Emergency call device, and method and program for using the same

Abstract

To provide a method and program for making a quick and appropriate report in an emergency such as a mountain distress, and a portable device for realizing the same. [Solution] Provided is an emergency notification method executed by a computer, which includes the steps of: launching an emergency notification computer program on a portable information device using a short-range wireless communication means built into a portable device carried by a person to be rescued; and transmitting information about the person to be rescued from a storage means built into the portable device to the emergency notification computer program.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates generally to a method, program, and portable device for reporting an emergency such as a mountain climbing accident, and more specifically to a method, program, and portable device for reporting that is effective even when the person being rescued is unable to operate their own mobile information terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technique for reporting an emergency such as a mountain distress using a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for, when a user is distressed or encounters an accident, acquiring location information using the GPS function of the mobile information terminal, and reporting the location information to emergency contacts preset by the user, or rescue organizations such as local governments and police.

[0003] However, this technology is based on the premise that the person in distress or involved in an accident is able to operate the mobile information device they are carrying. However, in a real-life situation, the mobile information device may run out of battery and become unusable (a common occurrence in cold climates due to reduced battery capacity), or the victim may be in a state of confusion and unable to properly operate their mobile information device. Even if rescuers or accompanying persons use their own mobile information device to make an emergency call, if the person in distress or involved in an accident is in a state of confusion, there is a problem in that important information such as the victim's identity and medical information cannot be properly conveyed to the appropriate party.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such problems. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] "Emergency SOS via satellite is now possible even when your iPhone is out of range | Hopes that combined with YAMAP, it will reduce the risk of getting lost" (https: / / yamap.com / magazine / 58236) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] To provide a method and program for making a quick and appropriate report in an emergency such as a mountain distress, and a portable device for realizing the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention solves the above problems by providing the following means. [1] A step of starting an emergency call computer program on a portable information device by a short-range wireless communication means built into a portable device carried by a person to be rescued; transmitting information about the person to be rescued from a storage means built into the portable device to the emergency notification computer program; A computer-implemented emergency notification method. [2] Further, acquiring current location information of the mobile information device; The emergency notification method described in [1], further comprising a step of transmitting the location information to the emergency notification computer program. [3] Further, a step of calling an emergency call destination from the emergency call computer program; The emergency notification method described in [2] includes a step of transmitting the information regarding the person to be rescued and the current location information of the mobile information device to the emergency notification destination using voice synthesis. [4] furthermore, inputting the information about the person to be rescued and the current location information of the mobile information device as prompts into a trained large-scale language model; The emergency call method according to [3], further comprising a step of interacting the emergency call destination with the trained large-scale language model. [5] A set of instructions for launching an emergency call computer program on a portable information device by a short-range wireless communication means built into the portable device carried by the person to be rescued; A set of instructions for transmitting information about the person to be rescued from a storage means built into the portable device to the emergency notification computer program, An emergency notification program run by a computer. [6] Further, a group of instructions for acquiring current location information of the mobile information device; and instructions for transmitting the location information to the emergency call computer program. [5] An emergency notification program described in [5] that is executed by a computer. [7] further comprising instructions for calling an emergency number from the emergency call computer program; a group of instructions for transmitting the information about the person to be rescued and the current location information of the portable information device to the emergency call destination by voice synthesis; [6] An emergency notification program described in [6] that is executed by a computer. [8] Further, a group of instructions for inputting the information about the person to be rescued and the current location information of the mobile information device as prompts into a trained large-scale language model; a set of instructions for causing the emergency call destination to interact with the trained large-scale language model; [7] An emergency notification program described in [7] that is executed by a computer. [9] A handheld device configured to perform the method described in any one of [1] to [4]. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] A method and program for making a prompt and appropriate report in an emergency such as a mountain distress, and a portable device for realizing the same are provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 shows an overview of the environment in which the method according to the present invention is implemented; [Figure 2] 10 is a screen shot of a notification application in the method according to the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a processing flow in a first embodiment of a method according to the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a process flow in a second embodiment of the method according to the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a process flow in a third embodiment of the method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1 shows an overview of the environment in which the method of the present invention is implemented. The rescue target (101) is a person who is in distress, has an accident, or is ill and is a person who needs rescue. The rescue target may be a mountain climber or a person who suddenly falls ill or encounters an accident in an urban area. The rescuer (102) may be a companion, finder, rescue team member, police, or ambulance personnel who are in a position to rescue the rescue target (101). The portable reporting device (103) is a portable device carried or worn by the rescue target (101), such as a smart card, smart tag, or a wearable device such as a smart watch or wristband. The portable reporting device (103) preferably has a technical configuration that allows it to operate without a battery. The portable information terminal (104) is a portable information device with a built-in computer, such as a smartphone, tablet, smart watch, or smart glasses.

[0012] In many cases where the method of the present invention is implemented, the mobile information terminal (104) is not carried by the person being rescued (101) but by the rescuer (102). That is, the method of the present invention is significant in that it can be implemented by the rescuer (102) using the mobile information terminal (104) carried by the rescuer (102) even when the person being rescued (101) is unconscious, confused, or seriously injured and unable to use his or her own mobile information terminal, or when the mobile information terminal is dead or broken. However, the method of the present invention may also be implemented using the mobile information terminal (104) carried by the person being rescued (101). This is effective, for example, when the person being rescued (101) is conscious but injured, frostbitten, or physically weakened, and is unable to fully operate the mobile information terminal (104) carried by him or her using normal operating methods such as fingerprint scanning or swiping.

[0013] The reporting portable device (103) has a means for communicating with the mobile information terminal (104). This communication is preferably based on the NFC (Near Field Communication) protocol, but other communication technologies may be used between the reporting device (103) and the mobile information terminal (104). The reporting device (103) preferably has a memory for storing information about the person being rescued (101) that is important in rescue operations, such as their identity, emergency contact information, and chronic illnesses. The memory is preferably non-volatile memory that can retain information for a long period of time even without a battery. The memory may be configured so that the person being rescued (101) can record information that will be useful in the event of a future rescue attempt (e.g., "I haven't eaten in three days" or "I got separated from my companion") via their own mobile information terminal (while still able to function) or via an input means such as a keyboard on the reporting device (103). Recording may be performed by voice in addition to or instead of text. As an alternative or additional means when communication via NFC is not performed, information about the person to be rescued (101), such as their identity, emergency contact information, and chronic illnesses, may be printed or displayed on the reporting device (103) by means of a two-dimensional barcode or the like. To enable the rescuer (102) to properly use the reporting device (103) (especially to properly launch the application via NFC, which will be described later), it is preferable to print instructions for use on the surface of the reporting portable device (103).

[0014] The notification application (105) is one or more programs for transmitting the rescue request of the person being rescued (101) along with information about the person being rescued (101), such as their identity, emergency contact information, and chronic illnesses, to rescue organizations such as rescue teams, police, medical institutions, search headquarters, accompanying persons, and mountain huts. The notification application (105) may be a program (app) pre-installed on the mobile information terminal (103), but is preferably a browser-based program that can be run without prior installation, with the program logic itself executed on a server. This is because when a mobile information terminal (104) that is not carried by the person being rescued (101) is used, it is expected that a local app that provides the functionality of the notification application (105) will often not be pre-installed on the mobile information terminal (105).

[0015] The message destination (106) is the destination to which a rescue request is sent, and is a rescue organization such as a rescue team, police, medical institution, search headquarters, accompanying person, or mountain hut. The reporting application (105) is configured to transmit information about the rescue request and the rescue target (101) to the message destination (106) using messaging functions provided by mobile communication carriers and various messaging service providers. It is preferable to also transmit related information (location of the distress, weather, urgency, etc.). The voice destination (107) is also the destination to which a rescue request is sent, but it does not have a messaging function and is only capable of voice communication via a landline or mobile phone network. This applies to destinations that have a landline or mobile phone but no means of receiving messages, such as local hospitals or private homes.

[0016] Figure 2-a) shows an example of a screen of the mobile information terminal (103) of the reporting application (105), and Figure 2-b) shows an example of a screen of the message reporting destination (106) of the reporting application (105). Both are examples, and components may be added, deleted, or modified as necessary. The screen of the mobile information terminal (103) provides buttons for message reporting, phone reporting, displaying and vocalizing location information, and displaying and vocalizing medical information of the person being rescued (101). The vocalization button synthesizes text information and transmits it to the call destination, increasing the likelihood of accurate communication in bad weather and other conditions compared to when the rescuer (102) reads the text on the screen and communicates it aloud. The screen of the message reporting destination (106) displays the location information of the mobile information terminal (103) using numerical values ​​and a map. A video chat function may also be provided.

[0017] Figure 3 shows the processing flow in a first embodiment of the method according to the present invention. It is assumed that the person to be rescued (101) is in a state where he or she is unable to operate his or her mobile information terminal due to confusion or other reasons. While the explanation of the embodiment assumes a mountain climbing accident, as mentioned above, the present invention is also effective for making an emergency call when the person to be rescued (101) loses consciousness due to illness or accident in a residential area such as an urban area, or when he or she is unable to properly use his or her mobile information terminal due to injury or other reasons.

[0018] The rescuer (102) holds the portable reporting device (103) (e.g., a smart card in a wallet or a smart tag embedded in a keychain or wristband) carried by the person being rescued (101) over a personal digital assistant (104) (typically a smartphone) carried by the rescuer (102), which activates the reporting application (105) and makes it accessible from the personal digital assistant (104). Many smartphones today are equipped with communication functions based on the NFC (Near Field Communication) protocol, making it technically possible to launch a specific application or automatically access a specific website in a web browser by holding an NFC tag over the device. Depending on the smartphone's settings, additional operations may be required, so it is preferable that the surface of the portable reporting device (103) clearly displays instructions for any additional operations that may be required.

[0019] The launched reporting application (105) acquires current location information using the smartphone's GPS function, etc. In addition to the location information at the time of reporting from the mobile information terminal (104), location history from a predetermined time prior may also be acquired. This is because it is assumed that the rescuer (102) will report the rescuee (101) after finding him / her and moving to a location with good signal reception. The reporting application (105) also reads information stored in the memory of the reporting portable device (103) (previously stored information and information written by the rescuee at the time of the accident). When the rescuer clicks the report button on the reporting application (105), a message is sent to the specified message destination (105), along with the acquired location information and related information stored in the memory of the reporting portable device (103). Additional information such as local weather and temperature may also be acquired and transmitted (for example, weather forecast information for the current location may be provided using a web service (e.g., provided by the Norwegian Meteorological Office) that provides weather forecasts worldwide based on latitude, longitude, and altitude). The notification may be automatically sent to a predetermined message contact (106) after the notification application (105) is launched, without waiting for the notification button to be clicked. Notifications may be sent to multiple message contacts (106) simultaneously. The message contact (106) to which the rescue request is sent may be determined based on the location information of the mobile information terminal (104) and a pre-prepared correspondence table. After the notification and necessary information have been sent, the rescuer (102) may communicate with the person in charge of the message contact (106) via the mobile information terminal (104). The communication may be via any method, such as voice call, video call, chat, or email.

[0020] FIG. 4 shows a processing flow in a second embodiment of the method according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the reporting application (104) has a function for making calls to a general telephone network. The calling function may be implemented via IP telephony. The screen of the reporting application (104) is provided with a button for requesting a call, and clicking the button transmits a rescue request message to a predetermined telephone call destination (107) via voice synthesis. The voice-synthesized rescue request message preferably includes location information and information about the person being rescued (101) stored in the memory of the reporting device (103). The voice synthesis function may be an internal function of the reporting application (104) or may be configured to use an external service such as ChatGPT. The system may also be configured so that the rescuer (102) can add information using their own voice and communicate with the called telephone call destination (107).

[0021] FIG. 5 shows the processing flow of a third embodiment of the method of the present invention. In addition to the processing of the second embodiment, the reporting application (105) has access to speech synthesis and speech recognition functions using a trained machine learning model (e.g., a large-scale language model (LLM) such as GPT). While the reporting application (105) itself may have speech synthesis and speech recognition functions, it is preferable to configure it to utilize publicly available advanced generative AI services such as ChatGPT. By providing appropriate prompts to the LLM, it is technically possible to automate some of the subsequent interactions with the telephone call destination (107). The reporting application (105) has a function to construct prompts for the LLM based on various information, including information previously stored in the memory of the reporting device (103). This function may be implemented using the logic of a general program (script), or the prompt construction function itself may be implemented using a publicly available LLM (e.g., ChatGPT).

[0022] The third embodiment is effective, for example, when a person to be rescued (101) himself / herself makes a report using his / her own mobile information terminal, but is unable to properly communicate with the fire department or emergency services due to injury or confusion, or when a rescuer (102) such as a companion or rescuer makes a report using his / her own mobile information terminal (104), but the companion or rescuer himself / herself is injured or confused and is unable to properly communicate with emergency contacts or rescue agencies, etc. The person to be rescued (101) may add information that is important for rescue operations (e.g., "has a broken leg," "has not eaten for three days," "had a companion but got separated") that he / she has previously recorded or recorded in the memory of the portable device for reporting (103) to the prompt to the LLM.

[0023] For example, based on the location information acquired by the mobile information terminal (104) and the information recorded on the portable reporting device (103), it is technically possible to generate a prompt such as, "The latitude is xxx, the slope is yyyy. The victim is Ichiro Oda from Wakayama Prefecture. He has injured his leg and is unable to move. Please make an emergency call based on the above information. Please repeat the information if necessary." By inputting these prompts into the LLM, a voice can be synthesized that reads, "Requesting rescue. This is Ichiro Oda from Wakayama Prefecture. The latitude is xxx, the slope is yyyy. He has injured his leg and is unable to move," and transmitted to the telephone reporting destination (107). Let's assume that the telephone receptionist is unable to hear the last name (Oda) due to the quality of the telephone line and asks, "Is that Ota-san?" The LLM is technically capable of responding appropriately, "It's Oda. It's a rice field in a rice field at the tail end," without bothering the person being rescued (101) or the rescuer (102), thereby facilitating the speedy rescue operation.

[0024] The above-described embodiments can be modified in various ways. For example, as described above, the rescue target (101) may perform the operation instead of the rescuer (102). For example, in the second embodiment, a voice call with the rescuer (102) (or the rescue target (101)) may be initiated first, and if necessary, information (e.g., the current location or medical information of the rescue target (101)) may be provided by voice synthesis and transmitted to the message notification destination (106) by voice synthesis. The above-described embodiments may also be combined. For example, in the third embodiment, the rescuer (102) (or the rescue target (101)) may additionally communicate by chat or voice if necessary.

Claims

1. A step in which a computer of a portable device carried by a person to be rescued, or a computer of a first portable information device carried by said person to be rescued, records the situation at the time of the accident in a memory means built into said portable device in accordance with the operation of said person to be rescued; a step in which a computer of a second portable information device starts an emergency call computer program in response to communication with a short-range wireless communication means built into the portable device; a step in which the computer of the second portable information device reads information including the situation at the time of the accident from the storage means built into the portable device in response to a command from the emergency call computer program; and a step in which the computer of the second portable information device transmits the read information to an emergency call receiving computer of an emergency call destination. Emergency call method.

2. Further, a step in which a computer of the second portable information device acquires current location information of the second portable information device; and a step in which the computer of the second portable information device transmits the location information to the emergency call receiving computer. The emergency call method according to claim 1 .

3. A step in which a computer of a portable information device starts an emergency notification computer program when communication with a short-range wireless communication means built into a portable device carried by a person to be rescued is used as a trigger; a step in which a computer of the portable information equipment reads information about the person to be rescued from a storage means built in the portable device in response to a command from the emergency notification computer program; a step in which a computer of the portable information device acquires current location information of the portable information device in response to a command from the emergency call computer program; a step in which the computer of the portable information device places a call to an emergency call destination in accordance with a command from the emergency call computer program; and a step in which the computer of the portable information device, in response to a command from the emergency call computer program, transmits the read information about the person to be rescued and the acquired location information to the emergency call destination by voice synthesis. Emergency call method.

4. The method further includes a step in which the computer of the portable information device provides the read information about the person to be rescued and the acquired location information as prompts to a trained large-scale language model for conducting a telephone conversation with the emergency call destination. The emergency call method according to claim 3 .

5. A computer program for emergency reporting that is activated by a computer in a portable information device when triggered by communication with a short-range wireless communication means built into a portable device that can record the situation at the time of an accident by operation of the carrier, The computer of the portable information device: A set of instructions for reading information including the situation at the time of the accident from a storage means built into the portable device; a group of instructions for transmitting the read information to an emergency call receiving computer of the emergency call destination; An emergency call computer program for executing the above.

6. A computer program for emergency reporting according to claim 5, Furthermore, the computer of the portable information device A set of instructions for obtaining current location information of the mobile information device; a set of instructions for transmitting the location information to an emergency call computer of an emergency call destination; An emergency call computer program for executing the above.

7. A computer program for emergency reporting that is activated by a computer of a portable information device when triggered by communication with a short-range wireless communication means built into a portable device carried by a person to be rescued, For computers in portable information devices, A set of instructions for reading information about the person to be rescued from a storage means built into the portable device; A set of instructions for obtaining current location information of the mobile information device; A set of instructions to call emergency numbers; a group of instructions for transmitting the information about the person to be rescued and the current location information of the portable information device to the emergency call destination by voice synthesis; An emergency call computer program for executing the above.

8. A computer program for emergency reporting according to claim 7, Furthermore, the computer of the portable information device A group of instructions for providing the read information about the person to be rescued and the acquired location information as prompts to a trained large-scale language model for conducting a telephone conversation with the emergency call destination. An emergency call computer program for executing the above.

9. A handheld device configured to perform the method of claim 1 or claim 2.

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