Work planning system, work planning device, and work planning method

Abstract

Provided is a work planning device which corrects work plans of machines that jointly work and the like to thereby improve entire work efficiency. A work planning device comprises: a first state acquisition unit A102 for acquiring information about a moving body B100; a second state acquisition unit A104 for acquiring information about a moving body B102; a work plan acquisition unit A101 for acquiring work plans including a joint work location of the moving body B100 and the moving body B102 and a joint work time segment of the moving body B100 and the moving body B102; a first time segment calculation unit A103 for calculating, on the basis of the information about the moving body B100 and the joint work location, a first time segment between the arrival and the departure of the moving body B100; a second time segment calculation unit A105 for calculating, on the basis of the information about the moving body B102 and the joint work location, a second time segment between when the moving body B102 arrives at the joint work location and when the moving body leaves the joint work location; an overlap determination unit A106 for overlapping among the joint work time segment, the first time segment, and the second time segment; a joining time segment setting unit A107 for setting a joining time segment of the moving body B100 and the moving body B102; and an output unit A108 for outputting the joining time segment.

Description

Work planning system, work planning device, and work planning method

[0001] The present invention relates to a work planning system, a work planning device, and a work planning method for a moving object.

[0002] There are workplaces where machines work together or with workers, such as a transport machine and a picking robot in a logistics warehouse, or a transport machine and a worker, or a shovel and a dump truck at a construction site or mine. In such workplaces, collaboration occurs for some of the assigned work, while the workers work alone during other times. Or, tasks are repeated while changing partners.

[0003] In this case, situations may arise where the working environment of the machine or worker makes it impossible to carry out the joint work within the pre-planned time slot. If one machine or worker is behind schedule, it will lead to a delay in the work of the other machine or worker. Even if one machine or worker is able to start earlier than planned, the other will continue to work as planned, so it will not lead to recovery or improvement in work efficiency.

[0004] For example, in a mine, a shovel and a dump truck work together, loading excavated soil and ore into a dump truck. The digging and loading speed of the shovel varies from the plan depending on the hardness of the ground being excavated, so if the shovel is slow, dump trucks will have to wait their turn, and if the shovel is fast, the shovel will have to wait for the next dump truck to arrive.

[0005] In addition, the dump truck's travel speed varies from the planned speed depending on the road conditions and the frequency of obstacles, so if it is slow, the excavator will have to wait, and if it is fast, the dump truck will have to wait while waiting its turn to load.

[0006] In response to this problem, Patent Document 1 presents a method for determining the position and time for handing over work to another work machine 2 based on the progress of work being performed by one work machine 1 in a situation where two work machines are continuously performing work in shifts.

[0007] JP 2023-59694 A

[0008] According to Patent Document 1, the time period for collaborative work can be adjusted based on the state of the work machine 1, so that work efficiency can be maintained and improved even if the work progress of the work machine 1 differs from the plan.

[0009] However, in Patent Document 1, the plan for the work machine 2 needs to have some leeway to be able to flexibly change it in accordance with the state of the work machine 1, so there is still room for improvement in the work efficiency of the work machine 2.

[0010] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a work planning system, a work planning device, and a work planning method that can improve overall work efficiency.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

[0012] the second time zone calculation unit calculates a second time zone from the arrival of the second moving body at the joint work position to the departure of the first moving body using the status information of the first moving body and the joint work position; an overlap determination unit determine an overlap between the joint work position included in the work plan, the first time zone calculated by the first time zone calculation unit, and the second time zone calculated by the second time zone calculation unit; a meeting time zone setting unit set a meeting time zone for the first moving body and the second moving body at the joint work position based on a determination result of the overlap determination unit; and an output unit outputting the meeting time zone set by the meeting time zone setting unit.

[0013] The work planning system includes the work planning device, a first moving body, and a second moving body.

[0014] Further, the work planning method acquires status information of a first moving body, acquires status information of a second moving body, acquires a work plan including a collaborative work location where the first moving body and the second moving body will work together and a collaborative work time period indicating the time period from when the first moving body and the second moving body meet up and then work together until they disband, calculates a first time period from when the first moving body arrives at the collaborative work location until it departs using the status information of the moving bodies and the collaborative work location, calculates a second time period from when the second moving body arrives at the collaborative work location until it departs using the status information of the second moving body and the collaborative work location, determines an overlap between the collaborative work time period included in the work plan and the first time period and the second time period, sets a meeting time period for the first moving body and the second moving body at the collaborative work location based on the overlap determination result, and outputs the set meeting time period.

[0015] It is possible to provide a work planning system, a work planning device, and a work planning method that can improve overall work efficiency.

[0016] This technology enables the maintenance and improvement of work efficiency even in situations where machines or workers work together, such as between a transport machine and a picking robot or a transport machine and a worker in a logistics warehouse, or between a shovel and a dump truck at a construction site or mine, and where the work environment makes it impossible to carry out the work at the time scheduled in advance.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a work planning system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a situation when the present invention is applied to a mine. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an autonomously controlled mobile body. A simplified functional block diagram for autonomously controlling a mobile body. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a mobile body having a driving assistance function. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work plan. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work plan. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movement route and a joint work position. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating overlap determination of each time period. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating overlap determination of each time period. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an overlap determination of each time period. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a method of searching for a meeting time period using Bayesian optimization. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an output screen to be output to a manager. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the work planning system of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a situation when a second embodiment of the present invention is applied to a warehouse. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration including an infrastructure sensor and a mobile terminal. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plurality of joint work positions. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the processing when there are multiple joint work positions.

[0018] The work planning system, work planning device, and work planning method of the present invention are systems that calculate work plans (tables of work content, work positions, execution times, etc.) for mobile objects (controllable mobile objects such as robots and vehicles).

[0019] Hereinafter, a work planning system, a work planning device, and a work planning method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] (First Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a simplified functional block diagram of an example of a work planning system according to the present invention. Note that, for ease of explanation, Fig. 1 shows a configuration in which the control target is limited to one mobile object, but the present invention can also be used in cases in which a plurality of mobile objects are controlled.

[0021] In Example 1, a work site where machines work together is assumed, and for ease of explanation, the mine shown in Figure 2 is the subject of the description, and a transport vehicle and an excavation vehicle are assumed as the mobile bodies.

[0022] <Situation when applied to a mine> First, a situation when the present invention is applied to a mine will be described with reference to Fig. 2. In this embodiment 1, it is assumed that the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102, which are the control targets, are moved along a travel-permitted passage B101 where they coexist.

[0023] The transporting mobile body B100 can be loaded with loads such as earth and sand or ore, and moves to a designated position so that an excavating mobile body B102 equipped with a loading function can load the load, and performs the work of releasing the loaded load in a designated area.

[0024] The target position to which the transport vehicle B100 should move is managed by a management server B104. The management server B104 may be installed within the mine or in another location. The target position determined by the management server B104 is transmitted to the transport vehicle B100 via a wireless communication line B103 within the mine.

[0025] <Configuration Including Autonomously Controlled Mobile Body> The transport mobile body B100 is assumed to be a four-wheeled vehicle as shown in Fig. 3A. However, the transport mobile body B100 used in the present invention is not limited to a four-wheeled vehicle, and various types of mobile bodies can be used, such as a differential two-wheel robot, an omni-wheel robot, a forklift, a towing vehicle, etc. Here, x is the x-coordinate of the four-wheeled vehicle, y is the y-coordinate of the four-wheeled vehicle, and θ is the orientation (direction) of the four-wheeled vehicle.

[0026] A four-wheel vehicle is equipped with sensors such as an encoder that detects the number of rotations of the wheels (not shown), an inertial sensor that acquires the rotational speed and acceleration of the vehicle body, an IMU (Inertia Measurement Unit), a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System).

[0027] In order to explain the configuration when the transport vehicle B100 operates under autonomous control, a simplified functional block diagram showing only the functions related to the present invention is shown in FIG. 3B.

[0028] 3B, the transport vehicle B100 is composed of a recording unit M01, a communication unit M02, a sensor M03, a work plan correction unit M04, a self-position / orientation calculation unit M05, a vehicle control unit M06, and an actuator M07. The self-position / orientation calculation unit M05 and the vehicle control unit M06 correspond to the autonomous control device.

[0029] The recording unit M01 is a recording device of the calculation unit provided in the transporting vehicle B100, and corresponds to a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a memory. The recording unit M01 records various control programs, parameters used in the control programs, control targets, and work plans.

[0030] The communication unit M02 is a wireless communication device such as 5G or LTE (Long Term Evolution), and can communicate with the excavation vehicle B102 and the management server B104 via a wireless communication line B103 within the mine.

[0031] The sensor M03 corresponds to the sensors provided on a four-wheel vehicle, such as the above-mentioned encoder, IMU, LiDAR, GNSS, etc. The transport vehicle B100 is provided with a sensor that measures the cylinder length to obtain the load weight.

[0032] The work plan correction unit M04 has a function for performing calculations related to the correction of the work plan of the moving body, and is executed by a controller (not shown) provided in the four-wheeled vehicle. The calculation contents of the work plan correction unit M04 will be described in detail later.

[0033] The self-position / orientation calculation unit M05 is a function that calculates the vehicle's own position (x, y coordinates on a two-dimensional plane) and orientation using a combination of multiple sensors equipped on the four-wheeled vehicle, and outputs the position, orientation, and acquired sensor values. This function is executed by a controller (not shown) equipped on the four-wheeled vehicle. The self-position / orientation calculation unit M05 can be realized by a technology known as SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping), so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0034] The mobile object control unit M06 has a function of performing calculations related to the travel control of the mobile object, and this function is executed in the controller in the same manner as the self-position / orientation calculation unit M05.

[0035] The autonomous control device, which is a self-position / orientation calculation unit M05 and a mobile unit control unit M06, corrects the work plan based on the meeting time zone, and controls the mobile unit in accordance with the corrected work plan.

[0036] The mobile object control unit M06 can be realized by a method such as PID control or model predictive control (MPC).

[0037] The actuator M07 corresponds to the driving motor, steering mechanism, and braking device of a four-wheel vehicle.

[0038] The management server B104 is composed of a communication unit M02 and an information display unit M08.

[0039] The information display unit M08 is an information display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, and can display sensor information and work plans from the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102.

[0040] The excavation vehicle B102 is composed of a communication unit M02, a sensor M03, and a self-position / orientation calculation unit M05. Note that in Fig. 3B, the excavation vehicle B102 may also be configured to be operated by autonomous control, by including a vehicle control unit M06 and an actuator M07, similar to the transport vehicle B100.

[0041] <Configuration Including Driving Assistance Function> In order to explain the configuration when the transport vehicle B100 operates as a vehicle with a driving assistance function, a simplified functional block diagram illustrating only the functions related to the present invention is shown in Fig. 4. The example shown in Fig. 3A is a configuration for an autonomously controlled vehicle, but the configuration shown in Fig. 4 is an example in which the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102 are operated by a driver (manned).

[0042] In Figure 4, the transport vehicle B100 is composed of a recording unit M01, a communication unit M02, a sensor M03, a work plan correction unit M04, a self-position / orientation calculation unit M05, and an information display unit M08, and the information display unit M08 displays the corrected work plan to assist the driver.

[0043] The transporting vehicle B100 transmits the work plan to the management server B104 via the communication unit M02, and the management server B104 displays the received work plan on the information display unit M08. If the communication cycle is sufficiently fast and there is little communication interruption, the management server B104 may be provided with a work plan correction unit M04 and a recording unit M01 that stores the work plan, and the work plan corrected on the management server B104 may be delivered to the transporting vehicle B100 and used by the vehicle control unit M06 (shown in FIG. 3B) or displayed on the information display unit M08.

[0044] The excavation vehicle B102 shown in FIG. 4 is also provided with an information display unit M08 connected to the communication unit M02 in order to display information to the operator.

[0045] Returning to FIG. 1, the functional blocks of the work planning system for the mine shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

[0046] <Explanation of functional blocks of the work planning system> The work planning system is a system that corrects the work plan of the transport vehicle B100 within the mine based on information acquired by the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102, and many processes are performed by the transport vehicle B100.

[0047] The work planning system is composed of a work plan acquisition unit A101, a first state acquisition unit A102, a first time zone calculation unit A103, a second state acquisition unit A104, a second time zone calculation unit A105, an overlap determination unit A106, a meeting time zone setting unit A107, and an output unit A108.

[0048] The work plan acquisition unit A101 acquires the work plan stored in the memory unit M01. The work plan includes a route position P (P １ , P ２ ...P ｎ. . ) and the estimated arrival time and stay time corresponding to the route position P shown in FIG. 5B.

[0049] The work plan includes a collaborative work location indicating the location where the first mobile body, the transport mobile body B100, and the second mobile body, the excavation mobile body B102, will work together, and a collaborative work time period indicating the time period from when the transport mobile body B100 and the excavation mobile body B102 meet up and work together until they disband.

[0050] The transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102 move to the waypoint P according to the work plan and perform the joint work. At this time, the stay time is the time required for the joint work, and the joint work time period is the period from the scheduled arrival time to the scheduled departure time after the stay time has elapsed. The work plan is designed in advance to increase the operational efficiency of the entire operation site. For example, in a mine, the most efficient operation is achieved when the excavation and loading work, which is the joint work of the excavation vehicle B102, is carried out smoothly, so the joint work time period of the excavation vehicle B102 is designed to be as continuous as possible.

[0051] The first status acquisition unit A102 acquires the current and historical values ​​of the position, speed, and load amount, which are status information of the transporting mobile body B100. The functions of the first status acquisition unit A102 correspond to the sensor M03 and the self-position / orientation calculation unit M05 in Figures 3B and 4, respectively.

[0052] The first time zone calculation unit A103 first obtains the next via position P1 and the via position P2 that follows via position P1 based on the current and historical values ​​of the position, speed, and load amount of the transporting vehicle B100 and the work plan, and sets a movement route from the current position to via position P1 and a movement route from via position P1 to via position P2 as shown in Figure 6. In other words, the first time zone calculation unit A103 calculates a first time zone from the arrival of the transporting vehicle B100 at the collaborative work position to its departure using the status information of the transporting vehicle B100 and the collaborative work position.

[0053] Next, the shortest arrival time t1 when moving from the current position to the intermediate position P1 in the shortest travel time calculated based on the gradient and curvature of the travel route and the load capacity of the transport vehicle B100, and the limit departure time t2 obtained by subtracting the shortest travel time from the intermediate position P1 to the intermediate position P2 from the scheduled arrival time at the intermediate position P2 are calculated.

[0054] The shortest travel time is obtained by calculating a speed profile for the travel distance within the travel route based on the maximum speed attainable at each point within the travel route and the acceleration / deceleration performance of the transport vehicle B 100, and then calculating the time required for travel from the speed profile. The maximum speed attainable at each point is the maximum speed at which the vehicle can stop depending on the braking performance for the gradient, and the maximum speed at which the vehicle can travel without tipping over based on the load weight for the curvature, or the maximum speed that does not exceed the limits of the turning performance of the transport vehicle B 100.

[0055] Finally, the shortest arrival time t1 is compared with the limit departure time t2, and if the shortest arrival time t1 is earlier than the limit departure time t2 and the difference between the times is longer than the joint work time at the waypoint P1, the period from the shortest arrival time t1 to the limit departure time t2 is output as the first time slot, and if the shortest arrival time t1 is earlier than the limit departure time t2 and the difference between the times is shorter than the joint work time, or if the shortest arrival time t1 is later than the limit departure time t2, the period from the shortest arrival time t1 to the time obtained by adding the shortest arrival time t1 to the joint work time is output as the first time slot. The joint work time may be determined using the stay time τ1 in the work plan, or may be determined using the average or maximum value in the history of the time required for joint work by the transport vehicle B100.

[0056] In the second state acquisition unit A104 and the second time zone calculation unit A105, the same processing as in the first state acquisition unit A102 and the first time zone calculation unit A103 is performed on the excavation vehicle B102, respectively.

[0057] <Overlap Determination Unit A106> The overlap determination unit A106 determines and classifies the overlap between the first time period calculated by the first time period calculation unit A103 and the second time period calculated by the second time period calculation unit A105. In other words, it determines the overlap between the collaborative work time period included in the work plan and the first time period calculated by the first time period calculation unit A103 and the second time period calculated by the second time period calculation unit A105.

[0058] For example, there are three types of classification: a case where the overlapping time period between the first time period and the second time period is equal to or longer than the joint work time as shown in Fig. 7A, a case where the overlapping time period between the first time period and the second time period is shorter than the joint work time as shown in Fig. 7B, and a case where the first time period and the second time period do not overlap each other as shown in Fig. 7C.

[0059] The collaborative work time may be the residence time τ1 in the work plan, or the average or maximum value in the accumulated past history of the time actually required for collaborative work by the transport vehicle B100, or the average or maximum value in the history of the time required for collaborative work by the excavation vehicle B102, or the longest time among the above times may be selected and used.

[0060] <Meeting Time Zone Setting Unit> The meeting time zone setting unit A107 sets a meeting time zone indicating the time from when the transporting vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102 start working together until when they finish working together, based on the determination result of the overlap determination unit A106. For example, a method for setting a meeting time zone will be described for the three types of classifications described in the overlap determination unit A106.

[0061] 7A , if the overlapping time period between the first time period and the second time period is equal to or longer than the joint work time, the start time of the joint work can be set within the overlapping time period. As a setting method, for example, the start time of the joint work may be set by mathematical optimization including the speed profiles from the current positions of the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102 to the intermediate position P1. As a mathematical optimization method, for example, Bayesian optimization (BO) may be used.

[0062] BO is an algorithm that efficiently searches for parameters by repeating simulations and experiments based on a specific evaluation index c so as to maximize or minimize this evaluation index c. The evaluation index c indicates the work efficiency of the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102, and may be, for example, the amount of energy consumed by the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102 in moving from their current positions to the intermediate position P1, or the total time the brakes are used.

[0063] A method for adjusting a speed profile using BO will be explained using the task of minimizing energy consumption as an example. The parameters to be adjusted in this example are the boundary positions in the speed profile between the acceleration time period, the deceleration time period, and the constant speed driving time period. A variable that summarizes the parameters to be adjusted is called a vector ρ. Since the evaluation index c is energy consumption, an optimization problem can be posed as the problem of finding the optimal ρ* that minimizes this value.

[0064] Generally, this optimization problem cannot be solved directly. In BO, several solution candidates ρi are given, and the values ​​of the evaluation index c actually obtained are checked, while the function shape of the evaluation index c is estimated, and the next solution candidate ρi is calculated.

[0065] FIG. 8 is a diagram explaining a method for searching for merging time slots using Bayesian optimization, and schematically illustrates a method for searching for solution candidates. The black dots in FIG. 8 represent evaluation values ​​obtained using the solution candidates ρi (i = 1...6) obtained so far. Using the solution candidates obtained so far, it is possible to calculate the estimated value of the function shape (solid line in FIG. 8) and its variance (dashed line in FIG. 8). The variance takes a large value in areas where no solution candidates ρi have been found so far. The next solution candidate ρ7 (△ in FIG. 8) is determined taking into account the estimated value of the function shape and the variance.

[0066] It is known that by performing the above-described processing, it is possible to perform a much more efficient search for parameters than when the solution candidates ρi are verified in a brute force manner.

[0067] As shown in Figure 7B, if the overlapping time period between the first time period and the second time period is less than the joint work time, for example, the start time or end time of either or both of the first time period and the second time period is adjusted until they overlap by a time width equivalent to the joint work time, and the overlapping time period after adjustment is set as the joining time period.

[0068] 7B, the end of the first time slot or the start of the second time slot is adjusted. Adjusting the end of the first time slot means delaying the departure time of the transport vehicle B100, which means delaying the shortest arrival time at via-point P2, the next stop after via-point P1. In this case, by also adjusting the merging time slot after via-point P2, it is possible to make adjustments after confirming that the delay in the shortest arrival time at via-point P2 will be absorbed in a later process.

[0069] When adjusting the start point of the second time period, the shortest travel time of the excavation vehicle B102 remains unchanged, so the adjustment is made by shortening the collaborative work time of the collaborative work before the via position P1. Since the collaborative work of the excavation vehicle B102 is excavation and loading work, the work speed may be increased by increasing the energy consumption, or the target loading amount may be reduced to reduce the work volume. Mathematical optimization may be used for this adjustment.

[0070] As shown in Figure 7C, if the first time slot and the second time slot do not overlap, the start time or end time of either or both of the first time slot and the second time slot is adjusted until they overlap by a length of time equivalent to the duration of the joint work, and the adjusted overlapping time slot is set as the joining time slot. The adjustment method here can be the same as that shown in Figure 7B.

[0071] The output unit A108 outputs the first time zone calculated by the first time zone calculation unit A103, the second time zone calculated by the second time zone calculation unit A105, the meeting time zone set by the meeting time zone setting unit A107, and the travel route shown in Figure 6, and displays them on the information display unit M08 of the transport vehicle B100 or the management server B104, for example, as shown in Figure 9.

[0072] <Processing Procedure of Work Planning System> The processing procedure of the work planning system described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0073] First, in step Fc001, a work plan for the transport vehicle B100 and the excavation vehicle B102 is acquired. This process corresponds to the work plan acquisition unit A101. When step Fc001 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc002.

[0074] In step Fc002, the status of the transport vehicle B100 (e.g., current and historical values ​​of position, speed, and load amount) is acquired. This process corresponds to the first status acquisition unit A102. When step Fc002 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc003.

[0075] In step Fc003, the first time period is calculated. This process corresponds to the first time period calculation unit A103. When step Fc003 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc004.

[0076] In step Fc004, the state of the excavation vehicle B 102 (for example, current and historical values ​​of position and speed) is acquired. This process corresponds to the second state acquisition unit A 104. When step Fc004 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc005.

[0077] In step Fc005, the second time period is calculated. This process corresponds to the second time period calculation unit A105. When step Fc005 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc006.

[0078] In step Fc006, it is determined whether the first time period and the second time period overlap. This process corresponds to the overlap determination unit A 106. When step Fc006 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc007.

[0079] In step Fc007, the meeting time slot is calculated and set. This process corresponds to the meeting time slot setting unit A107. When step Fc007 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc008.

[0080] 9 is constructed from the first time slot, the second time slot, and the meeting time slot, and is output to the information display unit M08. This process corresponds to the output unit A108.

[0081] The above process is repeated for each calculation cycle of the work plan correction unit M04. By performing this process for each calculation cycle, the work plan is corrected based on the current position even if the current position deviates from the work plan, so an appropriate work plan can be obtained.

[0082] <Effects of Example 1> According to Example 1, even if the transport vehicle B100 or the excavation vehicle B102 is unable to carry out collaborative work during the time period planned in advance due to the work environment, the time period during which the work can be carried out is calculated based on the current status of all machines or workers performing the collaborative work and the process after the collaborative work, and the time period for the collaborative work is automatically corrected sequentially to a time period where the respective time periods during which the work can be carried out overlap, thereby maintaining and improving work efficiency.

[0083] In other words, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a work planning system, a work planning device, and a work planning method that can appropriately correct the work plans of machines or workers performing collaborative work to improve overall work efficiency. The present invention is also applicable to cases where workers performing collaborative work move mobile objects.

[0084] (Example 2) Next, Example 2 will be described, with the same parts as Example 1 omitted.

[0085] In Example 1, collaborative work between machines was the focus, and the status of each moving object was acquired from an on-board sensor, and the location where the collaborative work took place was fixed. Therefore, in Example 2, a work site where machines and workers work collaboratively is assumed, and further, a situation is assumed in which the status is acquired using infrastructure sensors, which are sensors installed in the environment, and there are multiple candidate locations where the collaborative work can be carried out.

[0086] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which the second embodiment is applied to a warehouse.

[0087] For ease of explanation, the following description will be given assuming a warehouse shown in FIG. 11 and a transport vehicle B100 and a worker B103a as the mobile objects.

[0088] Hereinafter, explanations of parts of the configuration and operation that overlap with those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the parts that are different will be explained.

[0089] <Warehouse Configuration> In the second embodiment, it is assumed that the transport vehicle B100 and the worker B103a carrying the mobile terminal B103b are moved along a travel-permitted path B101 in a mixed manner.

[0090] The transport vehicle B100 can be loaded with items in the warehouse, and the worker B103a moves to a position where the items can be transferred between the shelf B107 and the transport vehicle B100.

[0091] The target position to which the transport vehicle B100 should move is managed by a management server B104. The management server B104 may be installed in the warehouse or in another location. The target position determined by the control server B104 is transmitted to the transport vehicle B100 by a wireless communication device B105 in the warehouse.

[0092] <Configuration Including Mobile Terminal B 103b and Infrastructure Sensor B 106> In order to explain the configuration including the mobile terminal B 103b and infrastructure sensor B 106, a simplified functional block diagram illustrating only functions related to the present invention is shown in FIG.

[0093] The mobile terminal B103b is composed of a communication unit M02, a sensor M03, a self-position and orientation calculation unit M05, an information display unit M08, and a work input unit M09.

[0094] The work input unit M09 is an input device such as a touch panel or buttons, and allows the worker B 103a to register work that has been completed or work that is currently being performed.

[0095] The infrastructure sensor B106 is composed of a communication unit M02, a sensor M03, and a subject position / orientation calculation unit M10.

[0096] The subject position / orientation calculation unit M10 has a function of calculating the position (x, y coordinates on a two-dimensional plane) and orientation of the subject using a combination of multiple infrastructure sensors B106 installed in the warehouse, and outputting the position, orientation, and acquired sensor values. These functions are executed by a controller (not shown) installed in the infrastructure sensors B106. The subject position / orientation calculation unit M10 can be realized by image processing techniques such as convolutional neural networks, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0097] The first state acquisition unit A102 and the second state acquisition unit A104 may acquire the state of the transporting mobile body B100 or the worker B103a from the self-position / orientation calculation unit M05 of the transporting mobile body B100 or the mobile terminal B103b, or may acquire the state of the transporting mobile body B100 or the worker B103a from the subject position / orientation calculation unit M10 of the infrastructure sensor B106.

[0098] <Processing Procedure When There Are Multiple Candidate Route Locations> The processing procedure of the work planning system when there are multiple candidate route locations (route location P1A, route location P1B, route location P1C) in a certain process, as shown in Fig. 13, will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 14. In this example, the candidates have the same estimated arrival time and stay time.

[0099] In step Fc003, a first time period is calculated for each candidate location. This process corresponds to the first time period calculation unit A103. When step Fc003 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc010. The process of step Fc010 also corresponds to the first time period calculation unit A103.

[0100] In step Fc010, it is checked based on the calculated first time zone whether there are any candidate locations for which the first time zone has not been calculated. If there are any candidate locations for which the first time zone has not been calculated, that is, if the first time zone has not been calculated for all candidate locations (No), the process returns to step Fc003 because it is necessary to calculate the first time zone for the next candidate location. If the first time zone has been calculated for all candidate locations (Yes), the process proceeds to step Fc004.

[0101] In step Fc004, the status of the worker is acquired. This process corresponds to the second status acquisition unit A104. The process proceeds to step Fc005.

[0102] In step Fc005, a second time period is calculated for each candidate location. This process corresponds to the second time period calculation unit A105. When step Fc005 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc011. The process of step Fc011 also corresponds to the second time period calculation unit A105.

[0103] In step Fc011, it is checked based on the calculated second time zone whether there are any candidate locations for which the second time zone has not been calculated. If there are any candidate locations for which the second time zone has not been calculated, that is, if the second time zone has not been calculated for all candidate locations (No), the process returns to step Fc005 because the second time zone needs to be calculated for the next candidate location. If the second time zone has been calculated for all candidate locations (Yes), the process proceeds to step Fc006.

[0104] In step Fc006, it is determined whether the first time period and the second time period overlap for each candidate location. This process corresponds to the overlap determination unit A106. When step Fc006 ends, the process proceeds to step Fc012.

[0105] In step Fc012, it is confirmed based on the overlap determination whether there are any candidate positions for which no overlap determination has been given. If there are any candidate positions for which no overlap determination has been given, that is, if no overlap determination has been given for all candidate positions (No), the process returns to step Fc006 because an overlap determination must be made for the next candidate position. If an overlap determination has been given for all candidate positions (Yes), the process proceeds to step Fc013. The processing of step Fc012 also corresponds to the overlap determination unit A106.

[0106] In step Fc013, the candidate location with the longest overlapping time period is set as the next route location based on the overlap determination for each candidate location. The process of step Fc013 also corresponds to the overlap determination unit A106. When step Fc013 is completed, the process proceeds to step Fc007.

[0107] In step Fc00, a meeting time for the transport vehicle B100 and the worker B103a is set, and the process proceeds to step Fc008.

[0108] In step Fc008, the meeting time and the joint work position of the transport vehicle B100 and the worker B103a are output and displayed on the information display section M08 of the mobile terminal B103b.

[0109] <Effects of Example 2> At a work site where machines and workers work together, by acquiring the status of a moving object from the infrastructure sensor B106, it becomes possible to use a moving object that is not equipped with a sensor, and it becomes possible to use a moving object with low introduction costs.

[0110] Furthermore, by allowing multiple candidate locations where collaborative work can be carried out, it is possible to prevent situations where the overlapping period between the first time period and the second time period becomes short, i.e., situations where major revisions to the work plan are required, and it becomes easier to maintain the work plan.

[0111] That is, according to the second embodiment, even in a work site where a machine and a worker work together, it is possible to provide a work planning system, a work planning device, and a work planning method that can appropriately correct the work plans of the machine or worker working together to improve the overall work efficiency. The present invention is also applicable to a case where workers working together move mobile objects.

[0112] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above using a mine and a warehouse as examples, it goes without saying that the application of the present invention is not limited to these cases. For example, the present invention can also be used in transport vehicles at ports, robots that move around in theme parks, etc.

[0113] A101...Work plan acquisition unit, A102...First state acquisition unit, A103...First time zone calculation unit, A104...Second state acquisition unit, A105...Second time zone calculation unit, A106...Overlap determination unit, A107...Meeting time zone setting unit, A108...Output unit, B100...Transportation vehicle, B101...Permitted travel passage, B102...Excavation vehicle, B103...Wireless communication line, B103a...Worker, B103 b...Mobile terminal, B104...Management server, B105...Wireless communication device, B106...Infrastructure sensor, B107...Shelf, M01...Memory unit, M02...Communication unit, M03...Sensor, M04...Work plan correction unit, M05...Self position / orientation calculation unit, M06...Mobile object control unit, M07...Actuator, M08...Display unit, M09...Work input unit, M10...Subject position / orientation calculation unit, P １ ~P ｎ ...Transit point.

Claims

a first status acquisition unit for acquiring status information of a first moving body; a second status acquisition unit for acquiring status information of a second moving body; a work plan acquisition unit for acquiring a work plan including a joint work location where the first moving body and the second moving body work together and a joint work time zone indicating a time zone from when the first moving body and the second moving body join together and work together until they disband; a first time zone calculation unit for calculating a first time zone from when the first moving body arrives at the joint work location to when it departs from the joint work location using the status information of the first moving body and the joint work location; a second time zone calculation unit for calculating a second time zone from when the second moving body arrives at the joint work location to when it departs from the joint work location using the status information of the second moving body and the joint work location; an overlap determination unit for determining an overlap between the joint work time zone included in the work plan, the first time zone calculated by the first time zone calculation unit, and the second time zone calculated by the second time zone calculation unit; a meeting time zone setting unit for setting a meeting time zone at the joint work location of the first moving body and the second moving body based on a determination result of the overlap determination unit; and an output unit for outputting the meeting time zone set by the meeting time zone setting unit. A work planning device comprising:

2. In the work planning device described in claim 1, the overlap determination unit determines whether the overlap between the first time period and the second time period is greater than or equal to the collaborative work time period, is shorter than the collaborative work time period, or does not overlap.

3. A work planning device according to claim 1, wherein the meeting time zone setting unit, when the first time zone and the second time zone overlap for a time period equal to or greater than the joint work time zone, sets the meeting time zone within the overlapping time zone.

4. A work planning device as described in claim 1, wherein the meeting time zone setting unit, when the first time zone and the second time zone overlap with a time width less than the collaborative work time zone, adjusts the start time or end time of either or both of the first time zone and the second time zone until they overlap with a time width equivalent to the collaborative work time zone, and sets the meeting time zone to the overlapping time zone after adjustment.

5. A work planning device as described in claim 1, wherein said meeting time zone setting unit, when the first time zone and the second time zone do not overlap, adjusts the start time or end time of either or both of the first time zone and the second time zone until they overlap by a time width equivalent to that of the collaborative work time zone, and sets the meeting time zone to the overlapping time zone after adjustment.

6. A work planning device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, when there are multiple candidate locations for the collaborative work location, the first time zone calculation unit calculates the first time zone for each of the candidate locations, the second time zone calculation unit calculates the second time zone for each of the candidate locations, and the overlap determination unit determines overlap for each of the candidate locations, and sets the candidate location with the longest overlapping time zone as the collaborative work location.

7. A work planning device as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first moving body is equipped with an autonomous control device that controls the first moving body in accordance with status information of the first moving body and the work plan, and the autonomous control device corrects the work plan based on the meeting time zone, and controls the moving body in accordance with the corrected work plan.

8. A work planning device as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first moving body is provided with an information display unit that displays information to an operator of the first moving body, and the output unit outputs the meeting time period and the joint work location to the information display unit.

9. A work planning device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the output unit outputs the meeting time zone and the joint work position to the second moving body.

10. A work planning device according to claim 1, characterized in that the output unit outputs the meeting time period to an information display unit of the first moving body and an information display unit of the second moving body.

11. A work planning system comprising: the work planning device according to claim 1; a first moving body; and a second moving body.

12. A work planning method comprising: acquiring status information of a first moving body; acquiring status information of a second moving body; acquiring a work plan including a joint work location where the first moving body and the second moving body work together and a joint work time zone indicating a time zone from when the first moving body and the second moving body meet up and work together until they disband; calculating a first time zone from when the first moving body arrives at the joint work location to when it departs from it using the status information of the moving bodies and the joint work location; calculating a second time zone from when the second moving body arrives at the joint work location to when it departs from it using the status information of the second moving body and the joint work location; determining an overlap between the joint work time zone included in the work plan and the first time zone and the second time zone; setting a meeting time zone at the joint work location for the first moving body and the second moving body based on a result of the overlap determination; and outputting the set meeting time zone.

13. A work planning method as described in claim 12, characterized in that it is determined whether the overlap between the first time period and the second time period is greater than or equal to the collaborative work time period, is less than the collaborative work time period, or does not overlap.

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