A drone capable of selectively flying towards a target by remote control or autonomous navigation.

Abstract

To provide a novel technology for navigating a drone toward a target.SOLUTION: A drone 200 that selectively performs remote operation and autonomous navigation to fly toward a target is disclosed. The drone 200 includes a controller 202, a communication device 204, a receiver 210, and a camera 220. The controller 202 selectively performs remote operation of remotely operating navigation of the drone 200 in accordance with an instruction from an administrative server 50 managed or administered by an administrative center 40 and autonomous navigation of navigating the drone 200 based on an intensity of radio waves received by the receiver 210 from a transmitter 32 on the target side. The communication device 204 transmits to the administrative server 50 image pickup data representing an image picked up by the camera 220, so that an operator of the administrative center 40 remotely monitors a situation of a location of the target through the camera 220. The camera 220 is remotely operated by the administrative server 50 through the controller 202.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention provides a technology for determining whether a pedestrian's walking state is abnormal, a technology for guiding a pedestrian while walking using the pedestrian's communication terminal, a technology for searching for a person in distress, a technology for searching for a target, pedestrians A technology that allows a companion to rescue a pedestrian who is in distress while walking, using the companion's communication terminal. , or the technology to navigate drones to their targets. Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] A technique has already been proposed that uses a communication terminal of a pedestrian and transmitters installed along the walking route to guide the pedestrian while walking.

[0003] As an example of this type of technology, Patent Document 1 describes a mountain climbing information relay system. In this system, multiple short-range wireless communication devices (transmitters and receivers) are arranged along a mountain climbing route. A mountain climbing server receives route information from a user terminal, and based on that, each short-range wireless communication device transmits necessary update information to the user terminal. The mountain climbing server transmits the update information over long distances to each short-range wireless communication device via the user terminal. Each short-range wireless communication device receives the update information from the user terminal, and based on that, updates the information to be transmitted to the user terminal.

[0004] Patent document 2 also discloses a technology in which multiple wireless tags (transmitters) are placed on students' routes to school, each student is given a portable reader (portable terminal with reading function) that receives signals from each wireless tag at short distances, and the portable reader tracks the actual movement route of each student.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a patient abnormality notification system. This system includes a portable transmitter worn by each patient, multiple receivers installed at multiple locations within the ward, and a centralized monitoring device installed at the nurse's station on each floor. The transmitter is equipped with an acceleration sensor that determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the patient's physical condition, and if an abnormality is determined, transmits that information to the centralized monitoring device via the receiver. The receiver has a receiving unit that receives a signal from the transmitter and a transmitting unit that transmits the received signal to the centralized monitoring device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-22454 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-209965 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-047097 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In recent years, mountain climbing has been gaining attention as a leisure activity and sport, and the number of climbers is indeed on the rise. Climbers include both experienced and inexperienced climbers. Furthermore, even experienced climbers, not to mention inexperienced climbers, may experience a psychological phenomenon known as normalcy bias when climbing an unfamiliar mountain in a situation where some kind of damage is expected, which can lead to unexpected situations such as getting lost (for example, when a pedestrian deviates from the normal route).

[0008] However, with the conventional technology described above, the climber, who may be in a psychologically panicked state, is forced to make the decisions of whether or not he or she has lost his or her way, whether or not there is a risk of getting lost, what actions to take to avoid getting lost, and whether or not he or she is actually lost.

[0009] Therefore, this conventional technology cannot assist a climber in calmly determining whether or not they have gotten lost before they get lost, nor can it assist a climber in calmly determining whether or not there is a risk of getting lost, nor can it assist a climber in appropriately choosing actions to avoid getting lost if there is a risk of getting lost.

[0010] The problem of pedestrians deviating from the normal route can occur in activities other than mountain climbing, such as in environments where pedestrians are likely to lose their sense of direction, such as natural environments such as forests or grasslands, when walking along unfamiliar factory tour paths, or when children, elderly people, or other inexperienced pedestrians walk along school routes or walking paths.

[0011] Therefore, there is a demand for a pedestrian abnormality determination technology that detects abnormalities in the pedestrian's walking state while the pedestrian is walking and conveys the result to the pedestrian to warn them.

[0012] There is also a demand for drone-based search technology that uses drones to search for pedestrians who become lost while walking, by switching the communication method available to the drone depending on the communication status of the pedestrian's communication terminal, thereby ensuring communication with the pedestrian while searching for the pedestrian. There is also a need for new techniques to navigate drones to their targets.

[0013] There is also a demand for a companion-dispatch rescue technology that allows a pedestrian who becomes distressed while walking to be rescued by the pedestrian's companion, and that enables the companion to be dispatched to the scene while also ensuring the safety of the pedestrian.

[0014] There is also a demand for a technology for discretely installing multiple transmitters along a walking route to guide pedestrians while they are walking, which reduces the number of transmitters that need to be installed while providing pedestrians with effective guidance information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] <Pedestrian abnormality detection technology>

[0016] In order to solve the problem of providing a pedestrian abnormality determination technique, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedestrian guidance system that guides a pedestrian while walking, comprising: A plurality of guide transmitters are installed discretely and in series along the walking route, and each guide transmitter transmits an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID; a user terminal which is a communication terminal of a pedestrian and is capable of receiving an identification signal from each guide transmitter by a short-distance wireless communication method; a management server capable of communicating with the user terminal; Including, The user terminal or the management server the user terminal includes a walking state determination unit that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the walking state of the walker based on the reception state of the identification signal from each guide transmitter, The user terminal a warning unit that issues a warning to the pedestrian when the walking state determination unit determines that the pedestrian's walking state is abnormal; a confirmation button display unit that continues to display a confirmation button, which is operated by a pedestrian when the pedestrian confirms the warning, on a screen until the pedestrian operates the confirmation button; Including, The user terminal or the management server an emergency situation determination unit that determines that the pedestrian may be in an emergency situation if the confirmation button is not operated by the pedestrian even when the continuous display time of the confirmation button exceeds a predetermined time limit; a memory in which other pedestrians accompanying the pedestrian are registered; an emergency information transmitting unit that transmits emergency information to communication terminals of other pedestrians registered in the memory when the emergency determination unit determines that the pedestrian may be in an emergency; A pedestrian guidance system including:

[0017] This pedestrian guidance system is characterized by its ability to determine whether or not there is an abnormality in the walking state, rescue support linked to the severity level of the abnormality in the walking state ("severity level-linked rescue support"), and mutual communication with accompanying persons. Each feature is described in detail below.

[0018] 1. Step-by-step abnormality detection

[0019] (1) First stage abnormality judgment: mild to severe level abnormality judgment Based on the signal from the guide transmitter, the system determines whether there is any abnormality in the pedestrian's walking condition, and if it determines that there is an abnormality (a minor abnormality), it issues a warning to the pedestrian via the communication terminal.

[0020] (2) Second stage abnormality judgment: Severe and serious level abnormality judgment If the pedestrian does not notice the warning, it is determined that the pedestrian may be in an emergency situation (a serious abnormality is determined).

[0021] Specifically, if the confirmation button is continuously displayed on the screen of the pedestrian's communication terminal for a predetermined time limit, but the confirmation button is not operated by the pedestrian, it is determined that the pedestrian may be in an emergency situation.

[0022] 2. Severity level-linked rescue support

[0023] (1) When a minor abnormality is detected When a minor abnormality is detected, the warning is issued to encourage the pedestrian to correct their behavior.

[0024] (2) When a severe abnormality is detected When a serious abnormality is detected, the pedestrian may be in such a serious situation that he or she is physically unable to move, so the system notifies the communication terminals of other accompanying persons, rather than the pedestrian himself or herself, that the pedestrian may be in an emergency, and prompts the other accompanying persons to take action to rescue the pedestrian.

[0025] 3. Mutual communication among companions

[0026] When a serious abnormality is determined, the user terminal or the management server notifies the pedestrian's communication terminal but the accompanying person's communication terminal, shares with the accompanying person the possibility that the pedestrian is in an emergency, and encourages the accompanying person to take rescue action.

[0027] <Drone-based search technology>

[0028] In order to solve the problem of providing the drone-dispatched search technology, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedestrian guidance system that guides pedestrians while walking, comprising: A plurality of guide transmitters are installed discretely and in series along the walking route, and each guide transmitter transmits an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID; a pedestrian transmitter attached to a pedestrian, which transmits an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID; a user terminal which is a communication terminal of a pedestrian and is capable of receiving an identification signal from each guide transmitter by a short-distance wireless communication method; An unmanned drone that is equipped with an airborne mobile relay base station for the user terminal and a receiver that can receive an identification signal from the pedestrian transmitter; a management server capable of communicating with the user terminal; Including, The user terminal or the management server the user terminal includes a walking state determination unit that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the walking state of the walker based on the reception state of the identification signal from each guide transmitter, The user terminal a warning unit that issues a warning to the pedestrian when the walking state determination unit determines that the pedestrian's walking state is abnormal; a confirmation button display unit that continues to display a confirmation button, which is operated by a pedestrian when the pedestrian confirms the warning, on a screen until the pedestrian operates the confirmation button; Including, the user terminal or the management server includes an emergency situation determination unit that determines that the pedestrian may be in an emergency situation if the confirmation button is not operated by the pedestrian even when the continuous display time of the confirmation button exceeds a predetermined time limit, When the emergency situation determination unit determines that a pedestrian may be in an emergency situation, the management server selectively executes a communication terminal-based search mode in which the management server searches for the pedestrian using the positioning function and communication function of the user terminal, provided that a connection is established between the user terminal and the management server, and a transmitter-based search mode in which the management server searches for the pedestrian using the location authentication function and communication function of the pedestrian transmitter, provided that a connection is established between the pedestrian transmitter and the receiver mounted on the drone.

[0029] This pedestrian guidance system features drone search using a drone, a pedestrian transmitter, and the pedestrian's communication device. The features are described in detail below.

[0030] According to this drone search technology, when a severe abnormality is detected as described above, the management server acts as a command center to search for pedestrians, remotely directing the search using drones, pedestrian transmitters, and the pedestrian's communication terminals.

[0031] Specifically, when the management server determines that a serious abnormality has occurred, A search mode using a communication terminal, which searches for pedestrians using the positioning function and communication function of the user terminal, provided that a connection is established between the user terminal and the management server; - Transmitter-based search mode, which searches for pedestrians using the location authentication and communication functions of the pedestrian transmitter, provided that a connection is established between the pedestrian transmitter and the receiver mounted on the drone. Selectively execute.

[0032] In order to solve the problem of providing a new technology for navigating a drone toward a target, a drone capable of flying toward a target by selectively performing remote control and autonomous navigation, a controller that controls the navigation of the drone; a communication device connected to the controller, capable of wireless communication with a management server operated or managed by a management center; a receiver connected to the controller, capable of receiving signals from a transmitter attached to the target by short-range wireless communication; Camera and Including, The controller is capable of selectively performing remote control, which remotely controls the flight of the drone in accordance with instructions from the management server, and autonomous flight, which measures the strength of the radio waves received by the receiver from the transmitter from time to time and navigates the drone in a direction in which the current value of the measured radio wave strength increases compared to the previous value; the communication device transmits imaging data representing an image taken by the camera to the management server, thereby enabling an operator at the management center to remotely monitor the state of the target location via the camera; The camera can be remotely controlled by the management server via the controller. the law of nature, the target comprises a person; The drone further includes a shooter that drops an item from the drone together with a lighting device, thereby enabling the target to accurately determine the landing point of the dropped item thanks to the lighting device. Drones will be provided.

[0033] <Companion dispatch type rescue technology>

[0034] In order to solve the problem of providing a companion dispatch type rescue technology, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a victim rescue system that rescues a pedestrian who may be lost while walking, comprising: a user terminal that is a communication terminal of the pedestrian; a plurality of companion terminals which are communication terminals used by a plurality of companions of the pedestrian, respectively; a management server capable of communicating with the user terminal and the plurality of companion terminals; an environment server in communication with the management server, transmitting to the management server environment information representing environments within a geographic area designated by the management server; Including, The user terminal a victim determination unit that determines whether or not the pedestrian is likely to be a victim based on a measurement result by a sensor mounted on the user terminal and / or a reception result from an external device of the user terminal; The management server an individual risk calculation unit that, when it is determined that the pedestrian may be a victim, receives companion information related to each companion from each companion terminal, and calculates, for each companion, an individual risk when each companion is dispatched to the location of the victim to rescue the victim based on the received companion information; an environmental risk calculation unit that, when it is determined that the pedestrian may be a victim, receives the environmental information from the environmental server and calculates the environmental risk when any accompanying person is dispatched to the location of the victim based on the received environmental information; a rescuer selection unit that selects, from the plurality of accompanying persons, a person whose calculated personal risk does not exceed a first reference value as a rescuer; a rescue permission unit that allows any accompanying person to be dispatched to the location of the person in distress when the calculated environmental risk does not exceed a second reference value; a rescue request unit that transmits, when it is permitted to dispatch any of the accompanying persons to the location of the victim, information about the location of the victim and a message requesting rescue of the victim to the accompanying person terminal of the selected rescuer; A victim rescue system including the following is provided.

[0035] <Branch-mounted guidance technology>

[0036] In order to solve the problem of providing a junction-installed guidance technology, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedestrian guidance system that guides a pedestrian along a walking route having a plurality of junctions while walking, the system comprising: a plurality of transmitters respectively installed at the plurality of branch points, each of which transmits an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID; a user terminal that is a communication terminal of a pedestrian and is capable of receiving signals from each transmitter by a short-range wireless method; A management server that can communicate with the user terminal Including, The user terminal a junction location specifying unit that, upon receiving an identification signal from any of the transmitters, converts the identification signal into a transmitter ID, and converts the transmitter ID into a junction ID in accordance with a predetermined relationship between the transmitter ID and a junction ID that is stored in a memory, thereby specifying the geographical location of the junction; a map data receiving unit that receives map data from the management server; a partial map data display unit that displays, on a screen of the user terminal, partial map data that covers the geographical position of the identified branch point, among the received map data, together with a mark indicating a correct route for reaching the destination designated by the pedestrian; A pedestrian guidance system including:

[0037] An example of the partial map data display unit is configured to, when the user terminal starts receiving an identification signal from any one of the transmitters, start displaying partial map data corresponding to the installation position of the any one of the transmitters.

[0038] Another example of the partial map data display unit is configured to, when the user terminal finishes receiving an identification signal from any one of the transmitters, finish displaying the partial map data corresponding to the installation position of that one of the transmitters.

[0039] Another example of the partial map data display unit is configured such that, when the user terminal starts receiving an identification signal from one of the transmitters, it starts displaying partial map data corresponding to the installation location of that one of the transmitters, and, when the user terminal stops receiving the identification signal from any of the transmitters, it stops displaying the partial map data corresponding to the installation location of that one of the transmitters.

[0040] The present invention provides the following aspects. Each aspect is divided into paragraphs, each numbered, and described by citing the numbers of other paragraphs as necessary. This is to facilitate understanding of some of the technical features and combinations thereof that may be employed by the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the technical features and combinations thereof that may be employed by the present invention to the following aspects. In other words, it should be understood that technical features that are not described in the following aspects but are described in this specification may be appropriately extracted and employed as technical features of the present invention.

[0041] Furthermore, describing each paragraph in a format that refers to the number of other paragraphs does not necessarily mean that the technical features described in each paragraph cannot be separated and made independent from the technical features described in other paragraphs, and it should be interpreted that the technical features described in each paragraph can be made independent as appropriate depending on their nature.

[0042] (1) A pedestrian guidance system that guides pedestrians while walking, A plurality of transmitters installed discretely and in series along the walking route, each transmitter transmitting an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID; A communication terminal for each pedestrian that can receive identification signals from each transmitter using a short-range wireless communication method. Including, Each pedestrian's communication device a reference transmitter determination unit that, upon receiving an identification signal from any of the transmitters, determines the transmitter as a reference transmitter from which the passage of a pedestrian has been confirmed; a target transmitter determination unit that, after determining the reference transmitter, determines, as a target transmitter, one of the plurality of transmitters that is located next to the reference transmitter in the walking route by referring to mapping data that indicates the order in which the plurality of transmitters are arranged along the walking route that has been previously assigned to the walking route; a walking state determination unit that determines that there is something abnormal in the walking state of the walker when no identification signal is received from the target transmitter even after a predetermined time limit has elapsed since the time when the identification signal was received from the reference transmitter; a warning unit that conveys the judgment result to pedestrians and warns them; Including, A pedestrian guidance system in which the reference transmitter determination unit and the target transmitter determination unit are each executed iteratively.

[0043] (2) A pedestrian guidance system that guides pedestrians while walking, A plurality of transmitters installed discretely and in series along the walking route, each transmitter transmitting an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID; A communication terminal for each pedestrian that can receive identification signals from each transmitter using a short-range wireless communication method. A management server that can communicate with each pedestrian's communication terminal; Including, The management server is a reference transmitter determination unit that, when a communication terminal of each pedestrian receives an identification signal from any of the transmitters, determines the transmitter as a reference transmitter from which the passage of the pedestrian has been confirmed; a target transmitter determination unit that, after determining the reference transmitter, determines, as a target transmitter, one of the plurality of transmitters that is located next to the reference transmitter in the walking route by referring to mapping data that indicates the order in which the plurality of transmitters are arranged along the walking route that has been previously assigned to the walking route; a walking state determination unit that determines that there is something abnormal in the walking state of each pedestrian if the communication terminal of each pedestrian does not receive an identification signal from the target transmitter even after a predetermined time limit has elapsed since the communication terminal of each pedestrian received an identification signal from the reference transmitter; a transmitting unit that transmits the determination result to the communication terminal of the pedestrian; Including, A pedestrian guidance system in which the reference transmitter determination unit and the target transmitter determination unit are each executed iteratively.

[0044] (3) A pedestrian guidance system according to (1) or (2), wherein the predetermined time limit has a variable length depending on at least one of the distance between the reference transmitter and the target transmitter on the walking route, the difference in altitude, the gradient, and the type of road surface (paved road, gravel road, muddy road, cliff road, wide road, narrow road, etc.).

[0045] (4) A pedestrian guidance system according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the result of the determination that the walking state is abnormal is conveyed to the pedestrian visually, audibly, and / or tactilely.

[0046] (5) A pedestrian guidance system according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the abnormality in the walking condition includes at least one of the possibility that the pedestrian has become lost and the possibility that the pedestrian has deviated from the walking route.

[0047] (6) The communication terminal further comprises: A pedestrian guidance system according to any one of (1) to (5), including a display unit that, when receiving an identification signal from any one of the transmitters, displays a map, the current location, and the installation location of any one of the transmitters in an overlaid state on the screen of the communication terminal.

[0048] (7) A pedestrian guidance system according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the walking route includes at least one of mountain paths, forest roads, sightseeing paths within facilities, school routes, walking paths, and cycling courses, each of which has a set walking route.

[0049] (8) A program for causing a computer to function as a communication terminal according to any one of (1) to (7).

[0050] Throughout this specification, the term "program" may be interpreted to mean, for example, but not limited to, a combination of instructions that are executed by a computer to perform its functions, and may also be interpreted to include not only the combination of instructions, but also the files and data that are processed in accordance with each instruction.

[0051] Furthermore, this program may be executed by a computer alone to achieve its intended purpose, or may be executed by a computer together with other programs to achieve its intended purpose, but is not limited to these. In the latter case, the program according to this paragraph may be, but is not limited to, one that mainly consists of data.

[0052] (9) A program for causing a computer to function as the management server according to any one of (1) to (7).

[0053] (10) A recording medium on which the program described in (8) or (9) is recorded in a computer-readable manner.

[0054] Throughout this specification, the term "recording medium" may be interpreted to mean various types of recording medium, including, but not limited to, magnetic recording media such as floppy disks, optical recording media such as CDs and CD-ROMs, magneto-optical recording media such as MOs, and non-removable storage media such as ROMs.

[0055] (11) A pedestrian guidance method for guiding a pedestrian while walking, comprising: The method comprises: A plurality of transmitters installed discretely and in series along the walking route, each transmitter transmitting an identification signal representing a unique transmitter ID; A communication terminal for each pedestrian that can receive identification signals from each transmitter using a short-range wireless communication method. It is performed using The pedestrian guidance method includes: a reference transmitter determination step in which, when each pedestrian's communication terminal receives an identification signal from any of the transmitters, the pedestrian determines the transmitter as a reference transmitter; a target transmitter determination step of determining, after determining the reference transmitter, the transmitter that is located next to the reference transmitter in the walking route among the plurality of transmitters by referring to mapping data that indicates the order in which the plurality of transmitters are arranged along the walking route that has been previously assigned to the walking route; a lost state determination step of determining that the pedestrian may be lost if the communication terminal of each pedestrian does not receive an identification signal from the target transmitter within a predetermined time limit from the time when the communication terminal of each pedestrian received an identification signal from the reference transmitter; a warning process for informing pedestrians of the judgment result and warning them; Including, A pedestrian guidance method in which the reference transmitter determination step and the target transmitter determination step are each executed iteratively. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0056] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a system diagram conceptually showing the hardware configuration of a mountain trail guidance system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a layout when multiple guide transmitters in the hiking trail guidance system shown in Figure 1 are installed on a hiking trail in a mountainous area, with multiple guide transmitters installed in a row along the hiking trail.

[0058] [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of two adjacent guide transmitters from among the plurality of guide transmitters in FIG.

[0059] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the guide transmitter and the climber transmitter shown in FIG. 2, both of which have a common configuration.

[0060] [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the portable terminal of the climber shown in FIG.

[0061] [Figure 6] Figure 6(a) is a graph exemplarily showing a normal walking state scenario in the hiking trail guidance system shown in Figure 1, in which a mobile terminal receives a signal from adjacent transmitter B before the time limit has elapsed since the mobile terminal received a signal from transmitter A, and Figure 6(b) is a graph exemplarily showing an abnormal walking state scenario in the hiking trail guidance system, in which the same mobile terminal does not receive a signal from adjacent transmitter B even after the time limit has elapsed since the mobile terminal received a signal from transmitter A.

[0062] [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a table conceptually showing mapping data that correlates the predetermined relationship between the transmitter ID of each guide transmitter and its position on the map, the order in which multiple guide transmitters are lined up along the walking route of the mountain trail, and the time limit.

[0063] [Figure 8] Figure 8(a) is a graph showing an example of a gradual change in altitude between two adjacent points on the hiking trail shown in Figure 2, Figure 8(b) is a graph showing an example of a sudden change in altitude between the two points, Figure 8(c) is a graph showing, by way of example, that in a scenario in which the time limit is represented by the product of a reference time S and a correction coefficient k, the length of the reference time S increases according to the distance d between the two points, and Figure 8(d) is a graph showing, by way of example, that the correction coefficient k increases according to the difference in altitude Δh between the two points.

[0064] [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram illustrating the management server shown in FIG.

[0065] [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a flowchart conceptually showing a plurality of programs for explaining the software configuration of the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

[0066] [Figure 11] Figure 11(a) is a plan view illustrating an example of a first page displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal shown in Figure 1, which assists the user in entering data to distinguish whether to climb or descend the mountain; Figure 11(b) is a plan view illustrating an example of a second page displayed on the screen, which warns the user when he or she may have gotten lost; and Figure 11(c) is a plan view illustrating an example of a third page displayed on the screen, which explains to the user the processing being executed by the management server after the user has been warned.

[0067] [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a system diagram conceptually showing the main part of the hardware configuration of a victim rescue system according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0068] [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart conceptually showing a plurality of programs for explaining the software configuration of the victim rescue system shown in FIG.

[0069] [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a perspective view conceptually showing an installation layout of a plurality of transmitters in a mountain trail guidance system according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0070] [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an exemplary image displayed on the screen of a communication terminal of a climber in the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

[0071] [Figure 16]FIG. 16 is a diagram conceptually showing the contents of the map database in the memory of the management server in the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

[0072] [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart conceptually showing a plurality of programs for explaining the software configuration of the mountain trail guidance system shown in FIG.

[0073] [Figure 18] Figure 18(a) is a perspective view showing an example of a climber walking through a certain branching point while the hiking trail guidance system shown in Figure 14 is in operation, Figure 18(b) is a time chart showing the change over time in the state in which the mobile terminal receives the transmitter in the walking example of Figure 18(a), and Figure 18(c) is a time chart showing the change over time in the display state on the screen of the climber's mobile terminal in the walking example of Figure 18(a). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0074] Hereinafter, a number of more specific and exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0075] [First embodiment]

[0076] 1 is a conceptual system diagram showing the hardware configuration of a mountain trail guidance system (hereinafter simply referred to as the "system") 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. System 10 is designed to implement a pedestrian guidance method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] <System Overview>

[0078] To explain it simply, as shown in Figure 2, this system 10 has a mountain climber (an example of a "walker") user who is on a mountain trail 14 (an example of a "walking route", an example of a mountain path, an example of a mountain route, etc.) in a mountainous area 12. It determines whether the climber's walking condition is abnormal (whether the climber may have gotten lost, deviated from the mountain trail 14, etc.), communicates the results to the climber and warns them, and ultimately assists in guiding the climber along the correct walking route (the correct direction, along the correct path), thereby providing a mountain trail guidance function that prevents the climber from getting lost.

[0079] <Hiking trail guidance function>

[0080] In this system 10, to realize the mountain trail guidance function, multiple guide transmitters 30 are installed discretely and in series along the mountain trail 14. The guide transmitters 30 are arranged in series at equal intervals (e.g., intervals of 10 m, 50 m, 100 m, 500 m, or 1 km), for example. Alternatively, the multiple guide transmitters 30 may be arranged in series at variable intervals that decrease as the trail approaches the end of the mountain trail 14.

[0081] Each guide transmitter 30 may be attached to an artificial object installed on the mountain trail 14, such as a post or sign, or may be attached to a natural object growing on the mountain trail 14, such as a natural tree or shrub.

[0082] As the climber walks, the signals from the multiple guide transmitters 30 are sequentially received by the climber's mobile terminal 90 (an example of a "user terminal") via short-range wireless communication. The mobile terminal 90 can wirelessly communicate with a management server 50 operated and managed by a management center 40 installed in a location remote from the mountainous region 12.

[0083] To realize the mountain trail guidance function, the mobile terminal 90, either alone or in cooperation with the management server 50, warns the climber (such as by informing the climber that he or she may be lost and alerting the climber) and provides route guidance so that the climber's walking route (where to walk) and walking order (which direction to walk) do not deviate from the normal ones while climbing or descending the mountain.

[0084] Here, the "warning" may be, for example, a notice that the climber may have gotten lost in the mountainous area 12, a warning to the climber, a message to encourage corrective action, or a message that if the climber continues walking, he or she will enter an out-of-communication range where radio waves from the mobile terminal 90 cannot reach other mobile terminals 90. Examples of out-of-communication range include an area where there is no nearby terrestrial base station 300 (see FIG. 2) that can receive radio waves, or an area where the radio waves from the climber's mobile terminal 90 are blocked by tall trees or a neighboring mountain around the climber.

[0085] In addition, "route guidance (route guidance, course guidance, route guidance, etc.)" may, for example, provide a climber with location and direction information to correct their actual walking route and course to the correct walking route and course, or may provide the user with a visual, auditory, or tactile message that "you are lost, so it is recommended that you retrace your current route."

[0086] In this example, when the mobile device 90 of the lost climber detects that he or she is lost using the guide transmitter 30, it may output the message in the form of text, image, or sound to alert the climber and encourage him or her to decide to turn back from the current route, or may confirm that the climber has confirmed the message by operating a "confirmation button." In this case, the mobile device 90 of the current climber may continue to display the same button until the "confirmation button" is tapped by the user.

[0087] Nevertheless, if the "confirmation button" is not tapped by the user even after the continuous display time of the "confirmation button" exceeds the specified time limit, the mobile terminal 90 of the current climber will determine that the user / climber may be in an emergency (e.g., lost), and will send this information to the management server 50, and will also simultaneously send it to the mobile terminals 90 of the other climbers (companions) who belong to the same party.

[0088] Furthermore, each climber's mobile terminal 90 acquires location information at time-discrete intervals using its positioning function (for example, a positioning function using GPS, a positioning function using a terrestrial base station 300) while climbing, at all times, or from the time the warning is issued to the climber, and sequentially transmits this location information to the management server 50 to facilitate search operations in the event of a disaster.

[0089] Upon receiving this location information, the management server 50 sequentially associates the location information with the user ID / device ID of each climber's mobile terminal 90 and stores it in chronological order in memory 162 (see FIG. 9 ). If the climber gets into trouble, the climber's mobile terminal 90 accesses the management server 50, which then extracts the movement history of the climber from memory 162 and transmits it to the mobile terminals 90 of the other accompanying climbers. This allows the management server 50 and the other accompanying climbers to track the location of the climber from at least the time the warning was issued to the climber.

[0090] The behavioral history of the victim, i.e., the tracking results, is used, for example, by other accompanying persons or rescue workers in the search for the victim. The behavioral history of the victim is also used by the management server 50 when determining the flight target point of the drone 200, which will be described later.

[0091] In this system 10, in order to realize the mountain trail guidance function, when the climber's portable terminal 90 receives an identification signal from one of the guide transmitters 30, it determines that one of the guide transmitters 30 as the reference transmitter (start transmitter, departure point transmitter, etc.) through which the climber's passage has been confirmed.

[0092] After determining the reference transmitter, the mobile terminal 90 refers to the mapping data (see FIG. 7) downloaded from the management server 50, which will be described later, to determine the one of the multiple guide transmitters 30 that is located next to the reference transmitter in the walking route (see FIG. 2) as the target transmitter (forward transmitter, adjacent transmitter, target point transmitter, etc.).

[0093] Furthermore, if the portable terminal 90 receives an identification signal from the target transmitter before a predetermined time limit f has elapsed since the time when the identification signal was received from the reference transmitter, it determines that the climber's walking condition is normal (the climber is not lost), but if the portable terminal 90 does not receive an identification signal from the target transmitter even after the predetermined time limit f has elapsed, it determines that there is something abnormal about the climber's walking condition (the climber may be lost).

[0094] Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of two adjacent guide transmitters 30 from the multiple guide transmitters 30 in Figure 2. These two guide transmitters 30 are installed at two adjacent points A and B, respectively. In the example shown in Figure 3, point A is located at the entrance point (starting point, beginning point) of the mountain trail 14, and point Z is located at the summit point (turning point, ending point, finishing point) of the mountain trail 14.

[0095] During mountain climbing (when climbing the mountain trail 14) (in terms of the walking route, uphill direction, and ascending direction while climbing), point B is ahead of point A in the direction of travel, so if the guide transmitter 30 at point A is the reference transmitter, the guide transmitter 30 at point B becomes the target transmitter.

[0096] On the other hand, when descending (descending the mountain trail 14) (in the walking route, downward direction, and descent direction while descending), point A is ahead of point B in the direction of travel, so if the guide transmitter 30 at point B is the reference transmitter, the guide transmitter 30 at point A becomes the target transmitter.

[0097] 3, there is a distance d between the guide transmitter 30 at point A and the guide transmitter 30 at point B. To be precise, it is not the shortest distance, but the length measured along the mountain trail 14. There is also an altitude difference Δh between the guide transmitter 30 at point A and the guide transmitter 30 at point B.

[0098] Furthermore, as illustrated in Figure 3, the reception range of each guide transmitter 30 is set so that the reception area for the guide transmitter 30 at point A and the reception area for the guide transmitter 30 at point B do not overlap each other, so one mobile terminal 90 will not effectively receive identification signals from two guide transmitters 30 at the same time at any given moment.

[0099] Figure 6(a) shows an exemplary graph of a normal walking state scenario in this system 10, in which a mobile terminal 90 receives a signal from a guide transmitter 30 at a neighboring point B before a predetermined time limit f has elapsed from the time when the same mobile terminal 90 receives a signal from a guide transmitter 30 at a neighboring point A.

[0100] In contrast, Figure 6(b) shows an exemplary graph of an abnormal walking state scenario in which, in this system 10, a mobile terminal 90 does not receive a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at the neighboring point B even after a predetermined time limit f has elapsed since the time the same mobile terminal 90 received a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at point A.

[0101] As shown in Figure 6(b), in this system 10, if the mobile terminal 90 does not receive a signal from the guide transmitter 30 at the adjacent point B even after a predetermined time limit f has elapsed, the mobile terminal 90 determines that the climber's walking condition (direction of travel, etc.) is abnormal (for example, the climber has lost his / her way) and issues a warning to the climber.

[0102] If the climber does not notice the warning, the climber's mobile device 90 or the management server 50 will simultaneously send a message to the mobile devices 90 of the other climbers accompanying them informing them that the climber may be in distress. Furthermore, to implement the aforementioned distress search function, the management server 50 will execute a distress search mode.

[0103] FIG. 7 conceptually shows mapping data in the form of a table, which correlates the predetermined relationship between the transmitter ID of each guide transmitter 30 and the installation position of each guide transmitter 30 on the map, the order in which multiple guide transmitters 30 are lined up along the correct walking route of the hiking trail 14, and the length of the aforementioned time limit f.

[0104] The mapping data is originally stored in the memory 162 of the management server 50, and when accessed by any mobile terminal 90, the management server 50 sends the mapping data to that mobile terminal 90, which then downloads the mapping data from the management server 50 and stores it in its own memory 132 (see Figure 5).

[0105] <About setting the time limit f>

[0106] In this system 10, a time limit f is set for each pair of two adjacent points, as shown in Figure 7. The time limit f is set in advance assuming a climber with normal athletic ability, taking into account the actual distance d and altitude difference Δh between the two adjacent points, so that it is not shorter than the minimum time required for the average climber to traverse between the two points.

[0107] Figure 8(a) is a graph showing an example of a gradual change in altitude between two adjacent points A and B on a mountain trail 14. Figure 8(b) is a graph showing an example of a sudden change in altitude between points A and B.

[0108] In this system 10, the time limit f is calculated as the product of a reference time S and a correction coefficient k. FIG. 8(c) shows an exemplary graph illustrating that the length of the reference time S increases with the distance d between two points A and B. FIG. 8(d) shows an exemplary graph illustrating that the correction coefficient k increases with the difference in altitude Δh between two points A and B.

[0109] <Mutual contact function for accompanying persons>

[0110] In addition to the hiking trail guidance function described above, this system 10 also has a companion mutual communication function that enables multiple climbers belonging to the same party (team, group, etc.) to communicate with each other and support each other using their respective mobile terminals 90. This companion mutual communication function also functions to confirm the safety of anyone who has been lost.

[0111] In this system 10, when multiple people are climbing as a party, if one climber gets into an emergency, the accompanying mutual communication function (mutual aid function) allows the information about the emergency to be shared with the other climbers, who can communicate with each other via mobile terminals 90 and share information, thereby preventing accidents before they happen, enabling immediate rescue efforts, and enabling a quick search even if the climber does get lost.

[0112] Specifically, for example, when multiple people are climbing a mountain as a party and it is discovered that one of the climbers is in an emergency (for example, the climber's mobile terminal 90 or the management server 50 infers the existence of the emergency), the climber's mobile terminal 90 or the management server 50 will automatically wirelessly transmit information about the emergency to each of the mobile terminals 90 of the other climbers in the same party at the same time.

[0113] In one example, the mobile devices 90 of multiple climbers belonging to the same party automatically attempt to establish mutual connections (for example, without the user's knowledge) regardless of whether they are lost or not, or as needed, and if there are other mobile devices 90 with which a connection cannot be established despite this, the management server 50 reports this to the management server 50. The management server 50 determines that the climber who is the user of the other mobile device 90 with which a connection cannot be established may be in an emergency, and simultaneously transmits this information to the mobile devices 90 of the other climbers with which a connection can be established.

[0114] In another example, the management server 50 periodically attempts to establish a connection with each mobile terminal 90, and if a connection cannot be established with any of the mobile terminals 90, it determines that the climber who should own that mobile terminal 90 may be in an emergency, and sends this information to the mobile terminals 90 of the other climbers all at once.

[0115] Here, an "emergency situation" may be, for example, when the walking route is not corrected even after the warning is issued, or when a connection cannot be established with a certain portable terminal 90. The latter case may be, for example, when a certain climber is out of communication range, or when the battery of a certain climber's portable terminal 90 is low. In either case, if the climber were to get lost, it would be impossible to search for the climber by relying on the portable terminal 90, and the search would likely be difficult.

[0116] <Distress search function>

[0117] In addition to the above-mentioned mountain trail guidance function and companion mutual communication function, this system 10 also has a victim search function that searches for a climber who is lost in the mountainous area 12. This victim search function also functions to confirm the safety of the climber.

[0118] In order to realize the function of searching for lost climbers in this system 10, climbers wear a climber transmitter 32 before climbing. The climber transmitter 32 moves together with the climber who is wearing it, and the position of the climber transmitter 32 coincides with the position of the climber.

[0119] Furthermore, the system 10 includes an unmanned small aircraft, or drone 200, for searching for victims from the air. The drone 200 can be remotely controlled using its own controller 202 and in accordance with instructions from the management server 50, or it can be autonomously navigated using the controller 202.

[0120] When the management server 50 determines that a climber is likely to be lost, it transmits representative spatial coordinate values ​​of the mountainous region 12 that the climber is climbing (for example, the latitude, longitude, and altitude of a specific representative point such as the summit or the entrance to the hiking trail 14) to the communication device 204 of the drone 200 as information representing the flight target point, and instructs the drone 200 to deploy (be deployed) via the controller 202.

[0121] The drone 200 includes a controller 202 and a communication device 204 connected thereto. The communication device 204 is capable of wireless communication with the management server 50. The communication device 204 may function as a regular mobile phone (cell phone) that uses a terrestrial base station 300, or may function as a satellite phone that uses an artificial satellite.

[0122] In addition to the communication device 204, the drone 200 is equipped with a mobile (movable) airborne base station (hereinafter referred to as a "relay base station") 206 that replaces the fixed terrestrial base station 300 for the mobile terminal 90. The relay base station 206 receives location information from the mobile terminal 90 within its communication range, and transmits the location information to the terrestrial base station 300 that is within the communication range of the relay base station 206.

[0123] The drone 200 further has a receiver 210 that can receive signals from the climber transmitter 32 of the stranded person. The controller 202 constantly measures the strength of the radio waves received by the receiver 210 from the climber transmitter 32. The controller 202 navigates the drone 200 in a direction that increases the current value of the radio wave strength measurement value compared to the previous value.

[0124] In this system 10, there are two modes for searching for a lost mountain climber: a portable terminal use mode in which the search for the lost mountain climber is carried out using the lost mountain climber's portable terminal 90, and a transmitter use mode in which the search for the lost mountain climber is carried out using the lost mountain climber's transmitter 32.

[0125] First, to give an overview, the mobile terminal use mode is executed to search for a victim using the positioning function and communication function of the mobile terminal 90, on the condition that a connection is established between the mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50. In this search scenario, the mobile terminal 90, which is one piece of equipment of the victim, is used directly to search for the victim.

[0126] In contrast, the transmitter usage mode is executed to search for the lost person using the location authentication function and transmission function of the climber transmitter 32 when a connection is not established between the lost person's mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50, for example, when the battery of the mobile terminal 90 is low or the mobile terminal 90 is located outside the communication range.

[0127] Specifically, in this transmitter use mode, drone 200 is dispatched, receiver 210 mounted on drone 200 sequentially measures the strength of radio waves received from climber transmitter 32 of the stranded person, and a flight route for drone 200 is determined so that the measured value increases over time. As a result, a search scenario is realized in which the stranded person is searched for, or a search scenario in which, provided that the stranded person's mobile device 90 is operating normally (for example, the battery is not low, and mobile device 90 is not broken), the mobile device 90 is connected to management server 50 via relay base station 206 mounted on drone 200 and further via the nearest terrestrial base station 300.

[0128] In the former search scenario, the climber transmitter 32, which is one of the victim's equipment, is directly used to search for the victim using the drone 200. In contrast, in the latter search scenario, the transmitter use mode is executed to enable the aforementioned mobile terminal use mode.

[0129] Specifically, in the latter search scenario, the drone 200 is dispatched and eventually approaches the victim. When the victim's mobile terminal 90 enters the communication range of the relay base station 206, a connection is established between the victim's mobile terminal 90 and the terrestrial base station 300 by the relay function of the relay base station 206, and eventually a connection is established between the victim's mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50. In this case, the mobile terminal usage mode is executed, and the victim can communicate with the management server 50. In this case, for example, the victim can talk to a telephone operator at the management center 40 and send data (messaging) via his or her mobile terminal 90.

[0130] The drone 200 further includes a camera 220 that captures still or video images of the ground from the sky. The camera 220 generates imaging data representing images of the ground, and the imaging data is transmitted to the management server 50 via the communication device 204. An operator at the management center 40 can remotely monitor the state of the ground surface of the mountainous region 12 via the camera 220. This allows the operator at the management center 40 to visually and remotely search for a missing person. The operating state (on / off, etc.), imaging conditions (zoom ratio, exposure, etc.), and attitude (angle, etc.) of the camera 220 are remotely controlled by the management server 50 via the controller 202.

[0131] The drone 200 further includes a speaker 230 that outputs sound from the sky. The speaker 230 is remotely controlled by the management server 50 via the controller 202. For example, the controller 202 drives the speaker 230 based on audio data received from the management server 50, thereby generating and outputting sound. As a result, the operator of the management center 40 can output sound from the sky toward the mountainous region 12 via the speaker 230.

[0132] Thanks to this audio output, before the victim is found, the operator at the management center 40 can inform the victim by audio that a search is currently underway and of the presence and current location of the drone 200.After the victim is found, the operator can check on the victim's safety, instruct the victim on what actions to take to rescue them, and provide information on the current status of rescue operations.

[0133] The drone 200 further includes a shooter 240 that drops or drops necessary items, equipped with a parachute as needed, from the sky toward a target location on the ground. The shooter 240 is remotely controlled by the management server 50 via the controller 202. Examples of the items that can be dropped include relief supplies (e.g., a spare charged battery pack that can be used for the mobile terminal 90 of the victim, water, food, etc.), lighting equipment that locally illuminates the area around the victim to facilitate rescue operations, etc.

[0134] When dropping an item from the chute 240, the details of the rescue operation can be explained aloud using the speaker 230, or a light can be dropped at the same time to attract the victim's attention. The light allows the victim to accurately determine where the dropped item will land, enabling them to reliably catch the item.

[0135] <About guide and climber transmitters>

[0136] Figure 4 shows a functional block diagram of the guide transmitter 30 and climber transmitter 32, both of which are shown in Figure 2 and have a common configuration. Because the guide transmitter 30 and climber transmitter 32 have a common configuration, the following explanation of the common configuration will be given representatively for only the guide transmitter 30.

[0137] 4, each guide transmitter 30 emits a unique signal, and that unique signal represents a unique transmitter ID. Since it is known where on the mountain trail 14 each guide transmitter 30 is installed, the installation position, i.e., the spatial coordinate values ​​(x, y, z), is assigned to the transmitter ID in advance.

[0138] First, conceptually, the guide transmitter 30 is a contactless or contact (proximity) communication device that locally emits an identification signal that can identify a unique transmitter ID.

[0139] Next, the operation method will be explained. The guide transmitter 30 actively transmits a unique identification signal locally without requiring an external trigger signal, and continuously as long as there is no shortage of power supply.

[0140] The guide transmitter 30 is generally a device known as a beacon device, a radio beacon, or the like that transmits a beacon signal as an identification signal. In one example, the guide transmitter 30 generates an identification signal representing the corresponding transmitter ID by modulating an original signal, and locally transmits the generated identification signal as an IR signal, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) signal, an NFC (near field communication) signal, or the like.

[0141] Next, the hardware configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. The guide transmitter 30 is mainly composed of a computer 104 having a processor 100 and a memory 102 that stores a plurality of applications executed by the processor 100.

[0142] The guide transmitter 30 further has a replaceable disposable battery 106 as a power source. Instead of the battery 106, a rechargeable battery can be used, or a commercial power source or a solar cell can be used as an external power source.

[0143] When a solar cell is used as the external power source, surplus electrical energy generated by the solar cell during the day can be stored in a battery, and at night, battery energy can be extracted from the battery to operate the guide transmitter 30.

[0144] The guide transmitter 30 further includes a transmitter 108 that generates and transmits an identification signal. The transmitter 108 is powered by a battery 106 and controlled by a controller 110. The controller 110 is controlled by the computer 100.

[0145] To explain the software configuration of the guide transmitter 30, the processor 100 outputs a signal to the controller 110 to modulate the original signal (for example, a carrier signal) so that the transmitter ID is reflected. The controller 110 controls the transmitting unit 108, and as a result, the transmitting unit 108 generates an identification signal to be transmitted this time. The generated identification signal is then transmitted from the transmitting unit 108.

[0146] <About mobile devices>

[0147] The mountain climber's (user's) portable terminal 90 is a device carried by the user and has a wireless communication function, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a PDA, etc. The portable terminal 90 is also an example of a user's communication terminal.

[0148] Next, referring to FIG. 5, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 90 will be explained. The mobile terminal 90 is mainly composed of a computer 134 having a processor 130 and a memory 132 that stores multiple programs (also called "applications") executed by the processor 130.

[0149] The mobile terminal 90 further has a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display) 136 that displays information, a receiving unit 138 that receives signals from the guide transmitter 30 and the management server 50, and a transmitting unit 140 that generates signals and transmits the signals to the management server 50. Here, the receiving unit 138 is also a part that senses the identification signal from the guide transmitter 30.

[0150] The mobile terminal 90 further includes an input unit 150 for inputting data and commands from the user. The input unit 150 includes, for example, an operation unit operable by the user to input desired information (e.g., commands, data, etc.) into the mobile terminal 90. The operation unit may be, but is not limited to, a touch screen that displays icons (e.g., virtual buttons) operable by the user, a physical operation unit (e.g., a keyboard, keypad, buttons, etc.) operable by the user, a microphone that detects voice, etc.

[0151] The mobile terminal 90 further includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 152. As is well known, the GPS receiver 152 receives multiple GPS signals from multiple GPS satellites and determines the position (latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the GPS receiver 152 on the Earth by triangulation based on the GPS signals.

[0152] This mobile terminal 90 further has a built-in acceleration sensor 154 that detects its own acceleration. Because acceleration sensor 154 is mounted on mobile terminal 90, it vibrates integrally with mobile terminal 90, and as a result, it detects the acceleration acting on acceleration sensor 154 itself as being equivalent to the acceleration acting on mobile terminal 90 and the user carrying it.

[0153] Here, one function of the user's mobile terminal 90 will be explained in relation to the guide transmitter 30. When the mobile terminal 90 receives an identification signal from the guide transmitter 30, the mobile terminal 90 starts (logs in) a program pre-installed in the computer of the mobile terminal 90, i.e., a dedicated application for guide transmitter processing (hereinafter referred to as the "transmitter application"), and demodulates the received identification signal, thereby deciphering the transmitter ID.

[0154] Furthermore, when the mobile terminal 90 starts the transmitter application while receiving an identification signal from the guide transmitter 30, it also measures the distance between the position of the guide transmitter 30 when it transmitted the identification signal and the position of the mobile terminal 90 when it received the identification signal, based on the received identification signal (e.g., the strength of the identification signal).

[0155] That is, based on the identification signal received from the guide transmitter 30, the mobile terminal 90 acquires both the transmitter ID unique to that guide transmitter 30 and the distance to the guide transmitter 30 at that time.

[0156] <Transmitter reception range>

[0157] Apparently, two types of receiving areas are assigned to the guide transmitter 30. They are a receivable area and an effective receiving area (hereinafter also referred to as a "receiving range" or "receiving zone").

[0158] Each of these areas is generally defined by a sphere centered on the installation position of the guide transmitter 30. Some examples of reception areas are shown in FIG.

[0159] The receivable area of ​​the guide transmitter 30 has a maximum reception radius (for example, about 50 m), whereas the effective reception area has an effective reception radius (for example, any value within the range of 0 m to about 50 m). While the maximum reception radius is a fixed value, the effective reception radius is a variable value that can be set at any time by the mobile terminal 90, as will be described later.

[0160] The receivable area means an area in which the identification signal from the guide transmitter 30 can reach when the power supply of the guide transmitter 30 is normal, that is, an area in which the mobile terminal 90 can receive the identification signal as long as it is within that area.

[0161] In contrast, the effective reception area has an effective reception radius that is smaller than the maximum reception radius of the receivable area. While the maximum reception radius cannot be set arbitrarily, the effective reception radius can be set arbitrarily using software in the mobile terminal 90.

[0162] That is, it is possible to say that the maximum reception radius means the reception limit determined by the hardware, whereas the effective reception radius means the reception limit determined by the software.

[0163] As described above, the mobile terminal 90 measures the distance to the guide transmitter 30 based on the strength of the identification signal it receives. The measured distance may or may not exceed the effective reception radius. When the measured distance does not exceed the effective reception radius, it means that the mobile terminal 90 is within the effective reception area, whereas when the measured distance exceeds the effective reception radius, it means that the mobile terminal 90 is within the receivable area but not within the effective reception area.

[0164] In this embodiment, the reception range of the guide transmitter 30 is set to be, for example, a spherical area with a radius of approximately 0 m to 5 m. In other words, the effective reception radius used in the portable terminal 90 is set to a fixed value within approximately 0 m to 5 m. The effective reception radius may be set, for example, so that the reception range of each guide transmitter 30 covers the entire width of the portion of the hiking trail 14 where each guide transmitter 30 is installed.

[0165] <About the management server>

[0166] Next, the hardware configuration of the management server 50 will be explained. Fig. 9 shows a functional block diagram of the management server 50. The management server 50 is mainly composed of a computer 164 having a processor 160 and a memory 162 that stores multiple applications executed by the processor 160.

[0167] The management server 50 further has a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display) 166 that displays information, a receiving unit 168 that receives signals from the mobile terminal 90, a transmitting unit 170 that generates signals and transmits the signals to the mobile terminal 90, and a clock 172. The management server 50 does not receive information from the transmitter 30 directly, but in fact receives information via the mobile terminal 90.

[0168] <Software configuration of the mountain trail guidance system>

[0169] 10 is a conceptual flowchart showing multiple programs for explaining the software configuration of this system 10. These programs include a hiking trail guidance application (steps S101-S122) executed on each climber's mobile terminal 90, and a program executed on the management server 50 (steps S151-S158).

[0170] When the hiking trail guidance application is launched on each hiker's mobile device 90 prior to climbing the hiking trail 14, first, in step S101, the user operates the mobile device 90 to input a login request to the management server 50 and personal information of the user who will be climbing the mountain this time. The personal information of the current hiker includes, for example, the user's user ID, the user's name and address, and the telephone numbers or email addresses of the mobile devices 90 of the other accompanying persons. The login request and personal information are sent to the management server 50, and then received by the management server 50 in step S151.

[0171] Next, in step S102, the user operates the mobile terminal 90 to input hiking trail identification information (e.g., the name or ID of the hiking trail 14, the name or ID of the mountain region 12 in which the hiking trail 14 is located) to identify the current hiking trail 14, and the hiking trail identification information is sent to the management server 50, which then receives it in step S151.

[0172] Next, in step S152, the management server 50 registers the received personal information and hiking trail identification information in memory 162. After that, in step S153, the management server 50 reads from memory 162 the mapping data (see FIG. 7 ) stored in memory 162 that corresponds to the hiking trail 14 represented by the hiking trail identification information currently received from the mobile device 90, and transmits this data to the mobile device 90.

[0173] In response to this, in step S103, the mobile terminal 90 downloads mapping data corresponding to the mountain trail 14 from the management server 50. The downloaded mapping data is stored in the memory 132 in association with the mountain trail 14 and the date.

[0174] Next, in step S104, the mobile terminal 90 displays a page such as that shown in FIG. 11(a) on the screen, and the user inputs data on that screen to distinguish whether the action to be taken on this mountain trail 14 is to climb or descend.

[0175] In one typical example, first (for example, at the starting point A of the mountain trail 14), as shown in FIG. 11(a), the user operates the button representing "mountain climbing," and in response, the aforementioned mountain trail guidance mode is activated on the mobile terminal 90, on the condition that the user is climbing the mountain and not descending.

[0176] After that, when the user safely arrives at the end point Z of the mountain trail 14 and is about to start descending, the user operates the button representing "reset" and then the button representing "descent" as shown in Fig. 11(a) In response to this, the aforementioned mountain trail guidance mode is activated on the mobile terminal 90 from the first step, this time on the condition that the user is descending and not ascending.

[0177] Next, in step S105, the mobile terminal 90 attempts to receive an identification signal from any of the guide transmitters 30. After that, in step S106, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not the identification signal has been validly received from any of the guide transmitters 30. If the identification signal has not been validly received (valid reception failed), the determination becomes NO, and the process returns to step S105. On the other hand, if the identification signal has been validly received (valid reception succeeded), the determination becomes YES in step S106.

[0178] If the mobile terminal 90 has effectively received (successfully received) an identification signal from any of the guide transmitters 30 (the one among the multiple guide transmitters 30 that is closest to the user's current location), then in step S107, the mobile terminal 90 displays on the screen a map showing the hiking trail 14 that covers the current location, the installation location of any of the received guide transmitters 30, and the current location measured using the built-in GPS described above, in an overlaid state.

[0179] If the mobile terminal 90 is also equipped with a direction sensor, the user holds the mobile terminal 90 horizontally and adjusts the orientation of the mobile terminal 90 so that the direction of the map displayed on the screen and the direction of the mobile terminal 90 match each other, thereby making it possible to use the screen to visually guide the climber in the direction he or she should go.

[0180] Thereafter, in step S108, the portable terminal 90 determines the guide transmitter 30 that has been received this time as the reference transmitter.

[0181] Next, in step S109, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not the user is currently descending the mountain. If the user is currently ascending the mountain and not descending the mountain, the determination becomes NO, and in step S110, the mobile terminal 90 determines, as the target transmitter, another guide transmitter 30 that is located immediately next to the guide transmitter 30 that received the current signal when viewed in the ascending direction of the mountain trail 14, among the multiple guide transmitters 30.

[0182] Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 2, if the reference transmitter is the guide transmitter 30 located at point E (the fifth one counting from the starting point A), the guide transmitter 30 located at point F (the sixth one counting from the starting point A) is determined to be the target transmitter.

[0183] On the other hand, if the user is not currently climbing a mountain but is currently descending the mountain, the determination in step S109 will be YES, and in step S111, of the multiple guide transmitters 30, another guide transmitter 30 that is located immediately next to the guide transmitter 30 that was received this time when viewed in the downward direction of the hiking trail 14 is determined to be the target transmitter mentioned above.

[0184] Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 2, if the reference transmitter is the guide transmitter 30 located at point E (the fifth one counting from the starting point A), the guide transmitter 30 located at point D (the fourth one counting from the starting point A) is determined to be the target transmitter.

[0185] In either case, the portable terminal 90 then attempts to receive an identification signal from the current target transmitter in step S112. Then, the portable terminal 90 determines in step S113 whether or not the identification signal has been validly received from the current target transmitter. If the identification signal has not been validly received (valid reception failed), the determination is NO, and the process proceeds to step S115.

[0186] In step S115, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether the time elapsed since the initial execution start time of step S112 has exceeded the time limit f. If not, the determination becomes YES, and the process returns to step S112.

[0187] On the other hand, if the portable terminal 90 has effectively received the identification signal from the current target transmitter (effective reception has been successful), the determination in step S113 is YES.

[0188] Next, in step S114, the mobile terminal 90 displays on the screen a map of the vicinity of the current location, the installation position of the received target transmitter, and the measured current location in an overlaid state, in the same manner as in step S107 described above. Thereafter, the process returns to step S108, and the current target transmitter is determined as the next reference transmitter.

[0189] On the other hand, if the mobile terminal 90 does not effectively receive an identification signal from the target transmitter even when the elapsed time from the execution start time of step S112 exceeds the time limit f, the determination in step S115 is NO.

[0190] Thereafter, in step S116, the portable terminal 90 determines that the current climber's walking condition is abnormal. This abnormality determination means, for example, that the current climber has not been able to arrive at the current target transmitter in the section between the current reference transmitter and the current target transmitter, and may have become lost.

[0191] Next, in step S117, the mobile device 90 issues a visual warning to the current climber, as shown in Fig. 11(b) . In one example, the mobile device 90 displays on the screen a message saying, "You may have gotten lost. We recommend that you retrace your steps," and a confirmation button that can be operated to confirm that the current climber has read the message, in association with each other.

[0192] Thereafter, in step S118, the mobile terminal 90 measures its current location by using the built-in GPS. Subsequently, in step S119, the mobile terminal 90 transmits location information representing the positioning result to the management server 50 in association with the user ID and the current time.

[0193] In response, in step S154, management server 50 receives the current location information from mobile terminal 90 in association with the user ID and the current time, and then in step S155 stores the location information in association with the user ID and the current time in memory 162. As a result, the behavioral history of the current climber is stored in chronological order in memory 162 in association with the time, and this information is useful when tracking the climber.

[0194] 11(b), the mobile terminal 90 then determines in step S120 whether or not the user has operated the confirmation button. If the confirmation button has not been operated, the determination is NO, and the mobile terminal 90 determines in step S121 whether or not the elapsed time from the start time of the first execution of step S120 has exceeded a predetermined time limit g. If it has not exceeded the time limit, the determination is YES, and the process returns to step S117. When the elapsed time eventually exceeds the time limit g, the determination in step S121 is NO.

[0195] Thereafter, in step S122, the portable terminal 90 determines that the current climber is a lost climber, and transmits a request for the aforementioned victim search mode to search for the lost climber to the management server 50. Next, in step S123, the portable terminal 90 displays on the screen a message stating "Contacting accompanying climber" and a message stating "Requesting rescue," as exemplified in Fig. 11(c).

[0196] In response, in step S156, the management server 50 receives a request for a missing person search mode from the current mobile terminal 90, and then, in step S157, simultaneously sends a message to each mobile terminal 90 of the other climbers accompanying the current climber who are registered in the memory 162 of the management server 50, informing them that the current climber may be in distress.

[0197] Specifically, for this companion broadcasting service, personal information, such as name, address, age, sex, physical condition data (e.g., health data) and athletic ability (e.g., years of sports experience), and contact information, such as the telephone number, email address and IP address of each companion's mobile terminal 90, are registered in the memory 162 of the management server 50 in association with each of the companions (e.g., members of a party climbing the same mountain trail 14) of the current climber, to construct a companion database.

[0198] Then, in step S158, the management server 50 dispatches the drone 200, specifying the current hiking trail 14 as the destination point. As described above, the drone 200 searches for the location of the climber by relying on radio waves received from the climber transmitter 32 worn by the current climber. This realizes the aforementioned victim search function.

[0199] As is clear from the above explanation, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary for the climber, who may be in a psychologically panicked state, to judge whether he or she has gotten lost, whether there is a risk of getting lost, whether he or she is in danger of getting lost, whether he or she will be able to select an action to take to avoid getting lost, or whether he or she has actually gotten lost. As a result, according to this embodiment, it is possible for the climber to accurately know whether he or she has gotten lost before getting lost, to accurately know whether there is a risk of getting lost, and to accurately know what action to take to avoid getting lost if there is a risk of getting lost.

[0200] In this embodiment, the part of the computer 134 of the portable terminal 90 that executes steps S105, S106, and S108 in FIG. 10 can be considered to constitute an example of the reference transmitter determination unit, the part of the computer 134 of the portable terminal 90 that executes steps S109-S111 in the same figure can be considered to constitute an example of the target transmitter determination unit, the part of the computer 134 of the portable terminal 90 that executes steps S115 and S116 in the same figure can be considered to constitute an example of the walking state determination unit, and the part of the computer 134 of the portable terminal 90 that executes step S117 in the same figure can be considered to constitute an example of the warning unit.

[0201] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the first feature unit that functions as the reference transmitter determination unit, the second feature unit that functions as the target transmitter determination unit, and the third feature unit that functions as the walking state judgment unit are all implemented in the computer 134 of the same mobile terminal 90, but instead, the present invention may be implemented in a manner in which all three feature units are implemented in the computer 164 of the management server 50, or in a manner in which some of the three feature units are implemented in the computer 164 of the management server 50.

[0202] Furthermore, in this embodiment, assuming that the climber does not slip off the hiking trail 14 (that is, the climber does not deviate laterally from the hiking trail 14), if the mobile terminal 90 cannot receive a signal from the target transmitter within the time limit f, it is determined that the climber may have gotten lost.

[0203] In contrast to this, the present invention may be implemented in such a way that, when the portable terminal 90 is unable to receive a signal from the target transmitter within the time limit f, the acceleration of the portable terminal 90, i.e., the climber's acceleration, is measured using the acceleration sensor 154 of the portable terminal 90, and if the absolute value of this measurement value exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that the climber has deviated from the hiking trail 14 near the reference transmitter and may have slipped. Here, the "possibility that the climber has slipped off the hiking trail 14" is an example of the aforementioned "abnormal walking condition."

[0204] [Second embodiment]

[0205] Next, a victim rescue system 10 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the first embodiment will be referred to using the same names or symbols to avoid redundant explanations, and only different elements will be described in detail. The victim rescue system 10 is designed to implement a victim rescue method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0206] As described above, in the first embodiment, as shown in Figure 10, when the management server 50 receives a request for the lost climber search mode from the current climber's mobile device 90 (an example of a "user terminal") in step S156, it simultaneously transmits a message in step S157 to each of the mobile devices 90 (an example of a "companion terminal") of the other climbers accompanying the current climber and who are registered in memory 162 of the management server 50, informing them that the current climber may be in distress. The mobile devices 90 of each companion have the same configuration as the climber's mobile device 90.

[0207] In contrast, in this embodiment, the management server 50 does not unconditionally and simultaneously send the message, i.e., a message requesting a search and rescue for the climber, i.e., the lost person, to all of the multiple companions registered in memory 162, but instead narrows down the companions (multiple candidate rescuers) to those whose physical risk to the companions will not exceed a standard value if they are dispatched to the location of the lost person, and then sends the message only to each of the companions, i.e., each rescuer (final rescuer), selected in this way.

[0208] Various methods can be employed to narrow down a plurality of candidate rescuers to a smaller number of final rescuers.

[0209] In an example shown in Figure 12, the management server 50 receives from each of the mobile terminals 90 of multiple companions multiple types of personal risks (risk of accident that will affect the companion if that companion is dispatched to the location of the missing person) for each companion.

[0210] These personal risks include geographic information (an example of "companion information") that represents the current location of each companion, which is a three-dimensional position (latitude x, longitude y, altitude z) measured by the GPS of each companion's mobile terminal 90, in order to measure the distance that must be walked to reach the location (estimated location) of the missing person (the longer the distance, the higher the risk of an accident (e.g., risk of injury, risk of death, etc.) for the companion during rescue).

[0211] Another personal risk is the temperature measured by the temperature sensor on each companion's mobile terminal 90 (the lower the temperature, the higher the companion's risk of accident during rescue) to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account the local weather conditions at each companion's location (another example of ``companion information'').

[0212] Another personal risk is the illuminance measured by the illuminance sensor on each companion's mobile terminal 90 (the darker the outside light, the higher the companion's risk of an accident during rescue) to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account different local weather conditions at each companion's location (yet another example of ``companion information'').

[0213] Another personal risk is the altitude (z) measured by the GPS on each companion's mobile terminal 90, which is used to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account the local geographical conditions at each companion's location (yet another example of ``companion information'') (the higher the altitude, the lower the air pressure and oxygen concentration, and therefore the higher the risk of an accident for the companion during rescue).

[0214] Another example of personal risk is the health data (yet another example of "companion information") stored on each companion's mobile terminal 90, which is input by the user in order to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account their physical condition (for example, a gradual health level such as good, normal, or poor health; for example, the lower the health level, the higher the companion's risk of an accident when being rescued).

[0215] Another personal risk is the athletic ability data (yet another example of "companion information") stored on each companion's mobile terminal 90, which is entered by the user to determine whether or not to request rescue from each companion, taking into account their physical condition (for example, the number of years of sports experience the person has up to the day; for example, the closer the number of years of experience is to 0, the higher the companion's risk of accident when being rescued).

[0216] In an example shown in Figure 12, the management server 50 further receives multiple types of environmental risks for each companion (risk of accident to that companion if that companion is dispatched to the location of the missing person) from the weather server 400 (an example of an "environmental server") based on the weather characteristics of the location of the missing person (an example of "environmental information").

[0217] Environmental risks include weather risks at the location of the victim (estimated as the location measured by the GPS of the victim's mobile terminal 90) (the worse the weather (rain, snow, etc.), the higher the risk of an accident to accompanying persons during rescue).

[0218] Another environmental risk is the temperature risk at the location of the stranded person (the greater the deviation of the temperature from the normal range, the higher the risk of an accident for accompanying persons during rescue).

[0219] Another environmental risk is the risk of wind speed in the location of the stranded person (the higher the wind speed, the higher the risk of an accident for accompanying persons during rescue).

[0220] In an example shown in Figure 12, the management server 50 further receives multiple types of environmental risks for each companion from the terrain server 500 (another example of an "environmental server") based on the terrain characteristics of the victim's location (another example of "environmental information").

[0221] Environmental risks include the topographical risk of the location of the victim (for example, the steeper the slope, the higher the risk of an accident to accompanying persons during rescue).

[0222] Another environmental risk is the surface risk at the location of the victim (for example, the more likely natural disasters such as landslides, avalanches, and debris flows are to occur in mountainous areas, the higher the risk of an accident to accompanying persons during rescue).

[0223] In the example shown in Figure 12, the management server 50 calculates the total individual risk F for each companion from the companion's location (more precisely, the distance D between the companion and the victim), the temperature T at the companion's location, the illuminance L at the companion's location, the altitude H at the companion's location, the companion's physical condition C, and the companion's motor skill M, as shown in the following formula:

[0224] F=D·k1+T·k2+L·k3+H·k4+C·k5+M·k6 k1, k2, k3, k4, k5, k6: Weighting coefficients multiplied by each risk variable (default value)

[0225] The larger the calculated total individual risk F, the higher the risk of an accident to accompanying persons during rescue.

[0226] In an example shown in Figure 12, the management server 50 calculates the total environmental risk G for each victim from the weather risk M1, temperature risk M2, wind speed risk M3, topographical risk S1, and ground surface risk S2 at the victim's location, as shown in the following formula.

[0227] G=M1·k7+M2·k8+M3·k9+S1·k 10 +S2·k 11 k7,k8,k9,k 10 ,k 11 : Weighting coefficient by which each risk variable is multiplied (default value)

[0228] The higher the calculated value of the overall environmental risk G, the higher the risk of an accident to accompanying persons during rescue.

[0229] Figure 13 shows, in a conceptual sequence, the communications that take place between the mobile terminals 90 of multiple companions, the management server 50, the weather server 400, and the terrain server 500 to realize the above-mentioned companion simultaneous transmission service, as well as the programs executed by the processors of each component.

[0230] As shown in Figure 10, when the management server 50 receives a request for victim search mode from the current mobile terminal 90 in step S156, as shown in Figure 13, in step S1351, the management server 50 simultaneously sends a request to request personal risk from each companion (each potential rescuer) to all of the multiple mobile terminals 90 of the multiple companions.

[0231] When the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person receives the request in step S1301, the portable terminal 90 measures the current position of each portable terminal 90 as the location of each accompanying person using the GPS in step S1302.

[0232] Next, in step S1303, the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person detects the temperature (air temperature) T at the location of each accompanying person using the temperature sensor of the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person. Furthermore, the illuminance sensor of the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person detects the illuminance L at the location of each accompanying person. Furthermore, the GPS of the portable terminal 90 of each accompanying person detects the altitude H of the location of each accompanying person.

[0233] Then, in step S1304, each companion's mobile terminal 90 transmits the above-mentioned multiple detection values ​​T, L, H, together with the level of physical condition C of each companion's mobile terminal 90 input by the user (for example, the higher the level, the higher the companion's fatigue level) and the level of athletic ability M of each companion's mobile terminal 90 input by the user (for example, the lower the companion's athletic ability, the higher the level), to the management server 50, as individual risks.

[0234] In response, in step S1352, the management server 50 receives these personal risks from the mobile terminal 90 of each accompanying person, and then in step S1353, associates these received personal risks with each accompanying person and stores them in memory 162.

[0235] Next, in step S1354, the management server 50 estimates the current location last received by the management server 50 from the mobile terminal 90 of the stranded mountain climber as the location of the stranded person, reads it from memory 162, sets that location as a rescue point, and registers it in memory 162.

[0236] Thereafter, in step S1355, the management server 50 transmits a request for requesting a plurality of environmental risks to each of the weather server 400 and the terrain server 500 along with the set rescue point.

[0237] The weather server 400 and the terrain server 500 each receive the request in step S1371, and then in step S1372 search the weather database of the weather server 400 and the database of the terrain server 500 for environmental risks for a certain area covering the rescue point.

[0238] Thereafter, in step S1373, the weather server 400 and the terrain server 500 each transmit the retrieved plurality of environmental risks to the management server 50.

[0239] In response to this, in step S1357, the management server 50 calculates the total environmental risk G for the received plurality of environmental risks in the manner described above.

[0240] Next, in step S1358, the management server 50 determines whether the calculated value of the total environmental risk G is equal to or less than a preset upper limit (an example of a "second reference value"), i.e., whether the risk of an accident for the rescuer is low. If the calculated value is equal to or less than the upper limit, the determination is YES, and in step S159 rescue by any accompanying person is permitted. However, if the calculated value is higher than the upper limit, the determination is NO in step S1358, and, for example, the process returns to step S1351, where it either waits for the environmental risk at the same rescue point to improve, or determines whether rescue at a different rescue point should be allowed.

[0241] After executing step S1359, the management server 50 calculates the total individual risk F for each candidate rescuer (each accompanying person) from the received multiple individual risks in step S1360. Then, in step S1361, the management server 50 selects, as final rescuers, those candidate rescuers whose calculated total individual risk F is equal to or less than a preset reference point (an example of a "first reference value").

[0242] Next, in step S1362, the management server 50 sends a message to the mobile terminal 90 of each selected rescuer requesting a search for and rescue of the victim, along with the victim's name, estimated location, physical characteristics, and clothing characteristics.

[0243] In response to this, the mobile terminal 90 of each rescuer displays the received message on the screen (or outputs it as voice) and further displays a confirmation button on the screen in step S1306. Thereafter, on the condition that the confirmation button is operated by the user of the mobile terminal 90, i.e., the rescuer, the mobile terminal 90 of each rescuer operates the confirmation button in step S1307, thereby transmitting to the management server 50 the intention to accept the rescue request.

[0244] In response to this, in step S1363, the management server 50 receives information from the mobile terminal 90 of any of the rescuers that the confirmation button has been operated, identifies the rescuer who accepted the rescue request, and registers this in the memory 162.

[0245] However, if the management server 50 does not receive information from any of the rescuer's mobile terminals 90 that the confirmation button has been operated even after the time limit has elapsed, the management server 50 updates the reference point by decreasing the current value by a predetermined amount in step S1364, and then returns to step S1361. As a result, the next time step S1361 is executed, the range of multiple rescuers who will be contacted to make a rescue request is expanded, thereby increasing the probability of finding a rescuer who will accept the rescue request.

[0246] As is clear from the above explanation, in this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, it is possible to consider that the portion of the climber's portable terminal 90 that executes steps S105-S117 and S120-S122 in Fig. 10 constitutes an example of a "victim determination unit." One example of this "victim determination unit" is one that performs victim determination using a plurality of guide transmitters 30 as external devices of the portable terminal 90, but another example of this "victim determination unit" is one that performs victim determination as described above using the acceleration sensor 154 (an example of a motion sensor that measures the behavior of the climber).

[0247] Furthermore, in this embodiment, for the sake of convenience of explanation, it can be considered that the part of the management server 50 that executes steps S1352 and S1360 in Figure 13 constitutes an example of a "personal risk calculation unit", the part of the management server 50 that executes steps S1354-S1357 in the same figure constitutes an example of an "environmental risk calculation unit", the part of the management server 50 that executes step S1359 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "rescue permission unit", the part of the management server 50 that executes steps S1361 and S1364 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "rescuer selection unit", and the part of the management server 50 that executes step S1362 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "rescue request unit".

[0248] [Third embodiment]

[0249] Next, a mountain trail guidance system 10 according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the first embodiment will be referred to using the same names or reference numerals to avoid redundant explanations, and only the different elements will be described in detail. The system 10 is designed to implement a pedestrian guidance method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0250] As mentioned above, in the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, multiple guide transmitters 30 are installed along the mountain trail 14, regardless of location, from the departure point (start point) to the destination point (end point). If the time required for a climber to walk from one guide transmitter 30 to the next guide transmitter 30 exceeds the time limit, it is determined that the climber may have gotten lost.

[0251] In contrast, climbers are generally more likely to get lost on a mountain trail when there are branching points, rather than when there are straight sections of the mountain trail 14. Rather than installing transmitters 30 as guide transmitters throughout the entire mountain trail 14, installing transmitters 30 as branching point transmitters only at branching points (or, of multiple branching points, only at branching points where, statistically or empirically, there is a high probability that climbers will get lost) reduces the total number of transmitters 30 installed, which is advantageous in terms of cost and man-hours.

[0252] In view of this fact, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, branch point transmitters 30 are installed only at the portions of the mountain trail 14 where there are a plurality of branch points.

[0253] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the climber's mobile terminal 90 starts receiving from one of the junction transmitters 30, an operation is initiated in response, as shown in the example of FIG. 15, in which a map image showing only the area of ​​the hiking trail 14 near the current junction is displayed on the screen, along with a mark indicating the climber's current position, a mark indicating the correct route, and the name of the junction (as well as other hiking information useful to the climber).

[0254] After that, when the mobile terminal 90 stops receiving signals from the same junction transmitter 30, the map image that had been displayed up until then disappears from the screen.

[0255] 16, a map database is constructed in the memory 162 of the management server 50, which represents map data for the entirety of each of the multiple hiking trails 14, by destination, i.e., by mountain region, for each of the multiple hiking trails 14. However, in this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the map database is constructed so that it is valid only when a hiker is climbing the hiking trails 14 toward the summit.

[0256] Therefore, when any destination is specified, one piece of map data is specified.

[0257] Each map data is configured as a collection of a plurality of partial map data, and in each map data, each partial map data is associated with an intersection ID that indicates one intersection included in that partial map data.

[0258] As shown in FIG. 15, each piece of partial map data is configured to include a corresponding branch point, at least three routes among the hiking trails 14 that intersect at that branch point, and a mark that indicates the correct route determined in relation to the destination specified by the hiker, in relation to that position.

[0259] The memory 162 of the management server 50 also stores a predetermined relationship, not shown, between the transmitter ID represented by the identification signal transmitted by each branch point transmitter 30 and the branch point ID representing the branch point at which each branch point transmitter 30 is installed.

[0260] Therefore, when the mobile terminal 90 receives a signal from any one of the junction transmitters 30, one transmitter ID is identified, and then one junction ID is identified, and ultimately one piece of partial map data is identified.

[0261] 17 shows, in a conceptual sequence, the communications that take place between multiple junction transmitters 30, climber's mobile device 90, and management server 50 to realize the junction guidance service described above, as well as the programs executed by the processors of each component. A climber guidance application is installed in memory 132 of the mobile device 90 as the relevant program.

[0262] Figure 18(a) shows a perspective view of an example of a climber walking through a certain branch point while the system 10 is in operation. Figure 18(b) shows a time chart illustrating the change over time in the state in which the portable terminal 90 receives any of the branch point transmitters 30 in the walking example of Figure 18(a). Figure 18(c) shows a time chart illustrating the change over time in the display state on the screen of the climber's portable terminal 90 in the walking example of Figure 18(a).

[0263] 17, when the mountain climber guidance application is launched on the portable terminal 90, in step S1701 the climber inputs a destination into his or her portable terminal 90. Next, in step S1702, the portable terminal 90 transmits a request for map data corresponding to the input destination together with the destination to the management server 50.

[0264] In response, the management server 50 receives the request in step S1731, and then in step S1732, the management server 50 searches the map database for the corresponding map data using the destination received from the mobile device 90 as a key. After that, in step S1733, the management server 50 transmits the current map data that has been searched (a collection of multiple partial map data) to the mountain climber's mobile device 90.

[0265] In response, in step S1703, the climber's portable terminal 90 receives the current map data from the management server 50 and stores the map data in the memory 132 of the portable terminal 90 in association with the current destination.

[0266] Next, in step S1704, the climber's portable device 90 attempts to receive a signal from any of the junction point transmitters 30. After that, in step S1705, the climber's portable device 90 determines whether or not the portable device 90 has effectively received a signal from any of the junction point transmitters 30, that is, whether or not the portable device 90 is within the reception range (effective reception area) of any of the junction point transmitters 30. If the portable device 90 has not effectively received a signal, the determination becomes NO and the process returns to step S1704, but if effective reception begins, the determination changes to YES.

[0267] In the example of Figure 18(b), when the judgment in step S1705 is YES at the timing indicated by time t1, the climber's mobile terminal 90 acquires the current transmitter ID from the received signal in step S1706, and then converts the acquired transmitter ID into a branch point ID in accordance with the above relationship in step S1707.

[0268] Thereafter, in step S1708, the climber's portable device 90 selects the partial map data corresponding to the current branch point ID from among the plurality of partial map data stored in the memory 132 of the portable device 90, and reads the current partial map data from the memory 132. Next, in step S1709, the climber's portable device 90 starts displaying the read partial map data on the screen at the timing shown as time t3 in the example of Figure 18(c), as exemplified in Figure 15.

[0269] Next, in step S1710, the climber's portable device 90 attempts to receive a signal from any of the junction point transmitters 30. After that, in step S1711, the climber's portable device 90 determines whether or not the portable device 90 has validly received a signal from any of the junction point transmitters 30, that is, whether or not the portable device 90 is within the reception range (effective reception area) of any of the junction point transmitters 30.

[0270] If the climber's mobile terminal 90 is effectively receiving a signal from one of the junction transmitters 30, the judgment in step S1711 will be YES, and then in step S1712, it will be determined whether the transmitter ID obtained from the received signal matches the transmitter ID obtained the previous time step S1706 was executed, i.e., whether the mobile terminal 90 is continuing to effectively receive a signal from the same junction transmitter 30.

[0271] If the determination in step S1712 is YES, the process returns to step S1709, and the display of the current partial map data continues; however, if the determination in step S1712 is NO, the process proceeds to step S1706, and the display of partial map data for another branch point is started in the same manner as described above.

[0272] In contrast, in the example of Figure 18(b), at the timing shown as time t2, if the climber's mobile terminal 90 transitions from an effective reception state in which it effectively receives a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30 to an ineffective reception state in which it does not effectively receive a signal from any of the branch point transmitters 30, the judgment in step S1711 will be NO.

[0273] Thereafter, the mountain climber's portable terminal 90 ends the display of the current partial map data in step S1713 at the timing shown as time t4 in the example of Figure 18(c), and then proceeds to step S1704.

[0274] As is clear from the above explanation, in this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, it can be considered that the portion of the climber's mobile terminal 90 that executes steps S1704-S1707 in Figure 17 constitutes an example of a "branch point position identification unit," that the portion of the climber's mobile terminal 90 that executes steps S1701-S1703 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "map data receiving unit," and that the portion of the climber's mobile terminal 90 that executes steps S1708-S1713 in the same figure constitutes an example of a "partial map data display unit."

[0275] It should be noted that although the above-described embodiments apply the present invention to the application of guiding hikers along the mountain trail 14, the present invention can also be applied to other applications.

[0276] For example, the present invention may be applied to applications such as guiding pedestrians on other types of mountain trails, guiding pedestrians on forest roads, guiding visitors' sightseeing routes or monitoring their behavior (such as checking whether they enter restricted or dangerous areas) within facilities (e.g., factories, art galleries, museums, public facilities, etc.), guiding customers through stores displaying multiple products, monitoring the behavior of students on their way to school (such as checking whether they deviate from the regular school route), guiding pedestrians on walking trails, and guiding cyclists on cycling courses.

[0277] Additionally, in some of the embodiments described above, all or part of the processing that was executed on mobile terminal 90 may instead be executed on management server 50, and conversely, all or part of the processing that was executed on management server 50 may instead be executed on mobile terminal 90. This is because which device executes the processing to be executed is usually determined by the circumstances at the time, such as the amount and type of data to be handled, the processing speed and storage capacity of each device, etc.

[0278] Although some exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, these are merely examples, and the present invention can be embodied in other forms that incorporate various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the embodiments described in the "Summary of the Invention" section above.

Claims

1. A drone capable of flying towards a target by selectively performing remote control and autonomous navigation, a controller that controls the navigation of the drone; a communication device connected to the controller, capable of wireless communication with a management server operated or managed by a management center; a receiver connected to the controller, capable of receiving signals from a transmitter attached to the target by short-range wireless communication; Camera and Including, The controller is capable of selectively performing remote control, which remotely controls the flight of the drone in accordance with instructions from the management server, and autonomous flight, which measures the strength of the radio waves received by the receiver from the transmitter from time to time and navigates the drone in a direction in which the current value of the measured radio wave strength increases compared to the previous value; the communication device transmits imaging data representing an image taken by the camera to the management server, thereby enabling an operator at the management center to remotely monitor the state of the target location via the camera; the camera can be remotely controlled by the management server via the controller; the target comprises a person; The drone further includes a shooter that drops an item from the drone together with a lighting device, thereby enabling the target to accurately determine the landing point of the dropped item thanks to the lighting device.

2. The drone of claim 1 , wherein the camera can be remotely controlled by the management server via the controller in terms of the camera's on / off state, zoom ratio, and / or angle.

3. Further, the device includes a speaker; The drone of claim 1, wherein the speaker is remotely controlled by the management server via the controller, thereby enabling an operator at the management center to output audio through the speaker toward the target.

4. The drone described in Claim 1, wherein the shooter is remotely controlled by the management server via the controller, thereby enabling an operator at the management center to drop the item toward the target via the shooter.

5. A drone as described in claim 1, wherein the shooter drops the item while equipped with a parachute.

6. The items include relief supplies, The drone of claim 1 , wherein the relief supplies include a charged battery pack usable for the target's wireless communication device.

7. a wireless communication device having a positioning function and a communication function is attached to the target; The drone according to claim 1 , wherein the management server receives location information acquired by the positioning function from the wireless communication device and performs the remote control based on the received location information.

8. a wireless communication device having a positioning function and a communication function is attached to the target; The drone described in claim 1, wherein the management server executes a wireless communication device-based search mode in which the positioning function is used to search for the target when a connection between the wireless communication device and the management server is established, and executes a transmitter-based search mode in which the signal from the transmitter is used to search for the target when a connection between the wireless communication device and the management server is not established, provided that a connection between the transmitter and the receiver is established.

9. A program for causing a computer to function as the controller according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 9 is recorded.

Images