Building planning support system and building planning support method

Abstract

To enable proper simulation of transport capacity even in the case of employing a heterogeneous agent.SOLUTION: A building plan support system comprises a simulation section for simulating movement of a person agent and a heterogeneous agent, and a car object, in a building object containing the elevator car object, in a state that the person agent and the heterogeneous agent coexist. The simulation section retains in-car occupied area information that is required when the heterogeneous agent gets on the car, and simulates movement due to the car object, on the basis of the in-car occupied area information of the heterogeneous agent.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0006] ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a building plan support system and a building plan support method.

Background Art

[0002] When planning to install elevators such as elevators in a building, the users on each floor of the building are estimated in advance, and the transportation capacity required when the estimated number of users use it is simulated, and then the number and size of the elevators to be installed in the building are determined.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a technique for calculating movement demand data by associating the number of people in the building, the population density, and layout data, performing a simulation from the calculated movement demand data, calculating the congestion status of pedestrians and the car position of the elevator, and performing an elevator installation plan.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the case of the technique described in Patent Document 1, when performing a simulation, it is assumed that only walkable humans use the elevator. However, with the increase in the number of wheelchair users due to barrier-free design, the increase in the number of personal mobility devices, and the widespread use of service robots, the number of cases where moving bodies (heterogeneous agents) with different movement characteristics from the conventionally assumed users (pedestrians: human agents) use the elevator is increasing.

[0006] This resulted in a problem where, even when simulating pedestrian traffic during the initial construction of a new building, the required service performance could not be accurately calculated. Furthermore, even in existing buildings, the increase in heterogeneous agents meant that the service performance estimated at the time of installation could no longer be achieved. Furthermore, when introducing new heterogeneous agents such as service robots, there is a problem in that it is not possible to estimate the number of heterogeneous agents that can be introduced within the building.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a building planning support system and a building planning support method that enable the simulation of appropriate building plans even when heterogeneous agents are operated within a building. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims may be adopted. This invention includes several means for solving the above-mentioned problems, but to give one example, as a building planning support system, a building object including an elevator car object and a human agent and Autonomous mobile robot Human agents and Autonomous mobile robot It includes a simulation unit that simulates the movement of the agent and the elevator object. The simulation department is, Autonomous mobile robot Information about the area occupied inside the elevator car, which is necessary when boarding the elevator car. This includes information on the time the autonomous mobile robot agent boards the cart, and information on the time the autonomous mobile robot agent disembarks from the cart. Having, Autonomous mobile robot Agent's occupied space information within the elevator car Information on boarding time and alighting time Based on this, we implemented a simulation of movement using a ride-car object. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to formulate an appropriate elevator installation plan even in environments containing heterogeneous agents within a building. Furthermore, it becomes possible to estimate the extent to which heterogeneous agents can be introduced within a building. Other issues, configurations, and effects not mentioned above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows an overview of a simulation according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a building planning support system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure shows examples of elevator specification information, heterogeneous agent specification information, and building specification information according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of human transportation demand and transportation demand of heterogeneous agents according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of human transportation demand and transportation demand of heterogeneous agents according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows an example of the simulation processing flow according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of displaying simulation results according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] A building planning support system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0012] [Overview of simulation using building planning support system] Figure 1 shows an overview of the simulation performed by the building planning support system 100 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the building planning support system 100 simulates whether movement between floors within the building 10 will be carried out appropriately, based on the expected number of people on each floor of the building 10 where the elevator EV1 will be installed. Here, as users who use elevator EV1 inside building 10, in addition to general pedestrian users P1 to P5, autonomous mobile robots R1 to R4 are included. In the elevator car of elevator EV1, users P1 to P5 and autonomous mobile robots R1 to R4 can ride together in a mixed manner. Also, among users P1 to P5, there is a wheelchair user (user P1 in FIG. 1). In the following description, users are also referred to as human agents, and mobile bodies such as autonomous mobile robots are also referred to as heterogeneous agents.

[0013] The building planning support system 100 simulates the elevator usage situation according to the number of users P1 to P5 and the number of autonomous mobile robots R1 to R4 on each floor assumed in a certain time period. In the building planning support system 100, the output unit 140 outputs, as simulation results, the passenger simulation result which is the simulation result of users and the robot simulation result which is the simulation result of autonomous mobile robots. Also, the output unit 140 outputs the elevator simulation result as to whether the number of elevator cars installed in building 10, the size of the car, etc. are appropriate. Hereinafter, the details of the building planning support system 100 that performs such a simulation will be described.

[0014] [Configuration of Building Planning Support System] FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the building planning support system 100. The building planning support system 100 is composed of a computer device which is an information processing device, and includes a simulation unit 110, a storage unit 120, an input unit 130, and an output unit 140. The simulation unit 110 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111 which is a control unit that controls the calculations for the simulation, a work memory 112 that executes arithmetic processing under the control of the CPU 111, and a program 113 that is executed by the CPU 111. The program 113 is stored in a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory).

[0015] The storage unit 120 is composed of a large-capacity storage device such as a HDD (hard disk drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and the information necessary for the simulation is stored in the storage unit 120. For example, elevator specification information 121, heterogeneous agent specification information 122, traffic demand information 123, and building specification information 124 are stored in the storage unit 120. The details of these information will be described later.

[0016] The input unit 130 is composed of a receiving unit that receives information and an input device that accepts the operation of an operator, and elevator specification information 121, heterogeneous agent specification information 122, etc. are input from the input unit 130. The output unit 140 is composed of a display unit and a transmission unit, and displays the simulation results and transmits them externally.

[0017] [Examples of Specifications and Traffic Demand] FIG. 3 shows examples of elevator specification information 121, heterogeneous agent specification information 122, and building specification information 124 stored in the storage unit 120. The elevator specification information 121 is the details of the specifications of the elevators installed in the building (structure) where the simulation is performed. For example, as the elevator specification information 121, for each elevator installed in the building, information such as the ID, type, capacity of the car, door width, maximum speed during travel, acceleration, and door opening / closing time of that elevator is stored. The types include normal correspondence and wheelchair correspondence, etc.

[0018] The heterogeneous agent specification information 122 is the details of the specifications of heterogeneous agents such as autonomous mobile robots operating in the building. Here, an example of operating multiple types of heterogeneous agents is shown. The details of the specifications of the heterogeneous agents include information such as the label indicating the type of heterogeneous agent, the exclusive area inside the car, the boarding time of the car, the alighting time of the car, the moving speed, dimensions, body weight, loading weight, turning performance, sensor performance, and usage.

[0019] The in-car occupied area indicates how many units of floor space are occupied when the relevant heterogeneous agent boards the elevator car. The boarding and disembarking times indicate the time (in seconds) required for the relevant heterogeneous agent to move from the landing to the elevator car and the time (in seconds) required to disembark from the elevator car to the landing.

[0020] Movement speed indicates the speed at which the corresponding heterogeneous agent moves autonomously. The dimensions indicate the width and height of the corresponding heterogeneous agent. The unit weight indicates the weight of the corresponding different agent unit. The payload capacity indicates the maximum payload capacity when the relevant heterogeneous agent is an agent (robot) that transports goods or other items.

[0021] Turning performance indicates whether the relevant heterogeneous agent is capable of turning. Sensor performance indicates the type of sensor installed in the relevant heterogeneous agent. For example, it shows how well sensors such as cameras and radar can detect the surrounding environment. The "Application" indicates the intended use of different types of agents. For example, possible application types include package transport robots, cleaning robots, and guidance robots. Building specification information 124 shows the floor height of each floor of the building being simulated, and the service floor (stopping floor) of each elevator (unit number).

[0022] Figure 4 shows an example of traffic demand information 123 stored in the memory unit 120. Traffic demand information 123 is information regarding the expected traffic demand between multiple floors within a building. Here, traffic demand 123 includes human traffic demand 123a and heterogeneous agent traffic demand 123b.

[0023] Human traffic demand 123a and heterogeneous agent traffic demand 123b are shown in a matrix graphed over a fixed period of time (e.g., 5 minutes), with the departure floor (horizontal axis in Figure 4) and destination floor (vertical axis in Figure 4) respectively. From this matrix graph, we can see how many people or vehicles moved between each floor. For example, in the 5 minutes from 10:00 to 10:05, we can see that 9 people moved from the departure floor (1st floor) to the arrival floor (10th floor), and 2 vehicles moved between different types of agents. In the example in Figure 4, traffic demand is shown from 10:00 to 10:30, but if you want to simulate the entire day, this graph will show the 24-hour traffic demand. Alternatively, you could show more detailed traffic demand by day of the week, date, month, or season.

[0024] Furthermore, traffic demand 123 may also include information such as the number of passengers boarding, alighting, and direction of travel for each floor, as shown in Figure 5. In other words, as shown in Figure 5, the passenger traffic demand 123a is shown for each floor from the 1st to the 10th floor, including the number of passengers boarding during upward travel, the number of passengers boarding during downward travel, the number of passengers alighting during upward travel, and the number of passengers alighting during downward travel, for each 5-minute time period. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, the traffic demand 123b for different types of agents is shown for each floor from the 1st to the 10th floor, indicating the number of passengers (vehicles) boarding during inbound travel, the number of passengers (vehicles) boarding during inbound travel, the number of passengers (vehicles) alighting during inbound travel, and the number of passengers (vehicles) alighting during inbound travel, for each 5-minute time period. You may also show detailed transportation demand as shown in Figure 5.

[0025] [Simulation Processing Flow] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the simulation process performed by the building planning support system 100. First, the simulation unit 110 of the building planning support system 100 acquires building specification information 124 and elevator specification information 121 from the memory unit 120 (step S11). Next, the simulation unit 110 acquires heterogeneous agent specification information 122 from the memory unit 120 (step S12). Furthermore, the simulation unit 110 acquires passenger (person) traffic demand 123a from the memory unit 120 (step S13) and heterogeneous agent traffic demand 123b (step S14). In this example, all information is stored in the memory unit 120, but some information may be directly input by the operator using the input unit 130.

[0026] Then, the simulation unit 110 performs a simulation of the elevator operation status within the building and the transport services for passengers and different types of agents based on the specifications and traffic demand acquired in steps S11 to S14 (step S15). When performing the simulation in step S15, the simulation is run multiple times, assuming that the number of people and robots within a certain time period, as indicated by traffic demand 123a and 123b, will use the elevator according to an arbitrary probability distribution. The average of these simulations is then used as the simulation result.

[0027] The simulation here assumes that passengers (people) and heterogeneous agents (robots) can ride together in the same elevator car. The simulation unit 110 sets the boarding and alighting times for each individual agent based on the boarding and alighting times set in the heterogeneous agent specification information 122, and then executes the simulation. Furthermore, the simulation unit 110 uses the number of passengers the occupied area inside the elevator car, as set in the heterogeneous agent specification information 122, corresponds to to calculate the number of elevators that can ride in one elevator car and the number of passengers that can ride together with heterogeneous agents. Furthermore, the simulation unit 110 pre-sets appropriate values ​​for the boarding time and disembarking time for each passenger (person) and then executes the simulation.

[0028] However, in relatively crowded situations where the number of passengers in the elevator car or the number of heterogeneous agents increases, the simulation unit 110 may simulate boarding and alighting times for both humans and heterogeneous agents to be longer than the pre-set times. Furthermore, the simulation unit 110 may also perform simulations for heterogeneous agents, taking into account their turning performance, sensor performance, and other factors. For example, in the case of a heterogeneous agent that needs to turn from the time it boards the elevator car until it disembarks, the simulation unit 110 may simulate whether there is enough space inside the elevator car for that turning maneuver. In cases where there are too many passengers (or vehicles) for the elevator to turn around, a different type of agent will wait at the boarding area until the next arrival.

[0029] Once the simulation in step S15 is complete, the output unit 140 outputs the passenger service performance and the service performance of heterogeneous agents obtained from the simulation. At this time, the output unit 140 may also output the elevator service performance.

[0030] Then, the operator, after checking the service performance output from the output unit 140, determines whether or not the service performance needs to be corrected (step S17). If, in step S17, the service performance is not appropriate and correction is necessary (Yes in step S17), the operator corrects either the specifications or the traffic demand obtained in steps S11 to S14, and returns to step S15, where the simulation unit 110 runs the simulation again. Then, in step S17, if the service performance is not adequate and no correction is needed (No in step S17), the process is terminated.

[0031] [Example of simulation results] Figure 7 shows an example of the simulation results output by the output unit 140. Figure 7 shows the passenger service performance and the service performance of heterogeneous agents. Passenger service performance includes the average number of passengers boarding and alighting from each elevator car during the simulated time, the average waiting time for the elevator car to arrive at the boarding area, the average boarding time, the average service time from arrival at the boarding area to arrival at the destination floor, the long waiting rate, and the maximum number of passengers waiting at the boarding area. Here, the long waiting rate is the probability that the waiting time from arrival at the boarding area to boarding the elevator car exceeds a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 30 seconds or more), resulting in a long waiting state. The maximum number of passengers waiting at the boarding area is the maximum number of passengers waiting at any boarding area on any floor.

[0032] The service performance of heterogeneous agents, like passenger service performance, includes the average number of passengers boarding and alighting from each elevator during the simulated time, the average waiting time for the elevator to arrive at the boarding area, and the average time spent on the elevator. Furthermore, the service performance of heterogeneous agents is shown, including the average working time for each type of agent (robot). For example, it shows the service performance when using an elevator, such as the average delivery time per unit for delivery robots and the average travel time to the cleaning location for cleaning robots.

[0033] Although not shown in Figure 7, the output unit 140 can also output the service performance of the elevator itself, which is obtained from the simulation results. For example, the output unit 140 outputs service performance data such as the average distance traveled or number of times the elevator car ascends or descends within the simulated time, the average number of passengers and vehicles during operation, the average time from door opening to door closing, the average number of passengers and vehicles during each operation, the rate of overcrowding, and the percentage of time each elevator car is stopped when there are no car calls.

[0034] As explained above, the building planning support system 100 of this embodiment can simulate whether elevator usage is appropriate when human agents and heterogeneous agents are mixed together in a building. Therefore, even when various mobile devices such as luggage transport robots and cleaning robots are operated in a building, it is possible to simulate whether they can move appropriately using elevators, enabling accurate simulations of buildings with robots in operation and making it possible to plan elevators appropriately during building construction. For example, if the service performance of an elevator obtained from simulation results indicates that the elevator's operating status is higher than normal, it becomes possible to take measures such as increasing the number of elevators or enlarging the elevator cars.

[0035] Furthermore, when introducing robots or other equipment to existing buildings, it becomes possible to simulate whether they can be properly transported using the currently installed elevators, enabling the proper planning of robot operations.

[0036] [Differentiation] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are included. For example, the embodiments described above are explained in detail for the purpose of clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described.

[0037] For example, when calculating the service performance of passengers or heterogeneous agents, thresholds can be set for each performance level. If a situation occurs where these thresholds are exceeded when passengers and autonomous mobile units are mixed together, the simulation results can be used to issue a warning. For example, if five or more robots are operated within a building and the rate of long waits for passengers exceeds a threshold, the output unit 140 may issue a warning.

[0038] Furthermore, the heterogeneous agents used in the simulation may include passenger mobility devices such as wheelchairs. In this case, one of the specifications for the heterogeneous agent (Figure 3) can be made to correspond to wheelchairs, and by setting the area occupied within the car, boarding time, and disembarking time, it becomes possible to appropriately simulate wheelchair users as well. When wheelchairs are treated as heterogeneous agents, electric wheelchairs and non-electric manual wheelchairs may be treated as separate heterogeneous agents, and their specifications, such as boarding time, may be set individually. In this case, it is preferable to set the traffic demand for electric wheelchairs and the traffic demand for manual wheelchairs separately.

[0039] Furthermore, when using wheelchairs as a different type of agent, if the elevator cars include both wheelchair-accessible and non-wheelchair-accessible cars, the simulation must be conducted assuming that only the wheelchair-accessible elevator cars are allowed to be used. Furthermore, for heterogeneous agents other than wheelchairs, such as robots, if their weight or turning performance makes it possible for them to board only a specific elevator, it is necessary to select that elevator and perform the simulation.

[0040] Furthermore, when simulating different types of agents that handle luggage, it is also possible to simulate changes in the load weight. For example, if we consider a robot that carries guests' luggage within a hotel, the average load weight may be set to approximately the maximum weight during peak check-in and check-out times, while the average load weight may be set to a weight less than the maximum weight during other times.

[0041] Furthermore, when the building planning support system described in this embodiment is configured using an information processing device such as a computer, the programs that implement each processing function may be stored in non-volatile storage or memory within the computer device, or they may be stored on external memory, IC cards, SD cards, optical discs, or other recording media and transferred from there. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 10...Building, 100...Building Planning Support System, 110...Simulation Unit, 111...CPU, 112...Work Memory, 113...Program, 120...Storage Unit, 121...Elevator Specification Information, 122...Heterogeneous Agent Specification Information, 123...Traffic Demand Information, 123a,123b...Traffic Demand, 124...Building Specification Information, 130...Input Unit, 140...Output Unit

Claims

1. A building planning support system comprising a simulation unit that simulates the movement of human agents and autonomous mobile robot agents and the elevator car object in a building object including an elevator car object, where human agents and autonomous mobile robot agents are mixed together, The simulation unit has information on the area occupied inside the elevator car necessary when the autonomous mobile robot agent boards the elevator car, information on the time the autonomous mobile robot agent boards the elevator car, and information on the time the autonomous mobile robot agent disembarks from the elevator car. Based on the information on the area occupied inside the elevator car, the time the autonomous mobile robot agent boards the elevator car, and the time the autonomous mobile robot agent disembarks from the elevator car, the simulation unit simulates the movement of the elevator car object. Building planning support system.

2. The simulation unit performs a simulation in a situation where the human agent and the autonomous mobile robot agent are mixed together inside the elevator car, and outputs the service performance of the elevator. The building planning support system according to claim 1.

3. The simulation unit obtains the traffic demand of the human agent and the traffic demand of the autonomous mobile robot agent and performs the simulation. The building planning support system according to claim 2.

4. Furthermore, the system includes an output unit that outputs the service performance of the human agent and the service performance of the autonomous mobile robot agent during the execution of the simulation. The output unit simulates the probability that the waiting time from when the human agent arrives at the elevator landing until they board the elevator car will exceed a predetermined time, and issues a warning if the probability of a long wait exceeds a threshold. The building planning support system according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned autonomous mobile robot agent consists of multiple types of agents, and each type of mobile robot agent has its own separate information about the area occupied within the robot car. The building planning support system according to claim 1.

6. The aforementioned autonomous mobile robot agent possesses information on turning performance, The simulation unit also simulates the turning of the autonomous mobile robot agent when it enters and exits the elevator car, and outputs the elevator's service performance. The building planning support system according to claim 2.

7. A building planning support method that performs simulation processing to simulate the movement of human agents and autonomous mobile robot agents and the elevator car object in a building object that includes an elevator car object, where human agents and autonomous mobile robot agents are mixed together. The autonomous mobile robot agent has information on the area occupied inside the car when boarding the car, information on the time the autonomous mobile robot agent boards the car, and information on the time the autonomous mobile robot agent disembarks from the car. In the simulation process described above, the movement of the elevator car object is simulated based on the information of the area occupied within the elevator car by the autonomous mobile robot agent, the time it takes to board the elevator car, and the time it takes to disembark from the elevator car. Building planning support methods.

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