Automatic tracking system and automatic tracking method

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an automatic following system that may easily reduce the burden in steering a ship. [Solution] An automatic following system comprising: a detection unit for detecting a plurality of other ships traveling around an own ship; a selection unit for selecting, from the other ships detected, one other ship that the own ship is to follow; and a control unit for controlling the own ship to follow the selected other ship.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an auto-follow system and an auto-follow method. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, many ships are navigating in a navigation area. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] However, steering a ship for a long period of time places a great burden on the operator.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its main object is to provide an automatic following system and an automatic following method that can easily reduce the burden of maneuvering a ship. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is an automatic following system that includes a detection unit that detects multiple other ships sailing around a ship, a selection unit that selects one of the detected other ships for the ship to follow, and a control unit that controls the ship to follow the selected other ship. This makes it easy to reduce the burden of maneuvering the ship.

[0006] In the above aspect, the detection unit may be an AIS, a radar, or a camera. In this case, other ships can be detected by the AIS, the radar, or the camera.

[0007] In the above aspect, the detection unit may be an AIS, and the selection unit may select a ship having the same destination as the vessel from among the ships detected by the AIS, which makes it easier to select a ship suitable for tracking.

[0008] In the above aspect, the selection unit may select other ships that are within at least one of a predetermined distance range and a predetermined direction range from the ship, which makes it easier to select other ships that are suitable for tracking.

[0009] In the above aspect, the selection unit may select the ship closest to the vessel when there are multiple other ships within at least one of the predetermined distance range and the predetermined bearing range, which makes it easier to select the ship suitable for tracking even when there are multiple other ships.

[0010] The selection unit may select another ship traveling in a direction away from the ship. This makes it easy to select another ship traveling in a direction away from the ship that is suitable for following.

[0011] In the above aspect, the control unit may cause the vessel to follow the selected other vessel in a following mode in which the vessel follows the rear of the selected other vessel. This makes it possible to follow the rear of the selected other vessel.

[0012] In the above aspect, the control unit may cause the vessel to follow the other vessel in a relative position maintaining mode in which a predetermined relative position with respect to the selected other vessel is maintained. This makes it possible to follow the other vessel while maintaining the relative position with respect to the other vessel.

[0013] In the above aspect, the predetermined relative position may be the relative position when the selected other ship was selected, which makes it possible to maintain the relative position when the other ship was selected.

[0014] In the above aspect, if the distance between the vessel and the selected other vessel is less than a predetermined value when the selected other vessel is selected, the control unit may control the vessel to increase the distance to a predetermined value or more. This makes it possible to maintain the inter-vessel distance at a predetermined value or more even if the inter-vessel distance when the other vessel is selected is relatively close.

[0015] In the above aspect, the detection unit may be a radar, and the control unit may cause the vessel to track the selected other vessel detected by the radar so that the selected other vessel is maintained in a predetermined direction relative to the vessel, thereby making it easier to track the other vessel while maintaining a relative position with respect to the other vessel.

[0016] In the above aspect, the system may further include a congestion determination unit that determines congestion based on the detection result of the detection unit, and the control unit may switch to a rear following mode in which the system follows behind the selected other ship when congestion is determined. This makes it possible to reduce the spread of the own ship and the other ships in the congestion area.

[0017] In the above aspect, the vessel may further include an area determination unit that determines the attributes of the area in which the vessel is navigating, and the control unit may switch to a rear following mode in which the vessel follows behind the selected other vessel when the area in which the vessel is navigating has a predetermined attribute. This makes it possible to reduce the spread of the vessel and other vessels in an area with a predetermined attribute, such as a harbor.

[0018] In the above aspect, the system may further include a communication unit that notifies the selected other ship that it will follow the other ship. This allows the other ship to know that it is being followed.

[0019] In the above aspect, the vessel may further include a communication unit that receives a notification from another vessel that is following the vessel to switch between being followed and being followed, and when the selection unit receives the notification, the selection unit selects the other vessel that sent the notification as the vessel to follow. This makes it possible to switch between being followed and being followed.

[0020] Another aspect of the present invention is an automatic following method that detects multiple ships sailing around a vessel, selects a ship to be followed from among the detected ships, and controls the vessel to follow the selected ship, thereby facilitating a reduction in the burden of maneuvering. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an automatic tracking system. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an information processing device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a other ship management database. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the selection of another ship. [Figure 5A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a rear following mode. [Figure 5B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a rear following mode. [Figure 6A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a relative position maintaining mode. [Figure 6B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a relative position maintaining mode. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the procedure of an automatic tracking method. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating switching between following and followed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0023] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an automatic tracking system 100. The automatic tracking system 100 is a system installed on a ship. In the following description, the ship on which the automatic tracking system 100 is installed is referred to as the "own ship," and other ships are referred to as "other ships."

[0024] The automatic tracking system 100 includes an information processing device 1, a display unit 2, a radar 3, an AIS 4, a camera 5, a GNSS receiver 6, a gyrocompass 7, an ECDIS 8, a wireless communication unit 9, and a ship control device 20. These devices are connected to a network N, such as a LAN, and are capable of network communication with each other.

[0025] The information processing device 1 is a computer including a CPU, RAM, ROM, nonvolatile memory, an input / output interface, etc. The CPU of the information processing device 1 executes information processing in accordance with a program loaded from the ROM or nonvolatile memory to the RAM.

[0026] The program may be supplied via an information storage medium such as an optical disk or a memory card, or may be supplied via a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN.

[0027] The display unit 2 displays a display image generated by the information processing device 1. The display unit 2 also displays a radar image, a camera image, an electronic nautical chart, or the like.

[0028] The display unit 2 is, for example, a display device with a touch sensor, a so-called touch panel. The touch sensor detects a position on the screen pointed to by a user's finger or the like. However, the pointed position may also be input by a trackball or the like.

[0029] The radar 3 emits radio waves around the ship and receives the reflected waves, generating echo data based on the received signals. The radar 3 also identifies targets from the echo data and generates target tracking data (TT data) that indicate the position and speed of the targets.

[0030] The AIS (Automatic Identification System) 4 receives AIS data from other ships around the ship or from land-based control. Instead of AIS, a VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) may also be used. The AIS data includes the identification codes, names, positions, courses, speeds, types, lengths, and destinations of other ships.

[0031] The camera 5 is a digital camera that captures images of the outside from the ship and generates image data. The camera 5 is installed, for example, on the bridge of the ship, facing the bow direction. The camera 5 may be a camera with pan / tilt and optical zoom functions, a so-called PTZ camera.

[0032] The camera 5 may also include an image recognition unit that estimates the position and type of a target, such as a ship, included in a captured image using an object detection model. The image recognition unit is not limited to the camera 5 and may be implemented in another device, such as the information processing device 1.

[0033] The GNSS receiver 6 detects the ship's position based on radio waves received from the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The gyrocompass 7 detects the ship's heading. A GPS compass may be used instead of a gyrocompass.

[0034] An ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) 8 acquires the ship's position from the GNSS receiver 6 and displays the ship's position on an electronic chart. The ECDIS 8 also displays the ship's planned route on the electronic chart. A GNSS plotter may be used instead of an ECDIS.

[0035] The wireless communication unit 9 includes various types of wireless equipment, such as wireless equipment for the very short wave band, the medium short wave band, and the short wave band, for realizing communication with other ships or land-based control.

[0036] The ship control device 20 controls the steering gear 110 and engine 120 of the ship to realize automatic ship steering. Specifically, the ship control device 20 controls the rudder angle of the steering gear 110 and the output of the engine 120 so as to follow another ship selected by the information processing device 1. The ship control device 20 is an example of the control unit.

[0037] In this embodiment, the information processing device 1 is an independent device, but is not limited to this and may be integrated with another device such as the ECDIS 8. In other words, the functional units of the information processing device 1 may be realized by another device.

[0038] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 1. The control unit 10 of the information processing device 1 includes an other ship management unit 11, a follow-up other ship selection unit 12, a notification processing unit 13, a mode setting unit 14, a congestion determination unit 15, and an area determination unit 16.

[0039] These functional units are realized by the control unit 10 of the information processing device 1 executing information processing in accordance with a program.

[0040] The other ship management unit 11 manages other ships detected by the radar 3, the AIS 4, or the camera 5. The radar 3, the AIS 4, or the camera 5 are examples of a detection unit that detects other ships sailing around the ship. However, the detection unit is not limited to these, and may include, for example, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) or millimeter-wave radar.

[0041] The other ship management unit 11 manages other ships using a other ship management database constructed in the memory of the information processing device 1. Other ship data of other ships detected by the radar 3, AIS 4, and camera 5 is registered in the other ship management database.

[0042] As shown in Figure 3, the other ship management database includes fields such as "Ship ID," "Source," "Position," "Direction," "Ship Speed," and "Destination." "Ship ID" is an identifier assigned to other ships. "Source" indicates how the other ship was detected.

[0043] "Position" indicates the position of the other ship. The position of the other ship is expressed, for example, by latitude and longitude. The position of the other ship detected by the radar 3 or camera 5 is a relative position with respect to the own ship, so it is converted to an absolute position using the position of the own ship detected by the GNSS receiver 6.

[0044] "Heading" indicates the heading of the other ship. "Speed" indicates the speed of the other ship. The heading and speed detected by the radar 3 or camera 5 are estimated based on the changes in the detected position of the other ship over time.

[0045] "Destination" indicates the destination of the other ship. The destination contained in the AIS data received by AIS4 is entered in "Destination". Therefore, only records sourced from AIS4 contain the destination.

[0046] Note that multiple other ship data from different sources that represent the same other ship are combined into one record. For example, if the positions of other ships included in multiple other ship data are the same or close to each other, they are determined to represent the same other ship.

[0047] Returning to the explanation of Figure 2, the ship to follow selection unit 12 selects a ship to be followed by the ship from among the ships detected by the radar 3, AIS 4, or camera 5 and managed by the ship management unit 11. The ship to follow selection unit 12 then provides the ship control device 20 with the ship data of the selected ship.

[0048] For example, the other ship to follow selection unit 12 selects other ships with the same destination as the own ship from other ships detected by the AIS 4. Specifically, the other ship to follow selection unit 12 selects other ships with the same destination as the own ship from other ships whose "destinations" have been entered in the other ship management database. In this way, other ships that belong to the same convoy or other ships that happen to have the same destination as the own ship are selected as the ship to follow from other ships sailing around the own ship.

[0049] Alternatively, the follow-up other ship selection unit 12 selects other ships OS within a predetermined distance range DR and a predetermined bearing range AR from the own ship SS, as shown in Figure 4. Only one of the distance range DR and bearing range AR may be used as a condition. If there are multiple other ships OS within the distance range DR and bearing range AR, the other ship OS closest to the own ship SS is selected (the selected other ship is referred to as "CS").

[0050] More specifically, the other ship to follow selection unit 12 selects another ship OS that is within the distance range DR and the bearing range AR and is moving away from the own ship SS. If there are multiple other ships OS within the distance range DR and the bearing range AR, other ships OS moving away from the own ship SS are given priority over other ships OS moving closer to the own ship SS.

[0051] The bearing range AR is determined based on, for example, the heading direction of the own ship SS, the direction of the destination, the direction of the planned route, or the direction of the waypoint, etc. As a result, from the other ships OS navigating around the own ship SS, other ships with the same heading direction, etc. are selected as the tracking target.

[0052] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 2, when another ship is selected by the other ship selection unit 12, the notification processing unit 13 uses the wireless communication unit 9 to notify the selected other ship that it will follow the other ship.

[0053] When the ship control device 20 is provided with the other ship data of the other ship selected from the other ship to follow selection unit 12, it controls the steering gear 110 and engine 120 of the ship itself to perform following control to make the ship follow the selected other ship.

[0054] The mode setting unit 14 sets a following mode for following other ships. The following modes include, for example, a rear following mode (see FIGS. 5A and 5B) and a relative position maintaining mode (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). The mode setting unit 14 also switches the following mode based on the determination result of the congestion determination unit 15 or the area determination unit 16 (details will be described later).

[0055] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the trailing follow mode. The trailing follow mode is a follow mode in which the ship follows behind the selected other ship CS. In the trailing follow mode, the ship control device 20 sets the target course TD to always point in the direction of the other ship CS, and controls the rudder angle of the steering gear 110 to point the bow of the ship SS toward the target course TD.

[0056] In addition, in the following mode, the ship control device 20 controls the output of the engine 120 so that the ship SS maintains a predetermined distance from the other ship CS. In other words, the ship control device 20 controls the output of the engine 120 so that the ship SS does not get closer than the predetermined distance to the other ship CS.

[0057] 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the relative position maintaining mode. The relative position maintaining mode is a following mode in which the selected other ship CS is followed while maintaining a predetermined relative position with respect to the other ship CS. The predetermined relative position is, for example, the relative position when the other ship CS is selected.

[0058] In the relative position maintenance mode, the ship control device 20 controls the rudder angle of the steering gear 110 and the output of the engine 120 so that the other ship CS detected by the radar 3 is maintained in a predetermined direction MD relative to the ship SS, and so that the ship SS maintains a predetermined distance from the other ship CS. In particular, if the distance between the ship SS and the other ship CS when the other ship CS is selected is less than a predetermined value and it is determined that a safe distance cannot be maintained for navigation, the ship control device 20 controls the rudder angle of the steering gear 110 and the output of the engine 120 so that the ship SS moves away from the other ship CS to a predetermined distance that ensures a safe distance for navigation.

[0059] 6A and 6B show an example in which multiple ships GS1 to GS3 in a convoy navigate while maintaining their relative positions. Fig. 6A shows an example in which the two ships GS2 and GS3 in the rear row select the leading ship GS1 as the ship to follow. Ship GS2 navigates so that ship GS1 remains to the right and ahead, and ship GS3 navigates so that ship GS1 remains to the left and ahead.

[0060] The vessel selected as the vessel to be followed is not limited to the leading vessel GS1. Figure 6B shows an example in which the leading vessel GS1 and the vessel GS3 on the right rear select the vessel GS2 on the left rear as the vessel to be followed. The vessel GS1 navigates so that the vessel GS2 is kept to the left rear, and the vessel GS3 navigates so that the vessel GS2 is kept to the left.

[0061] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the procedure of the automatic tracking method implemented in the automatic tracking system 100. In FIG.

[0062] First, the information processing device 1 selects a ship to be followed by the own ship from among the ships detected by the radar 3, AIS 4, or camera 5 and managed in the other ship management database (see Figure 3) (S11, processing as the other ship to follow selection unit 12).

[0063] Next, the information processing device 1 determines whether the helmsman has approved following the selected other ship (S12). For example, the information processing device 1 displays the selected other ship on the display unit 2 and determines whether an operation input approving the following has been received.

[0064] If the vessel operator approves the following (S12: YES), the information processing device 1 notifies the selected other vessel that the vessel will follow the other vessel using the wireless communication unit 9 (S13, processing as the notification processing unit 13). The notification may be made after the start of the following control.

[0065] Next, the vessel control device 20 starts tracking control to make the vessel follow the selected vessel (S14). As for the tracking mode, a predetermined one of a rear tracking mode and a relative position maintaining mode may be applied, or a mode selection operation input by the user may be accepted.

[0066] During tracking control, the information processing device 1 performs congestion determination based on the detection results of the radar 3, the AIS 4, or the camera 5 (S15, processing as the congestion determination unit 15). For example, the information processing device 1 refers to the other ship management database, calculates the degree of congestion based on the number of other ships sailing around the ship, and determines whether the area is a congested sea area.

[0067] The information processing device 1 also determines the attributes of the sea area in which the ship is navigating based on the nautical chart data from the ECDIS 8 (S16, processing as the area determination unit 16). For example, the information processing device 1 refers to the nautical chart data and determines whether the sea area in which the ship is navigating is a port sea area or a sea route sea area.

[0068] If it is determined to be a congested sea area (S15: YES) or a port sea area or a sea route sea area (S16: YES), the information processing device 1 changes the following mode to the rear following mode (S17, processing as the mode setting unit 14).

[0069] In other words, if the ship was in the following mode, it will remain in that mode, and if the ship was in the relative position maintaining mode, it will switch to the following mode. This makes it possible to keep the ship and the other ships in a line and prevent them from spreading out.

[0070] Thereafter, the vessel control device 20 ends the following control, for example, when an operation input to end following is received from the user (S18: YES).

[0071] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the switching between following and followed status between two vessels. In the example shown in the figure, initially, vessel 1 is sailing in self-propelled mode, and vessel 2 is sailing in following mode (S21, S31). Self-propelled mode is a mode in which no following control is performed, i.e., a mode in which the vessel is sailed by the operation of the operator.

[0072] The information processing device 1 of the vessel 1 transmits a switching request for switching between following and followed vessels to the vessel 2 (S22). The switching request is transmitted, for example, when an operation input for transmitting a request by a user is received.

[0073] The information processing device 1 of the ship 2 receives the switching request, and if the user approves the switching of the following and the followed, returns a notification of approval to the ship 1 (S32). The notification of approval is an example of a notification of switching between the following and the followed.

[0074] When the information processing device 1 of the ship 1 receives the notification of approval, it selects the ship 2 as the other ship that the ship will follow, and switches the ship control device 20 from self-propelled mode to following mode in which the ship 2 will follow (S23, processing as the notification processing unit 13 and the other ship to follow selection unit 12).

[0075] On the other hand, when the information processing device 1 of the vessel 2 transmits the notification of approval, it switches the vessel control device 20 from the following mode in which the vessel 2 follows the vessel 1 to the self-propelled mode (S33). This completes the switching between following and followed mode.

[0076] Conversely to this example, a swap request may be sent from vessel 2 to vessel 1, and a notice of approval may be sent back from vessel 1 to vessel 2. In this case, the swap request is an example of a notice to swap the following and followed roles.

[0077] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art.

[0078] In the above embodiment, the other ship to follow was selected by the information processing device 1, but this is not limiting. Alternatively, an operation input by the user to select another ship may be accepted and the own ship may be made to follow the selected other ship. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1 Information processing device, 2 Display unit, 3 Radar, 4 AIS, 5 Camera, 6 GNSS receiver, 7 Gyrocompass, 8 ECDIS, 9 Wireless communication unit, 10 Control unit, 11 Other ship management unit, 12 Other ship selection unit to follow, 13 Notification processing unit, 14 Mode setting unit, 15 Congestion determination unit, 16 Area determination unit, 20 Ship control device, 100 Automatic following system, 110 Steering gear, 120 Engine

Claims

1. a detection unit that detects a plurality of other ships sailing around the ship; a selection unit that selects another ship to be followed by the vessel from among the detected other ships; a control unit that controls the vessel to follow the selected other vessel; a communication unit that receives a notification from another ship that is following the ship to switch between following and being followed; Equipped with the selection unit, when receiving the notification, selects the other ship that sent the notification as the other ship to follow; Automatic tracking system.

2. The detection unit is an AIS, a radar, or a camera. The auto-follow system of claim 1 .

3. the detection unit is an AIS, The selection unit selects another ship having the same destination as the vessel from other ships detected by the AIS. The auto-follow system of claim 1 .

4. the selection unit selects another ship that is within at least one of a predetermined distance range and a predetermined direction range from the ship, 3. An automatic tracking system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. the selection unit selects the other ship closest to the vessel when there are multiple other ships within at least one of the predetermined distance range and the predetermined direction range.

5. The automatic tracking system of claim 4.

6. the selection unit selects another ship traveling in a direction away from the ship.

5. The automatic tracking system of claim 4.

7. the control unit causes the vessel to follow the selected other vessel in a following mode in which the vessel follows the rear of the selected other vessel.

7. An automatic tracking system according to claim 1.

8. the control unit causes the vessel to follow the selected other vessel in a relative position maintaining mode in which a predetermined relative position to the selected other vessel is maintained.

8. An automatic tracking system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. the predetermined relative position is the relative position of the selected other ship at the time of selection; 9. The auto-follow system of claim 8.

10. the control unit controls the ship so that the distance between the ship and the selected other ship becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined distance when the distance between the ship and the selected other ship is less than a predetermined distance when the selected other ship is selected.

10. An automatic tracking system according to claim 8 or 9.

11. the detection unit is a radar, the control unit causes the vessel to follow the selected other vessel detected by the radar so as to maintain the selected other vessel in a predetermined direction relative to the vessel; 11. An automatic tracking system according to any one of claims 8 to 10.

12. a congestion determination unit that determines congestion based on the detection result of the detection unit, the control unit, when it is determined that congestion has occurred, changes to a following mode in which the selected other ship follows behind.

12. An automatic tracking system according to any one of claims 8 to 11.

13. further comprising an area determination unit that determines attributes of an area in which the ship navigates; the control unit changes the mode to a following mode in which the vessel follows behind the selected other vessel when an area in which the vessel is navigating has a predetermined attribute.

13. An automatic tracking system according to any one of claims 8 to 12.

14. a communication unit that notifies the selected other ship that it will follow; 14. An automatic tracking system according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. Detect multiple other ships sailing around the ship, selecting another ship to be followed by the vessel from among the detected other ships; controlling the vessel to follow the selected other vessel; 1. An automatic tracking method, comprising: receiving a notification from another vessel following the vessel to switch between following and being followed; When the notification is received, the other ship that sent the notification is selected as the other ship to follow. Automatic follow-up method.

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