Facility management system, facility management device, facility management method, and facility management program

Abstract

Provided is technology useful to a manager when managing the state of damage around an accident involving an autonomous mobile body.　A facility management system includes: a mobile body control device for controlling an autonomous mobile body; a plurality of facilities arranged in an area; and a facility management device for estimating the state of damage of an accident involving the autonomous mobile body in the area. The mobile body control device transmits an accident occurrence position to the facility management device when an accident involving the autonomous mobile body occurs. The facility management device acquires the accident occurrence position from the mobile body control device, specifies a nearby facility located near the accident occurrence position among the plurality of facilities, and transmits a test command to the nearby facility. The nearby facility receives the test command from the facility management device and transmits a test result obtained by executing the test in accordance with the test command to the facility management device. The facility management device acquires the test result from the nearby facility and estimates the state of damage around the accident occurrence position on the basis of the test result.

Description

Facility management system, facility management device, facility management method, and facility management program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a facility management system, a facility management device, a facility management method, and a facility management program.

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for providing map data used by a robot to move autonomously in a location where radio waves from a satellite cannot be received. In the system of this technology, a transmitter transmits transmitter identification information that identifies the transmitter itself. The robot transmits the detected transmitter identification information to a map management device and receives map data corresponding to the transmitter identification information from the map management device. The robot controls the driving of a driving unit that moves the robot based on an autonomous behavior plan created using the received map data. The map management device reads out the map data corresponding to the transmitter identification information notified by the robot from a storage unit and transmits it.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-166630

[0004] It is conceivable that an autonomous mobile robot traveling within a facility may encounter an accident such as contact with an obstacle. If an accident occurs and there is no means of obtaining captured images of the area around the accident site, it becomes difficult to quickly grasp the extent of damage in the area around the accident site. The technology of Patent Document 1 allows the robot to determine its own position, but does not allow it to grasp the extent of damage in the surrounding area.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology that is useful for administrators to manage the surrounding damage situation caused by an accident involving an autonomous moving body.

[0006] The facility management system disclosed herein is a facility management system including a mobile body control device that controls autonomous mobile bodies, a plurality of facilities arranged within an area, and a facility management device that communicates with the mobile body control device and the plurality of facilities and estimates the damage situation of an accident that occurs to an autonomous mobile body within the area, wherein the mobile body control device is configured to transmit the location of the accident to the facility management device when an accident occurs to the autonomous mobile body, and the facility management device has a surrounding facility identification unit that acquires the location of the accident from the mobile body control device, identifies surrounding facilities among the plurality of facilities that are located around the location of the accident, and transmits test commands to the surrounding facilities, and a damage situation estimation unit that acquires test results from the surrounding facilities and estimates the damage situation around the location of the accident based on the test results, and the surrounding facilities are configured to receive test commands from the equipment management device, perform tests in accordance with the test commands, and transmit the test results to the equipment management device.

[0007] The facility management device disclosed herein is a facility management device that communicates with a mobile body control device that controls an autonomous mobile body and multiple pieces of equipment located within an area, and estimates the damage situation of an accident that occurs to an autonomous mobile body within the area.It is equipped with a peripheral equipment identification unit that acquires the accident location transmitted from the mobile body control device when an accident occurs to the autonomous mobile body, identifies peripheral equipment among the multiple pieces of equipment that are located around the accident location, and sends test commands to the peripheral equipment, and a damage situation estimation unit that acquires test results from each piece of peripheral equipment obtained by performing tests in accordance with the test commands, and estimates the damage situation around the accident location based on the test results.

[0008] The facility management method disclosed herein is a facility management method that causes a computer to estimate the damage situation of an accident involving an autonomous moving body that occurs in an area where multiple facilities are located, and includes the steps of acquiring the location of the accident when an accident occurs to an autonomous moving body, identifying peripheral facilities among the multiple facilities that are located around the location of the accident, performing tests on the peripheral facilities, and estimating the damage situation around the location of the accident based on the test results.

[0009] The facility management program disclosed herein is a facility management program that causes a computer to estimate the damage situation in the event of an accident involving an autonomous moving body that occurs in an area where multiple pieces of equipment are located, and is configured to cause the computer to acquire the location of the accident when an accident occurs involving an autonomous moving body, identify peripheral equipment among the multiple pieces of equipment that is located around the location of the accident, run tests on the peripheral equipment, and estimate the damage situation in the area around the location of the accident based on the test results.

[0010] The equipment management program disclosed herein is an equipment management program that communicates with a mobile body control device that controls an autonomous mobile body and multiple pieces of equipment located within an area, and causes a computer to estimate the damage situation in the event of an accident that occurs to an autonomous mobile body within the area.The program is configured to cause the computer to obtain the location of the accident transmitted from the mobile body control device when an accident occurs to an autonomous mobile body, identify peripheral equipment among the multiple pieces of equipment that is located around the location of the accident, send test commands to the peripheral equipment, obtain test results from each piece of peripheral equipment obtained by performing tests in accordance with the test commands, and estimate the damage situation around the location of the accident based on the test results.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a technology that is advantageous for an administrator to manage the surrounding damage situation caused by an accident involving an autonomous moving body.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an equipment management system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a pattern diagram showing an example of peripheral equipment identified by peripheral equipment identification processing. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of damage estimation data. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an equipment management system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing executed in an equipment management system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modified example of hardware resources of an equipment management device. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of damage estimation data of the modified example. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of a damage situation estimated in a damage situation estimation processing. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of processing executed in an equipment management system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of processing executed in an equipment management system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an additional search area identification processing. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an equipment management system according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of damage estimation data.

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that elements common to the various drawings are given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0014] 1. Embodiment 1. 1-1. Overview of a Facility Management System According to Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a facility management system according to Embodiment 1. The facility management system 100 according to this embodiment is a system that, when an accident occurs with an autonomous mobile object traveling within an area such as a facility, determines the damage status of facility equipment around the accident site and notifies an administrator. Examples of "accidents" here include contact or collision of the autonomous mobile object with an obstacle, a fall of the autonomous mobile object, and disasters such as fires resulting from these. Examples of "facility equipment" include elevators and other elevators installed within the area, automatic doors, monitors such as information boards or advertising displays, air circulators, environmental sensors, air conditioning, lighting, traffic lights, street lights, and other installed robots.

[0015] The facility management system 100 of the first embodiment is applied to a managed area such as a facility. The facility may be, for example, an indoor facility, an outdoor facility, or a combination of these. The facility may consist of, for example, one or more buildings. The facility may also be, for example, part of a building. The facility management system 100 includes a facility management device 10, a robot 8, a robot management server 40, one or more facility devices 50, and an administrator terminal 60.

[0016] The robot 8 is an autonomous mobile object capable of autonomously traveling within an area while determining its own location. The method by which the robot 8 determines its own location is not limited. For example, the robot 8 detects its own location and orientation using a position sensor. The position sensor may include, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor. The GPS sensor receives signals transmitted from multiple GPS satellites and calculates the position and orientation of the robot 8 based on the received signals. The position sensor may perform a well-known self-location estimation process (localization) to improve the accuracy of the robot 8's current location. Alternatively, the robot 8 may be configured to detect its own location within a facility using a positioning device using short-range wireless communication such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band). In this case, the positioning device includes a UWB terminal that transmits UWB signals and a receive-only tag that receives UWB signals. Multiple UWB terminals of the positioning device are installed at intervals within the facility. The receive-only tag is installed on the robot 8. As a result, when the robot 8 equipped with the receive-only tag moves within the facility, the position of the robot 8 can be determined with high accuracy. Further, the short-range wireless communication may be performed using a beacon device using Bluetooth (registered trademark) or a device using RFID in addition to UWB.

[0017] The robot 8 operates under the control of a robot management server 40, which serves as a mobile object control device. There are no limitations on the type, use, or operation control of the robot 8. The robot 8 communicates with the robot management server 40 via a communication network 6, such as wireless communication. The robot management server 40 is installed, for example, within a facility. The robot management server 40 communicates with the facility management device 10 via the communication network 6, such as the Internet.

[0018] The equipment management device 10 is a device that estimates the damage status of one or more equipment devices 50 around the site of an accident when an accident or other malfunction occurs to a robot 8 within the area. The equipment management device 10 communicates with one or more equipment devices 50 via a communication network 6 such as the Internet. The equipment management device 10 also communicates with an administrator terminal 60 via the communication network 6.

[0019] The administrator terminal 60 is a terminal managed by an administrator, and is a portable terminal device equipped with a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone. The administrator terminal 60 is connected to a communication network 6, such as the Internet. In this example, the administrator terminal 60 includes an output device 62 that outputs information to the administrator. Examples of the output device 62 include a display device and a speaker. The display device may be configured as a touch panel display.

[0020] Consider a case where an accident occurs to a robot 8 within an area where such an equipment management system 100 is applied. The robot 8 in which the accident occurred transmits a fault occurrence notification including information about the occurrence of the accident and robot position information including information about the location where the accident occurred to the robot management server 40. The robot management server 40 transmits the received fault occurrence notification and robot position information to the equipment management device 10.

[0021] Upon receiving the failure notification, the equipment management device 10 identifies peripheral equipment from one or more equipment devices 50 that is located near the location where the accident occurred. This process is hereinafter referred to as the "peripheral equipment identification process." Here, the "periphery" refers to a predetermined range that could be affected by an accident involving the robot 8. The equipment management system 100 holds map data in which the location information of one or more equipment devices 50 is associated with map information within the area. In the peripheral equipment identification process, the equipment management device 10 identifies and lists peripheral equipment by referring to the map data.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a pattern diagram showing an example of peripheral equipment identified by the peripheral equipment identification process. In the peripheral equipment identification process, the equipment management device 10, for example, approximates the positions of equipment 50 around the accident location to a specified arrangement pattern and identifies them as peripheral equipment e(k) (k = 1, ... , n). The arrangement pattern here specifies the relative positions of multiple peripheral equipment pieces with respect to the accident location. There are no limitations on the arrangement pattern. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an arrangement pattern in which peripheral equipment pieces are aligned and arranged at eight points in front of, behind, to the left of, to the right of, in front of, in front of, in front of, in rear of, and behind the accident location. The arrangement pattern may be, for example, a pattern in which the equipment pieces are aligned on a circumference surrounding the accident location. There are also no limitations on the method for approximating the positions of equipment pieces 50 to the specified arrangement pattern.

[0023] The equipment management device 10 sends a test command to each identified peripheral equipment e(k). This process is hereinafter referred to as the "test process." The test command includes a communication test command for instructing a communication status test and an operation test command for instructing an operation status test. In the test process, the equipment management device 10 first sends a communication test command to each identified peripheral equipment e(k). Then, the equipment management device 10 receives the communication test results sent from each peripheral equipment e(k). If the received communication test results are normal, the equipment management device 10 sends an operation test command to each identified peripheral equipment e(k). Then, the equipment management device 10 receives the operation test results sent from each peripheral equipment e(k).

[0024] The equipment management device 10 estimates the damage situation around the location where the failure occurred based on the received test results. This process is hereinafter referred to as the "damage situation estimation process." The damage situation estimation process references damage estimation data. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of damage estimation data. FIG. 3 illustrates multiple types of equipment failure patterns, each of which is associated with the location of each piece of peripheral equipment e(k) around the accident location and the attributes of each piece of peripheral equipment e(k), indicating whether it is maintenance-requiring equipment or non-maintenance-requiring equipment. For example, (A) in the figure illustrates a pattern in which damage is concentrated on one side of the accident location. Pattern (A) can be estimated to represent a damage situation in which, for example, the robot 8 comes to a stop after a collision without tipping over. (B) in the figure illustrates a pattern in which damage extends to two sides of the accident location. Pattern (B) can be estimated to represent a damage situation in which, for example, the robot 8 falls over after a collision. Furthermore, (C) in the figure illustrates a pattern in which damage extends to all sides of the accident location. Pattern (C) can be estimated to be a damage situation in which, for example, an accident involving the robot 8 has caused a fire to break out in the surrounding area.

[0025] The damage estimation data associates information on estimated damage situations with each equipment failure pattern. In the damage situation estimation process, the equipment management device 10 generates damage situation information that estimates the damage situation by comparing the test results of the surrounding equipment with the damage estimation data. The "damage situation information" generated here includes whether or not maintenance is required for each piece of surrounding equipment, the state of the robot 8, and the accident situation. The accident situation includes whether or not the robot 8 has fallen, the extent of the damage, etc. The damage situation information is transmitted to the manager terminal 60 via the communication network 6.

[0026] The manager terminal 60 notifies the manager of the received damage situation information by outputting it from the output device 62. Examples of notification means by the output device 62 include display output on a screen and audio output from a speaker.

[0027] According to the series of processes of the facility management system 100 described above, the manager can grasp and manage the damage caused by an accident involving a robot 8 traveling within the facility, even if he or she is unable to refer to the captured images of the accident site.

[0028] 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an equipment management system according to embodiment 1. The equipment management system 100 includes the above-described equipment management device 10, a robot 8, a robot management server 40, one or more equipment devices 50, and an administrator terminal 60.

[0029] The equipment management device 10 is a microcomputer that includes at least one processor 20 and at least one storage device 30. The equipment management device 10 is also called an information processing device.

[0030] The storage device 30 stores map data 32, damage estimation data 34, and an equipment management program 36. The map data 32 includes map information within the area, map information inside the building, and position coordinate information for each piece of equipment 50. The damage estimation data 34 stores the multiple types of equipment failure patterns described above. The map data 32 and the damage estimation data 34 may be stored in a server that can communicate with the equipment management device 10, such as the robot management server 40 or a cloud server.

[0031] The processor 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 20 reads and executes an equipment management program 36 to realize various functions of the equipment management device 10. The equipment management program 36 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

[0032] The facility management device 10 includes, as its functional blocks, a communication unit 22, a peripheral facility identification unit 24, and a damage situation estimation unit 26.

[0033] The communication unit 22 is a functional block for communicating with external devices. For example, the communication unit 22 communicates with the robot management server 40, the equipment 50, and the manager terminal 60 via the communication network 6. The peripheral equipment identification unit 24 is a functional block for performing peripheral equipment identification processing. The damage situation estimation unit 26 is a functional block for performing damage situation estimation processing. Specific processing executed in the equipment management device 10 will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

[0034] 1-3. Specific Processing Executed in the Equipment Management System According to the First Embodiment Fig. 5 is a flowchart of processing executed in the equipment management system according to the first embodiment. The routine shown in Fig. 5 is executed by the processor 20 of the equipment management device 10 executing the equipment management program 36 stored in the storage device 30. Note that this routine also represents part of an equipment management method for estimating the damage caused by an accident involving the robot 8 in the equipment management system 100.

[0035] 5, the communication unit 22 receives a failure notification and robot position information from the robot management server 40. The received failure notification and robot position information are sent to the peripheral equipment identification unit 24. After the processing of step S100 is performed, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0036] In step S102, the surrounding facility identification unit 24 acquires map data stored in the storage device 30. After the process of step S102 is performed, the process proceeds to step S104.

[0037] In step S104, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 executes a peripheral equipment identification process to identify peripheral equipment from the map data and the robot position information. Here, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 refers to the map data to identify each peripheral equipment e(k) located in each section R(k) surrounding the accident location included in the robot position information from among the equipment devices 50. After the process of step S104 is performed, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0038] In step S106, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 executes a test process to conduct a communication test with each identified peripheral equipment e(k). Specifically, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 transmits a communication test command from the communication unit 22 to each peripheral equipment e(k) to determine whether the communication state is good. After the process of step S106 is completed, the process proceeds to step S108.

[0039] In each peripheral facility e(k), a communication test is performed in accordance with the communication test command. In step S108, the communication unit 22 receives communication test results, including the results of the communication tests performed in each peripheral facility e(k), from each peripheral facility e(k), and sends them to the damage situation estimation unit 26. After the processing of step S108 is performed, the processing proceeds to step S110.

[0040] In step S110, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 executes a test process to conduct an operation test with each identified peripheral equipment e(k). Specifically, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 transmits an operation test command from the communication unit 22 to each peripheral equipment e(k) to determine whether the operation of each peripheral equipment e(k) is normal. After the process of step S110 is completed, the process proceeds to step S112.

[0041] In each peripheral facility e(k), an operation test is carried out in accordance with the operation test command. In step S112, the communication unit 22 receives operation test results, including the results of the operation tests carried out in each peripheral facility e(k), from each peripheral facility e(k), and sends them to the damage situation estimation unit 26. After the processing of step S112 is performed, the processing proceeds to step S114.

[0042] In step S114, the damage situation estimation unit 26 acquires damage estimation data stored in the storage device 30. After the processing of step S114 is performed, the processing proceeds to step S116.

[0043] In step S116, the damage situation estimation unit 26 performs a damage situation estimation process. Specifically, the damage situation estimation unit 26 compares the communication test results obtained in step S108 and the operation test results obtained in step S110 with the damage estimation data obtained in step S114. Here, among the peripheral equipment e(k) identified in step S104, peripheral equipment for which both the communication test results and the operation test results are good is associated as equipment not requiring maintenance, and peripheral equipment for which at least one of the communication test results and the operation test results is poor is associated as equipment requiring maintenance. Next, the damage situation estimation unit 26 compares the equipment failure pattern formed by each peripheral equipment e(k) with the equipment failure pattern in the damage estimation data, and determines the damage situation of the most similar equipment failure pattern as the estimated damage situation. Then, the damage situation estimation unit 26 generates damage situation information including the estimated damage situation and whether or not each peripheral equipment e(k) requires maintenance.

[0044] In step S118, the damage situation estimation unit 26 transmits the damage situation information from the communication unit 22 to the manager terminal 60. The manager terminal 60 notifies the manager of the received damage situation information.

[0045] Such processing by the facility management device 10 makes it possible to estimate the extent of damage to the surrounding area caused by an accident involving the robot 8 and notify the manager.

[0046] The facility management system 100 of the first embodiment may employ the following modified aspects. Note that these modified aspects may also be applied to facility management systems of other embodiments described later.

[0047] 1-4-1. Robot Management Server 40 Some or all of the functions of the robot management server 40 may be realized as functions of the processor 20 of the equipment management device 10. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the robot management server 40 may be installed on a device provided outside the facility. Some or all of the functions of the robot management server 40 may be implemented across multiple pieces of hardware. In this case, the pieces of hardware are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via a communication network 6 such as the Internet. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the robot management server 40 may be implemented using processing and storage resources on a cloud service.

[0048] 1-4-2. Hardware Resources of the Equipment Management Device 10 Figure 6 is a diagram showing a modified example of the hardware resources of the equipment management device 10. In the example shown in Figure 6, the equipment management device 10 includes, for example, a processor 20, a storage device 30, and a processing circuit 72 including dedicated hardware 70. Figure 6 shows an example in which some of the functions of the equipment management device 10 are implemented by the dedicated hardware 70. All of the functions of the equipment management device 10 may also be implemented by the dedicated hardware 70. The dedicated hardware 70 can be a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination of these.

[0049] The role of the storage device 30 may be played by a cloud or the like, independent of the equipment management device 10. The role of the communication unit 22 may be played by a data platform or the like, independent of the equipment management device 10.

[0050] 1-4-3. Damage Situation Estimation Processing In the damage situation estimation processing, the damage situation estimation unit 26 may be configured to estimate the damage situation more accurately using information on the traveling direction of the robot 8. Typically, the robot 8 detects its traveling direction from the bearing detected by the position sensor. Alternatively, the robot 8 detects its traveling direction from the movement trajectory of its own position detected by the position sensor. When an accident occurs, the robot 8 transmits a fault occurrence notification and robot position information including information on the location of the accident and the traveling direction of the robot 8 to the robot management server 40. The robot management server 40 transmits the received fault occurrence notification and robot position information to the equipment management device 10.

[0051] In the damage situation estimation process of the modified example, the damage situation estimation unit 26 associates each peripheral equipment e(k) with an attribute indicating whether it is maintenance-requiring equipment or maintenance-requiring equipment, and associates the attribute of the robot 8's traveling direction with the accident location. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of damage estimation data of the modified example. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an equipment failure pattern in which each peripheral equipment e(k) located around the accident location is associated with an attribute indicating whether it is maintenance-requiring equipment that requires maintenance or maintenance-free equipment that does not require maintenance, and an attribute of the robot's traveling direction at the accident location. The equipment failure pattern of FIG. 7 shows a pattern in which damage occurs on two sides of the accident location, including the traveling direction. Such a pattern can be estimated as a damage situation in which, for example, the robot 8 collides with something and then falls to the left of the traveling direction. The storage device 30 stores damage estimation data 34 including multiple equipment failure patterns associated with the traveling direction attribute, as shown in FIG. 7. In the damage situation estimation process, the equipment management device 10 generates damage situation information that estimates the damage situation by comparing the test results of the peripheral equipment with the damage estimation data 34. According to the damage situation estimation process of this modified example, it is possible to more accurately estimate the damage situation caused by the accident involving the robot 8.

[0052] 1-4-4. Test Processing The test processing may be configured to perform only either a communication test or an operation test. In this case, the peripheral equipment specifying unit 24 transmits only either a communication test command or an operation test command to each peripheral equipment e(k).

[0053] 1-4-5. Damage Estimation Data 34 The extent of damage caused by an accident may differ depending on the specifications of the robot 8. Therefore, the damage estimation data 34 may be set individually for each robot 8 according to its specifications.

[0054] 2. Embodiment 2 In Embodiment 2, differences from the example disclosed in Embodiment 1 will be described in particular detail. For features not described in Embodiment 2, any of the features of the example disclosed in Embodiment 1 may be adopted.

[0055] 2-1. Functions of the Facility Management System of the Second Embodiment The facility management system 100 of the second embodiment is characterized by a process of identifying surrounding facilities in units of pre-defined zoned areas and determining the damage status.

[0056] The map data 32 includes map information within the area, map information inside the building, and location coordinate information for each piece of equipment 50. The map information includes division information that divides the area into multiple divisions. There are no limitations on the shape, size, or division method of each division. For example, the map information includes division information that divides the area into a grid pattern.

[0057] In the surrounding equipment identification process, the equipment management device 10 refers to map data to identify a partitioned area of ​​the equipment 50 that includes the location where the accident occurred as the accident occurrence area, and identifies the equipment 50 within the identified accident occurrence area as surrounding equipment e(k).

[0058] In the damage situation estimation process, the equipment management device 10 calculates the proportion of defective equipment that was found to be defective in the test process results among the surrounding equipment e(k) in the accident area.The equipment management device 10 then estimates the damage situation based on the calculated proportion.Typically, when the proportion of defective equipment is large, the equipment management device 10 determines that the scale of damage is greater than when the proportion is small.

[0059] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of a damage situation estimated in the damage situation estimation process. In FIG. 8, map information including section information in which the area is divided into a grid pattern is used to illustrate several patterns in which each peripheral facility e(k) in the accident occurrence area is associated with an attribute indicating whether it is maintenance-requiring facility that requires maintenance or non-maintenance-requiring facility that does not require maintenance. For example, (A) in the figure shows a pattern in which the proportion of defective facilities determined to be maintenance-requiring facilities among the peripheral facilities e(k) in the accident occurrence area is small. In pattern (A), the damage to the peripheral facilities e(k) in the accident occurrence area is relatively small, so it can be estimated that the damage situation is one in which a small-scale accident has occurred.

[0060] In contrast, (B) in the figure shows a pattern in which the proportion of defective equipment determined to be maintenance-requiring equipment is high among the surrounding equipment e(k) within the accident area. Pattern (A) can be estimated to be a damage situation in which a large-scale accident has occurred, since the damage to the surrounding equipment e(k) within the accident area is relatively large.

[0061] According to the processing of the facility management system 100 of embodiment 2, it is possible to identify areas where damage due to an accident may occur, and then estimate the scale of damage within the identified areas.

[0062] 2-2. Specific Processing Executed in the Equipment Management System According to the Second Embodiment Fig. 9 is a flowchart of processing executed in the equipment management system according to the second embodiment. The routine shown in Fig. 9 is executed by the processor 20 of the equipment management device 10 executing the equipment management program 36 stored in the storage device 30. Note that this routine also represents part of an equipment management method for estimating the damage caused by an accident involving the robot 8 in the equipment management system 100.

[0063] In steps S200 and S202 of the routine shown in Fig. 9, the same processes as in steps S100 and S102 of the routine shown in Fig. 5 are executed. After the process of step S202 is executed, the process proceeds to step S204.

[0064] In step S204, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 executes a peripheral equipment identification process to identify peripheral equipment from the map data and the robot position information. Here, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 first identifies a partitioned area that includes the accident location included in the robot position information as the accident area, and then identifies the equipment 50 in the identified accident area as peripheral equipment e(k). After the process of step S204 is performed, the process proceeds to step S206.

[0065] In steps S206, S208, S210 and S212, test processes similar to those in steps S106, S106, S106 and S106 of the routine shown in Fig. 5 are executed. After the process in step S212 is executed, the process proceeds to step S214.

[0066] In step S214, the damage situation estimation unit 26 performs a damage situation estimation process. Specifically, for each peripheral equipment e(k) identified in step S204, the damage situation estimation unit 26 associates peripheral equipment for which both the communication test result and the operation test result are good as equipment not requiring maintenance, and associates peripheral equipment for which at least one of the communication test result and the operation test result is poor as equipment requiring maintenance. Next, the damage situation estimation unit 26 calculates the proportion of peripheral equipment not requiring maintenance among the peripheral equipment e(k). After the process of step S214 is performed, the process proceeds to step S216.

[0067] In step S216, the damage situation estimation unit 26 determines the damage situation such that the scale of damage increases as the ratio calculated in the processing of step S214 increases. Then, the damage situation estimation unit 26 generates damage situation information including the estimated damage situation and whether or not maintenance is required for each peripheral facility e(k).

[0068] In step S218, the damage situation estimation unit 26 transmits the damage situation information from the communication unit 22 to the manager terminal 60. The manager terminal 60 notifies the manager of the received damage situation information.

[0069] According to the processing of the facility management device 10 according to the second embodiment, it is possible to estimate the extent of damage within the area where the accident involving the robot 8 has occurred and notify the manager.

[0070] 3. Embodiment 3 In Embodiment 3, differences from the example disclosed in Embodiment 2 will be described in particular detail. For features not described in Embodiment 3, any of the features of the example disclosed in Embodiment 2 may be adopted.

[0071] The facility management system 100 of the third embodiment is characterized in that, depending on the scale of damage in the accident area, damage situation estimation processing is also performed for partitioned areas that belong to additional search areas adjacent to the accident area. Specific processing executed by the facility management system 100 of the third embodiment will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

[0072] 3-1. Specific Processing Executed in the Equipment Management System According to the Third Embodiment Fig. 10 is a flowchart of processing executed in the equipment management system according to the third embodiment. The routine shown in Fig. 10 is executed by the processor 20 of the equipment management device 10 executing the equipment management program 36 stored in the storage device 30 after the routine for estimating the damage situation for the accident area shown in Fig. 9 has been executed. This routine also represents part of an equipment management method for estimating the damage situation caused by an accident involving a robot 8 in the equipment management system 100.

[0073] In step S300 of the routine shown in FIG. 10 , the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 determines whether the proportion of defective equipment calculated in the processing of step S219 is equal to or greater than a criterion. As described above in the second embodiment, the proportion of defective equipment is related to the scale of damage caused by an accident. The criterion used here is a preset value representing the percentage of the damage caused by the accident that may extend to the periphery of the accident area. The criterion is, for example, 50%. As a result, if the determination is not established, the processing of this routine is terminated, and if the determination is established, the processing proceeds to step S302.

[0074] In step S302, the surrounding equipment identification unit 24 identifies an additional search area adjacent to the accident occurrence area. This process will be referred to hereinafter as the "additional search area identification process." FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the additional search area identification process. (A) in FIG. 11 illustrates a case where the proportion of malfunctioning equipment in the accident occurrence area is less than the judgment criterion. In this case, it is determined that there is a low possibility of damage to the area surrounding the accident occurrence area, and the additional area identification process is not performed. On the other hand, (B) in FIG. 11 illustrates a case where the proportion of malfunctioning equipment in the accident occurrence area is equal to or greater than the judgment criterion. In this case, it is determined that there is a high possibility of damage to the area surrounding the accident occurrence area, and the additional search area identification process is performed. In the additional area identification process, the surrounding equipment identification unit 24 identifies multiple partitioned areas surrounding the periphery of the accident occurrence area as additional search areas.

[0075] In step S302, the peripheral equipment identification unit 24 identifies, in each of the divided areas that make up the additional search area, the equipment 50 located within the area as peripheral equipment e(k). When the processing of step S302 is completed, the processing proceeds to step S304.

[0076] In steps S304, S306, S308, and S310, test processes similar to those in steps S206, S208, S210, and S212 shown in Fig. 9 are executed. After the process in step S310 is executed, the process proceeds to step S312.

[0077] In step S312, the damage situation estimation unit 26 performs a damage situation estimation process. Specifically, for each peripheral facility e(k) in the additional search area identified in step S302, the damage situation estimation unit 26 associates peripheral facility e(k) in which both the communication test result and the operation test result are good as a facility not requiring maintenance, and associates peripheral facility e(k) in which at least one of the communication test result and the operation test result is bad as a facility requiring maintenance. Next, the damage situation estimation unit 26 calculates the proportion of peripheral facility e(k) in each partitioned area of ​​the additional search area that is not requiring maintenance. After the process of step S312 is performed, the process proceeds to step S314.

[0078] In step S314, the damage situation estimation unit 26 determines the damage situation such that the scale of damage increases as the ratio calculated in the processing of step S312 increases. Then, the damage situation estimation unit 26 generates damage situation information including the estimated damage situation and whether or not maintenance is required for each peripheral facility e(k).

[0079] In step S316, the damage situation estimation unit 26 transmits the damage situation information from the communication unit 22 to the manager terminal 60. The manager terminal 60 notifies the manager of the received damage situation information.

[0080] According to the processing of the facility management device 10 according to the third embodiment, it is determined whether or not to execute the damage situation estimation process in the additional search area, depending on the damage situation in the accident area caused by the accident involving the robot 8. This makes it possible to determine the damage situation over a wider area depending on the damage situation in the accident area.

[0081] 3-2. Modifications The facility management system 100 of the third embodiment may employ the following modifications.

[0082] There is no limitation on the scope of the additional search area identified in the additional search area identification process. That is, the additional search area may include a wider range of divided areas as long as they are divided areas that may be affected by the accident. Furthermore, the additional search area may be all divided areas that border the accident area, or a portion of those divided areas. Alternatively, the additional search area may be determined based on any rule. Examples of such rules include a method of searching for divided areas that border the edge of the accident area at a specified rate or more as additional search areas, or a method of calculating a directional vector of concentrated damage from the location of equipment requiring maintenance within the accident area and searching for divided areas in the direction of that directional vector as additional search areas.

[0083] 4. Embodiment 4 In Embodiment 4, differences from the example disclosed in Embodiment 1 will be described in particular detail. For features not described in Embodiment 4, any of the features of the example disclosed in Embodiment 1 may be adopted.

[0084] 4-1. Functions of the Facility Management System of the Fourth Embodiment The facility management system 100 of the fourth embodiment is characterized by the process of controlling the operation of the facility devices 50 in accordance with the damage caused by the accident.

[0085] 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facility management system according to embodiment 4. The facility management device 10 of the facility management system 100 further includes an operation management unit 28 in addition to the functional block configuration of the facility management system 100 shown in FIG.

[0086] The operation management unit 28 is a functional block for controlling the operation of the facility equipment 50 in accordance with the damage situation estimated by the damage situation estimation unit 26. Whether each facility equipment 50 can operate is determined based on operation possibility information linked to the damage estimation data 34. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of damage estimation data. The operation possibility information is associated with each peripheral equipment e(k) of an equipment failure pattern.

[0087] For example, (A) in the figure shows a pattern in which damage is concentrated on one side of the accident location. Pattern (A) can be estimated to be a damage situation in which, for example, robot 8 comes to a stop after a collision without falling over. In this case, it can be determined that there is little possibility of the damage spreading further, so the non-maintenance-requiring equipment is set as operable equipment.

[0088] (B) in the figure shows a pattern in which damage has spread to two sides of the accident location. Pattern (B) can be estimated to be a damage situation in which, for example, the robot 8 has fallen over after a collision. In this case, it can be determined that the possibility of damage spreading is low on the side opposite the side of the fall, so the non-maintenance-requiring equipment located on the side opposite the side of the fall is set as operable equipment.

[0089] Moreover, (C) in the figure shows a pattern in which damage has spread in all directions from the location where the accident occurred. Pattern (C) can be estimated to be a damage situation in which, for example, an accident involving the robot 8 has caused a fire to break out in the surrounding area. In this case, it can be determined that there is a high possibility that the damage will spread in all directions, so the surrounding equipment in all directions is not set as operable equipment.

[0090] The operation management unit 28 determines, from the damage estimation data 34, an equipment failure pattern that is most similar to the equipment failure pattern formed by each peripheral equipment e(k), and generates an operation command for instructing each peripheral equipment e(k) to operate or stop based on the operation feasibility information associated with the determined equipment failure pattern. The generated operation command is sent from the communication unit 22 to each peripheral equipment e(k).

[0091] According to the facility management system 100 of the fourth embodiment as described above, the facility equipment 50 can be operated safely after grasping the damage caused by the accident.

[0092] 6 Communication network, 8 Robot, 10 Facility management device, 20 Processor, 22 Communication unit, 24 Peripheral facility identification unit, 26 Damage situation estimation unit, 28 Operation management unit, 30 Storage device, 32 Map data, 34 Damage estimation data, 36 Facility management program, 40 Robot management server, 50 Facility equipment, 60 Manager terminal, 62 Output device, 70 Dedicated hardware, 72 Processing circuit, 100 Facility management system

Claims

1. An equipment management system including a mobile body control device that controls an autonomous mobile body, a plurality of facilities arranged within an area, and an equipment management device that communicates with the mobile body control device and the plurality of facilities and estimates a damage situation of an accident that has occurred to the autonomous mobile body within the area, The mobile object control device includes: When an accident occurs in the autonomous moving body, the location of the accident is transmitted to the facility management device, The equipment management device a peripheral equipment specifying unit that acquires the accident location from the mobile object control device, specifies peripheral equipment among the plurality of facilities that is located around the accident location, and transmits a test command to the peripheral equipment; a damage situation estimation unit that acquires test results from the peripheral equipment and estimates a damage situation around the accident occurrence position based on the test results, The peripheral equipment receives the test command from the equipment management device, executes a test in accordance with the test command, and transmits the test result to the equipment management device. A facility management system configured as follows.

2. the facility management system includes an administrator terminal capable of communicating with the facility management device, the facility management device is configured to transmit the damage status to an administrator terminal, The manager terminal outputs the damage situation from an output device. The facility management system according to claim 1 , which is configured as follows:

3. The mobile object control device a traveling direction of the autonomous moving body when an accident occurs in the autonomous moving body is transmitted to the facility management device; The equipment management device The moving object control device is configured to acquire the traveling direction, The damage situation estimation unit estimates the damage situation around the accident location based on the traveling direction and the test result.

3. The facility management system according to claim 1 or 2, configured as follows:

4. The peripheral equipment identification unit An arrangement pattern is identified that defines the relative positions of a plurality of peripheral facilities with respect to the accident occurrence location, and among the plurality of facilities, facilities that correspond to the arrangement pattern are identified as the peripheral facilities.

3. The facility management system according to claim 1 or 2, configured as follows:

5. The peripheral equipment identification unit An accident occurrence area including the location of the accident is identified, and among the plurality of facilities, facilities included in the accident occurrence area are identified as the surrounding facilities.

3. The facility management system according to claim 1 or 2, configured as follows:

6. The peripheral equipment identification unit An additional search area adjacent to the accident occurrence area is identified according to the damage situation estimated by the damage situation estimation unit, and equipment included in the additional search area among the plurality of facilities is identified as the peripheral facilities. The facility management system according to claim 5 , which is configured as follows:

7. The equipment management device further includes an operation management unit that generates operation commands that instruct the peripheral equipment to operate and stop. the damage situation estimation unit determines whether the peripheral equipment is operable according to the estimated damage situation; The operation management unit generates the operation command for the peripheral equipment based on the operation possibility and transmits the operation command to the peripheral equipment.

3. The facility management system according to claim 1 or 2, configured as follows:

8. a storage device that stores damage estimation data including a plurality of types of equipment failure patterns that are associated with the layout of the plurality of pieces of equipment and whether or not maintenance is required; The damage situation estimation unit identifies an equipment failure pattern similar to the peripheral equipment from among the plurality of types of equipment failure patterns by collating the test results with the damage estimation data, and estimates the damage situation based on the identified equipment failure pattern.

3. The facility management system according to claim 1 or 2, configured as follows:

9. the test command includes a communication test command and an operation test command; the peripheral equipment specifying unit transmits the communication test command as the test command; the damage situation estimation unit acquires a communication test result in response to the communication test command as the test result, If the communication test result is normal, the peripheral equipment specifying unit transmits the operation test command as the test command; The damage situation estimation unit acquires an operation test result in response to the operation test command as the test result, and estimates a damage situation around the location where the accident occurred based on the operation test result.

3. The facility management system according to claim 1 or 2, configured as follows:

10. An equipment management device that communicates with a mobile object control device that controls an autonomous mobile object and a plurality of facilities arranged within an area and estimates a damage situation of an accident that has occurred to the autonomous mobile object within the area, a peripheral equipment identification unit that acquires an accident location transmitted from the mobile body control device when an accident occurs to the autonomous mobile body, identifies peripheral equipment located around the accident location among the plurality of facilities, and transmits a test command to the peripheral equipment; a damage situation estimation unit that acquires test results obtained by executing tests in accordance with the test command from each of the peripheral facilities and estimates a damage situation around the accident occurrence position based on the test results; A facility management device comprising:

11. A facility management method that causes a computer to estimate a damage situation of an accident involving an autonomous moving body that has occurred in an area where a plurality of facilities are located, comprising: acquiring an accident location when an accident occurs in the autonomous moving body; identifying peripheral equipment located around the location of the accident from among the plurality of equipment; performing a test of the peripheral equipment; A step of estimating the damage situation around the location of the accident based on the test result of the test; A facility management method comprising:

12. An equipment management program that causes a computer to estimate a damage situation of an accident involving an autonomous moving body that has occurred in an area where a plurality of pieces of equipment are located, When an accident occurs in the autonomous moving body, an accident location is acquired; Identifying peripheral equipment located around the location where the accident occurred from among the plurality of facilities; Performing a test of the peripheral equipment; Based on the test results, estimate the damage situation around the location where the accident occurred. Make the computer do something A facility management program designed to:

13. An equipment management program that causes a computer to communicate with a mobile body control device that controls an autonomous mobile body and a plurality of facilities arranged within an area, and estimate a damage situation of an accident that has occurred to the autonomous mobile body within the area, When an accident occurs in the autonomous moving body, an accident location transmitted from the moving body control device is acquired; Identifying peripheral equipment located around the location where the accident occurred from among the plurality of facilities; Sending a test command to the peripheral equipment; Obtaining test results from each of the peripheral devices after executing the test in accordance with the test command; Estimate the damage situation around the location of the accident based on the test results. Make the computer do something A facility management program designed to: