Information Processing System and Information Processing Apparatus

Abstract

To realize a mechanism to detect a deviation between a position indicated by registered information of a system and an actual arrangement of devices in a real space.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes: a plurality of wireless devices arranged in a real space; a reading device provided with reading means for reading identification information from each of the wireless devices, and measuring means for measuring a moving amount in the real space; and a managing unit which manages a database to which a position for arranging each of the wireless devices is registered. The reading device provides, to the management unit, the read identification information and the moving amount information indicating the moving amount measured at the reading. The management unit determines, regarding two or more wireless devices arranged in the real space, whether a first positional relation between wireless devices estimated on the basis of the identification information and the moving amount information matches a second positional relation between corresponding registered positions stored in the database.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system and an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) is a technology that enables information embedded in a small device, also called a tag, to be read from an external reader by short-range wireless communication. Among them, passive RFID tags that transmit information using the energy of electromagnetic waves radiated from the reader do not require a battery, so they have a low manufacturing cost and can operate semi-permanently, and thus their use in various scenarios is expanding. For example, by installing RFID tags embedded with unique identification information at multiple points in the real space and registering the location data of those points in a database in advance, it becomes possible to easily measure the position of the reader based on the result of reading the identification information from the RFID tag.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for measuring the geographical position with the GPS function of a tag reader when a user installs a tag so that the tag is accurately installed at an intended point in the real space, and warning the user according to the error of the installation position of the tag with respect to the pre-registered position.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the technology disclosed by Patent Document 1 does not function effectively in scenarios where tags are installed in locations where GPS signals cannot reach or are unstable, such as inside buildings or underground. In addition, since it is necessary to implement a GPS function in the tag reader, it has been a drawback that the cost and size of the device increase.

[0006] In view of the above points, the present invention aims to realize a mechanism capable of detecting a deviation between the position indicated by the registration information of the system and the actual arrangement of the devices in the real space.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] According to one aspect, a reading device includes a plurality of wireless devices arranged in the real space, a reading means for reading identification information stored in each wireless device, and a measuring means for measuring the relative movement amount in the real space, and a management unit for managing a database in which positions in the real space where each wireless device should be arranged are registered in association with the identification information of the wireless device. The reading device provides the management unit with the identification information read by the reading means and movement amount information indicating the movement amount measured by the measuring means at the time of the reading. The plurality of wireless devices includes two or more wireless devices including a first type of wireless device fixedly arranged in the real space and a second type of wireless device attached to an article and moving with the article, and a position scheduled for the second type of wireless device is registered in the database in association with scheduled time information. The management unit determines whether a first positional relationship between two or more wireless devices estimated based on the identification information and the movement amount information for two or more wireless devices arranged in the real space matches a second positional relationship between corresponding registered positions stored in the database. Determining whether the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship includes assuming that the first type of wireless device is arranged at a corresponding registered position stored in the database, and determining whether the second type of wireless device is arranged at the scheduled position at the time indicated by the scheduled time information, based on a comparison between the first positional relationship and the second positional relationship. An information processing system is provided. A corresponding information processing device is also provided.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to detect a deviation between the position indicated by the registration information of the system and the actual arrangement of the devices in the real space.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0011] <1. First Embodiment> <1-1. Outline of the System> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment. The information processing system 1 is a system that can determine the position of an object existing in the real space based on the result of reading identification information from RFID tags distributed and arranged at a plurality of positions. The object of position determination may be, for example, the RFID tag itself, an article to which an RFID tag is attached, a tag reader that reads identification information, a user who possesses the tag reader, or a machine on which the tag reader is mounted. In this specification, an RFID tag arranged at a specific position in the real space is called a position tag, and an RFID tag attached to an article and moving with the article is called an article tag.

[0012] In FIG. 1, a plurality of position tags are arranged at three floors 10a, 10b, and 10c of a building. For example, position tags 20a, 20b, and 20c are arranged on floor 10a. The position tags 20a, 20b, and 20c each have unique tag identification information 21a, 21b, and 21c embedded therein. In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish the position tags 20a, 20b,... from each other, these are collectively referred to as position tag 20 by omitting the alphabet at the end of the reference numeral. The same applies to floors 10a, 10b,... (floor 10), identification information 21a, 21b,... (identification information 21), and other components.

[0013] Floor 10 is a part of a building that can exist in the physical space and is an example of a place where the technology according to the present disclosure can be used. Since radio waves from GPS satellites hardly reach the inside or underground of a building, GPS-based technology is difficult to utilize in such places. In contrast, the technology according to the present disclosure does not rely on radio waves from satellites and is thus suitable for use in places where radio waves hardly reach. However, the technology according to the present disclosure may be used at any place within the physical space including outdoors, and even when used outdoors, benefits such as cost reduction or miniaturization can be enjoyed because implementation of a GPS function is not required. Further, a system or device in which the technology according to the present disclosure and GPS-based technology are combined complementarily may be provided.

[0014] An article 30 exists on floor 10a. An article tag 40 is attached to the article 30. The article tag 40 has unique tag identification information 41 embedded therein. Although only one article 30 existing on floor 10a is shown in FIG. 1, actually, more articles 30 may exist. Each of such articles 30 may be an inanimate object (for example, a machine, equipment, instrument, material, consumer product, vehicle, or robot) or a living thing (for example, an animal or a plant). Each article 30 moves by being carried by a user or moves according to user operation or autonomously (for example, runs, walks, flies, or sails). When each article 30 moves, the article tag 40 attached to the article 30 moves together with the article 30.

[0015] In this embodiment, each of the tags such as the position tag 20 and the article tag 40 is a type of wireless device, specifically a passive RFID tag (passive tag). The passive tag incorporates a small IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, a memory, and an antenna, and stores identification information for identifying the tag and other information in the memory. In this specification, the identification information is simply referred to as ID, and the identification information for identifying the tag is also called the tag ID. Note that the tag ID may be regarded as information for identifying the object to which the tag is attached. The IC chip of the passive tag operates using the energy of the electromagnetic wave radiated from the tag reader, modulates the information stored in the memory into an information signal, and transmits (returns) the information signal from the antenna.

[0016] Note that in other embodiments, each tag may be an active RFID tag. When the tag actively (e.g., periodically) transmits information using the power from the battery incorporated in each tag, the tag may be called a beacon tag. In still another embodiment, each tag may be a wireless device that responds to a signal from the reader and returns information in, for example, the NFC (Near Field Communication) method or the Bluetooth (registered trademark) method. Each tag may be called by any name such as an IC tag, an IC card, or a responder.

[0017] In addition to the above-described position tag 20 and article tag 40, the information processing system 1 includes a tag reader 100, a management server 200, and a user terminal 300. The tag reader 100, the management server 200, and the user terminal 300 are connected to the network 5. The network 5 may be a wired network, a wireless network, or any combination thereof. Examples of the network 5 may include the Internet, an intranet, and a cloud network.

[0018] The tag reader 100 is a reading device that reads information from RFID tags. The tag reader 100 is typically carried by a user and moves within the floor 10. The tag reader 100 performs reading periodically or in response to some trigger such as a user operation, and transmits the tag reading result to the management server 200. Also, in the present embodiment, the tag reader 100 can measure the relative movement amount in the real space. The tag reader 100 may communicate directly with the management server 200, or may communicate indirectly with the management server 200 via some relay device (for example, the user terminal 300). An example of the specific configuration of the tag reader 100 will be further described later.

[0019] The management server 200 is an information processing device that manages, using a database, the position information indicating the positions of the position tags 20 and the article tags 40 in the real space. The management server 200 may be implemented, for example, as an application server, a database server, or a cloud server using a high-performance general-purpose computer. In the present embodiment, the position where the position tags 20 are arranged within the floor 10 is specified in advance by the user and registered in the database. The position of the article tag 40 is determined based on the data received from the tag reader 100 and stored in the database. The management server 200 may have an information providing function of providing the user with the position information indicating the latest positions of the tags or articles under management. An example of the specific configuration of the management server 200 will be further described later.

[0020] In the example of FIG. 1, the management server 200 is a cloud server deployed in a cloud environment. Although FIG. 1 shows a single management server 200, the management functions of the management server 200, which will be described in detail later, may be provided by a single device or may be provided by a plurality of physically separate devices cooperating with each other. Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the management server 200 holds a database storing the above-described position information will be described, but a device separate from the management server 200 may hold part or all of the database. For example, some data may be held by a wireless device (e.g., a position tag or an article tag) or a tag reader.

[0021] The user terminal 300 is a terminal device used by a user of the information processing system 1. The user terminal 300 may be a general-purpose terminal such as a tablet PC (Personal Computer), a notebook PC, or a smartphone, or may be a dedicated terminal specialized for the purpose of position information management. The user terminal 300 typically includes an input device that receives user input, a communication interface that communicates with other devices (e.g., the management server 200), and a display device that displays information. As an example, the user terminal 300 is used by the user when registering in the database the position in the real space where the position tag 20 should be placed and when verifying the position of the actually placed position tag 20. Examples of user interactions that can be performed via the user terminal 300 in these scenarios will be further described later.

[0022] Note that in FIG. 1, the tag reader 100 and the user terminal 300 are depicted as separate devices, but an integrated device having the functions of both the tag reader 100 and the user terminal 300 may be provided. Also, although FIG. 1 shows an example in which the user holds the tag reader 100, the tag reader 100 may be mounted on a movable machine (e.g., a drone, a vehicle, or a robot) other than the user and move within the floor 10.

[0023] <1-2. Configuration Example of Tag Reader> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the tag reader 100 according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, the tag reader 100 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, a communication unit 103, a measurement unit 104, a power supply 105, and a reading unit 106.

[0024] The control unit 101 includes a memory that stores a computer program and one or more processors (e.g., a CPU (Central Processing Unit)) that execute the computer program. The control unit 101 controls all the functions of the tag reader 100 described in this specification. For example, the control unit 101 causes the reading unit 106 to read an RFID tag within the tag reading range, and stores the read information and the reading time in the storage unit 102 as reading result data. Also, in parallel with the reading of the RFID tag, the control unit 101 causes the measurement unit 104 to measure the movement amount of the tag reader 100, and stores the movement amount information indicating the measurement result and the measurement time in the storage unit 102 as measurement result data. Then, the control unit 101 transmits the reading result data and the measurement result data stored in the storage unit 102, together with the reader identification information of its own device, to the management server 200 via the communication unit 103.

[0025] The storage unit 102 may include any type of storage medium such as, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), an optical disk, or a magnetic disk. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 102 stores the above-described reading result data, measurement result data, and reader identification information of the tag reader 100.

[0026] The communication unit 103 is a communication interface for the tag reader 100 to communicate with the management server 200. For example, the communication unit 103 may be a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) interface that communicates with a WLAN access point, or a cellular communication interface that communicates with a cellular base station. Further, the communication unit 103 may be a connection interface (e.g., a Bluetooth (registered trademark) interface or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface) for connection with a relay device (e.g., the user terminal 300).

[0027] The measurement unit 104 can measure the relative movement amount of the tag reader 100 and output the measured movement amount to the control unit 101. The measurement unit 104 includes a three-axis acceleration sensor 104a, a gyro sensor 104b, and a geomagnetic sensor 104c. The three-axis acceleration sensor 104a measures the acceleration applied to the tag reader 100 in the device coordinate system unique to the tag reader 100 and outputs first sensor data. The gyro sensor 104a measures the angular velocity of the tag reader 100, i.e., the change in the posture of the tag reader 100, and outputs second sensor data. The geomagnetic sensor 104c measures the orientation of the tag reader 100 in the real space and outputs third sensor data. The measurement unit 104 can measure the relative movement amount of the tag reader 100 by accumulating the acceleration while converting the direction of the acceleration of the tag reader 100 into the direction in the coordinate system of the real space based on the sensor data from these sensors. The measurement of the movement amount here may be performed according to any known self-position estimation method. The relative movement amount output from the measurement unit 104 to the control unit 101 may be a two-dimensional vector in the plane of the floor 10, or may be a three-dimensional vector including a component in the height direction. The reference position for the measurement of the relative movement amount may be, for example, the position of the tag reader 100 at the time when the tag reader 100 is activated.

[0028] Note that although FIG. 2 shows an example in which the tag reader 100 includes the measurement unit 104, the measurement unit 104 may be included in an external device that can communicate with the tag reader 100 and is held by the user together with the tag reader 100. In that case, the tag reader 100 receives movement amount information indicating the relative movement amount measured by the measurement unit 104 from the external device.

[0029] The power supply 105 includes a battery and a DC-DC converter, and supplies power for operating the electronic circuits of the control unit 101, the storage unit 102, the communication unit 103, the measurement unit 104, and the reading unit 106 of the tag reader 100. The battery may be a primary battery or a rechargeable secondary battery. Although not shown, the tag reader 100 may have a connection terminal for connecting the tag reader 100 to an external power supply for charging the power supply 105.

[0030] The reading unit 106 is a reading module capable of reading the identification information stored in each of the position tag 20 and the article tag 40. Referring to FIG. 2, the reading unit 106 includes an RF controller 110, a power amplifier 111, a filter 112, a first coupler 113, a second coupler 114, an antenna 115, a power detection unit 116, and a canceller 117. The RF controller 110 outputs a transmission signal (for example, a signal modulated in the UHF band) from the TX terminal to the power amplifier 111 according to the control by the control unit 101. The power amplifier 111 amplifies the transmission signal input from the RF controller 110 and outputs it to the filter 112. The filter 112 may be, for example, a low-pass filter, and removes unnecessary low-frequency components of the transmission signal amplified by the power amplifier 111. The first coupler 113 distributes the transmission signal that has passed through the filter 112 to the coupler 114 and the power detection unit 116. The second coupler 114 outputs the transmission signal input from the first coupler 113 to the antenna 115, and outputs the reception signal input from the antenna 115 to the RF controller 110. The antenna 115 transmits the transmission signal input from the coupler 114 into the air as an electromagnetic wave. Also, the antenna 115 receives a signal returned from an RFID tag existing within the reading range of the tag reader 100 as a response to the transmission signal, and outputs the reception signal to the coupler 114. The power detection unit 116 detects the power level of the signal input from the first coupler 113, and outputs a signal RF_DETECT indicating the detected power level to the control unit 101. The canceller 117 receives a signal CARRIER_CANCEL indicating the power level of the carrier wave from the control unit 101. Then, based on CARRIER_CANCEL, the canceller 117 cancels the carrier wave component of the reception signal from the antenna 115 at the second coupler 114, thereby extracting the desired signal component of the reception signal to be output to the RX terminal of the RF controller 110. The RF controller 110 demodulates the signal input from the RX terminal, acquires the tag ID and other information returned from the RFID tag, and outputs the acquired information to the control unit 101.

[0031] In this embodiment, the trial of tag reading by the reading unit 106 can be periodically performed (for example, once per second) without requiring an explicit instruction from the user. The transmission of data from the communication unit 103 to the management server 200 can also be periodically performed (for example, once every few seconds), or each time tag reading or movement amount measurement is performed, without requiring an explicit instruction from the user. The control unit 101 may exclude records identical to the records already transmitted within a recent predetermined period from the data to be transmitted in order to omit the transmission of redundant data and reduce the communication load. In other embodiments, one or both of the trial of tag reading by the reading unit 106 and the transmission of data to the management server 200 may be performed in response to user input via some user interface provided in the tag reader 100. When the communication unit 103 communicates with the management server 200 indirectly via a relay device, the transmission of data to the management server 200 may be performed only while the connection between the communication unit 103 and the relay device is valid.

[0032] <1-3. Configuration example of management server> <1-3-1. Basic configuration> FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server 200 according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, the management server 200 includes a communication unit 210, a position information database (DB) 220, and a position management unit 230.

[0033] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for the management server 200 to communicate with other devices. The communication unit 210 may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 210 communicates with the tag reader 100 and the user terminal 300 within the information processing system 1. The location information DB 220 consists of a group of tables for managing data indicating the locations of RFID tags under the system's management. In the present embodiment, the location information DB 220 includes a floor table 310, a map table 320, a location table 330, an item table 340, a movement amount table 360, and a tag detection table 370. The location management unit 230 is a set of a plurality of software modules that provide a management function for managing the data within the location information DB 220. Each individual software module can operate by one or more processors (not shown) of the management server 200 executing a computer program stored in a memory (not shown). The memory here may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In the present embodiment, the location management unit 230 includes a registration unit 231, a tag detection unit 232, a verification unit 233, and an information providing unit 234.

[0034] <1-3-2. Data Configuration Example> Figures 4(A) to (D) respectively show examples of the configurations of the floor table 310, the map table 320, the location table 330, and the item table 340 of the location information DB 220. Figures 5(A) and (B) respectively show examples of the configurations of the movement amount table 360 and the tag detection table 370 of the location information DB 220.

[0035] The floor table 310 has two data items: a floor ID 311 and a name 312. The floor ID 311 is identification information that uniquely identifies each floor where two or more position tags 20 can be arranged in the present embodiment. The name 312 represents the name of each floor. In the example of FIG. 4(A), the name of the floor identified by the floor ID "F01" is "Floor A", and the name of the floor identified by the floor ID "F02" is "Floor B". Note that "Floor A" and "Floor B" may actually be names such as "ABC Building 1F" and "ABC Building 2F".

[0036] The map table 320 has three data items: a floor ID 321, a map image 322, and a scale 323. The floor ID 321 indicates the floor 10 to be associated with the map image in the map table 320 using the value of the floor ID 311 of the floor table 310. The map image 322 is a data item in which map information representing the map of the floor 10 identified by the floor ID 321 is stored. The map information here may typically be image information. The scale 323 indicates a ratio for converting the distance on the map of the map image 322 to the distance in the real space (for example, how many meters in the real space corresponds to one pixel on the image). Note that the map information stored in the map image 322 may be acquired from an external data source or uploaded and updated by the user at the required timing.

[0037] The position table 330 has five data items: tag ID 331, floor ID 332, tag position 333, name 334, and status 335. The tag ID 331 is identification information that uniquely identifies each of the position tags 20. The value of the tag ID 331 is the same as the value of the tag ID stored internally in the corresponding position tag 20. The floor ID 332 indicates the floor 10 on which each position tag 20 is arranged, using the value of the floor ID 331 in the floor table 310. In the example of FIG. 4(C), the three position tags 20 identified by the tag IDs "TG1A", "TG1B", and "TG1C" are all arranged on the floor 10 identified by the floor ID "F01". The tag position 333 is a data item for storing position coordinates indicating the device position in the real space of each position tag 20 in association with the tag ID of the position tag 20. The tag position 333 may represent the device position of each position tag 20 in the coordinate system of the map information stored in the map image 322. In that case, the scale 323 can be used to perform mutual conversion between the coordinate values on the map and the coordinate values in the corresponding real space. The name 334 represents the name of the position where each position tag 20 is arranged. In the example of FIG. 4(C), the names 334 of the three position tags 20 identified by the tag IDs "TG1A", "TG1B", and "TG1C" are "Position A", "Position B", and "Position C", respectively. Note that "Position A", "Position B", and "Position C" may actually be names such as "Conference Room", "Workroom", and "Warehouse". The status 335 indicates the verification status regarding whether the position tag 20 is actually arranged at the device position indicated by the tag position 333 for each position tag 20. For example, the status 335 indicates "Unverified" for the position tag 20 before verification, and "Verified" for the position tag 20 determined to be appropriately arranged at the device position indicated by the tag position 333. In other words, for the position tag 20 where the status 335 indicates "Unverified", the tag position 333 represents the device position in the real space where the position tag 20 should be arranged. Also, for the position tag 20 where the status 335 indicates "Verified", the tag position 333 represents the device position in the real space where it has been verified that the position tag 20 is arranged.

[0038] The item table 340 has three data items: a tag ID 341, an item ID 342, and a name 343. The tag ID 341 is identification information that uniquely identifies the item tag 40 attached to each item under the management of the system. The value of the tag ID 341 is the same as the value of the tag ID stored internally in the corresponding item tag 40. The item ID 342 is identification information that uniquely identifies each item. The name 343 represents the name of each item. In the example of FIG. 4(D), the name of the item identified by the tag ID "TG2A" or the item ID "IT0A" is "Item A", and the name of the item identified by the tag ID "TG2B" or the item ID "IT0B" is "Item B".

[0039] The movement amount table 360 shown in FIG. 5(A) is a table for accumulating records of measurement result data (hereinafter referred to as measurement result records) received from the tag reader 100. The movement amount table 360 has three data items: a measurement time 361, a movement amount 362, and a reader ID 363. The measurement time 361 indicates the time when the measurement was performed for the measurement result indicated by each measurement result record. The movement amount 362 indicates the relative movement amount of the tag reader 100 as a measurement result. The relative movement amount can be represented, for example, in the form of a two-dimensional vector in a real-space coordinate system. The reader ID 363 is identification information that identifies the tag reader 100 that performed the measurement for the measurement result indicated by each measurement result record. In the example of FIG. 5(A), the six records in the movement amount table 360 show the results of movement amount measurements performed by the same tag reader 100 identified by the reader ID "RD01" at six different times "T001" to "T006".

[0040] The tag detection table 370 shown in FIG. 5(B) is a table for accumulating records of read result data received from the tag reader 100 (hereinafter referred to as read result records). The tag detection table 370 has four data items: a tag ID 371, a reading time 372, a reader ID 373, and a movement amount 374. The tag ID 371 indicates the tag ID read for each read result record. The reading time 372 indicates the time when the tag ID indicated by the tag ID 371 was read. The reader ID 373 is identification information for identifying the tag reader 100 that performed tag reading for the read result indicated by each read result record. In the example of FIG. 5(B), the first record of the tag detection table 370 indicates that the tag reader 100 identified by the reader ID "RD01" read the tag ID "TG1A" at the time "T002". The movement amount 374 indicates the relative movement amount of the tag reader 100 at the time when tag reading was performed as indicated by each read result record (that is, the relative position of the tag reader 100 on the floor 10 associated with the read tag ID). In the example of FIG. 5(B), the first record of the tag detection table 370 indicates that the tag reader 100 identified by the reader ID "RD01" was located at the point indicated by the relative position (X2, Y2) at the time "T002" when it read the tag ID "TG1A". In the present embodiment, the value of the movement amount 374 is not indicated by the read result data received from the tag reader 100, but is transferred from the movement amount 362 of the movement amount table 360 based on the correlation between the measurement time 361 and the reading time 372 by the tag detection unit 232 described later. Note that in other embodiments, the read result data received from the tag reader 100 may indicate the relative movement amount of the tag reader 100 at the time of tag reading. In that case, the tag reader 100 associates the result of movement amount measurement with the result of tag reading.

[0041] <1-3-3. Pre-registration> The registration unit 231 of the location management unit 230 receives an issuance request for issuing the location tag 20 from a user of the information processing system 1. The issuance request received here may include, for example, a list of the names of the location tags 20 that the user wishes to place for each floor. The issuance request may further include one or more of the floor ID, name, map information, and scale for each of the target floors. Based on the received issuance request, the registration unit 231 sets the information of the target floor in the floor table 310 and the map table 320. In addition, the registration unit 231 registers the tag IDs of the specified number (of unused location tags 20) in the location table 330 in association with the corresponding floor ID together with the specified name. The registration unit 231 may, for example, display an issuance request reception screen on the display of the user terminal 300 and receive the issuance request on the issuance request reception screen. Alternatively, an operator of the information processing system 1 may receive the information necessary for the issuance request from the user by, for example, e-mail and input the received information on the screen of the terminal used by the operator himself / herself.

[0042] After registering the tag ID and name in the location table 330 in association with the corresponding floor ID, the registration unit 231 causes the location registration screen 60 illustrated in FIG. 6 to be displayed on the display of the user terminal 300. Referring to FIG. 6, the location registration screen 60 includes a floor selection bar 61, a map display area 62, tag icons 63a, 63b, and 63c, and a registration button 64. The floor selection bar 61 is a UI for allowing the user to select one of the floors that are candidates for the placement destination of the location tag 20 to be issued. The map display area 62 is a display area for displaying a map of the selected floor. For example, when "Floor A" is selected in the floor selection bar 61, the registration unit 231 causes the map of "Floor A" to be displayed in the map display area 62 based on the map information of the selected "Floor A". The tag icons 63 (63a, 63b, 63c) are objects for allowing the user to specify the placement of the location tag 20 corresponding to the tag ID registered in association with the selected floor. In the example of FIG. 6, it is assumed that three location tags 20 are registered in association with "Floor A" with the names of "Location A", "Location B", and "Location C", respectively. The user drags and drops each tag icon 63 to the position on the map where the corresponding location tag 20 should be placed. When the user finishes placing all the tag icons 63 at the intended points on the map in the map display area 62, the user operates (e.g., taps) the registration button 64. Then, the registration unit 231 acquires the coordinate values indicating the drop positions of the respective tag icons 63, and registers the acquired coordinate values in the column of the tag position 333 of the location table 330 in association with the corresponding tag ID.

[0043] The operator delivers (e.g., mails) to the user a set of the location tags 20 (physical devices) each storing the tag ID registered in the location table 330. These location tags 20 are, for example, affixed with labels describing the registered names, and are packaged and delivered for each floor of the placement destination. The user goes to the target floor in the real space with the delivered location tags 20, and places the location tags 20 at their respective positions while looking at, for example, the screen of the user terminal 300 (a screen that displays the registered device positions on the map via the above-described location registration screen 60).

[0044] As a result of the above-described operations, a plurality of position tags 20 are arranged on each floor 10, and a state is realized in which the position table 330 of the position information DB 220 indicates the positions of those position tags 20. However, due to mistakes in operations by the user or changes in circumstances since initial registration, there may be a discrepancy between the device position stored in the position table 330 and the actual position of the position tag 20 arranged in the real space. Such a discrepancy hinders other operations of the system based on the position information in the database (for example, determination of the position of an object such as the article 30). Therefore, in the present embodiment, as will be described in detail later, the verification unit 233 of the position management unit 230 verifies whether the position of the position tag 20 detected by the tag detection unit 232 matches the device position indicated by the position table 330.

[0045] <1-3-4. Detection of Tags> The tag detection unit 232 adds one or more records of measurement result data received from the tag reader 100 via the communication unit 210 to the movement amount table 360. As described above, the measurement result data includes movement amount information indicating the relative movement amount of the tag reader 100 measured by the measurement unit 104 of the tag reader 100. Also, the tag detection unit 232 adds one or more records of reading result data received from the tag reader 100 to the tag detection table 370. As described above, the reading result data includes the tag ID of the RFID tag read by the reading unit 106 of the tag reader 100. Here, the RFID tag is either the position tag 20 or the article tag 40. For each reading result record added to the tag detection table 370, the tag detection unit 232 extracts from the movement amount table 360 a measurement result record (however, received from the same tag reader 100) having the measurement time closest to the reading time indicated by the record. Then, the tag detection unit 232 adds the value of the movement amount indicated by the extracted measurement result record to the column of the movement amount 374 in the corresponding reading result record. As a result, it becomes possible to estimate the position (relative position with respect to the reference position of the movement amount measurement) in the real space of each of the position tag 20 and the article tag 40 detected by the tag reader 100 from the value of the movement amount 374 in the tag detection table 370. The error of the estimation is at most equivalent to the reading range of the tag reader 100.

[0046] <1-3-5. Verification of Arrangement> The verification unit 233 verifies the placement of the position tag 20 in the real space by the user. More specifically, the verification unit 233 determines whether the first positional relationship between the tags estimated for two or more position tags 20 arranged in the real space conforms to the second positional relationship between the corresponding device positions stored in the position table 330 of the position information DB 220. That is, the verification unit 233 also functions as a determination unit that determines the conformity of the first and second positional relationships. The first positional relationship here represents the relative relationship between the estimated positions indicated by the movement amount 374 of the tag detection table 370 described above. The second positional relationship represents the relative relationship between the registered device positions (hereinafter also referred to as registered positions) indicated by the tag positions 333 of the position table 330. In the present embodiment, the position table 330 stores the device positions of each position tag 20 in association with any one of a plurality of floors 10 in the real space. Therefore, the verification of the placement by the verification unit 233 can be performed by comparing the first and second positional relationships for two or more position tags 20 associated with the same floor. By restricting the verification target to the positional relationship between the position tags 20 arranged on the same floor in this way, it is possible to avoid the complication of the verification algorithm and to easily narrow down the position tags 20 that require correction.

[0047] For example, for any position tag 20 to be verified, the verification unit 233 may determine that the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship when the deviation of the estimated position in the first positional relationship from the corresponding device position in the second positional relationship is less than the allowable amount. The allowable amount here may be a magnitude (for example, several meters) that can absorb the error in position estimation based on tag reading.

[0048] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the reading of the tag ID from the position tag 20 arranged in the real space. FIG. 7(A) shows a state immediately after the user activates the tag reader 100 at the reference position 11 after the position tags 20a, 20b, and 20c are arranged on the floor 10. The solid circles in the figure represent the actual positions of the respective position tags 20, and the hollow circles represent the reference positions. The measurement unit 104 of the tag reader 100 starts measuring the movement amount of the tag reader 100 in the coordinate system (x, y) of the real space with the reference position 11 as the origin. FIG. 7(B) shows the reading positions D1, D2, and D3 where the tag reader 100 reads the respective tag IDs from the position tags 20a, 20b, and 20c when the user moves along the dashed arrow R1 in the floor 10. The tag detection unit 232 adds the coordinate values (relative movement amounts) representing the position of the reading position D1 to the column of the movement amount 374 in the record for the position tag 20a in the tag detection table 370. The same applies to the reading positions D2 and D3 of the position tags 20b and 20c. The verification unit 233 estimates that the position tags 20a, 20b, and 20c are located at these reading positions D1, D2, and D3, respectively.

[0049] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the comparison between the first positional relationship and the second positional relationship by the verification unit 233. The solid triangular marks shown in FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B) represent the registered positions stored in the position table 330 corresponding to the position tags 20a, 20b, and 20c described in relation to FIG. 7. In the example of FIG. 8(A), the reading positions D1, D2, and D3 are the same as the positions shown in FIG. 7(B). Here, when the reading position D1 of the position tag 20a is made to coincide with the registered position, the deviation of the reading position D2 from the registered position of the position tag 20b is smaller than the allowable amount d1 (the reading position D2 falls within the circle representing the allowable range with a radius d1 centered on the registered position of the position tag 20b). Similarly, when the reading position D1 of the position tag 20a is made to coincide with the registered position, the deviation of the reading position D3 from the registered position of the position tag 20c is also smaller than the allowable amount d1 (the reading position D3 falls within the circle representing the allowable range with a radius d1 centered on the registered position of the position tag 20c). The verification unit 233 also makes such a determination when the reading position D2 of the position tag 20b is made to coincide with the registered position and when the reading position D3 of the position tag 20c is made to coincide with the registered position. Then, when the position deviation is less than the allowable amount d1 in all cases, the verification unit 233 determines that the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship. On the other hand, when the position deviation exceeds the allowable amount d1 in one or more cases, the verification unit 233 determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship. In this way, by not determining non - conformity when the position deviation between the two positional relationships is less than the allowable amount, it is possible to reduce the influence of the measurement error of the relative movement amount of the tag reader 100 or the estimation error caused by estimating the reading position of the tag as the position of the tag on the determination.

[0050] In the example of FIG. 8(B), the reading positions D1, D2, and D3 are different from the positions shown in FIG. 7(B). When the reading position D1 of the position tag 20a is made to coincide with the registration position, the deviation of the reading position D2 with respect to the registration position of the position tag 20b is larger than the allowable amount d1 (the reading position D2 does not enter the circle representing the allowable range with a radius d1 centered on the registration position of the position tag 20b). Similarly, when the reading position D1 of the position tag 20a is made to coincide with the registration position, the deviation of the reading position D3 with respect to the registration position of the position tag 20c is larger than the allowable amount d1 (the reading position D3 does not enter the circle representing the allowable range with a radius d1 centered on the registration position of the position tag 20c). Therefore, in this case, the verification unit 233 determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship.

[0051] In FIGS. 7 and 8, an example in which three position tags 20 are the verification targets is shown, but the number k of position tags 20 that are the targets of one verification is not limited to such an example. When M position tags 20 are arranged on the floor 10, the number k of position tags 20 that are the targets of one verification may be any number that satisfies 2 ≦ k ≦ M.

[0052] The verification unit 233 may change the value of the allowable amount d1 depending on the progress of the verification. For example, the verification unit 233 may set the allowable amount d1 to a certain value when the arrangement of all the position tags 20 has not been verified, and increase the value of the allowable amount d1 as the number of verified position tags 20 increases. Thereby, at the beginning of the introduction of a system with a high possibility of errors in arrangement or registration, the user can be actively informed of the possibility of errors and urged to make corrections, and after a certain amount of time has passed since the introduction, a certain degree of positional deviation can be tolerated to give flexibility to the tag arrangement.

[0053] When the verification unit 233 determines that the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship, it changes the value of the status 335 in the position table 330 to "verified" for the position tag 20 to be verified. Further, the verification unit 233 notifies the user on the screen of the user terminal 300 that the verification of the placement has been successful. For example, the verification unit 233 may display on the screen of the user terminal 300 a map of the floor 10 where the position of the position tag 20 for which the verification has been successful is mapped, based on the map information in the map table 320.

[0054] On the other hand, when the verification unit 233 determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship, it presents the result of the determination to the user on the screen of the user terminal 300. Also in this case, the verification unit 233 displays on the screen a map of the floor 10 where the position (reading position or registration position) of the position tag 20 to be verified is mapped, based on the map information in the map table 320. When the verification unit 233 can determine that there is a high possibility that the registration or placement of a specific position tag 20 is incorrect, it may notify in a manner that those specific position tags 20 can be discriminated (for example, by making the colors of the tag icons different or by blinking the tag icons). As an example, when the verification status of one or more position tags 20 is already "verified", there is a high possibility that the registration or placement of the position tag 20 whose reading position deviates from the allowable range when the registration position and the reading position of the verified position tag 20 are made to coincide is incorrect. As another example, the verification unit 233 may count the number Ni of position tags 20 whose reading position deviates from the allowable range when the registration position and the reading position of the i-th position tag 20 to be verified coincide, for each i in the range of 1 ≦ i ≦ k. In this case, the verification unit 233 may determine that there is a high possibility that the registration or placement of the position tag 20 whose reading position deviates from the allowable range in the case of i that minimizes Ni is incorrect. By mapping the result of the determination on the map and presenting it on the screen, the user can intuitively grasp through vision which position tag 20 should be the subject of an action for correction.

[0055] The verification unit 233 presents the result of the determination that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship to the user, and may prompt the user on the screen to perform one or more of the following actions A1 to A3: A1) Modification of the arrangement of the position tag 20 in the real space A2) Designation of the position tag 20 that the user knows is properly arranged at the corresponding registered position A3) Designation of the position tag 20 for which the corresponding registered position should be modified in the position information DB 220

[0056] When the user performs action A1, the user can read the tag ID of the position tag 20 with the modified arrangement again using the tag reader 100, resend the read result data to the management server 200, and request the management server 200 to re-verify the arrangement. On the other hand, actions A2 and A3 can be performed on the screen of the user terminal 300.

[0057] After the verification unit 233 presents the result of the determination that the two positional relationships do not conform, when action A2 is performed, that is, when the position tag 20 that is properly arranged is designated, the verification unit 233 changes the value of the status 335 to "verified" for the designated position tag 20. Then, the verification unit 233 further determines which of the other position tags 20 are incorrectly arranged based on the comparison of the first and second positional relationships described above. In this case, based on the arrangement of the position tag 20 that has been verified, it is possible to specifically identify the position tag 20 with incorrect registration or arrangement, thereby promoting the resolution of the non-conforming situation of the positional relationship through user interaction.

[0058] After presenting the determination result that the two positional relationships do not match, when action A3 is performed, that is, when the position tag 20 corresponding to the position to be corrected is specified, the verification unit 233 corrects the registration content of the position information DB220 according to the specification. Specifically, the verification unit 233 corrects the registered position indicated by the tag position 333 of the position table 330 for the specified position tag 20 to the position estimated based on the first positional relationship. For example, in the example of FIG. 8(B), when it is specified by the user that the registered position of the position tag 20b should be corrected, the verification unit 233 may correct the registered position of the position tag 20b to indicate the reading position D2. Through such user interaction, the user can quickly correct the erroneously registered device position following the operation for verifying the arrangement.

[0059] <1-3-6. Provision of Position Information> Based on the data held by the position information DB220, the information providing unit 234 provides the user with position information indicating the position of the article 30 or the tag reader 100 under the management of the information processing system 1. For example, after the verification of the arrangement of the above-described position tag 20 is successful, the tag detection table 370 sequentially stores read result records indicating the results of tag reading for the position tag 20 and the article tag 40. The information providing unit 234 can display the latest position of the article 30 on the screen of the user terminal 300 based on the registered position of the reference position tag 20 and the relative position of the article 30 indicated by the value of the movement amount 374 of those read result records.

[0060] <1-4. Flow of Processing> In this section, examples of the flow of several processes that can be executed by the management server 200 in the present embodiment will be described using the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 14. In the following description, the processing steps are abbreviated as S (step).

[0061] <1-4-1. Position Registration Processing> FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of position registration processing that can be executed by the registration unit 231 of the position management unit 230 according to the present embodiment.

[0062] First, in S101, the registration unit 231 receives a position tag issuance request via a reception screen that can be provided to the user or the system operator. Next, in S102, the registration unit 231 registers the tag IDs and names of the specified number of position tags 20 in the position table 330 of the position information DB 220 in association with the floor ID of the specified floor 10 according to the received issuance request. Next, in S103, the registration unit 231 causes the position registration screen 60 described with reference to FIG. 6 to be displayed on the display of the user terminal 300. The user specifies, on the position registration screen 60, the positions where the respective position tags 20 should be arranged, for example, by operating the tag icon 63. Next, in S104, the registration unit 231 receives, via the position registration screen 60, the positions of the respective position tags 20 specified by the user. Next, in S105, the registration unit 231 registers the specified positions received for each position tag 20 in the position table 330 of the position information DB 220. Then, the position registration process of FIG. 9 ends.

[0063] <1-4-2. Position verification process> FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a position verification process that can be executed by the tag detection unit 232 and the verification unit 233 of the position management unit 230 according to the present embodiment.

[0064] In S111, the tag detection unit 232 waits to receive data from the tag reader 100. When measurement result data is received from the tag reader 100, the tag detection unit 232 stores one or more records of the measurement result data in the movement amount table 360. Further, when read result data is received from the tag reader 100, the tag detection unit 232 stores one or more records of the read result data in the tag detection table 370, and acquires the value of the movement amount 374 of each record from the movement amount table 360 and adds it.

[0065] In S112, the verification unit 233 monitors the tag detection table 370 and determines whether to start verifying the arrangement of the position tags 20. For example, the verification unit 233 may determine to start the arrangement verification when the tag reading results from two or more position tags 20 associated with the same floor 10 are stored in the tag detection table 370 and at least one of their statuses is "unverified". If the verification unit 233 determines to start the arrangement verification, the process proceeds to S113. If the arrangement verification is not started, the process returns to S111, and the reception of data from the tag reader 100 and the accumulation of data in the position information DB 220 are repeated.

[0066] In S113, the verification unit 233 acquires the registered positions of two or more position tags 20 to be verified from the position table 330. At this time, the verification unit 233 may convert the position coordinates of each position tag 20 registered as coordinate values on the map into coordinate values in the real space using the value of the scale 323 of the map table 320. Next, in S114, the verification unit 233 acquires the estimated position of the position tag 20 to be verified based on the data received from the tag reader 100 from the tag detection table 370. Then, in S120, the verification unit 233 executes a position comparison process for comparing the first positional relationship between the estimated positions of the position tags 20 to be verified acquired in S114 and the second positional relationship between the corresponding registered positions acquired in S113. A more specific example of the flow of the position comparison process executed here will be described later.

[0067] Subsequent processing branches at S131 depending on whether it is determined that the first and second positional relationships match as a result of the position comparison processing. If it is determined that the first and second positional relationships match, the processing proceeds to S132. On the other hand, if it is determined that the first and second positional relationships do not match, the processing proceeds to S140. At S132, the verification unit 233 notifies the user that the verification of the arrangement of the position tag 20 to be verified has been successful. On the other hand, at S140, the verification unit 233 executes correction support processing. A more specific example of the flow of the correction support processing executed here will be described later. Thereafter, the processing returns to S111, and the reception of data from the tag reader 100 and the accumulation of data in the position information DB 220 are repeated, and the verification of the arrangement of the position tag 20 is performed again as necessary.

[0068] <1-4-3. Position comparison processing> FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the position comparison processing that can be executed at S120 in FIG. 10.

[0069] First, at S121, the verification unit 233 selects the i-th (i = 1, 2,..., k) tag among the k position tags 20 to be verified as the target tag.

[0070] Next, at S122, the verification unit 233 derives the positional relationship (first positional relationship) between the estimated position of the target tag and the estimated positions of the k - 1 other tags. For example, the verification unit 233 derives the relative estimated position of each of the other tags with respect to the target tag by subtracting the movement amount vector of the target tag from the movement amount vectors of each of the other tags.

[0071] Next, at S123, the verification unit 233 derives the positional relationship (second positional relationship) between the registered position of the target tag and the registered positions of the k - 1 other tags. For example, the verification unit 233 derives the relative registered position of each of the other tags with respect to the target tag by subtracting the registered position after coordinate conversion of the target tag from the registered positions after coordinate conversion of each of the other tags.

[0072] Next, in S124, the verification unit 233 compares the deviation of the relative estimated position of other tags derived in S122 from the corresponding relative registered position derived in S123 with the tolerance d1. Here, when the deviation of the estimated position from the registered position exceeds the tolerance d1 for at least one tag, the verification unit 233 determines in S125 that the first and second positional relationships do not match. On the other hand, when the deviation of the estimated position from the registered position is equal to or less than the tolerance d1 for all of the k-1 other tags, the process proceeds to S126.

[0073] In S126, the verification unit 233 determines whether the next tag to be noted remains among the position tags 20 to be verified. When the next tag to be noted remains, in S127 the variable i is incremented (i = i + 1), and S121 to S126 described above are repeated with the (i + 1)-th position tag 20 as the tag to be noted. When the next tag to be noted does not remain, the verification unit 233 determines in S128 that the first and second positional relationships match. Then, the position comparison process in FIG. 11 ends.

[0074] <1-4-4. Correction Support Process> FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the correction support process that can be executed in S140 of FIG. 10. Here, it is assumed that one or both of the arrangement of the position tags 20 in the real space and the device positions registered in the position information DB220 are corrected through interaction with the user.

[0075] First, in S141, the verification unit 233 identifies one or more tags that may be the cause of the non-conformity of the two positional relationships. For example, when the status of all the position tags 20 to be verified is "unverified", the verification unit 233 may determine that all the position tags 20 to be verified may be the cause of the non-conformity. Also, when the status of some of the position tags 20 is "verified", the verification unit 233 may determine that the position tags 20 whose deviation between the estimated position and the registered position exceeds the tolerance when based on the "verified" position tags 20 may be the cause of the non-conformity.

[0076] Next, in S142, the verification unit 233 presents the user with options for actions for correction (for example, actions A1 to A3 described above) together with the information of the position tag 20 identified in S141. The subsequent processing branches depending on the action selected by the user.

[0077] For example, when the position tag 20 that is properly placed and requires no correction of the placement or the registered position is specified by the user (S143 - Yes), in S144, the verification unit 233 changes the status of the specified position tag 20 to "verified". Then, the processing returns to S141, and one or more tags that may be the cause of non - conformity are identified again.

[0078] Also, when the position tag 20 for which the registered position is to be corrected is specified by the user (S145 - Yes), in S146, the verification unit 233 corrects the registered position of the specified position tag 20 to the estimated position based on the tag reading result. At this time, the verification unit 233 may change the status of the specified position tag 20 to "verified". Then, in S150, the verification unit 233 executes the position comparison process described with reference to FIG. 11 again.

[0079] Also, when the user corrects the placement of the position tag 20 in the real space (S147 - Yes), in S148, the measurement result data and the reading result data related to the re - placed position tag 20 are received from the tag reader 100. Then, in S150, the verification unit 233 executes the position comparison process described with reference to FIG. 11 again based on the record newly added to the tag detection table 370 by the tag detection unit 232.

[0080] As a result of re - executing the position comparison process in S150, if it is determined in S151 that the first and second positional relationships are in conformity, in S152, the verification unit 233 notifies the user of the success of the verification. Then, the correction support process in FIG. 12 ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the first and second positional relationships are not in conformity, the processing returns to S141, and one or more tags that may be the cause of non - conformity are identified again.

[0081] If no action for correction is taken by the user (S147 - No), in S153, the verification unit 233 notifies the user of the verification failure. Then, the correction support process in FIG. 12 ends.

[0082] <1 - 4 - 5. Correction Support Process (First Variant Example)> FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the correction support process according to the first variant example of the first embodiment. In the first variant example, no two - way interaction with the user is performed, and simply the fact that the verification of the arrangement of the position tag 20 has failed is notified to the user.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 13, first, in S141, the verification unit 233 identifies one or more position tags 20 that may be the cause of the two positional relationship incompatibilities. Next, in S155, the verification unit 233 notifies the user of the verification failure together with the information of the one or more identified position tags 20. For example, the verification unit 233 may display on the display of the user terminal 300 a map showing a tag icon with the name of the identified position tag 20 at the reading position or registration position of the tag, together with a message notifying the verification failure. The user is expected to take actions necessary to optimize the situation, such as moving the position tag 20 placed in the wrong position to an appropriate position, in response to such notification.

[0084] <1 - 4 - 6. Automatic Correction Process (Second Variant Example)> FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the automatic correction process according to the second variant example of the first embodiment. In the second variant example, for example, when the status of one or more position tags 20 is "verified" and it is already known that their arrangement is correct, the registration position of the unverified position tag 20 is automatically corrected based on the position of the verified position tag 20. That is, when the verification unit 233 determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship, in S140 of FIG. 10, instead of the above - described correction support process, the automatic correction process described below is executed to correct the registration position of the position tag 20 so as to conform to the first positional relationship.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 14, first, at S157, the verification unit 233 identifies one or more position tags 20 that are the cause of the mismatch of the two positional relationships. Next, at S158, the verification unit 233 corrects the position coordinates of the registered position indicated by the tag position 333 of the position table 330 for the identified one or more position tags 20 to the position coordinates of the estimated position based on the tag reading result. Then, the verification unit 233 changes the value of the status 335 of the same record in the position table 330 to "verified". By enabling such automatic correction of the registered position, the user workload required for registering the position information can be reduced.

[0086] <1-5. Summary of the First Embodiment> According to the first embodiment, for two or more RFID tags arranged in the real space, it is determined whether a first positional relationship between the estimated positions of those RFID tags based on the tag reading result matches a second positional relationship between the corresponding device positions registered in the database. And when it is determined that the first and second positional relationships do not match, the system supports the user's action to eliminate the incompatible state based on the result of the determination, or automatically performs a process to eliminate the incompatible state. According to such a configuration, without relying on radio waves from satellites such as GPS satellites, the deviation between the device position indicated by the registration information of the system and the actual arrangement of the device in the real space can be easily detected and eliminated. Therefore, even in a space where GPS-based technology does not function effectively, such as inside a building or underground, the RFID tags can be quickly arranged at appropriate points and utilized for various applications such as position determination or tracking of moving articles. Also, since it is not necessary to install a GPS function in the tag reader that reads the tag ID from the RFID tag, it is easy to reduce the introduction cost and miniaturize the tag reader.

[0087] <2. Second Embodiment> In the above-described first embodiment, mainly, an example of detecting a deviation between the device position indicated by the registered information and the actual arrangement of the device when the RFID tag is initially arranged in the real space was described. In contrast, in the second embodiment described in this section, an example of detecting whether an article that can move over time is in the correct position in a state where some RFID tags are already appropriately arranged in the real space by a similar mechanism will be described.

[0088] <2-1. System Overview> FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing system 2 according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 15, position tags 20d, 20e, 20f, and 20g are arranged on the floor 10d. These are the same RFID tags as the position tag 20 according to the first embodiment. Although only one floor 10d is shown in FIG. 15, there may be more floors 10. On the floor 10d, there are an article 30c with an article tag 40c and an article 30d with an article tag 40d. At the time of March 31, 20XX, the articles 30c and 30d are located in a section near the position tag 20g (see the upper part of the figure), but at the time of April 1, 20XX, the article 30c has moved to another section where the position tag 20d is arranged (see the lower part of the figure).

[0089] In addition to the position tags 20 and the article tags 40, the information processing system 2 includes a tag reader 100, a user terminal 300, and a management server 400. The tag reader 100, the user terminal 300, and the management server 400 are connected to the network 5.

[0090] The management server 400 is an information processing device that manages, using a database, position information indicating the positions of the position tags 20 and the article tags 40 in the real space, which is the same as the management server 200 according to the first embodiment. An example of the specific configuration of the management server 400 will be described in the next section.

[0091] <2-2. Example of Management Server Configuration> <2-2-1. Basic Configuration> FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server 400 according to the second embodiment. Referring to FIG. 16, the management server 400 includes a communication unit 210, a location information database 420, and a location management unit 430.

[0092] The location information database 420 includes a floor table 310, a map table 320, a location table 330, an article table 540, a section table 580, a reservation table 590, a movement amount table 360, and a tag detection table 370. The location management unit 430 is a set of a plurality of software modules that provides a management function for managing data in the location information database 420, similar to the location management unit 230 according to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the location management unit 430 includes a registration unit 431, a tag detection unit 232, a verification unit 433, and an information providing unit 234.

[0093] <2-2-2. Example of data configuration> FIGS. 17(A) to (C) respectively show examples of the configurations of the section table 580, the article table 540, and the reservation table 590 of the location information database 420.

[0094] The section table 580 has four data items: section ID 581, floor ID 582, range 583, and name 584. The section ID 581 is identification information that uniquely identifies each section set in floor 10. The floor ID 582 indicates the floor 10 to which each section belongs, using the value of the floor ID 311 in the floor table 310. The range 583 indicates the spatial range occupied by each section on the floor 10 identified by the floor ID 582. As an example, in the two-dimensional plane of floor 10, each section may be rectangular, and the range 583 may be defined by the coordinates of one vertex of the rectangle and the coordinates of the opposite vertex. As another example, each section may be circular, and the range 583 may be defined by the coordinates of the center of the circle and the radius. Note that it is not limited to these examples, and each section may have an arbitrary shape such as a polygon. The name 584 represents the name of each section. In the example of FIG. 17(A), the name of the section identified by the section ID "SG01" is "Room A", the name of the section identified by the section ID "SG02" is "Room B", and the name of the section identified by the section ID "SG03" is "Storage Shelf".

[0095] The item table 540 has four data items: tag ID 341, item ID 342, name 343, and normal section 544. The normal section 544 indicates the section in which the item 30 (item 30 indicated by the item ID 342) with each item tag 40 attached is normally stored, using the value of the section ID 581 in the section table 580. In the example of FIG. 17(B), the item identified by the item ID "IT0C" (for example, item 30c in FIG. 15) and the item identified by the item ID "IT0D" (for example, item 30d in FIG. 15) are both normally stored in the section identified by the section ID "SG03".

[0096] The reservation table 590 shown in FIG. 17(C) is a table for storing, in association with scheduled time information, the positions scheduled for the articles 30 with article tags 40 attached thereto. The reservation table 590 has six data items: a record number 591, a start time 592, an end time 593, an article ID 594, a use section 595, and a reserving person 596. The record number 591 is a number for uniquely identifying each record (hereinafter referred to as a reservation record) in the reservation table 590. The start time 592 and the end time 593 are scheduled time information indicating the time when the use of the article 30 starts and the time when the use ends for each reservation record, respectively. The article ID 594 indicates the article 30 used for each reservation record using the value of the article ID 342 in the article table 540. The use section 595 indicates the section including the position where the article 30 is used for each reservation record using the value of the section ID 581 in the section table 580. The reserving person 596 indicates the user who reserved the use of the article 30 for each reservation record. In the example of FIG. 17(C), the reservation record #1 indicates that "User A" has registered a plan to use the article "IT0C" in the section "SG01" from the time "ST01" to the time "ET01". The reservation record #2 indicates that "User B" has registered a plan to use the article "IT0D" in the section "SG02" from the time "ST02" to the time "ET02".

[0097] <2-2-3. Use reservation> In addition to the functions described for the registration unit 231 according to the first embodiment, the registration unit 431 of the position management unit 430 has a function of receiving a use reservation of the article 30 from a user of the information processing system 2. The registration unit 431 may, for example, display a reservation reception screen on the display of the user terminal 300 and receive input of required information such as a start time, an end time, an article, and a use section on the reservation reception screen. The registration unit 431 registers the received information in the reservation table 590.

[0098] <2-2-4. Verification of article position> In the present embodiment, the verification unit 433 assumes that the first type of wireless device, i.e., the position tag 20, which is fixedly arranged in the real space, is appropriately arranged at the device position stored in the position information DB 220. Under this assumption, the verification unit 433 determines whether the article tag 40, which is the second type of wireless device that moves together with the article 30, is appropriately arranged at the planned position based on the comparison between the first positional relationship and the second positional relationship. The planned position of the article tag 40 may be a position within the section indicated by the use section 595 of the reservation table 590 during the time period when there is a use reservation for the article 30 to which the article tag 40 is attached. During the time period when there is no use reservation, the planned position of the article tag 40 may be a position within the section indicated by the normal section 544 of the article table 540. Similar to the first embodiment, the first positional relationship represents the relative relationship between the estimated positions indicated by the movement amount 374 of the tag detection table 370. The second positional relationship represents the relative relationship of the planned position of the article tag 40 with respect to the registered position of the position tag 20 indicated by the tag position 333 of the position table 330. For example, the verification unit 433 may determine that the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship when the estimated position of the position tag 20 coincides with the registered position and the estimated position of the article tag 40 to be verified is included within the planned section.

[0099] FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a comparison of two positional relationships in the present embodiment. The circles in the figure represent the current positions of the respective position tags 20, and the triangles represent the current positions of the respective article tags 40. In the example of FIG. 18(A), a plurality of position tags 20 including position tags 20d and 20g are arranged on the floor 10d. Also, articles 30c and 30d exist on the floor 10d. At a certain time, the user holds the tag reader 100 on the floor 10d and moves, for example, along the dashed arrow R2. Then, the tag reader 100 reads the tag ID of the position tag 20d at the reading position D11, the tag ID of the article tag 40c of the article 30c at the reading position D12, the tag ID of the position tag 20g at the reading position D13, and the tag ID of the article tag 40d of the article 30d at the reading position D14. The tag detection unit 232 of the management server 400 stores the four read tag IDs, the reading time, the reader ID, and the relative movement amount from the reference position in the tag detection table 370 based on the measurement result data and the reading result data received from the tag reader 100.

[0100] Here, it is assumed that the time when the tag ID is read from the article tag 40c of the article 30c belongs to the time zone between the start time and the end time of the usage reservation indicated by the record #1 in the reservation table 590 of FIG. 17(C). This reservation record, therefore, indicates that the article 30c is scheduled to be used in the section "SG01" (i.e., "Room A") at the above reading time. The verification unit 433 derives a vector V1 representing the relative position of the article 30c (article tag 40c) with respect to the position tag 20d, for example, by subtracting the relative movement amount at the reading position D11 from the relative movement amount at the reading position D12 (the first positional relationship). When the registered position of the position tag 20a is the starting point of the vector V1, the end point of the vector V1 should be inside the section "SG01" indicated by the dashed line 70a in FIG. 18(B) according to the above reservation record (the second positional relationship). The verification unit 433 compares these positional relationships, and in the example of FIG. 18(B), since the end point of the vector V1 is inside the dashed line 70a, it is determined that the article 30c is appropriately present at the scheduled position at the above reading time.

[0101] Also, assume that the time when the tag ID is read from the article tag 40d of the article 30d does not belong to any time zone indicated by any record in the reservation table 590. Therefore, at the above reading time, the article 30d is scheduled to be stored in the section "SG03" (i.e., "storage shelf") indicated by the normal section 544 of the article table 540. The verification unit 433 derives a vector V2 representing the relative position of the article 30d (article tag 40d) with respect to the position tag 20g, for example, by subtracting the relative movement amount of the reading position D13 from the relative movement amount of the reading position D14 (first positional relationship). When the registered position of the position tag 20g is taken as the starting point of the vector V2, the end point of the vector V2 should be inside the section "SG03" indicated by the broken line 70c in FIG. 18(B) (second positional relationship). The verification unit 433 compares these positional relationships, and in the example of FIG. 18(B), since the end point of the vector V2 is inside the broken line 70c, it is determined that the article 30d is appropriately present at the scheduled position at the above reading time.

[0102] In addition, when making the above determination as to whether or not the article 30 to be verified is within the scheduled section, the allowable deviation d1 described in the first embodiment may be considered. That is, even when the article 30 is located outside the scheduled section, when the distance between the estimated position of the article 30 and the boundary of the scheduled section is less than the allowable deviation d1, the verification unit 433 may determine that the article 30 is appropriately present at the scheduled position.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 18(B), the position tag 20 serving as a reference when deriving the relative position of the article 30 to be verified may be the position tag 20 that was detected closest to the article 30 to be verified among the position tags 20 from which the tag ID was read by the tag reader 100. By using the reading position of the closest position tag 20 as the reference position, the error in the relative position can be suppressed and the verification accuracy can be improved.

[0104] When the verification unit 433 determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship and the article 30 does not exist at the expected position, it notifies the user that the position of the article 30 is incorrect, for example, on the screen of the user terminal 300. Upon receiving this notification, the user can take necessary actions such as returning the article 30 that has been forgotten to be returned after use to the normal section. Note that, like the second modification example of the first embodiment, when the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship, the verification unit 433 may automatically correct the registered position of the article 30 (for example, the position coordinates of the normal section) on the database.

[0105] <2-3. Flow of processing> In this section, an example of the flow of processing in the information processing system 2 in the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 19.

[0106] <2-3-1. Position verification processing> FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of position verification processing that can be executed by the tag detection unit 232 and the verification unit 433 of the position management unit 430 according to the present embodiment.

[0107] In S211, the tag detection unit 232 waits to receive data from the tag reader 100. When measurement result data is received from the tag reader 100, the tag detection unit 232 stores one or more records of the measurement result data in the movement amount table 360. Further, when reading result data is received from the tag reader 100, the tag detection unit 232 stores one or more records of the reading result data in the tag detection table 370, and acquires the value of the movement amount 374 of each record from the movement amount table 360 and adds it.

[0108] In S212, the verification unit 433 monitors the tag detection table 370 and determines whether to start verifying the placement of the article 30. For example, the verification unit 433 may determine to start verifying the placement of the article 30 with the article tag 40 when the tag reading results from the location tag 20 and the article tag 40 associated with the same floor 10 are stored in the tag detection table 370. If the verification unit 433 determines to start the placement verification, the process proceeds to S213. If the placement verification is not started, the process returns to S211, and the reception of data from the tag reader 100 and the accumulation of data in the location information DB 420 are repeated.

[0109] In S213, the verification unit 433 determines the section where the target article tag 40 should be present at the reading time by referring to the article table 540 and the reservation table 590. Next, in S214, the verification unit 433 estimates the current positions of the target article tag 40 and the reference location tag 20 based on the data received from the tag reader 100. Then, in S215, the verification unit 433 determines whether the estimated current position of the target article tag 40 falls within the section (scheduled section) determined in S213 when the current position of the location tag 20 is made to match the registered position. Here, if it is determined that the current position of the target article tag 40 does not fall within the scheduled section, in S216, the verification unit 433 notifies the user that the article 30 with the target article tag 40 is not at the position where it should originally be. If it is determined that the current position of the target article tag 40 falls within the scheduled section, the process returns to S211, the reception of data from the tag reader 100 and the accumulation of data in the location information DB 420 are repeated, and the placement verification of the article 30 is performed again as necessary.

[0110] <2-3-2. Variation> In a modified example, both the verification of the arrangement of the position tags 20 as described in the first embodiment and the verification of the position of the article tags 40 as described in the second embodiment may be performed in the information processing system 2. Typically, the verification of the arrangement of the position tags 20 is performed at the beginning of the introduction of the system, and after the verification is successful for a sufficient number of the position tags 20, the tracking and verification of the position of the article tags 40 are started. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of a schematic processing flow according to such a modified example.

[0111] First, in S311, the verification unit 433 verifies the arrangement of a plurality of position tags 20 whose status is unverified by comparing the first positional relationship estimated based on the data received from the tag reader 100 with the second positional relationship based on the registration information in the database. This verification is repeated until it is determined in S312 that the verification is completed or the arrangement is corrected or the registration information is corrected.

[0112] When the actual arrangement of the position tags 20 is in a state that sufficiently conforms to the registration information in the database, the tracking and verification of the position of the article tag 40 in S313 are started. In S313, the verification unit 433 verifies whether the current position of the article 30 with the article tag 40 attached is appropriate by comparing the first positional relationship between the reference position tag 20 and the article tag 40 whose tag ID has been read with the second positional relationship based on the registration information in the database. According to the result of the verification, when the verification unit 433 determines in S314 that there is an article 30 not located in the planned section, it notifies the user of the incorrect position of the article 30 in S315. When all the detected articles 30 are appropriately located within the planned section, notification to the user may not be performed, and the tracking and verification of the position of the article tag 40 are repeated.

[0113] <Summary of the Second Embodiment> According to the second embodiment, for RFID tags fixedly arranged in the real space and RFID tags that move together with an article, it is determined whether a first positional relationship between the estimated positions of those tags conforms to a second positional relationship between corresponding registered positions on the DB. Therefore, based on the RFID tags fixedly arranged, it is possible to easily detect whether the article is present at an appropriate position (for example, whether it is being used at an appropriate place or stored at the correct place). Also in the second embodiment, since verification of the arrangement of the article does not rely on radio waves from satellites, verification can function effectively in spaces such as inside a building or underground. Further, since it is not necessary to install a GPS function in a tag reader that reads a tag ID from an RFID tag, reduction and miniaturization of the introduction cost of the tag reader are also facilitated.

[0114] Also, according to the second embodiment, a position planned for an RFID tag that moves together with an article is stored in the DB in association with planned time information, and it is determined based on a comparison of the first and second positional relationships whether the article is at the planned position at the time indicated by the planned time information. Therefore, for articles that are used at various places in the real space and whose positions are not fixed, it is possible to easily determine whether they are present at appropriate positions at respective points in time.

[0115] <3. Other Embodiments> The above embodiment can also be realized in a form of a process in which a program that realizes one or more functions is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0116] The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, claims are attached to publicly disclose the scope of the invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0117] 1, 2: Information processing system, 10: Floor (location), 20: Location tag (wireless device), 30: Article, 40: Article tag (wireless device), 100: Tag reader (reading device), 200, 400: Management server (information processing device), 220, 420: Location information database, 230, 430: Location management unit (judgment unit), 300: User terminal

Claims

1. A plurality of wireless devices arranged in a real space, a reading device including a reading unit that reads identification information stored in each wireless device, and a measuring unit that measures a relative movement amount in the real space, a management unit that manages a database in which positions in the real space where each wireless device should be arranged are registered in association with the identification information of the wireless device, An information processing system including: The reading device provides the management unit with the identification information read by the reading unit and movement amount information indicating the movement amount measured by the measuring unit at the time of the reading, The plurality of wireless devices include: a first type of wireless device fixedly arranged in the real space; and a second type of wireless device attached to an article and moving with the article, including two or more wireless devices, a position scheduled for the second type of wireless device is registered in the database in association with scheduled time information, The management unit determines whether a first positional relationship between the two or more wireless devices estimated based on the identification information and the movement amount information for the two or more wireless devices arranged in the real space conforms to a second positional relationship between corresponding registered positions stored in the database, Determining whether the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship includes, assuming that the first type of wireless device is arranged at a corresponding registered position stored in the database, determining whether the second type of wireless device is arranged at the scheduled position at the time indicated by the scheduled time information, based on a comparison between the first positional relationship and the second positional relationship. An information processing system.

2. When the management unit determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship, the management unit presents the result of the determination to the user, and causes the user to perform one or more of: modifying the arrangement of the wireless devices in the real space, designating a wireless device arranged at a corresponding registered position, and designating a wireless device for which the corresponding registered position in the database should be modified. The information processing system according to claim 1.

3. After the management unit presents the result of the determination that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship to the user, when a wireless device arranged at a corresponding registered position is specified by the user, the management unit further determines, based on a comparison between the first positional relationship and the second positional relationship, which of the wireless devices other than the specified wireless device among the two or more wireless devices is misarranged. The information processing system according to claim 2.

4. After the management unit presents the result of the determination that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship to the user, when a wireless device for which the corresponding registered position in the database should be corrected is specified by the user, the management unit corrects the registered position corresponding to the specified wireless device to a position estimated based on the first positional relationship. The information processing system according to claim 2.

5. When the management unit determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship, the management unit corrects the corresponding registered position stored in the database so as to conform to the first positional relationship. The information processing system according to claim 1.

6. For each of the two or more wireless devices, when the deviation of the position in the first positional relationship from the corresponding registered position in the second positional relationship is less than the allowable amount, the management unit determines that the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The database stores the registered positions of the respective wireless devices in association with any of a plurality of locations in the real space, and the management unit determines whether the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship for the two or more wireless devices associated with the same location. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The database further stores map information representing a map of the location associated with the two or more wireless devices, and when the management unit determines that the first positional relationship does not conform to the second positional relationship, the management unit causes a map of the location in which the position of at least one of the two or more wireless devices is mapped to be displayed on the screen of the user terminal based on the map information. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The wireless device is an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag, The reading means of the reader emits electromagnetic waves into a reading range and reads the identification information returned from the RFID tag by using the energy of the electromagnetic waves. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The measurement means measures the relative movement amount based on sensor data output from a three-axis acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The information processing system is A server device disposed in a cloud environment and including the management unit, including The reader directly or indirectly transmits the identification information and the movement amount information to the server device via another device. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. An information processing apparatus that manages a database in which positions in a real space where each of a plurality of wireless devices should be arranged are registered in association with the identification information of the wireless devices, The plurality of wireless devices are A first type of wireless device fixedly arranged in the real space, and A second type of wireless device attached to an article and moving with the article, including two or more wireless devices, The positions planned for the second type of wireless device are registered in the database in association with planned time information, The information processing apparatus is A communication unit that receives the read identification information and movement amount information indicating the movement amount measured at the time of the reading from a reader that can read the identification information stored in each wireless device and can measure the relative movement amount in the real space, A determination unit that determines whether a first positional relationship between the two or more wireless devices estimated based on the identification information and the movement amount information for the two or more wireless devices arranged in the real space conforms to a second positional relationship between corresponding registered positions stored in the database, comprising Determining whether the first positional relationship conforms to the second positional relationship includes, assuming that the first type of wireless device is arranged at the corresponding registered position stored in the database, determining whether the second type of wireless device is arranged at the planned position at the time indicated by the planned time information, based on a comparison between the first positional relationship and the second positional relationship. An information processing apparatus.

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