Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To prevent invasion of privacy of a subject that may appear in a captured image when an aircraft takes an image during flight. [Solution] The information processing device 1 has an acquisition unit that acquires flight plan information including the planned flight route and planned flight period of an aircraft equipped with an imaging unit, and stay count information indicating the number of objects predicted to stay in each of multiple areas, a determination unit that determines a reference distance, which is the distance between the object and the aircraft and indicates that the object cannot be identified from the image captured by the imaging unit, a determination unit that determines whether the distance between the object and the aircraft in the flight plan information is less than the reference distance, and a modification unit that, on condition that the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance, modifies at least one of the planned flight route and planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program for processing information relating to the flight of an aircraft. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a device that recognizes the characteristics of objects in an image captured by an aircraft, and performs a process to blur part or all of the object when an object to be protected is recognized. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-207636 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The device described in Patent Document 1 acquires an image captured by an aircraft and then performs a process to blur a predetermined subject in the captured image. Therefore, if the captured image is leaked to the public due to an accident, theft, or the like before the process is performed, there is a problem that the privacy of the subject may be violated.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to prevent the violation of the privacy of subjects who may appear in captured images when an aircraft takes images while in flight. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device of a first aspect of the present invention has an acquisition unit that acquires flight plan information including a planned flight path, which is the path along which an aircraft equipped with an imaging unit is planned to fly, and a planned flight period, which is the period during which the aircraft is planned to fly, and stay count information indicating the number of objects predicted to stay in each of a plurality of areas; a determination unit that determines a reference distance, which is the distance between the object and the aircraft and indicates that the object cannot be identified from an image captured by the imaging unit; a determination unit that determines whether the distance between the object and the aircraft in the flight plan information is less than the reference distance; and a modification unit that, on condition that the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance, modifies at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance.

[0007] The number of occupants information may be people flow data indicating the number of people, which are the objects, staying in each of the plurality of areas, or vehicle flow data indicating the number of vehicles, which are the objects, staying in each of the plurality of areas.

[0008] The determination unit may determine a first reference distance to be applied to the human object and a second reference distance different from the first reference distance to be applied to the vehicle object, and the judgment unit may determine whether the distance between the human object and the aircraft is less than the first reference distance, and whether the distance between the vehicle object and the aircraft is less than the second reference distance.

[0009] The acquisition unit may acquire performance information indicating imaging performance of the imaging unit, and the determination unit may determine the reference distance in accordance with the imaging performance.

[0010] The acquisition unit may acquire weather information indicating the weather in an area including the planned flight route during the planned flight period, and the determination unit may determine the reference distance according to the weather.

[0011] The determination unit may determine the position of the target object as the position of a region among the plurality of regions where the number is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and calculate the distance between the target object and the aircraft.

[0012] The acquisition unit acquires ground surface information indicating structures on the ground in an area including the planned flight route, and the determination unit determines based on the ground surface information whether the position of the target object can be imaged from the position of the aircraft without being obstructed by the structures, and the change unit may not need to change at least one of the planned flight route and the planned flight period, provided that the determination unit determines that the distance between the target object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance and that the determination unit determines that imaging is not possible.

[0013] The modification unit may modify at least a portion of the planned flight route where the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft will be less than the reference distance so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is greater than or equal to the reference distance.

[0014] The change unit may change the start date and time of the planned flight period so that the distance between the target object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance throughout the entire planned flight route.

[0015] The change unit may set information in the flight plan information to cause the imaging unit to stop capturing images in at least a portion of the planned flight route where the determination unit determines that the distance between the target object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance.

[0016] The information processing device may further have an output unit that displays on an information terminal approach information indicating at least a portion of the planned flight route where the determination unit has determined that the distance between the target object and the aircraft will be less than the reference distance.

[0017] The output unit may display the approach information on the information terminal, provided that the change unit cannot change at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the target object and the aircraft is greater than or equal to the reference distance.

[0018] An information processing method of a second aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: acquiring, executed by a processor, flight plan information including a planned flight path, which is the path along which an aircraft equipped with an imaging unit is planned to fly, and a planned flight period, which is the period during which the aircraft is planned to fly; and stay count information indicating the number of objects predicted to stay in each of a plurality of areas; determining a reference distance, which is the distance between the object and the aircraft and indicates that the object cannot be identified from the image captured by the imaging unit; determining whether the distance between the object and the aircraft in the flight plan information is less than the reference distance; and, on condition that it is determined in the determining step that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance, changing at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance.

[0019] An information processing program of a third aspect of the present invention causes a processor to execute the following steps: acquiring flight plan information including a planned flight path, which is the path along which an aircraft equipped with an imaging unit is planned to fly, and a planned flight period, which is the period during which the aircraft is planned to fly; and stay count information indicating the number of objects predicted to stay in each of a plurality of areas; determining a reference distance, which is the distance between the object and the aircraft and indicates that the object cannot be identified from the image captured by the imaging unit; determining whether the distance between the object and the aircraft in the flight plan information is less than the reference distance; and, on condition that it is determined in the determining step that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance, changing at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress invasion of the privacy of a subject that may appear in a captured image when an aircraft takes an image during flight. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a flight management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process by which the acquisition unit acquires flight plan information. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process in which an acquisition unit acquires number-of-stays information. [Figure 5] 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process in which the determination unit makes a determination based on flight plan information. FIG. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams for explaining a process in which a determination unit makes a determination based on ground surface information. [Figure 7] 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process by which the change unit changes flight plan information. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an information terminal displaying exemplary approach information. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] [Flight Management System S Overview] 1 is a schematic diagram of a flight management system S according to this embodiment. The flight management system S includes an information processing device 1, an aircraft 2, and an information terminal 3. The flight management system S may also include other terminals, devices, etc.

[0023] The information processing device 1 is a computer that processes information related to the flight of the aircraft 2. The information processing device 1 receives flight plan information from the information terminal 3, the flight plan information including a planned flight route, which is the route along which the aircraft 2 is planned to fly, and a planned flight period, which is the period during which the aircraft 2 is planned to fly. The information processing device 1 makes a predetermined determination on the flight plan information and changes at least a portion of the flight plan information in accordance with the determination result.

[0024] The aircraft 2 is a flying device that flies in the air along a planned flight path and captures images during flight. The aircraft 2 is, for example, an unmanned flying device such as a drone. The aircraft 2 is equipped with an imaging unit such as a camera for capturing images of a predetermined imaging range. The aircraft 2 transmits and receives information to and from the information processing device 1 via, for example, a wireless communication network.

[0025] The information terminal 3 is a computer used by a user. The information terminal 3 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc. The user is, for example, a person who pilots, manages, or owns the aircraft 2. The information terminal 3 has a display unit such as an LCD display for displaying information, and an operation unit such as a touch panel for accepting operations by the user. The information terminal 3 accepts specifications of a planned flight route and planned flight period from the user via the operation unit. The information terminal 3 also displays information related to the flight of the aircraft 2 on the display. The information terminal 3 transmits and receives information to and from the information processing device 1, for example, via a wireless communication network.

[0026] An overview of the processing executed by the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment will be described below. The information processing device 1 acquires flight plan information including a planned flight route and planned flight period for the aircraft 2. The information processing device 1 acquires the flight plan information including a planned flight route and planned flight period designated by a user from, for example, an information terminal 3.

[0027] The information processing device 1 acquires visitor count information indicating the number of objects predicted to stay in each of a plurality of areas. The objects are, for example, people or vehicles. The visitor count information is stored in advance in, for example, a database constructed in a predetermined storage device.

[0028] The information processing device 1 determines a reference distance, which is the distance between the object and the aircraft 2 and indicates that the object cannot be identified from the captured image captured by the imaging unit of the aircraft 2. When the distance between the object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance, the object can be identified from the captured image captured by the aircraft 2, and when the distance between the object and the aircraft 2 is equal to or greater than the reference distance, the object cannot be identified from the captured image captured by the aircraft 2.

[0029] The information processing device 1 determines whether the distance between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance in the flight plan information. On the condition that it is determined that the distance between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance (i.e., the target object can be identified from the captured image captured by the aircraft 2), the information processing device 1 changes at least one of the planned flight route and the planned flight period so that the distance between the target object and the aircraft 2 is equal to or greater than the reference distance.

[0030] In this way, when the information processing device 1 determines in the flight plan information that the aircraft 2 and the target object may approach to a distance where the target object can be identified from the captured image, the information processing device 1 changes the flight plan information so that the aircraft 2 and the target object are at a distance where the target object cannot be identified from the captured image. This allows the information processing device 1 to prevent the privacy of subjects who may appear in captured images from being violated when the aircraft 2 captures images while in flight.

[0031] [Configuration of information processing device 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an information processing device 1 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 2, arrows indicate main data flows, and data flows other than those shown in FIG. 2 may also exist. In FIG. 2, each block indicates a functional configuration rather than a hardware (device) configuration. Therefore, the blocks shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented in a single device, or may be implemented separately in multiple devices. Data may be exchanged between blocks via any means, such as a data bus, a network, or a portable storage medium.

[0032] The information processing device 1 includes a storage unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a control unit 13. The information processing device 1 may be configured by connecting two or more physically separate devices via wired or wireless connections. The information processing device 1 may also be configured by a cloud, which is a collection of computer resources.

[0033] The storage unit 11 is a storage medium including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, an SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. The storage unit 11 stores in advance programs to be executed by the control unit 13. The storage unit 11 may be provided outside the information processing device 1, in which case data may be exchanged between the storage unit 11 and the control unit 13 via a network.

[0034] The communication unit 12 has a communication controller for transmitting and receiving data between the aircraft 2 and the information terminal 3 via the network. The communication unit 12 notifies the control unit 13 of data received from the aircraft 2 or the information terminal 3 via the network. The communication unit 12 also transmits data output from the control unit 13 to the aircraft 2 or the information terminal 3 via the network.

[0035] The control unit 13 has an acquisition unit 131, a determination unit 132, a judgment unit 133, a change unit 134, and an output unit 135. The control unit 13 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and functions as the acquisition unit 131, the determination unit 132, the judgment unit 133, the change unit 134, and the output unit 135 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 11.

[0036] The following describes a configuration for executing processing according to this embodiment by the information processing device 1. Before the aircraft 2 starts flying, the acquisition unit 131 acquires flight plan information including a planned flight route, which is the route along which the aircraft 2 is planned to fly, and a planned flight period, which is the period during which the aircraft 2 is planned to fly.

[0037] 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process of the acquisition unit 131 acquiring flight plan information. The user specifies a planned flight route and a planned flight period, for example, using the operation unit of the information terminal 3. The planned flight route is represented, for example, by a combination of a route on a two-dimensional plane along which the aircraft 2 is planned to fly and an altitude along which the aircraft 2 is planned to fly. The planned flight route may also be represented by a route in three-dimensional space.

[0038] The planned flight period is expressed, for example, as a combination of the date and time when the aircraft 2 is scheduled to start flight and the date and time when the aircraft 2 is scheduled to end flight. The planned flight period may also include the date and time when the aircraft 2 is scheduled to arrive at one or more points along the planned flight route.

[0039] The information terminal 3 transmits flight plan information indicating the planned flight route and planned flight period specified by the user to the information processing device 1. In the information processing device 1, the acquisition unit 131 acquires the flight plan information transmitted by the information terminal 3 and stores the acquired flight plan information in the storage unit 11.

[0040] The acquisition unit 131 acquires stay count information indicating the number of objects predicted to stay in each of a plurality of regions during the planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information. The objects are at least one of humans and vehicles. The stay count information indicates, for example, the number of objects predicted to stay in each of a plurality of regions divided into regions for each period (every 10 minutes, every hour, etc.).

[0041] 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process of acquiring stay count information by acquisition unit 131. The stay count information is generated, for example, by aggregating the location information of communication devices carried by each of a plurality of people or communication devices provided in each of a plurality of vehicles for each of a plurality of areas, and predicting the number of people or vehicles for each future period based on the aggregation results, and is stored in advance in memory unit 11 or another storage device. Acquisition unit 131 acquires the stay count information from memory unit 11 or another storage device.

[0042] The multiple regions may be, for example, multiple meshes defined by dividing an area into shapes of a predetermined size, or may be cells within the ranges reached by radio waves from multiple wireless communication base stations.

[0043] The number of stays information is not limited to the specific information shown here, and may include other information related to the number of objects predicted to stay in each of the multiple areas per period.

[0044] The acquisition unit 131 may acquire performance information indicating the imaging performance of the imaging unit included in the aircraft 2. The performance information is, for example, the number of pixels of the imaging element or the characteristics of the lens. The performance information is, for example, input in advance by a user and stored in advance in the memory unit 11 or another storage device. The acquisition unit 131 acquires the performance information from the memory unit 11 or another storage device.

[0045] The acquisition unit 131 acquires ground surface information indicating structures on the ground in an area (region) including the planned flight path. The structures are, for example, buildings, bridges, or trees. The ground surface information indicates the position of one or more structures. Furthermore, the ground surface information may also indicate the shape of one or more structures. The ground surface information is, for example, a map provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency or other organization. The acquisition unit 131 acquires the ground surface information from a device that provides the ground surface information.

[0046] The acquisition unit 131 acquires weather information indicating the weather in an area (region) including the planned flight route during the planned flight period. The weather information is, for example, a weather forecast provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency or other organizations. The acquisition unit 131 acquires the weather information from a device that provides the weather information.

[0047] The determination unit 132 determines a reference distance L1, which is a distance used as a reference for changing the planned flight path. The determination unit 132 determines, as the reference distance L1, the distance between the target object and the aircraft 2, which indicates that the target object cannot be identified from the captured image captured by the imaging unit of the aircraft 2.

[0048] The determination unit 132 may determine the reference distance L1, for example, according to the imaging performance of the imaging unit of the aircraft 2. In this case, the determination unit 132 acquires, for example, a table stored in advance in the storage unit 11, which associates known imaging performance with known distances indicating that an object cannot be identified from a captured image. The determination unit 132 determines, in the acquired table, the known distance associated with the imaging performance indicated by the performance information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 as the reference distance L1. This allows the flight management system S to flexibly set criteria for changing the planned flight path according to the imaging performance of the imaging unit, such as increasing the reference distance L1 when the aircraft 2 is equipped with a high-performance imaging unit capable of capturing images at long distances.

[0049] The determination unit 132 may determine the reference distance L1, for example, depending on the weather in the area including the planned flight route during the planned flight period. In this case, the determination unit 132 acquires, for example, a table stored in advance in the storage unit 11 that associates known weather conditions with known distances indicating that an object cannot be identified from captured images. The determination unit 132 determines, as the reference distance L1, the known distance associated with the weather indicated by the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 in the acquired table. This allows the flight management system S to flexibly set criteria for changing the planned flight route depending on the weather, such as shortening the reference distance L1 in the case of bad weather (rain, thick fog, etc.) that prevents the image capture unit from capturing images at long distances.

[0050] The determination unit 132 may determine the reference distance L1 by other methods than the specific method shown here. For example, the determination unit 132 may determine the reference distance L1 according to a combination of imaging performance and weather.

[0051] The determination unit 132 may determine a first reference distance to be applied to a human object and a second reference distance to be applied to a vehicle object, the second reference distance being different from the first reference distance. The first reference distance to be applied to a human object is, for example, longer than the second reference distance to be applied to a vehicle. This allows the flight management system S to flexibly set criteria for changing the planned flight path depending on the type of object, such as lengthening the reference distance when the object is a human object whose privacy is important.

[0052] The determination unit 133 determines whether the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1 in the flight plan information acquired by the acquisition unit 131. In other words, the determination unit 133 determines whether the aircraft 2 will approach the target object to within less than the reference distance L1 when the aircraft 2 flies along the planned flight route indicated by the flight plan information during the planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information.

[0053] 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process of determination based on flight plan information by the determination unit 133. The determination unit 133 uses the stay count information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 to estimate the position of the target object during the planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information acquired by the acquisition unit 131.

[0054] For example, the determination unit 133 estimates, as the position of the object, the position (such as the center point of a mesh) of a region divided into multiple regions during the planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information, where the number indicated by the stay count information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. In the example of FIG. 5, the threshold is 1. The determination unit 133 estimates, as the position of the object, the position of each of multiple regions where the number of objects is 1 or greater. The threshold is not limited to the specific value shown here, and may be any value such as 0.5, 5, 10, etc. The threshold when the object is a vehicle may be a different value from the threshold when the object is a human.

[0055] The determination unit 133 determines whether the distance between the estimated position of the target object and the position of the aircraft 2 flying along the planned flight path indicated by the flight plan information during the planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information is less than a reference distance L1. The determination unit 133 calculates the distance L2 between the position of the target object and the planned flight path. The distance L2 is, for example, the shortest distance between the target object and the point at which the planned flight path comes closest to the target object.

[0056] The determination unit 133 compares the distance L2 with the reference distance L1 to determine whether the distance L2 is less than the reference distance L1. When the positions of multiple objects are estimated, the determination unit 133 determines whether the distance L2 is less than the reference distance L1 for each of the multiple objects. If the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 is less than the reference distance L1 for at least one object, the change unit 134, which will be described later, changes the flight plan information.

[0057] When the determination unit 132 determines the first reference distance and the second reference distance, the determination unit 133 may determine whether the distance between the target object, a human, and the aircraft 2 is less than the first reference distance, and may also determine whether the distance between the target object, a vehicle, and the aircraft 2 is less than the second reference distance.

[0058] Furthermore, when the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target object and the air vehicle 2 is less than the reference distance L1, the determination unit 133 determines whether or not the position of the target object can be imaged from the position of the air vehicle 2 without being obstructed by a structure, based on the ground surface information acquired by the acquisition unit 131. In other words, the determination unit 133 determines whether or not a structure obstructs the imaging range of the air vehicle 2, causing the target object to disappear from the captured image, when the air vehicle 2 flies along the planned flight route indicated by the flight plan information during the planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information.

[0059] 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process of determination based on the ground surface information performed by the determination unit 133. The determination unit 133 acquires the position of the structure indicated by the ground surface information acquired by the acquisition unit 131.

[0060] For an object for which the distance L2 between the object and the aircraft 2 is determined to be less than the reference distance L1, the determination unit 133 determines whether a structure is located between the position of the aircraft 2 and the position of the object. For example, the determination unit 133 determines whether an object having a shape indicated by the ground surface information is located between the position of the aircraft 2 and the position of the object, or whether an object of a predetermined size centered on the position of the structure indicated by the ground surface information is located between the position of the aircraft 2 and the position of the object.

[0061] The determination unit 133 determines that when a structure is located between the position of the aircraft 2 and the position of the target, the position of the target cannot be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by the structure, and determines that when no structure is located between the position of the aircraft 2 and the position of the target, the position of the target can be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by the structure.

[0062] The determination unit 133 may determine, for each of a plurality of points on the flight path, whether or not the position of the target object can be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by a structure. When the ground surface information indicates a plurality of structures, the determination unit 133 may determine, for each of the plurality of structures, whether or not the position of the target object can be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by the structure.

[0063] The change unit 134 switches whether or not to change the flight plan information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 depending on the determination result by the determination unit 133.

[0064] The change unit 134 ends the processing without changing at least one of the planned flight path and planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information, provided that the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is not less than the reference distance L1. This allows the flight management system S to fly the aircraft 2 in accordance with the original flight plan information, provided that the aircraft 2 does not approach the target object during flight.

[0065] Furthermore, the change unit 134 may terminate the processing without changing at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period, on the condition that the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1 and that the position of the target cannot be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by a structure. This allows the flight management system S to fly the aircraft 2 in accordance with the original flight plan information, even if the aircraft 2 approaches the target so closely that the target can be identified from the captured image during flight, on the condition that a structure obstructs the imaging range of the aircraft 2.

[0066] The change unit 134 changes the flight plan information so that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is equal to or greater than the reference distance L1, on the condition that the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1. Furthermore, the change unit 134 may change the flight plan information on the condition that the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1 and that the position of the target object can be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by a structure.

[0067] 7(a) and 7(b) are schematic diagrams for explaining the process of changing the flight plan information by the change unit 134. As illustrated in Fig. 7(a), the change unit 134 changes at least a portion of the planned flight route where the determination unit 133 has determined that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1, so that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is equal to or greater than the reference distance L1.

[0068] For example, the change unit 134 identifies a section of the planned flight route where the distance L2 is less than the reference distance L1, and changes the identified section to move away from the target, thereby changing the distance L2 to be equal to or greater than the reference distance L1. In this way, the flight management system S can protect the privacy of the target by changing the planned flight route, provided that the aircraft 2 approaches the target sufficiently close to be able to identify the target from captured images during flight.

[0069] The change unit 134 may also change the start date and time of the planned flight period so that the distance L2 between the target object and the air vehicle 2 is equal to or greater than the reference distance L1 throughout the entire planned flight route. For example, the change unit 134 changes the start time of the planned flight period by a predetermined time (one hour before, one hour after). The determination unit 133 again determines whether the distance L2 between the target object and the air vehicle 2 is less than the reference distance L1 for the changed planned flight period.

[0070] The change unit 134 adopts the changed planned flight period on the condition that the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target and the aircraft 2 will not be less than the reference distance L1 for the changed planned flight period. The change unit 134 repeats further changes to the changed planned flight period on the condition that the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target and the aircraft 2 will be less than the reference distance L1 for the changed planned flight period. In this way, the flight management system S can protect the privacy of the target by changing the planned flight period on the condition that the aircraft 2 approaches the target sufficiently to be able to identify the target from captured images during flight.

[0071] 7(b), the change unit 134 may set, in the flight plan information, stop information for causing the imaging unit of the aircraft 2 to stop capturing images in at least a portion of the planned flight route where the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1. While flying along the planned flight route indicated by the flight plan information, the aircraft 2 does not capture images with the imaging unit in the section for which the stop information is set, and captures images with the imaging unit in the section for which the stop information is not set. This allows the flight management system S to control the aircraft 2 so that it does not capture images in the section where the aircraft 2 gets close enough to the target to be able to identify the target from the captured images during flight.

[0072] When the change unit 134 changes the flight plan information, the output unit 135 outputs the changed flight plan information to the aircraft 2. When the change unit 134 does not change the flight plan information, the output unit 135 outputs the flight plan information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 to the aircraft 2. The aircraft 2 flies in accordance with the flight plan information output by the information processing device 1 and takes images during flight.

[0073] The output unit 135 may transmit, to the information terminal 3, approach information indicating at least a section of the planned flight route where the determination unit 133 has determined that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1. The information terminal 3 displays the approach information transmitted by the information processing device 1 on the display unit.

[0074] 8 is a schematic diagram of the information terminal 3 displaying exemplary approach information. For example, the output unit 135 displays, as the approach information, information indicating at least a portion of the section where the determination unit 133 has determined that the distance L2 between the target and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1 (the dashed line and the text "Caution: Approach" in FIG. 8) superimposed on the planned flight route. This allows the flight management system S to notify the user of the section of the planned flight route where the aircraft 2 approaches the target sufficiently to identify the target from the captured image.

[0075] The output unit 135 may display the approach information on the information terminal 3, for example, on the condition that the change unit 134 cannot change at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance L2 between the target and the aircraft 2 is equal to or greater than the reference distance L1. This allows the flight management system S to notify the user of a section of the planned flight path where the aircraft 2 approaches the target sufficiently to identify the target from the captured image, in response to the fact that the aircraft 2 cannot avoid the target by changing the flight plan information.

[0076] [Information processing method flow] 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of an information processing method executed by the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment. The acquisition unit 131 acquires flight plan information indicating a planned flight route and planned flight period specified by the user from the information terminal 3 used by the user, and stores the acquired flight plan information in the storage unit 11 (S11).

[0077] The acquisition unit 131 acquires, from the memory unit 11 or another storage device, stay count information indicating the number of objects predicted to stay in each of multiple areas during the planned flight period indicated by the flight plan information (S12). Furthermore, the acquisition unit 131 may acquire at least one of performance information indicating the imaging performance of the imaging unit provided in the aircraft 2, ground surface information indicating structures on the ground in the area (region) including the planned flight route, and weather information indicating the weather in the area (region) including the planned flight route during the planned flight period.

[0078] The determination unit 132 determines a reference distance L1, which is a distance used as a reference for changing the planned flight path (S13). The determination unit 132 determines, as the reference distance L1, a distance between the target object and the aircraft 2 that indicates that the target object cannot be identified from an image captured by the imaging unit of the aircraft 2.

[0079] The determination unit 133 determines whether the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1 in the flight plan information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 (S14). If the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is not less than the reference distance L1 (NO in S15), the information processing device 1 proceeds to step S19.

[0080] If the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1 (YES in S15), the determination unit 133 determines whether or not the position of the target object can be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by a structure (whether or not a structure is located between the position of the aircraft 2 and the position of the target object) based on the ground surface information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 (S16).If the determination unit 133 determines that the position of the target object cannot be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by a structure (NO in S17), the information processing device 1 proceeds to step S19.

[0081] If the determination unit 133 determines that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is less than the reference distance L1 and that the position of the target object can be imaged from the position of the aircraft 2 without being obstructed by structures (YES in S17), the modification unit 134 modifies the flight plan information so that the distance L2 between the target object and the aircraft 2 is equal to or greater than the reference distance L1 (S18).

[0082] When the change unit 134 changes the flight plan information, the output unit 135 outputs the changed flight plan information to the aircraft 2 (S19). In addition, when the change unit 134 does not change the flight plan information, the output unit 135 may output the flight plan information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 to the aircraft 2.

[0083] [Effects of the embodiment] According to the flight management system S of this embodiment, when the information processing device 1 determines in the flight plan information that the aircraft 2 and the target object may approach to a distance where the target object can be identified from the captured image, the information processing device 1 changes the flight plan information so that the aircraft 2 and the target object are at a distance where the target object cannot be identified from the captured image. This allows the information processing device 1 to prevent the privacy of subjects who may appear in captured images from being violated when the aircraft 2 captures images during flight.

[0084] Furthermore, this invention will make it possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and promote innovation and resilience."

[0085] The present invention has been described above using embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by functionally or physically distributing or integrating any unit. Furthermore, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combination also have the effects of the original embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] S Flight Management System 1. Information processing equipment 11 Storage section 12 Communications Department 13 Control Unit 131 Acquisition Department 132 Decision Section 133 Judgment section 134 Changes 135 Output section 2. Aircraft 3. Information terminals

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires flight plan information including a planned flight path, which is a path along which an aircraft equipped with an imaging unit is scheduled to fly, and a planned flight period, which is a period during which the aircraft is scheduled to fly, and stay count information indicating the number of objects that are predicted to stay in each of a plurality of areas; a determination unit that determines a reference distance, which is a distance between the object and the aircraft, and indicates that the object cannot be identified from the captured image captured by the imaging unit; a determination unit that determines whether the distance between the object and the aircraft in the flight plan information is less than the reference distance; a change unit that changes at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance, on the condition that the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance; An information processing device having the above.

2. The stay count information is people flow data indicating the number of people, which are the objects, staying in each of the plurality of areas, or vehicle flow data indicating the number of vehicles, which are the objects, staying in each of the plurality of areas. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. the determination unit determines a first reference distance to be applied to the human being as the object and a second reference distance to be applied to the vehicle as the object, the second reference distance being different from the first reference distance; the determination unit determines whether the distance between the human being as the target object and the aircraft is less than the first reference distance, and determines whether the distance between the vehicle as the target object and the aircraft is less than the second reference distance. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. the acquisition unit acquires performance information indicating imaging performance of the imaging unit; the determination unit determines the reference distance in accordance with the imaging performance. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. The acquisition unit acquires weather information indicating weather in an area including the planned flight route during the planned flight period, The determination unit determines the reference distance depending on the weather. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. the determination unit determines a position of the region among the plurality of regions where the number is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as the position of the object, and calculates the distance between the object and the aircraft. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. the acquisition unit acquires ground surface information indicating structures on the ground in an area including the planned flight path; the determination unit determines, based on the ground surface information, whether or not the position of the object can be imaged from the position of the aircraft without being obstructed by the structure; The change unit does not change the planned flight route and the planned flight period on the condition that the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance and the determination unit determines that imaging is not possible. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. The change unit changes at least a portion of the planned flight route, where the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance, so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. The change unit changes the start date and time of the planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance throughout the planned flight route. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

10. The change unit sets information for causing the imaging unit to stop capturing images in at least a portion of the planned flight route where the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance, in the flight plan information. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

11. An output unit that displays, on an information terminal, approach information indicating at least a part of the planned flight route where the determination unit determines that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

12. The output unit displays the approach information on the information terminal on the condition that the change unit cannot change at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the target object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance. The information processing device according to claim 11.

13. The processor executes Acquiring flight plan information including a planned flight path, which is a path along which an aircraft equipped with an imaging unit is scheduled to fly, and a planned flight period, which is a period along which the aircraft is scheduled to fly, and stay count information, which indicates the number of objects expected to stay in each of a plurality of areas; determining a reference distance between the object and the aircraft, the reference distance being a distance indicating that the object cannot be identified from an image captured by the imaging unit; determining whether the distance between the object and the aircraft in the flight plan information is less than the reference distance; a step of changing at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance, on the condition that it is determined in the determining step that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance; An information processing method comprising:

14. The processor Acquiring flight plan information including a planned flight path, which is a path along which an aircraft equipped with an imaging unit is scheduled to fly, and a planned flight period, which is a period along which the aircraft is scheduled to fly, and stay count information, which indicates the number of objects expected to stay in each of a plurality of areas; determining a reference distance between the object and the aircraft, the reference distance being a distance indicating that the object cannot be identified from an image captured by the imaging unit; determining whether the distance between the object and the aircraft in the flight plan information is less than the reference distance; a step of changing at least one of the planned flight path and the planned flight period so that the distance between the object and the aircraft is equal to or greater than the reference distance, on the condition that it is determined in the determining step that the distance between the object and the aircraft is less than the reference distance; A program that executes.

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