control device

Abstract

An estimation unit (12) estimates whether a person is present inside a door on the basis of sound data acquired by an acquisition unit (11). The wording "inside a door" refers to a place where a user takes off his or her shoes in an entryway and a place where the user who has taken off his or her shoes enters into a room. A setting unit (14) sets an entry-prohibited range for a drone (10) by using the position of the door as a reference. More specifically, the setting unit (14) sets a wider entry-prohibited range when it is estimated that a person is present inside the door than when it is estimated that a person is not present inside the door.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for delivering packages to a destination by air vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] With the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles known as drones, various systems for using drones to deliver packages have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a system in which a landing pad is provided in a landing zone at the drone's delivery destination, and the drone is guided to the landing pad using a visual support device, an optical support device, or a wireless support device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6622291 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The system described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that a dedicated facility called a landing pad must be installed at every destination where the package is to be delivered. For this reason, it would be convenient if the system could recognize an empty space in front of a front door or entrance and deliver the package to that space, for example.

[0005] However, if a flying object attempts to place luggage in these spaces, there is a risk that a person inside the door may come into contact with the flying object due to the force of the door opening and exiting without realizing that the flying object is located nearby.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent a person inside a door from coming into contact with a flying object outside the door when coming out of the door. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a control device comprising an acquisition unit that acquires the results of sound detection outside a door installed at the destination of the flying object, an estimation unit that estimates whether or not a person is present inside the door based on the acquired sound detection results, and a setting unit that sets a no-entry range for the flying object based on the position of the door, wherein the setting unit sets the no-entry range wider when it is estimated that a person is present inside the door than when it is estimated that no person is present inside the door. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, when a person inside a door comes out of the door, it is possible to prevent the person from coming into contact with a flying object that is outside the door. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a drone control system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the drone 10 according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server device 50 according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the drone 10 according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movable range when the door is a sliding door. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a movable range when the door opens inward. [Figure 7] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movable range when the door opens outward and to the right. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movable range when the door opens outward and to the left. FIG. [Figure 9] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movable range when the door opens outward on both sides. FIG. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a no-entry area when the door is a sliding door. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a no-entry area when the door opens inward. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a no-entry area when the door opens outward. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the size of a no-entry zone for drones. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the size of a no-entry zone for drones. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure performed by the drone 10 according to the embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of door information stored in a server device 50 in a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] [composition] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a drone control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The drone control system 1 includes a drone 10 that flies through the air and delivers packages to a destination, a user terminal 30 used by the user to whom the package is addressed, a wireless communication network 40, and a server device 50 connected to the wireless communication network 40. The wireless communication network 40 is a system that realizes wireless communication and may be, for example, equipment that complies with a fourth-generation mobile communication system or a fifth-generation mobile communication system. Note that while FIG. 1 illustrates one each of the drone 10, user terminal 30, wireless communication network 40, and server device 50, there may be multiple of each of these.

[0011] The drone 10 is an unmanned aerial vehicle that flies through the air. The drone 10 flies from a takeoff and landing point, such as a base or a base, to a destination carrying a load, and lands at the destination to deliver the load to the destination.

[0012] The user terminal 30 is a communication-enabled computer such as a smartphone, a tablet, or a personal computer. In this embodiment, the user terminal 30 is a smartphone, and functions as a communication terminal that enables a user receiving a package to access the server device 50 via the wireless communication network 40.

[0013] The server device 50 stores flight plan information related to the flight date and time, flight path, and flight altitude of the drone 10, as well as cargo information related to cargo delivered by the drone 10, and remotely controls the drone 10 in accordance with the flight plan information. Remote control by the server device 50 is mainly performed between the aforementioned takeoff and landing point and the airspace above the drone 10's destination, or between multiple destinations of the drone 10. The section between the airspace above the destination and the landing position of the drone 10 is flown under autonomous control by the drone itself. Specifically, the drone 10 determines the landing position at the destination, lands at that landing position, performs an unloading operation to detach the cargo, and then rises again to the airspace above the destination. The drone 10 is then remotely controlled by the server device 50 to fly to the takeoff and landing point or the next destination.

[0014] In this embodiment, as described above, the section above the takeoff and landing point and the destination of the drone 10 is controlled by remote control by the server device 50, and the section between the destination and the landing position of the drone 10 is realized by autonomous flight by the drone itself, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the drone 10 may fly autonomously over the entire section between the takeoff and landing point and the landing position of the destination without relying on remote control by the server device 50, or may fly under remote control by the server device 50 over the entire section between the takeoff and landing point and the landing position of the destination.

[0015] Considering the effort required for a user to collect a package delivered to a destination, it is desirable to deliver the package to a location as close as possible to a door at the destination's entrance or entrance. However, if the package is delivered to a location close to the door, there is a possibility that a user at the destination may come into contact with drone 10 flying for delivery or the delivered package if the user opens the door and rushes out.

[0016] Therefore, in this embodiment, a certain range based on the position of a door installed at the destination of the drone 10 is set as a no-entry range that prohibits the drone 10 from entering. The no-entry range when there is a person inside the door (i.e., immediately beside the door in the destination building) is set wider than the no-entry range when there is no person inside the door (i.e., immediately beside the door in the destination building). This prevents contact between the user and the drone 10 or luggage as described above.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the drone 10. The drone 10 is physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a positioning device 1007, a sensor 1008, a flight drive mechanism 1009, a cargo loading mechanism 1010, and a bus connecting these. In the following description, the term "device" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like. The hardware configuration of the drone 10 may be configured to include one or more of the devices illustrated in the figure, or may be configured without including some of the devices.

[0018] Each function of the drone 10 is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication via the communication device 1004, control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003, and control the positioning device 1007, sensor 1008, flight drive mechanism 1009, and cargo loading mechanism 1010.

[0019] The processor 1001, for example, runs an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control unit, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. Furthermore, for example, a baseband signal processing unit, a call processing unit, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0020] The processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described below. The functional blocks of the drone 10 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001. Various processes may be executed by one processor 1001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted to the drone 10 via the wireless communication network 40.

[0021] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a ROM, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM, etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store an executable program (program code), a software module, etc. for implementing the method according to this embodiment.

[0022] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. Storage 1003 stores various programs and data groups.

[0023] The above-described processor 1001, memory 1002, and storage 1003 function as an example of a control device of the present invention.

[0024] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via the wireless communication network 40, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 includes a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize frequency division duplexing and time division duplexing. The transmission / reception antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmission / reception unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit may be implemented as a transmission unit and a reception unit that are physically or logically separated.

[0025] The input device 1005 is an input device that receives input from the outside, and includes, for example, keys, switches, a microphone, etc. The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to the outside, and includes, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display, a speaker, etc. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device.

[0026] The positioning device 1007 is hardware, such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, that measures the position of the drone 10. The drone 10 flies from the departure and arrival point to the sky above the destination based on the positioning measured by the positioning device 1007.

[0027] The sensor 1008 includes a ranging sensor that functions as a means for measuring the altitude of the drone 10 and a means for checking the landing position, a gyro sensor and a direction sensor that function as a means for measuring the attitude of the drone 10, an image sensor that functions as an imaging means, and a sound sensor that functions as a sound collection means.

[0028] The flight drive mechanism 1009 is a mechanism that enables the drone 10 to fly, and includes hardware such as motors, shafts, gears, and propellers.

[0029] The cargo loading mechanism 1010 is a mechanism for the drone 10 to load and detach cargo, and includes hardware such as a motor, a winch, wires, gears, a locking mechanism, and a hanging mechanism.

[0030] Each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus for communicating information. The bus may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be used between each device. The drone 10 may also be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0031] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of server device 50. The hardware configuration of server device 50 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in Fig. 3, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices. Furthermore, server device 50 may be configured by communicating with multiple devices each having a different housing.

[0032] The server device 50 is physically configured as a computer device including a processor 5001, a memory 5002, a storage 5003, a communication device 5004, and a bus connecting these devices. Each function of the server device 50 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 5001 and the memory 5002, causing the processor 5001 to perform calculations, control communication via the communication device 5004, and control at least one of reading and writing data from and to the memory 5002 and the storage 5003. Each of these devices operates using power supplied from a power source (not shown). In the following description, the term "device" can be interpreted as a circuit, device, unit, etc.

[0033] The processor 5001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 5001 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control unit, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. Furthermore, for example, a baseband signal processing unit, a call processing unit, etc. may be realized by the processor 5001.

[0034] The processor 5001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 5003 and the communication device 5004 into the memory 5002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described below. The functional blocks of the server device 50 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 5002 and running on the processor 5001. The various processes may be executed by one processor 5001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 5001. The processor 5001 may be implemented by one or more chips.

[0035] The memory 5002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a RAM, etc. The memory 5002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 5002 can store an executable program (program code), a software module, etc. for implementing the method according to this embodiment.

[0036] Storage 5003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 5003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. Storage 5003 stores at least programs and data groups for executing various processes as described below.

[0037] The communication device 5004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via the wireless communication network 40, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

[0038] Each device, such as the processor 5001 and the memory 5002, is connected by a bus for communicating information. The bus may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0039] The server device 50 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, an ASIC, a PLD, an FPGA, etc., and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 5001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0040] In addition, the hardware configuration of the user terminal 30 is similar to that of the server device 50, and also includes input devices and output devices similar to those of the drone 10 as a user interface.

[0041] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the drone 10. In the drone 10, the functions of an acquisition unit 11, an estimation unit 12, a range of motion calculation unit 13, a setting unit 14, and a flight control unit 15 are realized.

[0042] The acquisition unit 11 acquires various types of data from the positioning device 1007, the sensor 1008, the server device 50, or the like. The acquisition unit 11 acquires, for example, instructions related to remote control of the drone 10 from the server device 50 via the wireless communication network 40. The acquisition unit 11 also acquires, for example, data for setting a no-entry area when the drone 10 delivers a package at a destination and for determining a landing position from the sensor 1008. Specifically, this data is image data of a space including a door installed at the destination captured by an image sensor included in the sensor 1008, and sound image data resulting from sound detected outside the door installed at the destination by a sound sensor included in the sensor 1008.

[0043] Based on the sound data acquired by the estimation unit 12 and the acquisition unit 11, it is estimated whether or not a person is inside the door. Here, "inside the door" refers to the place where a user takes off their shoes at the entrance and the place where a user enters the room after taking off their shoes. In other words, "inside the door" refers to the place where a user is located just before opening the door to go out or just after returning from going out. The sound data acquired by the estimation unit 12 and the acquisition unit 11 is analyzed, and if human action sounds including the user's speech are detected at a volume equal to or greater than a certain threshold, it is estimated that a person is located inside the door.

[0044] Furthermore, when comparing a user just before opening the door to go out with a user just after returning from going out, the content of their utterances (for example, the difference between "I'm leaving" and "I'm home") may differ. Therefore, the estimation unit 12 recognizes the content of the utterance of the person inside the door based on the sound data acquired by the acquisition unit 11 using a voice recognition technology, and estimates whether the person will come out the door from the recognized content of the utterance. In addition, since there are differences in action sounds due to differences in actions such as whether shoes or clothes are being taken off or put on, the estimation unit 12 may make the above estimation taking such differences in action sounds into consideration.

[0045] The movement range calculation unit 13 calculates the movement range of a door installed at the destination of the drone 10 when it opens or closes. Specifically, the movement range calculation unit 13 detects the appearance or shape of the door using an analysis method such as pattern matching or feature recognition for the image data acquired by the acquisition unit 11, recognizes door information related to the door from the detection results, and calculates the movement range of the door. The door information here includes information related to the door position, door size, or door opening / closing mechanism. The door position refers to the position of the door in three-dimensional space. The door size refers to the length of each side of the door in three-dimensional space. The door position and door size can be determined by calculating coordinate values ​​in three-dimensional space. The door opening / closing mechanism refers to the type of mechanism, such as whether the door is a sliding door or a swing door, whether it opens inward, outward, or swings, and whether it opens to the right, left, or both sides if it opens outward. The opening and closing mechanism of such a door can be identified by analyzing whether the shape of the door handle corresponds to a sliding door or a swing door, whether the position of the door handle corresponds to a right-hand door, left-hand door, or both-handle door, whether the hinge along one side of the door can be observed from outside the building, and where the hinge is located relative to the door.

[0046] 5 to 9 are diagrams illustrating the movable range of a door for each door opening / closing structure. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the movable range when the door is a sliding door, and is a plan view of a space including door D and wall W observed from above. In Fig. 5, when closed door D is opened in the direction of arrow O to the position of door D', the movable range of door D becomes linear.

[0047] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the movable range of a door that opens inwards, and is a plan view of a space including door D and wall W, observed from above. In Fig. 6, even if closed door D is opened in the direction of arrow O to the position of door D', the movable range of door D is inside the building.

[0048] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the movable range of a door that opens outward and to the right, and is a plan view of a space including door D and wall W, observed from above. In Fig. 7, when closed door D is opened in the direction of arrow O to the position of door D', the movable range of door D is the inside of a semicircular movable range line A whose center is the position of hinge H of door D and whose radius is the horizontal length of the door.

[0049] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the movable range of a door that opens outward and to the left, and is a plan view of a space including door D and wall W, observed from above. In Fig. 8, when closed door D is opened in the direction of arrow O to the position of door D', the movable range of door D is the inside of a semicircular movable range line A whose center is the position of hinge H of door D and whose radius is the horizontal length of the door.

[0050] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the range of movement when the doors open outward on both sides, and is a plan view of a space including the door D and wall W as viewed from above. In Fig. 9, when each closed door D is opened in the direction of arrow O to the position of each door D', the range of movement of the door D is within two semicircular movement range lines A, which are centered on the position of the hinge H of each door D and have a radius equal to the horizontal length of the door.

[0051] Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, the setting unit 14 sets a no-entry area for the drone 10 based on the position of the door. More specifically, when the estimation unit 12 estimates that a person is inside the door, the setting unit 14 sets a wider no-entry area than when it is estimated that no person is inside the door. Furthermore, when the estimation unit 12 estimates that a person inside the door will come out of the door, the setting unit 14 sets a wider no-entry area than when it is estimated that the person inside the door will not come out of the door.

[0052] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a no-entry area when the door is a sliding door as shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the no-entry area is defined by a semicircular no-entry line B whose center is the horizontal center of the closed door D and whose radius r is at least half the horizontal length of the door. This no-entry line B is set depending on whether or not a person is present inside the door and whether or not the person will come out. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 13, when it is estimated that there is no person inside the door, a no-entry line B1 is set to define the narrowest no-entry area. When the estimation unit 12 estimates that there is a person inside the door but that the person will not come out, a no-entry line B2 is set to define a medium no-entry area. When the estimation unit 12 estimates that there is a person inside the door but that the person will not come out, a no-entry line B3 is set to define the widest no-entry area.

[0053] Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a no-entry area when the door opens inward as shown in Fig. 7. In this case, as in the case of a sliding door, the no-entry area is the area inside a semicircular no-entry line B whose center is the horizontal center of the closed door D and whose radius r is at least half the horizontal length of the door. As shown in Fig. 13, this no-entry line B is set depending on whether or not a person is present inside the door and whether or not that person will come out the door.

[0054] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a no-entry area for an outward-opening door as shown in FIG. 8 . In this case, the no-entry area is defined by a semicircular no-entry line B whose center is the hinge H of door D and whose radius is the horizontal length of the door. This no-entry line B is set depending on whether or not a person is present inside the door and whether or not that person will come out. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 14 , if it is estimated that no person is present inside the door, a no-entry line B1 is set that includes at least the movement range of door D represented by movement range line A and that is the narrowest no-entry area. In this case, for example, if a drone 10 flies or places a package just outside the movement range of the door, a user who opens the door and comes out of the building may come into contact with the drone 10 or the package due to the momentum. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a certain margin M around the semicircular movement range line A. Furthermore, if the estimation unit 12 estimates that a person is inside the door and that the person will not come out the door, a no-entry line B2 is set to form a no-entry area of ​​medium size. If the estimation unit 12 estimates that a person is inside the door and that the person will come out the door, a no-entry line B3 is set to form the widest no-entry area.

[0055] The setting unit 14 sets a position within a predetermined distance (for example, several tens of centimeters) from the outer edge of the no-entry area (no-entry line B) as a place to put the package delivered by the drone 10. This is because, considering the effort required for the user to retrieve the package, a position outside the no-entry area and as close as possible to the door is an appropriate place to put the package.

[0056] Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, the flight control unit 15 controls the flight drive mechanism 1009 to land the drone 10 at the luggage storage location set by the setting unit 14, and after landing, controls the luggage loading mechanism 1010 to detach the luggage from the drone 10, that is, to perform so-called unloading.

[0057] [Operation] Next, the processing performed by the drone 10 during flight will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 15. In Fig. 15, the drone 10 starts flying from the takeoff and landing point toward the destination, and performs flight control in accordance with remote control by the server device 50 (step S01). Under the control of the server device 50, the drone 10 flies to the sky above the destination address specified when the package delivery request was made.

[0058] When the drone 10 reaches the sky above the destination, it gradually descends and searches for a door installed at the destination by, for example, performing image recognition on image data captured by an image sensor. Then, when the drone 10 reaches in front of the door (step S02; YES), the movable range calculation unit 13 analyzes the image data captured by the image sensor using an analysis method such as pattern matching or feature recognition (step S03).

[0059] Then, the movable range calculation unit 13 detects the appearance or shape of the door contained in the image data, recognizes door information related to the door from the detection result, and calculates the movable range of the door (step S04).

[0060] The sound data acquired by the estimation unit 12 and the acquisition unit 11 is analyzed (step S05) to estimate whether or not a person is inside the door and whether or not the person inside the door will come out through the door (step S06). At this time, it is desirable for the flight control unit 15 to get as close as possible to the movable range of the door D and perform detection with the sound sensor.

[0061] Then, the setting unit 14 sets a no-entry area into which the drone 10 is prohibited from entering, based on the door information and the estimation result by the estimation unit 12 (step S07). Furthermore, the setting unit 14 sets a position within a predetermined distance from the outer edge of the no-entry area as a location for placing the package to be delivered by the drone 10. Note that if the drone 10 was as close as possible to the movable range of the door D when the sound sensor detected a sound, but the estimation unit 12 estimated that a person was inside the door, and the drone 10 was still within the no-entry area, the flight control unit 15 promptly moves the drone 10 out of the no-entry area. In other words, if the drone 10 was flying within the no-entry area when it was estimated that a person was inside the door, the flight control unit 15 performs flight control to move the drone 10 out of the no-entry area.

[0062] The flight control unit 15 then controls the flight drive mechanism 1009 and the luggage loading mechanism 1010 to land the drone 10 at the set storage location (step S08), and performs unloading by detaching the luggage from the drone 10 (step S09). The flight control unit 15 performs flight control so that the door and the drone 10 do not come into contact while the drone 10 is flying or landing to place the luggage. In other words, the flight control unit 15 controls the drone 10 so that the drone 10 or at least a part of the luggage does not enter the no-entry area while the drone 10 is flying or landing to place the luggage. Once unloading is complete, the drone 10 proceeds to processing for returning to the departure and arrival location (or moving to the next destination) (step S10).

[0063] According to the embodiment described above, when a person inside a door comes out of the door, it is possible to prevent the person from coming into contact with a flying object located outside the door.

[0064] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. Furthermore, two or more of the following modifications may be combined and implemented. [Variation 1] The estimation unit 12 may estimate the height of a person inside the door, and the flight control unit 15 may perform flight control based on the estimation result. Specifically, the estimation unit 12 calculates the distance from the floor where the person's speech is coming from based on sound data acquired by multiple sound sensors, and estimates the height of the person inside the door by adding a distance equivalent to the length from the person's mouth to the top of their head to that distance. If the drone 10 is flying within a restricted area when it is estimated based on the sound data that a person is inside the door, the flight control unit 15 performs flight control based on the estimated height to move the drone 10 outside the restricted area in a direction that reduces the risk of collision with the person. More specifically, the higher the estimated height, the more the flight control unit 15 performs flight control that prioritizes horizontal movement of the drone 10 when moving the drone 10 outside the restricted area over vertical movement of the drone 10 when moving the drone 10 outside the restricted area. For example, if a person is 180 cm tall, flight control unit 15 moves drone 10 away from the door at 50 cm per second vertically and 100 cm per second horizontally, and if a person is 140 cm tall, flight control unit 15 moves drone 10 away from the door at 100 cm per second vertically and 50 cm per second horizontally. The correspondence between such a person's height and the ratio of the vertical and horizontal movement speeds when moving drone 10 out of the no-entry zone is stored in advance by estimation unit 12. According to this variation, when a person comes out of the door, drone 10 can be evacuated according to the person's height.

[0065] [Variation 2] The estimation unit 12 may estimate the speed at which a person inside the door will exit the door, and the flight control unit 15 may perform flight control based on the estimation result. Specifically, the estimation unit 12 estimates the gender or age of the person speaking inside the door from sound data acquired by a sound sensor, and estimates the speed at which the person will exit the door based on the age. In this case, the estimation unit 12 pre-stores a correspondence between gender or age and the speed at which the person will exit the door. For example, if the person is male and in their teens, the speed at which the person will exit the door is the highest, and if the person is female and in their 70s or older, the speed at which the person will exit the door is the lowest. Then, if the flight control unit 15 estimates that a person is inside the door based on the sound data and the drone 10 is flying within a no-entry zone, the flight control unit 15 performs flight control based on the estimated speed to move the drone 10 out of the no-entry zone in a direction that reduces the risk of collision with the person. More specifically, the higher the estimated speed, the more the flight control unit 15 performs flight control that prioritizes horizontal movement of the drone 10 when moving it outside the restricted area over vertical movement of the drone 10 when moving it outside the restricted area. For example, if the speed when exiting the door is the highest, the flight control unit 15 moves the drone 10 away from the door at 50 centimeters per second vertically and 100 centimeters per second horizontally, and if the speed when exiting the door is the lowest, the flight control unit 15 moves the drone 10 away from the door at 100 centimeters per second vertically and 50 centimeters per second horizontally. According to this variation, when a person exits the door, the drone 10 can be evacuated according to the speed at which the person exits the door.

[0066] [Variation 3] The estimation unit 12 may estimate whether a human is present with an animal such as a pet inside the door, and the flight control unit 15 may perform flight control based on the estimation result. Specifically, the estimation unit 12 analyzes sound data acquired by a sound sensor to determine whether there are sounds or behavioral sounds specific to animals such as pets, and estimates whether a human and other animals are present inside the door. If a human is present with an animal such as a pet, the human may be pulled by the pet and forcefully exit the door. Therefore, if the flight control unit 15 estimates that a human is present inside the door based on the sound data and the drone 10 is flying within a no-entry zone, the flight control unit 15 performs flight control based on the estimation result to move the drone 10 outside the no-entry zone in a direction that reduces the risk of collision with a human. More specifically, when it is estimated that there are animals other than humans inside the door, the flight control unit 15 performs flight control that prioritizes horizontal movement of the drone 10 when moving it outside the restricted area over vertical movement of the drone 10 when moving it outside the restricted area, compared to when it is estimated that only humans are inside the door. For example, when it is estimated that there are animals other than humans inside the door, the flight control unit 15 moves the drone 10 away from the door at 50 centimeters per second vertically and 100 centimeters per second horizontally, whereas when it is estimated that only humans are inside the door, the flight control unit 15 moves the drone 10 away from the door at 100 centimeters per second vertically and 50 centimeters per second horizontally. This variation enables the drone 10 to evacuate depending on whether a human is present inside the door with an animal such as a pet.

[0067] [Variation 4] The greater the number of people inside the door, the greater the likelihood that those people will come into contact with the drone 10 when they exit the door. Therefore, the estimation unit 12 may estimate the number of people inside the door, and the setting unit 14 may set a wider no-entry zone as the number of people inside the door increases. Specifically, the estimation unit 12 analyzes sound data acquired by a sound sensor, such as sound frequency, to estimate the number of people inside the door. The setting unit 14 pre-stores a correspondence between the number of people inside the door and the size of the no-entry zone, and sets the no-entry zone with a size corresponding to the estimated number of people. This variation allows the no-entry zone to be set according to the number of people inside the door.

[0068] [Variation 5] The estimation unit 12 may estimate the speed at which a person inside a door will emerge outside the door, and the setting unit 14 may set a position farther from the door as the drone 10 places the luggage the greater the estimated speed. Specifically, the estimation unit 12 estimates the gender or age of the person speaking inside the door from sound data acquired by a sound sensor, and estimates the speed at which the person will emerge outside the door based on the age. In this case, the estimation unit 12 pre-stores a correspondence between gender or age and the speed at which the person will emerge outside the door, such as setting the fastest speed for a person who is male and in their teens, and the slowest speed for a person who is female and in their 70s or older. The setting unit 14 then sets a position farther from the door as the drone 10 places the luggage the greater the estimated speed. According to this variation, when a person emerges through a door, it is possible to set a location for placing the luggage based on the speed at which the person will emerge through the door.

[0069] [Variation 6] Environmental sounds, such as noise, vary for each destination. Therefore, the drone 10 may be equipped with a learning unit that learns the characteristics of environmental sounds for each destination, and the estimation unit 12 may estimate whether a person is present inside a door based on the sound detection results acquired outside a door at a certain destination and the characteristics of the environmental sounds learned by the learning unit for that destination. This makes it possible to estimate the presence or absence of a person from the sound data detected outside the door without being affected by environmental sounds, such as noise, near the door.

[0070] [Variation 7] In the above-described embodiment, the movable range calculation unit 13 recognizes door information related to the door from the result of detecting the appearance or shape of the door based on image data captured by the image sensor, and calculates the movable range of the door. The data for detecting the appearance or shape of the door is not limited to image data, and data obtained by various detection technologies, such as Lidar (Light Detection And Ranging), can also be used.

[0071] [Variation 8] In the above-described embodiment, the movable range calculation unit 13 recognizes door information related to the door from the results of detecting the appearance or shape of the door based on image data captured by an image sensor. However, the method of identifying door information is not limited to the example of the above-described embodiment. For example, a wireless device may be installed at a predetermined position of a door installed at the destination, and the wireless device may transmit door information related to the door, which the drone 10 may receive and acquire. In this case, the position of the door may be estimated from the received electric field strength when the drone 10 receives the wireless signal. For example, wireless technology called UWB (Ultra Wide Band) makes it possible to determine with relatively high accuracy the position of the wireless device transmitting the wireless signal relative to the wireless device receiving the wireless signal. In this way, the movable range calculation unit 13 may calculate the movable range of the door based on door information related to the door provided wirelessly at the destination. This makes it possible to obtain more accurate door information (especially door information related to the opening and closing mechanism) than when door information is obtained from the appearance or shape of the door.

[0072] [Variation 9] Alternatively, door information may be stored in advance in association with the destination or door identification information, and the door information may be identified by referring to the stored contents. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating door information stored by the server device 50. The server device 50 reads door information corresponding to the destination of the drone 10 or the ID of the door at that destination and transmits it to the drone 10 via the wireless communication network 40, whereby the drone 10 acquires the door information and calculates the door's movable range. In this way, the movable range calculation unit 13 may calculate the door's movable range based on information about the door stored in association with the destination or door identification information. This makes it possible to obtain more accurate door information (especially door information related to the opening and closing mechanism) than when door information is obtained from the door's appearance or shape.

[0073] [Variation 10] The control of the drone 10 may be realized by so-called edge computing (control by the drone), cloud computing (control by a server device), or a combination of both (control by the drone and the server device) as described in the embodiment. Therefore, the control device of the present invention may be provided in the server device 50 disclosed in the embodiment.

[0074] [Variation 11] The flying object in the present invention is not limited to an unmanned flying object known as a drone, but may be an flying object of any structure or form. In addition, although the drone 10 lands at the destination and unloads the cargo, the cargo may be delivered to the destination by a method other than landing (for example, by dropping or hanging the cargo).

[0075] [Other variations] The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of hardware and / or software. Furthermore, the means for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by a single device that is physically and / or logically coupled, or may be realized by two or more physically and / or logically separated devices that are directly and / or indirectly (e.g., wired and / or wirelessly) connected to each other and these multiple devices.

[0076] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be applied to systems utilizing LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G, 5G, FRA (Future Radio Access), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems and / or next generation systems enhanced thereon.

[0077] The order of the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be rearranged unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described herein present various step elements in an exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented. Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Furthermore, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being explicit, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).

[0078] The information or parameters described in this specification may be expressed as absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information.

[0079] As used herein, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided."

[0080] The present invention may be provided as an information processing method or as a program. Such a program may be provided in a form recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disk, or may be provided in a form that can be downloaded to a computer via a network such as the Internet and installed for use.

[0081] Software, instructions, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), and / or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0082] The information, signals, etc. described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0083] As used herein, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0084] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0085] To the extent that the terms "including," "comprising," and variations thereof are used herein in the specification or claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, the term "or," as used herein in the claims, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0086] Throughout this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, these articles are intended to include the plural unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0087] Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description in this specification is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 1: drone control system, 10: drone, 11: acquisition unit, 12: estimation unit, 13: movement range calculation unit, 14: setting unit, 15: flight control unit, 30: user terminal, 40: wireless communication network, 50: server device, 1001: processor, 1002: memory, 1003: storage, 1004: communication device, 1005: input device, 1006: output device, 1007: positioning device, 1008: sensor, 1009: flight drive mechanism, 1010: cargo loading mechanism, 50: server device, 5001: processor, 5002: memory, 5003: storage, 5004: communication device, D, D': door, H: hinge, W: wall, O: direction, A: movement range line, B, B1, B2, B3: no-entry lines, M: margin.

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires a result of detecting a sound outside a door provided at the destination of the flying object; an estimation unit that estimates whether or not a person is present inside the door based on the acquired sound detection result; a setting unit that sets a no-entry range for the aircraft based on the position of the door, When it is estimated that a person is present inside the door, the setting unit sets the no-entry area to be wider than when it is estimated that no person is present inside the door. A control device characterized by:

2. the estimation unit estimates whether a person inside the door will come out of the door based on the acquired sound detection result; When it is estimated that the person inside the door will come out to the outside of the door, the setting unit sets the no-entry area to be wider than when it is estimated that the person inside the door will not come out to the outside of the door.

2. The control device according to claim 1.

3. The estimation unit recognizes the content of the speech of the person inside the door based on the acquired sound detection result, and estimates whether the person will come out of the door based on the content of the speech.

3. The control device according to claim 2.

4. a movable range calculation unit that calculates a movable range when the door is opened or closed, the estimation unit performs the estimation based on a detection result of the sound acquired when the flying object is flying within a predetermined distance from the calculated outer edge of the movable range, Furthermore, if the flying object is flying within the no-entry area when it is estimated that a person is inside the door based on the sound, a flight control unit performs flight control to move the flying object outside the no-entry area.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a control device for controlling a power supply.

5. the estimation unit estimates the height of a person inside the door, The flight control unit performs flight control to move the flying object in a direction that reduces a risk of collision with the person when moving the flying object out of the no-entry area based on the estimated height.

5. The control device according to claim 4.

6. the estimation unit estimates a speed at which a person inside the door will come out of the door, The flight control unit performs flight control to move the flying object in a direction that reduces a risk of collision with the person when moving the flying object out of the no-entry area based on the estimated speed.

5. The control device according to claim 4.

7. the estimation unit estimates whether or not a human and an animal other than the human are present inside the door; The flight control unit performs flight control to move the flying object in a direction that reduces the risk of collision with the person when moving the flying object out of the no-entry area based on the result of the estimation.

5. The control device according to claim 4.

8. the estimation unit estimates the number of people inside the door, The setting unit sets the no-entry area to be wider as the number of people inside the door increases.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a control device for controlling a power supply.

9. the air vehicle is an air vehicle that delivers luggage to the destination, the estimation unit estimates a speed at which a person inside the door will come out of the door, The setting unit sets a position where the flying object places the luggage, the position being farther from the door as the estimated speed increases.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a control device for controlling a power supply.

10. a learning unit that learns characteristics of environmental sounds for each of the destinations; The estimation unit estimates whether or not a person is present inside a door provided at a certain destination based on the detection result of the sound acquired outside the door and the characteristics of the environmental sound learned by the learning unit for the destination.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a control device for controlling a power supply.

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