Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

Provided is an information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a situation at a movement destination of a small aircraft; and a control unit that, on the basis of the information acquired by the acquisition unit, transmits evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to corresponding to the movement destination.

Description

Information processing device, information processing method, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program.

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for flying an unmanned aircraft while securing safe candidate landing sites in preparation for the occurrence of an abnormality during flight. In the technology described in Patent Literature 1, the unmanned aircraft changes its flight path based on a detection sensor so as to secure candidate landing sites that correspond to an assumed abnormality of the unmanned aircraft that is expected to occur during flight.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-165870

[0004] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 may not be able to prompt, for example, pedestrians who may obstruct the movement of the small aircraft to take appropriate shelter.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can prompt pedestrians and others who may obstruct the movement of small aircraft to take appropriate shelter.

[0006] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing device is provided that has an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the status of a destination of a small aircraft, and a control unit that transmits evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to depending on the destination based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0007] In addition, a second aspect of the present disclosure provides an information processing method that acquires information indicating the situation at the destination of a small aircraft, and based on the acquired information, transmits evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to depending on the destination.

[0008] In addition, in a third aspect of the present disclosure, a program is provided that causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring information indicating the status of the destination of a small aircraft, and transmitting evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to depending on the destination based on the acquired information.

[0009] According to one aspect, pedestrians and the like who may obstruct the movement of the small aircraft can be urged to take appropriate shelter.

[0010] It is a figure which shows an example of the configuration of the information processing device based on the embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the configuration of the information processing system based on the embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device based on the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process of the information processing device based on the embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the saved information based on the embodiment.

[0011] The principles of the present disclosure will be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are set forth for illustrative purposes only, to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0012] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that each drawing is merely an example for describing one or more embodiments. Each drawing is not related to only one particular embodiment, but may also be related to one or more other embodiments. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, various features or steps described with reference to any one drawing can be combined with features or steps shown in one or more other drawings to create, for example, an embodiment not explicitly shown or described. Not all features or steps shown in any one drawing are necessarily required to describe an exemplary embodiment, and some features or steps may be omitted. The order of steps described in any drawing may be changed as appropriate.

[0014] (First Embodiment) <Configuration> The configuration of an information processing device 10 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 10 according to an embodiment. The information processing device 10 has an acquisition unit 11 and a control unit 12. These units may be realized by cooperation between one or more programs installed in the information processing device 10 and hardware such as a processor and memory of the information processing device 10.

[0015] The acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the situation at the destination of the small aircraft. The control unit 12 transmits evacuation information indicating an area to which a user or the like should evacuate according to the destination based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 11. This makes it possible to prompt, for example, pedestrians, robots, or the like that may obstruct the movement of the small aircraft to evacuate appropriately.

[0016] (Embodiment 2) Next, the configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 2. <System Configuration> Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. In the example of Figure 2, the information processing system 1 has an information processing device 10 and a small aircraft 20. The information processing system 1 also has devices 30A, 30B, and 30C (hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between them, they will also be simply referred to as "devices 30"). In the example of Figure 2, the information processing device 10, the small aircraft 20, and the devices 30 are connected so as to be able to communicate via a network N. Note that the number of information processing devices 10, the small aircraft 20, and the devices 30 is not limited to the example of Figure 2.

[0017] Examples of the network N include the Internet, a mobile communication system, a wireless local area network (LAN), a LAN, a bus, etc. Examples of the mobile communication system include a fifth generation mobile communication system (5G), a sixth generation mobile communication system (6G, Beyond 5G), a fourth generation mobile communication system (4G), a third generation mobile communication system (3G), etc.

[0018] The information processing device 10 may be, for example, a device (computer) such as a server, a cloud, a personal computer, a tablet, or a computer (e.g., a microcontroller) mounted on the small aircraft 20. The information processing device 10 may perform various types of control over the small aircraft 20, for example.

[0019] The small aircraft 20 may be, for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) that flies by remote control or automatic piloting. The small aircraft 20 may also be, for example, a flying car, which is a means of air transportation that utilizes aviation technologies such as electrification and automation, or an operating mode such as vertical takeoff and landing. The small aircraft 20 may be operated in an emergency by, for example, a fire department or police. In this case, the small aircraft 20 may, for example, urgently transport equipment such as an automated external defibrillator (AED) to the vicinity of a person who has collapsed.

[0020] The device 30 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a wearable device (for example, a smart watch or smart glasses) owned by a user, or a mobile object capable of autonomous driving (for example, a robot or an autonomous vehicle).

[0021] <Hardware Configuration> Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment. In the example of Fig. 3, the information processing device 10 (computer 100) includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and a communication interface 103. These components may be connected via a bus or the like. The memory 102 stores at least a part of a program 104. The communication interface 103 includes an interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0022] When the program 104 is executed by the processor 101, memory 102, and other components in cooperation with each other, the computer 100 performs at least some of the processing of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The memory 102 may be of any type. As a non-limiting example, the memory 102 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The memory 102 may also be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. Although only one memory 102 is shown in the computer 100, several physically different memory modules may be present in the computer 100. The processor 101 may be of any type. The processor 101 may include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and, as a non-limiting example, a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The computer 100 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0023] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device.

[0024] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, that execute on a target real or virtual processor or device to perform the processes or methods of the present disclosure. Program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0025] The program code for executing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus. When the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / acts in the flowcharts and / or implementing block diagrams are performed. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0026] The program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible recording media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media, magneto-optical recording media, optical disk media, and semiconductor memory. Magnetic recording media include, for example, flexible disks, magnetic tapes, and hard disk drives. Magneto-optical recording media include, for example, magneto-optical disks. Optical disk media include, for example, Blu-ray discs, CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R (Recordable), and CD-RW (Rewritable). Semiconductor memory includes, for example, solid-state drives, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, and RAM (Random Access Memory). The program may also be supplied to a computer by various types of temporary computer-readable media. Examples of temporary computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire or an optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

[0027] <Processing> Next, an example of processing when the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment transmits evacuation information will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of evacuation information according to the embodiment. Note that the processing in Fig. 4 may be executed, for example, periodically.

[0028] In step S101, the acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the status of the destination of the small aircraft 20. The destination of the small aircraft 20 may include, for example, at least one of a position where the small aircraft 20 will land, a position where the small aircraft 20 will hover (stationary in the air), and a position in three-dimensional space on the route along which the small aircraft 20 is scheduled to fly.

[0029] Furthermore, the information indicating the situation of the destination of the small aircraft 20 may include, for example, at least one of an image captured by a photographing device and information measured by a three-dimensional sensor that measures the size and position of an object. The photographing device or the three-dimensional sensor may be mounted on the small aircraft 20.

[0030] The image captured by the imaging device may be, for example, an image captured by a monocular camera or a stereo camera. The three-dimensional sensor may be, for example, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor that measures the distance to an object and its shape by irradiating it with laser light and detecting reflected or scattered light. Furthermore, the three-dimensional sensor may be, for example, a ToF (Time of Flight) camera that can measure three-dimensional information by irradiating an object with pulsed light and measuring the reflection time for each pixel.

[0031] Next, the control unit 12 determines, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, whether or not to transmit evacuation information indicating an evacuation area, which is an area where the equipment 30, etc. should evacuate (an area where the equipment 30, etc. should leave), to the equipment 30, etc. in the vicinity of the destination of the small aircraft 20 (step S102). Here, the control unit 12 may, for example, use AI (artificial intelligence) or the like to estimate (infer) the risk of the equipment 30 colliding with the small aircraft 20 based on images or the like. Then, the control unit 12 may, for example, determine to transmit evacuation information if the estimated risk is equal to or greater than a threshold.

[0032] The control unit 12 may also determine whether to transmit evacuation information based on at least one of the status of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft 20 and the weather around the small aircraft 20, and information indicating the status of the destination of the small aircraft 20. This allows, for example, the risk of the equipment 30 colliding with the small aircraft 20 to be more appropriately estimated. In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, use AI or the like to estimate the risk of the equipment 30 colliding with the small aircraft 20 based on at least one of the status of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft 20 and the weather around the small aircraft 20, and images or the like.

[0033] The status of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft 20 in the present disclosure may include, for example, information indicating at least one of the weight and the shape of the luggage. This makes it relatively easy to transmit evacuation information, for example, when the flight of the small aircraft 20 is relatively unstable due to the luggage being carried by the small aircraft 20. The information indicating the status of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft 20 may be set (registered) in the information processing device 10 by, for example, an operator (administrator) of the information processing device 10.

[0034] The weather around the small aircraft 20 in the present disclosure may include, for example, information indicating at least one of the wind speed and precipitation amount around the small aircraft 20. This makes it relatively easy to transmit evacuation information, for example, when the flight of the small aircraft 20 is relatively unstable due to the weather around the small aircraft 20. The information indicating the weather around the small aircraft 20 may be set in the information processing device 10 by an operator of the information processing device 10, or may be measured by a sensor mounted on the small aircraft 20, for example.

[0035] If it is determined that the evacuation information should not be transmitted (NO in step S102), the processing is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the evacuation information should be transmitted (YES in step S102), the control unit 12 determines an evacuation area (step S103). Here, the control unit 12 may determine, for example, a specific range from the destination of the small aircraft 20 (for example, within a radius of 5 m from the destination position).

[0036] The control unit 12 may also determine the evacuation area based on, for example, at least one of the status of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft 20, the weather around the small aircraft 20, and the flight plans of other small aircraft. This allows, for example, the evacuation area to be more appropriately estimated. The control unit 12 may determine a wider evacuation area, for example, the more unstable the flight of the small aircraft 20 is due to at least one of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft 20 and the weather around the small aircraft 20. The control unit 12 may also determine a wider evacuation area, for example, the more other small aircraft are heading to the same destination as the small aircraft 20, based on the flight plans of the other small aircraft. This allows, for example, when a relatively large number of small aircraft are landing at the same site, the area into which the equipment 30 is evacuated can be wider.

[0037] Next, the control unit 12 transmits evacuation information corresponding to the destination of the small aircraft 20 (step S104), and ends the processing. Here, the control unit 12 may, for example, cause a transmitter mounted on the small aircraft 20 to transmit the evacuation information via wireless communication such as BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy). This allows the evacuation information to be transmitted to equipment 30 corresponding to the destination of the small aircraft 20. In this case, the control unit 12 may, for example, cause a transmitter having a directional antenna to transmit radio waves in the direction of the destination of the small aircraft 20. This allows the evacuation information to be transmitted to equipment 30 within a range corresponding to the destination of the small aircraft 20, for example.

[0038] Furthermore, the control unit 12 may transmit evacuation information to the device 30 located within a range corresponding to the destination of the small aircraft 20, for example, based on the location information of the device 30. In this case, the location information of the device 30 may be information measured by the device 30 using a satellite positioning system such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), and acquired from the device 30 by a communication device mounted on the small aircraft 20. Furthermore, the location information of the device 30 may be information indicating the relative position of the device 30 with respect to the small aircraft 20, which is measured using, for example, the angle of arrival (AoA) or the angle of departure (AoD).

[0039] Furthermore, the control unit 12 may transmit evacuation information to a user's device 30 identified based on a facial image of a person located near the destination of the small aircraft 20. In this case, for example, the control unit 12 may transmit a facial image to a system of a facility (e.g., a theme park, an event venue, or a factory) that allows entry using facial recognition, and obtain from the system a communication address for receiving data from the user's device 30 identified based on the facial image. The communication address may be, for example, registered by the user in the system in order for the user to enter the facility. The communication address may be, for example, an email address, account information for a social networking service (SNS), or a media access control address (MAC).

[0040] The control unit 12 may also transmit evacuation information to equipment mounted on the small aircraft 20. In this case, the control unit 12 may output an audio message indicating the evacuation area from a speaker mounted on the small aircraft 20. The control unit 12 may also project a figure or the like indicating the evacuation area onto the ground or the like using a projector mounted on the small aircraft 20.

[0041] (Regarding Evacuation Information) The evacuation information may include an image showing the evacuation area. In this case, the evacuation information may include an image taken from the small aircraft 20 and a display object showing the evacuation area that is superimposed on the image.

[0042] Fig. 5 shows an example of evacuation information according to the embodiment. In the example of Fig. 5, a message 511 urging the user of the device 30 to evacuate and an image 512 indicating the evacuation area are displayed on a display screen 501 of the device 30. The image 512 is displayed with a display object 513 indicating the evacuation area superimposed on an image captured by the camera of the small aircraft 20. This allows the user of the device 30 to relatively easily recognize that the area inside the display object 513 is off-limits.

[0043] The evacuation information may also include information instructing movement outside the evacuation area. As a result, for example, if the device 30 is an autonomously driven mobile body, the device 30 can be moved outside the evacuation area. Note that the autonomously driven mobile body may be, for example, an autonomously driven vehicle, a transport robot, or the like.

[0044] <Modifications> The information processing device 10 may be a device contained in a single housing, but the information processing device 10 of the present disclosure is not limited to this. Each unit of the information processing device 10 may be realized, for example, by cloud computing configured with one or more computers. The information processing device 10 may also be mounted on the small aircraft 20. At least a portion of the processing of each functional unit of the information processing device 10 may be performed by at least one of the small aircraft 20 and the device 30. Such information processing devices 10 are also included as examples of the "information processing device" of the present disclosure.

[0045] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate.

[0046] Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as, but are not limited to, the following appendices. Note that some or all of the elements (e.g., configurations and functions) described in each appendix dependent on appendix 1 may also be dependent on independent appendices in other categories through similar dependency relationships. Some or all of the elements described in any appendix may be applied to various hardware, software, recording means for recording software, systems, and methods. (Appendix 1) An information processing device having: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the status of a destination of a small aircraft; and a control unit that transmits evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to according to the destination based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit. (Appendix 2) The information processing device described in appendix 1, wherein the control unit determines the area based on at least one of the status of luggage carried by the small aircraft, the weather around the small aircraft, and the flight plans of other small aircraft. (Supplementary Note 3) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the control unit determines whether to transmit the evacuation information based on at least one of the status of luggage being carried by the small aircraft and the weather around the small aircraft, and information indicating the status of the destination. (Supplementary Note 4) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the control unit transmits the evacuation information to a user's terminal, and the evacuation information includes an image indicating the area. (Supplementary Note 5) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 4, wherein the evacuation information includes an image taken from the small aircraft and a display object indicating the area that is displayed superimposed on the image. (Supplementary Note 6) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the control unit transmits the evacuation information to a mobile body capable of autonomous travel, and the evacuation information includes information instructing the mobile body to move out of the area. (Supplementary Note 7) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the information indicating the status of the destination includes a facial image of a person located in the vicinity of the destination, and the control unit transmits the evacuation information to a device of a user identified based on the facial image. (Supplementary Note 8) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the information indicating the status of the destination includes at least one of an image captured by an imaging device and information measured by a three-dimensional sensor that measures the size and position of an object.(Supplementary Note 9) An information processing method, comprising: acquiring information indicating the status of a destination of a small aircraft; and transmitting evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to according to the destination based on the acquired information. (Supplementary Note 10) A program that causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring information indicating the status of a destination of a small aircraft; and transmitting evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to according to the destination based on the acquired information.

[0047] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the invention.

[0048] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-163200, filed September 26, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0049] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Information processing system 10 Information processing device 11 Acquisition unit 12 Control unit 20 Small aircraft 30 Equipment

Claims

1. An information processing device having: an acquisition means for acquiring information indicating the situation of a destination of a small aircraft; and a control means for transmitting evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to according to the destination based on the information acquired by the acquisition means.

2. The information processing device described in claim 1, wherein the control means determines the area based on at least one of the status of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft, the weather surrounding the small aircraft, and the operation plans of other small aircraft.

3. An information processing device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means determines whether or not to transmit the evacuation information based on at least one of the status of the luggage being carried by the small aircraft and the weather surrounding the small aircraft, and information indicating the status of the destination.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means transmits the evacuation information to a user terminal, and the evacuation information includes an image showing the area.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, wherein the evacuation information includes an image taken from the small aircraft and a display object indicating the area that is displayed superimposed on the image.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means transmits the evacuation information to a mobile body capable of autonomous driving, and the evacuation information includes information instructing the mobile body to move outside the area.

7. An information processing device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the information indicating the situation of the destination includes a facial image of a person located in the vicinity of the destination, and the control means transmits the evacuation information to an equipment of a user identified based on the facial image.

8. An information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information indicating the situation at the destination includes at least one of an image captured by an imaging device and information measured by a three-dimensional sensor that measures the size and position of an object.

9. An information processing method comprising: acquiring information indicating the situation of a destination of a small aircraft; and transmitting evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to according to the destination based on the acquired information.

10. A program that causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring information indicating the situation of a destination of a small aircraft, and transmitting evacuation information indicating an area to evacuate to according to the destination based on the acquired information.

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