corresponding to point C indicated by the start information, that is, Command 1 in Plan 1, is identified as the start command.

[0030] FIG. 6 shows an example of searching the operation plan and the server 100 identifying Command 1 as the start command.

[0031] Server 100 transmits instruction data for instructing the execution of Command 1 to mobile body M. FIG. 5 shows an example in which server 100 transmits instruction data to mobile body M. Mobile body M executes the command instructed by the instruction data. As a result, the execution of the operation plan resumes from Command 1 of Plan 1 of the operation plan. That is, mobile body M can resume work from point C. As a result, Command 0 in Plan 1 is skipped and the output of the warning sound is not executed. As a modification, when the ID of point C is associated with Command 0 in Plan 1, the execution of the operation plan can resume from Command 0 in Plan 1. Separate start information (for example, C-0, C-1) may be given to both Command 0 and Command 1 in Plan 1 to enable the resumption of the execution of the operation plan from any command.

[0032] When the user inputs start information into terminal device 200 and provides the start information to server 100, the input of the start information may be performed using sensor device 210 provided in terminal device 200.

[0033] FIG. 7 shows an example in which terminal device 200 equipped with sensor device 210 is provided in the movement control system of FIG. 1. Terminal device 200 includes sensor device 210, start information detection unit 220, and transceiver unit 230. Sensor device 210 is a camera or a barcode scanner, etc. A medium containing information (location ID) capable of identifying each location is provided on the floor or wall, etc. near each location or the like. Examples of the medium include barcodes, two-dimensional barcodes (for example, QR codes (registered trademarks)), unique recognition codes, AR markers, characters, etc. The user causes sensor device 210 to sense information from the medium. Start information detection unit 220 processes the information sensed from the medium by sensor device 210 and detects the location ID included in the information as start information. Transceiver unit 230 transmits the acquired start information or an operation start instruction including the start information to server 100. When terminal device 200 receives a transmission request for start information from server 100, terminal device 200 transmits a response including the start information to server 100. When the medium is character information and character recognition processing is performed, the character recognition processing may be performed by another device such as server 100 instead of terminal device 200.

[0034] In the example of FIG. 7, the sensor device 210, the start information detection unit 220, etc. were provided in the terminal device 200, but they may be provided in other external devices. The other external device may be the moving body M.

[0035] FIG. 8 shows a case where the external device provided with the sensor device 210, the start information detection unit 220, etc. is the moving body M. The same reference numerals are assigned to the elements having the same names as those in FIG. 7, and the same description is omitted. The moving body M senses information from the medium by the sensor device 210 based on, for example, a user's instruction or a transmission request from the server 100, and the start information detection unit 220 processes the sensed information to detect the location ID. The transmission / reception unit 230 transmits the start information including the location ID to the server 100, including it in the operation start instruction or the response to the transmission request. The moving body M may detect the position where it exists by a method such as self-position estimation using a camera or a radar, and acquire the location ID corresponding to the detected position. When the medium is character information and the location ID is detected by character information recognition processing, the character recognition processing may be performed by another device such as the server 100.

[0036] As still another example of other external devices, a monitoring device including a camera or the like capable of monitoring each location may perform the operation. The camera images the area including the location, and recognizes the characters of the location ID included in the captured image by image analysis. The camera acquires the recognized location ID and transmits the start information including the location ID to the server 100. The camera may acquire the start information based on an instruction from the terminal device 200. Alternatively, the camera may acquire the location ID by performing imaging in response to a transmission request from the server 100. When the medium is character information and the location ID is detected by character information recognition processing, the character recognition processing may be performed by another device such as the server 100.

[0037] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server 100 according to the present embodiment. When the start information acquisition unit 111 receives a start operation instruction (S101), it checks whether the start operation instruction includes start information (e.g., location ID) (S102). If the start information is not included, a response including the start information is received by transmitting a request for transmission of the start information to an external device (S103). When the start operation instruction includes the start information, or when a response including the start information is received, an instruction (command) to start or resume the execution of the operation plan is selected based on the start information (S104). The server 100 transmits instruction data for instructing the execution of the selected instruction and subsequent instructions (instructions in the order after the selected instruction) to the moving body M (S105). The moving body M executes the instruction instructed by the instruction data received from the server 100.

[0038] As described above, according to the present embodiment, when start information is associated with an instruction (command) in an operation plan and the operation plan is started (including resumption), the operation plan can be started from an arbitrary location (arbitrary instruction or arbitrary plan) in the operation plan by specifying the start information.

[0039] (Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the start information is information (location ID) for identifying a location, but the start information may be information (command identification information) for identifying an instruction (command).

[0040] FIG. 10 shows an example of an operation plan according to the present embodiment. Command identification information is stored in the column of start information. For example, Sound1 is command identification information for identifying a command for outputting a specific warning sound. The terminal device 200 or the like transmits a start operation instruction including the command identification information of the command for which the execution of the operation plan is to be started as the start information. The operation plan selection unit 112 of the server 100 specifies a command corresponding to the command identification information indicated by the start information from the operation plan. For example, when the start information indicates Sound1, command 0 in plan 1 is specified as the start command.

[0041] As described above, according to the present embodiment, by using the command identification information as the start information, the user can easily specify the command for which the operation plan is to be started.

[0042] (Third Embodiment) When the start information is not included in the operation start instruction in the first embodiment, the operation plan selection unit 112 transmits a request for transmitting the start information. As an example of a form for realizing this operation, a command for transmitting a request (command) may be added to the operation plan, and the operation plan selection unit 112 may execute this command to transmit the request.

[0043] FIG. 11 shows an example of an operation plan according to the present embodiment. In the column of command IDs, "start information acquisition" is stored as a label indicating that the start information is to be acquired. In the column of commands, a location acquisition command for instructing the transmission of a request is stored in the row corresponding to this label "start information acquisition". The location acquisition command has a format executable by the operation plan selection unit 112.

[0044] When the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, the operation plan selection unit 112 searches for the label "start information acquisition" from the column of command IDs of the operation plan. The command (location acquisition command) corresponding to "start information acquisition" detected by the search is specified from the column of commands. The operation plan selection unit 112 executes the location acquisition command. Thereby, the operation plan selection unit 112 generates a request for transmitting the start information and transmits the request to an external device such as the terminal device 200.

[0045] As described above, according to the present embodiment, by including the label "start information acquisition" and the location acquisition command in the operation plan, the operation of transmitting a request for transmitting the start information can be easily realized.

[0046] (Fourth Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the location ID was stored in advance in the column of start information in the operation plan. In this embodiment, the column of start information is left blank as the initial state. The operation plan selection unit 112 instructs the mobile body to execute the plurality of commands in the operation plan in order from the first command. The operation plan selection unit 112 adds the location ID to the column of start information according to the execution status of the operation plan. When the operation of the mobile body M is interrupted and restarted, the operation plan selection unit 112 specifies the command corresponding to the location ID most recently added in the operation plan as the start command.

[0047] For example, in the specific example shown in FIG. 4 above, when it is determined to transmit command 1 (movement command to location C) in plan 0 to the mobile body M at location B, a value indicating location B is added as start information in association with command 1 within plan 0 in the operation plan. That is, the operation plan selection unit 112 holds the value indicating location B in association with command 1. Location B corresponds to the location of the mobile body M where command 1 is to be executed. Note that the timing of holding the value indicating location B may be after, before, or at the same time as the transmission of the instruction data instructing the execution of command 1. Among the command groups in the operation plan, which command to register the start information for is determined in advance. The command to which the start information is to be associated is determined in advance, and the operation plan selection unit 112 of the server 100 performs the association of the start information only for the predetermined commands.

[0048] When the operation of the moving body M is interrupted due to an accident during the movement to location C, the operation plan selection unit 112 reads out the location ID that was most recently held (added) in the operation plan (in this example, the ID of location B, "B"). The operation plan selection unit 112 determines to resume the execution of the operation plan from the command corresponding to the ID of location B (command 1). The user may send an operation start instruction that does not include start information from the terminal device 200 to the server 100. If the moving body M has fallen or dropped a load between route B - C, the user should correct the posture of the moving body M or place the dropped load on the moving body M and then send the operation start instruction to the server 100.

[0049] In the above description, the case where the start information is position information indicating a location has been explained. However, the case where the start information is command identification information (identification information for identifying a command or identification information for identifying an instruction), as in the second embodiment, can be implemented in the same way.

[0050] As described above, according to this embodiment, since the user does not need to input start information, the operation plan can be easily resumed.

[0051] (Modification of the Fourth Embodiment) The operation plan selection unit 112 does not add start information to the operation plan, but manages the history of executed commands among a plurality of commands (commands) in the operation plan. The execution history of the commands may be stored in the storage unit 120. When the operation plan selection unit 112 resumes the execution of the operation plan after the execution of the operation plan has been temporarily stopped, it determines the command to resume the execution of the operation plan based on the history. For example, it determines the command that was determined to be executed immediately before in the history, or the command that the moving body M was instructed to execute immediately before, as the command to resume the execution of the operation plan.

[0052] (Fifth Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the user directly inputs start information into the terminal device 200 from an input unit or the like. However, a list of start information may be transmitted from the operation plan selection unit 112 of the server 100 to the terminal device 200, and the user may select start information from the list displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 200.

[0053] The operation plan selection unit 112 of the server 100 acquires all the start information (for example, location ID) included in the column of start information in the operation plan, and generates a list including the acquired start information. The operation plan selection unit 112 transmits the list to the terminal device 200. When the operation of the moving body M stops, the user causes the list to be displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 200 and selects start information from the list.

[0054] The terminal device 200 transmits the selected start information or an operation start instruction including the selected start information to the server 100. The timing for transmitting the list to the terminal device 200 may be any timing. For example, it may be the time when the operation plan is first executed, or the time when the execution of the operation plan is resumed when the execution of the operation plan is interrupted. Alternatively, it may be the time when an acquisition request for acquiring the list is received from the terminal device 200, or other timings.

[0055] As described above, according to the present embodiment, by presenting the user with a list of start information, the user can easily determine the start information for specifying the command to start the operation plan.

[0056] (Sixth Embodiment) In the operation plan of the first embodiment, commands in a form executable by the moving body M were included. In the sixth embodiment, the operation plan stores only identification information (command name) for collectively identifying one or more commands, and a table (command correspondence table) associating the command name with one or more commands is separately provided. The command correspondence table may be stored in the storage unit 120.

[0057] The command name may be in a format that is easy for the user to understand or in a unique format that is easy for the server 100 to manage. The command name does not necessarily have to correspond to only one command, and a single command name may correspond to multiple operation commands. For example, when the moving body M performs loading, it may be necessary to move to the loading location, grasp the position of the luggage, pick up the luggage, etc. Among these operations, grasping the position of the luggage and picking it up may be grouped together as loading and assigned a single command name, and both the command for grasping the position of the luggage and the command for picking it up may be associated with the said command name. A plurality of commands associated with a single command name may be assigned an ID (referred to as a command sub-ID) indicating the order of execution. In the operation plan, a command ID may be assigned to the command name.

[0058] The start information may be associated in units of command names. In this case, a plurality of commands associated with the command name corresponding to the start information specified by the user or the like are identified, and the identified plurality of commands may be executed in the order indicated by the command sub-ID.

[0059] FIG. 12 shows an example of the operation plan according to the present embodiment and the command correspondence table. In the operation plan in the upper figure, "sound + work" is stored as a command name indicating an operation that combines the output of a warning sound and work. In the command correspondence table in the lower figure, two commands, namely, a command for instructing the output of a warning sound and a command for performing work, are associated with the command name "sound + work". Each command is indicated by a command sub-ID in the order of execution. This means that the commands are executed starting from the command sub-ID with a smaller number.

[0060] In the example of FIG. 12, the start information was given in units of command names, but the start information may be given in units of commands. In this case, the column of start information may be deleted from the operation plan and the column of start information may be added to the command correspondence table. Thereby, it is possible to specify a command for starting the operation plan with a finer granularity.

[0061] As described above, according to the present embodiment, an operation plan that is easy for the user or the server 100 to understand or manage can be created.

[0062] (Seventh Embodiment) There may be cases where the same start information is included in a plurality of plans in the operation plan. For example, when the moving body M travels back and forth on the same route, it passes through the same point multiple times. In this case, the same start information may be given to the command executed when moving on the outbound route and the command executed when moving on the return route, respectively.

[0063] FIG. 13 shows an example of the operation plan according to the present embodiment. Plans after plan 3 are added to the operation plan in FIG. 3. Plan 3 includes a command to move to point D and a command to output a warning sound at point D. The command to move to point D stores "D" indicating the ID of point D as start information. As a result, the operation plan includes the same two pieces of start information "D".

[0064] When the same start information is included in a plurality of plans in this way, the operation plan selection unit 112 can determine the start command in the operation plan from the start information specified by the user or the like as follows.

[0065] As the first method, the operation plan selection unit 112 searches in order from the top or bottom of the operation plan, and sets the command corresponding to the start information that hits the nth time as the start command. That is, in the plan including the start information that hits the nth time, the command associated with the start information is set as the start command. The value of n may be a predetermined value. It may also be variable according to the execution status of the operation plan. For example, the value of n may be determined according to the elapsed time from the start time of the operation plan. Alternatively, the user may determine the value of n and transmit the value of n from the terminal device 200 to the server 100.

[0066] As a second method, for all start information found by the search, a plan including each start information is transmitted to the user's terminal device 200 and displayed on the display unit. The user determines from which plan to start and transmits the ID of the determined plan to the server 100. The operation plan selection unit 112 of the server 100 determines to start from the command associated with the start information in the plan specified by the user.

[0067] As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when a plurality of start information with the same value is included in the operation plan, it is possible to specify a command to resume the operation and resume the operation.

[0068] (Eighth Embodiment) In the first embodiment, when transmitting start information from the user's terminal device 200 or the like to the server 100, it is necessary to specify the same value as the start information included in the operation plan. However, as long as the start information transmitted to the server 100 can be associated with the start information in the operation plan, the two may have different values.

[0069] For example, let the start information acquired by the server 100 from an external device such as the terminal device 200 be "a", and the start information in the operation plan be "a'", and a conversion table associating a and a' is stored in the storage unit 120. When the server 100 receives the start information "a'", it uses the conversion table to convert "a" to "a'", and searches for the operation plan using the converted "a'" as the start information.

[0070] Also, by adding a prefix or a suffix to the start information received by the server 100 or the start information in the operation plan, the correspondence between the two may be grasped. For example, the start information obtained by the server 100 with the prefix "pos_" added is used as the start information in the operation plan. For example, when the start information received by the server 100 is "a", "pos_a" with the prefix "pos_" added is created, and the operation plan is searched using "pos_a" as the start information. Instead of a prefix, a suffix may be added, or both a prefix and a suffix may be added. Here, an example of adding at least one of a prefix and a suffix to the start information received by the server 100 has been shown, but a method of adding at least one of a prefix and a suffix to the start information of the operation plan is also possible.

[0071] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is also possible that the format of the start information received by the server 100 and the format of the start information in the operation plan are different from each other. Thereby, for example, by using a value that is easy for the user to understand as the start information to be transmitted to the server 100, it becomes easy for the user to specify the start information.

[0072] (Embodiment 9) A form is shown in which the same operation plan can be applied to a plurality of moving bodies M having different starting points.

[0073] FIG. 14 shows an example of an operation plan according to the present embodiment. The operation plan in FIG. 14 is applicable to a plurality of moving bodies M having different starting points. FIG. 15 shows an example of the moving environment of the operation plan according to the present embodiment. For example, in the moving environment shown in FIG. 15, the moving body M_X starts from point A, and the moving body M_Y starts from point B. The operation plans of the moving bodies M_X and M_Y are the same except that the starting points are different. At this time, a common value is used as the position information corresponding to point A and point B in the column of the start information of the operation plan. In this example, Home0 corresponds to command 0 of plan 0 and Home1 corresponds to command 1 of plan 0 as the start information, respectively.

[0074] By using the same start information at different locations in this way, the same operation plan can be applied to multiple moving bodies M using different locations. For example, when the operation plan is interrupted due to trouble during the movement of the moving body M_X or M_Y to the position C and the operation plan is to be resumed, the same start information (for example, Home1) is specified for the moving bodies M_X and M_Y. As a result, the movement to the position C can be resumed from the middle of the route A-C or the route B-C. Also, when the execution of the operation plan is to be carried out from the beginning for the moving bodies M_X and M_Y, it is possible to specify the same start information (for example, Home0). At this time, a recording medium (for example, a barcode, etc.) containing the same start information (for example, Home0) may be installed at both the point A which is the initial position of the moving body M_X and the point B which is the initial position of the moving body M_Y, and the moving body M may be made to read this same start information. Alternatively, the moving bodies M_X and M_Y may each store in advance their initial positions (point A in the case of the moving body M_X and point B in the case of the moving body M_Y), and the start information including the initial positions may be transmitted to the server 100. In this way, the moving bodies M_X and M_Y can be returned from their respective initial positions using the same operation plan.

[0075] As described above, according to the present embodiment, by assigning the same start information to different positions, the same operation plan can be applied to multiple moving bodies M.

[0076] (Hardware Configuration) FIG. 15 shows the hardware configuration of the server 100 in FIG. 1. The server 100 in FIG. 1 is constituted by a computer device 300. The computer device 300 includes a CPU 301, an input interface 302, a display device 303, a communication device 304, a main memory device 305, and an external memory device 306, and these are mutually connected by a bus 307.

[0077] The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301 executes an information processing program, which is a computer program, on the main memory device 305. The information processing program is a program that realizes each of the above-described functional configurations of the server 100. The information processing program may be realized not by a single program but by a combination of a plurality of programs and scripts. By executing the information processing program, the CPU 301 realizes each functional configuration.

[0078] The input interface 302 is a circuit or an input device for inputting operation signals from input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel into the server 100.

[0079] The display device 303 displays data output from the server 100. The display device 303 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic electroluminescence display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), but is not limited thereto. The data output from the computer device 300 can be displayed on this display device 303.

[0080] The communication device 304 is a circuit for the server 100 to communicate with an external device wirelessly or by wire. Data can be input from an external device via the communication device 304. The data input from the external device can be stored in the main memory device 305 or the external storage device 306.

[0081] The main memory device 305 stores an information processing program, data necessary for the execution of the information processing program, and data generated by the execution of the information processing program. The information processing program is deployed and executed on the main memory device 305. The main memory device 305 is, for example, a RAM, a DRAM, or an SRAM, but is not limited thereto. Each DB or storage unit in FIG. 1 may be constructed on the main memory device 305.

[0082] The external storage device 306 stores an information processing program, data necessary for the execution of the information processing program, and data generated by the execution of the information processing program. These information processing programs and data are read into the main storage device 305 when the information processing program is executed. The external storage device 306 is, for example, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flash memory, and a magnetic tape, but is not limited thereto. Each DB or each storage unit in FIG. 1 may be constructed on the external storage device 306.

[0083] Note that the information processing program may be pre-installed in the computer device 300, or may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Further, the information processing program may be uploaded on the Internet.

[0084] Further, the server 100 may be configured by a single computer device 300, or may be configured as a system including a plurality of computer devices 300 connected to each other.

[0085] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and at the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist thereof. Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0086] 100 Server 110 Operation Plan Execution Unit 111 Start Information Acquisition Unit 112 Operation Plan Selection Unit 113 Execution Instruction Unit 120 Storage Unit 130 Receiver 140 Transmitter 200 Terminal Device 210 Sensor Device 220 Start information detection unit 230 Transmission / reception unit 300 Computer device 302 Input interface 303 Display device 304 Communication device 305 Main memory device 306 External memory device 307 Bus

Claims

1. An operation plan execution unit that obtains an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a moving body, where the execution order is determined; A receiving unit that receives start information for determining a start instruction that starts the execution of the operation plan among the plurality of instructions in the operation plan; The operation plan execution unit determines a start instruction that starts the execution of the operation plan among the plurality of instructions based on the start information; It includes a transmission unit that transmits instruction data for instructing the moving body to execute instructions after the start instruction in the operation plan; A server device.

2. The transmission unit transmits instruction data for instructing the execution of the plurality of instructions included in the operation plan to the moving body; The receiving unit receives the start information when the execution of the plurality of instructions is interrupted in the moving body; The server device according to Claim 1.

3. The receiving unit receives an operation start instruction including the start information; The operation plan execution unit determines the start instruction based on the start information included in the operation start instruction; The server device according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. When the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, the transmission unit transmits a transmission request for requesting the transmission of the start information; The server device according to Claim 3, which includes this.

5. The transmission unit transmits the transmission request to the moving body or a terminal device operable by a user; The server device according to Claim 4.

6. The operation plan includes a transmission instruction for instructing the transmission of the transmission request; When the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, the operation plan execution unit detects the transmission instruction from the operation plan and transmits the transmission request by executing the transmission instruction. The server device according to claim 4 or 5.

7. The operation plan includes a plurality of plans and an order in which the plurality of plans are executed. The plurality of plans include one or more instructions and an order in which the one or more instructions are executed. Based on the start information, the operation plan execution unit determines a plan to be executed among the plurality of plans and a start instruction that starts the execution of the plan among the one or more instructions included in the plan to be executed. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. The operation plan includes at least one piece of position information associated with at least one instruction among the plurality of instructions. The start information includes position information of the moving body or position information indicating a position in the moving environment of the moving body. The operation plan execution unit detects an instruction corresponding to the position information included in the start information in the operation plan, and sets the detected instruction as the start instruction. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The operation plan includes identification information for identifying at least one instruction among the plurality of instructions. The identification information is associated with the at least one instruction. The start information includes identification information for identifying the start instruction. The operation plan execution unit detects an instruction corresponding to the identification information included in the start information in the operation plan, and sets the detected instruction as the start instruction. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A sensor device that senses the moving environment of the moving body, Based on the transmission request, a start information detection unit that performs sensing via the sensor device and detects the start information from the sensing information is provided. The operation plan execution unit acquires the start information detected by the start information detection unit. The server device according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

11. Comprising the mobile body, The mobile body includes the sensor device and the start information detection unit The server device according to claim 10.

12. A recording medium containing the start information is provided in the mobile environment, The start information detection unit reads the start information from the recording medium via the sensor device The server device according to claim 10 or 11.

13. The recording medium is a barcode, two-dimensional barcode, AR marker, or character information The server device according to claim 12.

14. The operation plan execution unit transmits a transmission request requesting the mobile body to transmit the start information, The transmission request includes information instructing the mobile body to estimate the position of the mobile body and transmit start information including the position information indicating the estimated position, The operation plan execution unit acquires the position information included in the start information received from the mobile body, detects an instruction corresponding to the acquired position information, and sets the detected instruction as the start instruction The server device according to claim 8.

15. The operation plan execution unit instructs the mobile body to execute instructions in order from the first instruction among the plurality of instructions, When the operation plan execution unit instructs the execution of a predetermined instruction among the plurality of instructions, it holds position information indicating the position of the mobile body for executing the predetermined instruction, When the operation plan execution unit resumes the execution of the operation plan after the execution of the operation plan has been temporarily stopped, it identifies an instruction corresponding to the position information acquired immediately before, and sets the identified instruction as the start instruction The server device according to claim 8.

16. The operation plan execution unit manages the history of executed instructions among the plurality of instructions, When the operation plan execution unit resumes the execution of the operation plan after the execution of the operation plan is temporarily stopped, the operation plan execution unit determines the start instruction, which is the instruction to resume the execution of the operation plan, based on the history. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. The operation plan execution unit transmits one or more candidates of the start information to a terminal device operable by a user, receives a candidate selected from the one or more candidates from the terminal device, and determines the start instruction based on the received candidate. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

18. When there are a plurality of pieces of location information identical to the location information included in the start information in the operation plan, the operation plan execution unit transmits a selection request for requesting to select an instruction from a plurality of instructions corresponding to the plurality of pieces of identical location information to a terminal device operable by a user, receives a response including the instruction selected from the terminal device, and sets the instruction included in the response as the start instruction. The server device according to claim 8.

19. When there are a plurality of pieces of identification information identical to the identification information included in the start information in the operation plan, the operation plan execution unit transmits a selection request for requesting to select the instruction from a plurality of instructions corresponding to the plurality of pieces of identical identification information to a terminal device operable by a user, receives a response including the instruction selected by the user, and sets the instruction included in the response as the start instruction. The server device according to claim 9.

20. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 19, comprising the mobile body.

21. Obtain an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a mobile body, the execution order of which is determined. In the operation plan, receive start information for determining a start instruction that starts execution of the operation plan among the plurality of instructions, Based on the start information, determine a start instruction that starts execution of the operation plan among the plurality of instructions, Transmit instruction data instructing execution of instructions after the start instruction in the operation plan to the mobile body Mobile control method.

22. A step of obtaining an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a mobile body, the execution order of which is determined; In the operation plan, a step of receiving start information for determining a start instruction that starts execution of the operation plan among the plurality of instructions; Based on the start information, a step of determining a start instruction that starts execution of the operation plan among the plurality of instructions; A step of transmitting instruction data instructing execution of instructions after the start instruction in the operation plan to the mobile body; A computer program for causing a computer to execute.

23. A receiving unit that receives start information for determining a start instruction that starts execution of the operation plan in an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a mobile body; An operation plan execution unit that starts execution of the operation plan from the start instruction determined based on the start information; Comprising The receiving unit receives an operation start instruction including the start information, The operation plan execution unit determines the start instruction based on the start information included in the operation start instruction, When the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, it includes a transmission unit that transmits a transmission request for requesting transmission of the start information, The operation plan includes a transmission instruction instructing transmission of the transmission request, When the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, the operation plan execution unit detects the transmission command from the operation plan and executes the transmission command to transmit the transmission request. Server device.

24. A receiving unit that receives start information for determining a start command for starting the execution of the operation plan in an operation plan including a plurality of commands for controlling a moving body, An operation plan execution unit that starts the execution of the operation plan from the start command determined based on the start information, comprising The operation plan includes at least one piece of position information associated with at least one of the plurality of commands, The start information includes position information of the moving body or position information indicating a position in the moving environment of the moving body, The operation plan execution unit detects a command corresponding to the position information included in the start information in the operation plan, and sets the detected command as the start command. When there are a plurality of pieces of the same position information included in the start information in the operation plan, the operation plan execution unit transmits a selection request to a terminal device operable by a user, requesting to select a command from a plurality of commands corresponding to the plurality of pieces of the same position information, receives a response including the command selected from the terminal device, and sets the command included in the response as the start command. Server device.

25. A receiving unit that receives start information for determining a start command for starting the execution of the operation plan in an operation plan including a plurality of commands for controlling a moving body, An operation plan execution unit that starts the execution of the operation plan from the start command determined based on the start information, comprising, The operation plan includes identification information for identifying at least one of the plurality of commands, and the identification information is associated with the at least one command. The start information includes identification information for identifying the start command. The operation plan execution unit detects an instruction corresponding to the identification information included in the start information in the operation plan, and sets the detected instruction as the start instruction. When there are multiple pieces of the same identification information included in the start information in the operation plan, the operation plan execution unit sends a selection request to a terminal device operable by a user, requesting the user to select the instruction from among multiple instructions corresponding to the multiple pieces of the same identification information. The operation plan execution unit receives a response including the instruction selected by the user, and sets the instruction included in the response as the start instruction. Server device.

26. Receiving start information for determining a start instruction to start execution of an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a moving body, starting execution of the operation plan from the start instruction determined based on the start information, receiving an operation start instruction including the start information, determining the start instruction based on the start information included in the operation start instruction, when the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, sending a transmission request requesting transmission of the start information, the operation plan includes a transmission instruction instructing transmission of the transmission request, when the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, detecting the transmission instruction from the operation plan and sending the transmission request by executing the transmission instruction. Moving control method.

27. Receiving start information for determining a start instruction to start execution of an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a moving body, starting execution of the operation plan from the start instruction determined based on the start information, the operation plan includes at least one piece of position information associated with at least one of the plurality of instructions, the start information includes position information of the moving body or position information indicating a position in the moving environment of the moving body, Detect an instruction corresponding to the position information included in the start information in the operation plan, and use the detected instruction as the start instruction. If there are multiple pieces of the same position information included in the start information in the operation plan, send a selection request to a terminal device operable by the user, which requests to select an instruction from multiple instructions corresponding to the multiple pieces of the same position information. Receive a response including the instruction selected from the terminal device, and use the instruction included in the response as the start instruction. Mobile control method.

28. Receive start information for determining a start instruction to start the execution of an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a mobile body. Start the execution of the operation plan from the start instruction determined based on the start information. The operation plan includes identification information for identifying at least one of the plurality of instructions, and the identification information is associated with the at least one instruction. The start information includes identification information for identifying the start instruction. Detect an instruction corresponding to the identification information included in the start information in the operation plan, and use the detected instruction as the start instruction. If there are multiple pieces of the same identification information included in the start information in the operation plan, send a selection request to a terminal device operable by the user, which requests to select the instruction from multiple instructions corresponding to the multiple pieces of the same identification information. Receive a response including the instruction selected by the user, and use the instruction included in the response as the start instruction. Mobile control method.

29. A step of receiving start information for determining a start instruction to start the execution of an operation plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a mobile body. A step of starting the execution of the operation plan from the start instruction determined based on the start information. A step of receiving an operation start instruction including the start information. Determine the start command based on the start information included in the operation start instruction. When the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, send a transmission request requesting to send the start information. Cause a computer to execute. The operation plan includes a transmission command instructing to send the transmission request. The step of sending the transmission request is, when the start information is not included in the operation start instruction, detect the transmission command from the operation plan and execute the transmission command to send the transmission request. Computer program.

30. In an operation plan including a plurality of commands for controlling a moving body, a step of receiving start information for determining a start command for starting the execution of the operation plan. A step of starting the execution of the operation plan from the start command determined based on the start information. Cause a computer to execute. The operation plan includes at least one piece of position information corresponding to at least one of the plurality of commands. The start information includes position information indicating the position of the moving body or the position in the moving environment of the moving body. Detect a command corresponding to the position information included in the start information in the operation plan, and use the detected command as the start command. When there are a plurality of pieces of the same position information included in the start information in the operation plan, send a selection request requesting to select a command from a plurality of commands corresponding to the plurality of pieces of the same position information to a terminal device operable by a user, receive a response including the command selected from the terminal device, and use the command included in the response as the start command. A computer program for further causing the computer to execute. In a travel plan including a plurality of instructions for controlling a moving body, a step of receiving start information for determining a start instruction to start execution of the travel plan; A step of starting execution of the travel plan from the start instruction determined based on the start information; Causing a computer to execute; The travel plan includes identification information for identifying at least one instruction among the plurality of instructions, and the identification information is associated with the at least one instruction; The start information includes identification information for identifying the start instruction; A step of detecting, in the travel plan, an instruction corresponding to the identification information included in the start information, and setting the detected instruction as the start instruction; When there are a plurality of pieces of the same identification information included in the start information in the travel plan, a selection request for requesting the user to select the instruction from among a plurality of instructions corresponding to the plurality of pieces of the same identification information is transmitted to a terminal device operable by the user, a response including the instruction selected by the user is received, and a step of setting the instruction included in the response as the start instruction; A computer program for further causing the computer to execute.

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