Bird and animal repellent system

Abstract

To provide a system that automatically tracks wildlife and emits a laser beam to reliably drive the wildlife off.SOLUTION: A wildlife repellent system determines harmful wildlife from an image captured by a camera that monitors a monitoring area and irradiates the determined wildlife with a laser beam while automatically tracking the wildlife. The wildlife repellent system can change an irradiation mode for tracking wildlife to automatically track objective wildlife.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a bird and animal repellent system. [Background technology]

[0002] Damage caused by bird droppings on power lines and steel towers, and damage caused by crows scattering garbage bags at garbage dumps, etc., have become problems. A known conventional bird and animal repellent technology is a bird and animal repellent device that scare away birds and animals by emitting laser light.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a bird and animal repellent device that includes multiple laser light source devices and irradiates the birds and animals to be repelled from two directions with laser light. The purpose of this bird and animal repellent device is to reliably and easily repel birds and animals even in situations where the birds and animals are exposed to sunlight or other dazzling light during the day.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a bird repellent device that reliably repels crows that fly in to nest high up on a steel tower. The bird repellent device has a housing placed on a mounting base fixed to the steel tower, a solar panel attached to the housing so that it protrudes, a battery installed inside the housing to store electricity from the solar panel, a speaker and a camera installed inside the housing, and a laser beam irradiator that generates repellent light.

[0005] Both the bird repelling devices in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are inventions that irradiate targets such as birds with laser light, but the targets are constantly moving, making it difficult to irradiate the target point. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-100396 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-66717 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a system that automatically tracks birds and animals and reliably repels them by irradiating them with laser light. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The invention described in claim 1 includes an imaging unit, a laser irradiation unit, a determination unit that determines birds and animals to be repelled from an image captured by the imaging unit, and a tracking control unit that tracks the birds and animals. Controls the change of laser light irradiation mode a laser control unit; The irradiation mode changed by the laser control unit includes controlling the laser control unit to irradiate the laser light to the area where the feet of the bird or animal touch the ground or the area nearby, but not including the main part of the body of the bird or animal, until a predetermined time has elapsed since the bird or animal was identified. Bird and animal repellent system. Claim 2 The invention described in claim 1 is a bird and animal repellent system, wherein the laser control unit controls the laser light to flash and irradiate the entire body of the bird or animal during a predetermined time period based on the time the bird or animal is identified. Claim 3 The invention described in claim 1 is a bird and animal repellent system, wherein the laser control unit controls the laser light to be directed at the head of the bird or animal during a predetermined time period based on the time the bird or animal is identified. Claim 4 The invention described above is a bird and animal repellent system as described in claim 1, which further comprises a slave device which is either a speaker, an ultrasonic generator, or an LED irradiation device, a determination unit which determines the type of bird or animal to be repellent from the image captured by the imaging unit, and a slave device control unit which controls the slave device according to the type of bird or animal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, a bird and animal repellent system can be provided that automatically tracks birds and animals and irradiates them with laser light, thereby reliably repelling them. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a bird and animal repellent system to which the present embodiment is applied; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird and animal repellent system to which the present embodiment is applied. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the bird and animal repellent device. [Figure 4] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing laser irradiation in a first mode, FIG. 1B is a diagram showing laser irradiation in a second mode, and FIG. 1C is a diagram showing laser irradiation in a third mode. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the bird and animal repellent system. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a bird and animal repellent system to which another embodiment of the present invention is applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The bird and animal repellent system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0012] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a bird and animal repellent system to which this embodiment is applied. The bird and animal repellent system 1 in this embodiment is composed of a bird and animal repellent device 10, which is composed of a control device 2 installed on a pole or the like, a solar panel 3, an antenna 4, a camera 5, and a laser oscillator 6, and a management station having a management server 30 that monitors the bird and animal repellent device 10 connected to a network 50. Although only one bird and animal repellent device 10 is shown in FIG. 1 , multiple bird and animal repellent devices 10 may be installed in multiple locations. Electricity generated by the solar panel 3 is appropriately stored in a battery and then used to control the camera 5 and the laser oscillator 6. One embodiment of this bird and animal repellent system 1 is, for example, a system that automatically repels harmful birds and animals when they invade a monitored area.

[0013] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird and animal repellent system to which this embodiment is applied. This system is configured such that a bird and animal repellent device 10 and a management server 30 that monitors the bird and animal repellent status are connected via a network 50. The network 50 is, for example, a network such as the Internet, and the bird and animal repellent status of the bird and animal repellent device 10 can be remotely monitored via the Internet by the management server 30 installed in a management station.

[0014] The bird and animal repellent device 10 has a control unit 11 which is a processor (CPU (Central Processing Unit)) that controls the entire device, a memory 12 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is used as a working area for calculations, and a memory unit 13 which is a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or semiconductor memory that is used to store programs, various setting data, etc. The bird and animal repellent device 10 also has a communication unit 14 that transmits and receives audio and image data via the network 50. It also has an operation unit 15 such as a touch panel, keyboard, or pointing device that receives input operations from a maintenance person on the bird and animal repellent device 10 side, a display unit 16 such as a liquid crystal display that displays images and text information, and a display control unit 17 that controls the display unit 16. The bird and animal repellent device 10 also has an imaging unit 18 that photographs birds and animals, and a laser oscillation unit 19 that oscillates a laser.

[0015] The management server 30 is configured as a computer device such as a workstation, desktop PC, or notebook PC. The management server 30 has a control unit 31, which is a processor (CPU (Central Processing Unit)) that controls the entire device; a memory 32, such as RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a work area during calculations; and a storage unit 33, which is a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or semiconductor memory used to store programs and various setting data. The management server 30 also has a communication unit 34 that sends and receives data via the network 50. The management server 30 further has an operation unit 35, such as a keyboard, pointing device, or touch panel, that accepts input operations from the administrator on the management server 30 side; a display unit 36, such as an LCD display that displays images and text information to server users; and a display control unit 37 that controls the display unit 36. The memory unit 33 stores data such as past images recorded by the bird and animal repellent device 10, records of laser light irradiation, history of use of deterrent sounds from the speaker, history of ultrasonic sound generation, history of LED irradiation, parameters of the learned bird and animal identification model, the type of bird or animal to be repelled, and the timing (e.g., mode) at which it left.

[0016] In this embodiment, birds and animals include animals such as crows and starlings that build nests on power lines and towers, causing disruption to the maintenance of communication infrastructure, crows that fly into garbage collection areas and scatter garbage bags, pigeons that cause damage with their droppings on train station premises, wild boars and raccoon dogs that destroy fields, and bears that may harm people.

[0017] The various components of the bird and animal repellent device 10 and the management server 30 shown in Figure 2 do not necessarily need to be housed in the same housing, and may be understood as part of a system. If the main device and the housing are different, they are connected by wire or wirelessly.

[0018] 3 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the bird and animal repellent device 10. The bird and animal repellent device 10 has a reception unit 20 that receives input from a maintenance manager, a memory unit 13 that stores the input information and captured images, a communication unit 14 that transmits and receives data such as audio and images, a display unit 16 that displays images, an imaging unit 18 that captures images of birds and animals, a laser oscillation unit 19 that emits laser light, a detection unit 22 that detects targets such as birds and animals from the captured images, a determination unit 23 that identifies the detected target as a tracking target, a tracking control unit 24 that tracks the tracking target, a laser control unit 25 that controls the laser to be emitted at the tracking target, and an output unit 21 that outputs the stored information as data or audio.

[0019] The imaging unit 18 is, for example, a camera that captures moving images. In addition to visible images, an infrared imaging camera may be used to monitor birds and animals at night. The laser oscillator 19 emits, for example, green laser light (wavelength 532 nm±10) in accordance with JIS C6802 Class 2. The detection unit 22 detects moving objects in the captured images. The detection unit 22 detects subjects such as birds and animals captured in frames constituting the video image data using an object detection algorithm that uses a deep neural network, and also identifies the position of the subject within the frame. The position of the bird or animal within the frame is identified by an area surrounded by a rectangle called a bounding box. The determination unit 23 determines whether the detected object is a repellent target to be tracked. The determination model constituting the determination unit 23 can be a trained bird / animal identification model previously trained using image data of the repellent bird / animal. The determination unit 23 identifies whether the subject A within the bounding box is a repellent bird / animal. The determination unit 23 may determine not only whether the subject A is a repellent bird / animal, but also the type of bird / animal. Based on the type of bird / animal determined by the determination unit 23, the control unit 11 can set the effective intensity and range of the laser, threatening sound, ultrasonic frequency, LED flash, etc. used for deterrence. While the above description illustrates the position of the bird / animal within the frame being identified using a bounding box, the present invention is not limited to a bounding box and includes a method of identifying the target subject in a manner that allows it to be displayed in a distinctive manner from other subjects. For example, the target subject may be displayed in a different color, such as a conspicuous color like red, or displayed in a shadow. The tracking control unit 24 has the function of automatically tracking birds and animals determined to be shunned. When the determination unit 23 identifies target A detected within the monitoring area as a bird or animal to be shunned, the tracking control unit 24 controls the automatic tracking of target A. The same target is identified and associated between frames, thereby identifying the same target. The above-mentioned detection unit 22 and determination unit 23 perform independent processing for each frame, but are unable to recognize subjects in previous and subsequent frames as the same target. However, the processing of the tracking control unit 24 makes it possible to track the same target in the time direction. This tracking processing assumes that an object cannot move significantly within the short time span of one frame. Therefore, pose estimation results with similar coordinates in two consecutive frames are grouped as belonging to the same object. By performing this process across all frames, the data is categorized as a group of the same object. Note that the tracking processing may also identify the same object using methods other than the above processing.

[0020] The laser control unit 25 controls the laser oscillator unit 19 to irradiate the target animal once tracking has begun. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the laser control unit 25 changes the irradiation mode and irradiates the target animal with the laser light. For example, initially, the laser light is not irradiated directly onto the target animal, but is irradiated in a first mode, which irradiates the target animal's feet or an area approximately 30 cm around the feet. Next, the level of intimidation is increased to a second mode, which irradiates the entire body of the target animal, and then to a third mode, which irradiates the target animal's head, particularly the eyes, with the laser light. In this embodiment, since the target animal is tracked as a single object, the irradiation mode can be changed for the tracked target. The irradiation mode to be changed does not necessarily have to be from weak to strong, but may also be a periodic change in irradiation mode. Differences in modes may be characterized not only by the location of irradiation on the target animal, but also by differences in the irradiation method, such as constant irradiation or flashing irradiation, by changing the range of the focal diameter, or by changing the irradiation intensity. For example, the illumination mode may be changed so that the target animal recognizes the position of the light source by first irradiating with a large focal diameter, and then the diameter is reduced.

[0021] In this embodiment, the laser irradiation mode (also referred to as the irradiation mode) refers to a type of irradiation defined by the position of laser light irradiation, the irradiation method (flashing irradiation, focal radius), irradiation time, irradiation intensity, etc. Changing the laser irradiation mode (changing the irradiation mode) means changing any of the elements that define the irradiation mode, such as the laser light irradiation position, the irradiation method (flashing irradiation, focal radius), irradiation time, or irradiation intensity. For example, it is possible to weaken the irradiation intensity in the first mode and strengthen the irradiation intensity in the second mode. Furthermore, within the same mode, any of the above elements does not need to be fixed at all times; for example, there may be a mode in which the focal radius changes periodically or a mode in which irradiation flashes.

[0022] FIG. 4(A) illustrates laser irradiation in the first mode, FIG. 4(B) illustrates laser irradiation in the second mode, and FIG. 4(C) illustrates laser irradiation in the third mode. These images are transmitted to the management server 30 via the network 50 and displayed on the display unit 36 ​​of the management server 30. When the determination unit 23 identifies a crow as a target bird or animal to be repelled, the tracking control unit 24 can automatically track the crow and simultaneously display a bounding box 80 surrounding the entire body of the crow and a bounding box 81 surrounding the head of the crow in the image. The laser control unit 25 sequentially changes the laser irradiation mode from the first mode to the second mode and the third mode, increasing the level of intimidation by irradiation. In the first mode shown in FIG. 4(A), the laser is irradiated within a 30 cm area around the target crow. As shown in FIG. 4(A), the focus 82 of the laser light is near the crow but outside the entire body of the crow. In this way, in the first mode, the laser light is not directly irradiated onto the entire body of the crow, but is irradiated within approximately 30 cm of the crow or near its feet. Next, if the crow does not flee after a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds, has elapsed since the start of irradiation in the first mode, laser irradiation in the second mode is performed. In the second mode, the laser light is irradiated near the center of gravity of the entire body of the crow. As shown in Figure 4(B), the focal point 82 of the laser light is located on the chest, near the center of gravity of the entire body. Next, if the crow still does not flee after a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds, has elapsed since the start of irradiation in the second mode, irradiation in the third mode is performed. In the third mode, the laser light is irradiated by targeting the head of the crow, particularly the area around the eyes. As shown in Figure 4(C), the focal point 82 of the laser light is located on the eyes. As the crow moves, the laser light continues to irradiate while tracking the crow. Furthermore, the diameter of the focal point 82 of the laser light is slightly larger in Figures 4(A) and (B) and slightly smaller in Figure 4(C), but the diameter of the focal point may or may not change with the change in mode.

[0023] [Processing of bird and animal repellent systems] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the processing flow of the bird and animal repellent device 10 constituting the bird and animal repellent system 1. When the bird and animal repellent system 1 is activated, a camera at a fixed position starts monitoring the monitoring area (Step 1). Next, the detection unit 22 detects that a target A has entered the monitoring area (Step 2). The determination unit 23 compares the detected target A with features such as the shape of the target bird and animal to be repellent and determines whether the features match, i.e., whether the target A is a target to be repellent (Step 3). If the determination unit 23 determines that the target A is not a target bird or animal to be repellent, the process returns to before Step 2. If the determination unit 23 determines that the target A is a target bird or animal to be repellent, the tracking control unit 24 identifies the head and feet of the target A and begins tracking it (Step 4). Then, the laser control unit 25 irradiates a laser beam around the feet of the target A in a radius of approximately 20 cm as a warning (Step 5). After a predetermined time has elapsed, the laser control unit 25 determines whether the target A has gone out of the imaging range (Step 6). If target A has been framed out, the process returns to step 2. If target A has not been framed out, the laser control unit 25 flashes and irradiates laser light toward the entire body (near the center of gravity) of target A (step 7). The laser control unit 25 determines whether target A has been framed out of the imaging range after a predetermined time has elapsed (step 8). If target A has been framed out, the process returns to step 2. If target A has not been framed out, the laser control unit 25 irradiates laser light toward the head of target A (step 9). The laser control unit 25 determines whether target A has been framed out of the imaging range after a predetermined time has elapsed (step 10). If target A has been framed out, the process proceeds to step 11. If target A has not been framed out, the laser control unit 25 returns to step 5. When target A has been framed out, the type of bird or animal of target A, the laser light irradiation history, mode, etc. are stored in the memory unit 33. Next, it is determined whether to end monitoring (step 11). If monitoring is to be continued, the process returns to step 2. If not, the operation of the bird or animal repellent system is terminated (END).

[0024] In this embodiment, the illumination mode changes after a predetermined time has elapsed, but this is not necessarily limited to a change in the direction of increasing the threat caused by the illumination, and any change in the illumination mode will do as long as it results in a change in the illumination mode.

[0025] Furthermore, although the present embodiment has been described with respect to a single bird or animal as the target of repelling, multiple birds and animals can be simultaneously tracked. In this case, multiple laser oscillators 6 may irradiate the multiple birds and animals with lasers, or a single laser oscillator may irradiate the target birds and animals in sequence at predetermined intervals. Since the present invention can track multiple birds and animals, it is possible to change the irradiation mode while tracking each bird and animal. For example, if bird and animal A and bird and animal B, which entered the frame at different times, are in a monitoring area, laser control is possible in which bird and animal A, which entered the frame recently, is irradiated in the first mode, while another bird and animal, which entered the frame earlier, is simultaneously irradiated in the third mode.

[0026] Furthermore, when a plurality of other laser oscillators 6 are provided, it is also possible to adopt an embodiment in which different modes are irradiated simultaneously on the same target bird or animal, such that one laser oscillator 6 irradiates the whole body of the bird or animal to be repelled with laser light, and another laser oscillator 6 irradiates the head of the bird or animal to be repelled with laser light. By irradiating laser light from a plurality of laser oscillators 6 simultaneously, the bird or animal will be more startled and will flee than if it were irradiated with a single laser light.

[0027] In the description of this embodiment, the memory units for storing data have been described as the memory unit 13 of the bird and animal repellent device 10 and the memory unit 33 of the management server 30, but the location of the memory unit is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use storage on the cloud as appropriate.

[0028] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a bird and animal repellent system to which another embodiment of the present invention is applied. The bird and animal repellent system of Fig. 6 further includes slave devices such as a speaker 7, an ultrasonic wave generator 8, and an LED irradiation device 9 in addition to the configuration of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. A control unit 11 serves as a slave device control unit (not shown) and controls the slave devices such as the speaker 7, the ultrasonic wave generator 8, and the LED irradiation device 9. The above configuration enables a combined intimidation attack in which a main device that emits laser light and the slave devices are operated in conjunction with each other.

[0029] The control unit 11 generates a threatening sound from the speaker 7 toward the bird or animal to be repelled. The threatening sound is tailored to the bird or animal to be repelled. For example, the threatening sound may be a low-frequency sound in the range of 100 to 130 Hz, which is said to dislike bears, a high-pitched sound in the range of 4000 Hz, which is the sound of a bear bell used for mountain climbing, or the growl of a wild animal. The control unit 11 may determine the type of bird or animal to be repelled from the image captured by the imaging unit 18, and generate a threatening sound from the speaker 7 according to the type of bird or animal. In addition, in the processing flow of the bird and animal repellent device 10 of FIG. 5, the level of intimidation can be increased by increasing the volume of the sound along with the laser irradiation mode.

[0030] The control unit 11 causes the ultrasonic wave generator 8 to generate ultrasonic waves toward the bird or animal to be repelled. The frequency band of the ultrasonic waves is approximately 2 MHz to 20 MHz, which is inaudible to humans. Because the ultrasonic waves are outside the range audible to humans, they can intimidate the bird or animal to be repelled without causing discomfort to humans. The control unit 11 may determine the type of bird or animal to be repelled from the image captured by the imaging unit 18, and cause the ultrasonic wave generator 8 to generate ultrasonic waves of a wavelength according to the type of bird or animal. Furthermore, in the processing flow of the bird or animal repelling device 10 of FIG. 5, the level of intimidation can be increased by increasing the volume of the ultrasonic sound along with the laser irradiation mode.

[0031] The control unit 11 causes the LED irradiation device 9 to irradiate LED light onto the bird or animal to be repelled. The control unit 11 may determine the type of bird or animal to be repelled from the image captured by the imaging unit 18, and cause the LED irradiation device 9 to irradiate LED light with an irradiation pattern and intensity according to the type of bird or animal. In addition, in the processing flow of the bird or animal repellent device 10 in Fig. 5, the degree of intimidation can be increased by changing the LED light intensity and irradiation pattern (color, flash frequency, etc.) along with the laser irradiation mode.

[0032] Data such as whether the target bird or animal escaped due to the above-mentioned laser irradiation, threatening sound, ultrasonic wave, LED irradiation, etc., as well as the type of bird or animal, the type and mode of scare, etc., are stored in the memory unit 33. The historical data stored in the memory unit 33 can be used as training data to train a learning model that outputs the optimal repellent means and mode for each type of bird or animal. The learning model may be a neural network, a support vector machine, a regression equation, a decision tree, etc. Then, the control unit 11 can control the device to scare the target bird or animal the next time it visits using the effective type and mode of scare determined by the machine-learned model. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1...Bird and animal repellent system, 2...Control device, 3...Solar panel, 4...Antenna, 5...Camera, 6...Laser oscillator, 7...Speaker, 8...Ultrasonic generator, 9...LED irradiation device, 10...Bird and animal repellent device, 11...Control unit, 12...Memory, 13...Storage unit, 14...Communication unit, 15...Operation unit, 16...Display unit, 17...Display control unit, 18...Imaging unit, 19...Laser oscillation unit, 20...Reception unit, 21...Output unit, 22...Detection unit, 23...Determination unit, 24...Tracking control unit, 25...Laser control unit, 30...Management server, 31...Control unit, 32...Memory, 33...Storage unit, 34...Communication unit, 35...Operation unit, 36...Display unit, 37...Display control unit, 50...Network

Claims

1. An imaging unit; a laser irradiation unit; a determination unit that determines birds and animals to be avoided from the images captured by the imaging unit; a tracking control unit that tracks the bird or animal; a laser control unit that controls changing the irradiation mode of the laser light; Equipped with The irradiation mode changed by the laser control unit includes: The laser control unit controls the laser light to be irradiated onto the area where the feet of the bird or animal touch the ground or the vicinity thereof, but not including the main body part of the bird or animal, until a predetermined time has elapsed since the bird or animal was identified. Bird and animal repellent system.

2. The laser control unit controls the laser light to flash and irradiate the entire body of the bird or animal during a predetermined time period based on the time when the bird or animal is identified. The bird and animal repellent system according to claim 1.

3. The laser control unit controls the laser light to be irradiated onto a head of the bird or animal during a predetermined time period based on the time when the bird or animal is identified. The bird and animal repellent system according to claim 1.

4. Further, the device is provided with a slave device selected from the group consisting of a speaker, an ultrasonic wave generator, and an LED irradiation device; a determination unit that determines the type of bird or animal to be repelled from the image captured by the imaging unit; the slave device control unit controls the slave device according to the type of the bird or animal. The bird and animal repellent system according to claim 1.

Images