Information processing device, information processing device control method, and information processing device control program

Abstract

This information processing device for assisting rescue activity in a disaster comprises: an acquisition unit for continuously acquiring pieces of location information about communication terminals from the communication terminals; an identification unit for identifying, as a terminal of a person to be rescued, a communication terminal of which the location information remains unchanged before and after the occurrence of the disaster among the communication terminals located in a disaster area on the basis of the pieces of location information acquired by the acquisition unit when the disaster occurs; and a transmission unit for transmitting, to a communication terminal of a rescuer, information for causing a spot where the terminal of the person to be rescued identified by the identification unit is located to be superimposed on three-dimensional terrain information in the vicinity of the spot and displayed.

Description

Information processing device, control method for information processing device, and control program for information processing device

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

[0002] Conventionally, there have been systems that obtain location information of individuals' mobile phones from mobile communication carriers during normal times, obtain location information of mobile phones estimated to be in the disaster area and the time at which they were at that location, and display mobile phones for which safety confirmation information has not been registered on a disaster situation map (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-037902

[0004] When a rescuer heads out to rescue a user whose whereabouts are unknown, they only understand the situation at the scene once they arrive. However, if they head out to rescue without assuming that the user whose whereabouts are unknown is, for example, inside a house or building, the rescue may take a long time. Therefore, there is a need to provide more detailed information about the location of the user whose whereabouts are unknown and in need of rescue.

[0005] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing device that supports rescue activities during disasters, and comprises: an acquisition unit that continuously acquires location information of a communication terminal from the communication terminal via a network including a RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller); an identification unit that, when the disaster occurs, identifies, based on the location information acquired by the acquisition unit, a communication terminal located in a disaster area whose location information does not change before and after the disaster as a rescue-requiring terminal; and a transmission unit that transmits information to the rescuer's communication terminal that displays the location where the rescue-requiring terminal identified by the identification unit is located, superimposed on three-dimensional topographical information around the location.

[0006] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition unit may further acquire information regarding abnormal operation detected in the communication terminal, and the identification unit may identify the rescue requester terminal based on the information regarding the abnormal operation in addition to the location information.

[0007] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the transmitting unit may transmit information that displays the location of the rescue requester's terminal by identifiably superimposing the height at which the rescue requester's terminal is located on a three-dimensional display of buildings located in the vicinity of the location.

[0008] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition unit may further include an estimation unit that continuously acquires location information of multiple communication terminals located in the disaster area even after the disaster occurs, and that estimates a rescue route near the location of the rescue requester's terminal from the time series changes in the location information of the multiple communication terminals and the three-dimensional topographical information.

[0009] A control method for an information processing device that supports rescue activities during a disaster, according to one embodiment of the present invention, includes the steps of: an information processing device continuously acquiring location information of a communication terminal from the communication terminal; when the disaster occurs, based on the location information acquired in the acquiring step, identifying, as a rescue-requiring terminal, a communication terminal located in a disaster area whose location information does not change before and after the disaster; and a step of transmitting information to a rescuer's communication terminal that displays the location where the rescue-requiring terminal identified in the identifying step is located, superimposed on three-dimensional topographical information around the location.

[0010] One embodiment of the present invention relates to a control program for an information processing device that supports rescue operations during disasters, and the information processing device is provided with the following functions: continuously acquiring location information of a communication terminal from the communication terminal; when the disaster occurs, based on the location information acquired by the acquiring function, identifying, as a rescue-requiring terminal, a communication terminal located in a disaster area whose location information has not changed before and after the disaster; and transmitting information to a rescuer's communication terminal that displays the location of the rescue-requiring terminal identified by the identifying function, superimposed on three-dimensional topographical information around the location.

[0011] It will be possible to provide more detailed information about the location of people in need of rescue whose whereabouts are unknown.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of a rescue support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of a server (information processing device) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an example of a data table related to location information of a communication terminal. FIGS. 5(a) to 5(c) are schematic diagrams illustrating a rescue support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen of a rescuer's communication terminal. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a rescue support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (also referred to as the present invention) will be described using the drawings. Note that the drawings are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to those shown in the drawings. For example, the number of servers, communication terminals (rescuer terminals, rescuer terminals), and database servers, data sets (tables), flowcharts, and display screens shown in the drawings are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

[0014] <System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a rescue support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The rescue support system 600 is a system that estimates the location of a person in need of rescue when an emergency such as a disaster occurs and provides the location to the rescuer, thereby assisting the rescuer in searching for the person in need of rescue. Disasters may include natural disasters such as wind and water damage (heavy rain, typhoons, floods, etc.), snow damage, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, as well as man-made disasters such as chemical explosions, large urban fires, and large-scale traffic disasters such as aircraft and train accidents. A person in need of rescue is a user who, in the event of a disaster, has difficulty evacuating from an area where evacuation is required or whose safety is unknown. Rescuers include users who belong to organizations such as fire departments, police, and the Self-Defense Forces that rescue people in need of rescue, as well as rescue groups organized by local governments.

[0015] The rescue support system 600 includes a server (information processing device) 100, a rescuer's communication terminal 200S (hereinafter also referred to as a "rescuer terminal"), a rescue requester's communication terminal 200D (hereinafter also referred to as a "rescuer terminal"), and a database server 101. The server 100 executes various processes related to the rescue support service realized by the rescue support system 600. The database server 101 stores (stores) data used for information provided in the rescue support service, such as topographical information, map information, and information related to buildings.

[0016] Although only one server 100 and one database server 101 are shown in FIG. 1 , this is not limiting. That is, the functions described as being provided by the server 100 and the database server 101 may be realized by multiple servers. Furthermore, the server 100 may be, for example, a distributed server system that cooperates by communicating via a network, or may be a so-called cloud server. That is, the server 100 is not limited to a physical server, and may also include a virtual server created by software. Although only one database server 101 is shown in FIG. 1 , the database server 101 may be integrated into the server 100. That is, the database server 101 may be a volatile or non-volatile memory of the server 100.

[0017] The server 100 is connected to the rescue requester terminal 200D and the rescuer terminal 200S via a network 500. The network 500 includes a wireless network or a wired network, and specifically may be a mobile communication system such as a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), code division multiple access (CDMA), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, fourth generation communication (4G), fifth generation communication (5G), beyond 5G, or sixth generation communication (6G) or later. Note that the network 500 is not limited to these examples and may be, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), an optical fiber line, or the like. The network 500 may also be a combination of these.

[0018] The rescuer terminal 200S and the rescue requester terminal 200D are typical communication terminals. While FIG. 1 illustrates a smartphone as the rescue requester terminal 200D and a tablet terminal as the rescuer terminal 200S, these may be any terminals capable of implementing the functions described in the following embodiments. Here, the rescue requester terminal 200S is a communication terminal that existed before the disaster and becomes a rescue requester terminal after the disaster occurs when a predetermined condition is met. Therefore, in the following description, a communication terminal that is not a rescue requester terminal will be referred to as a communication terminal 200.

[0019] The communication terminal 200 and the rescue requester terminal 200D acquire location information regarding their current locations and periodically transmit the information to the server 100. The location information may be transmitted in response to a request from the server 100 or independently from the terminal. The location information may be acquired as latitude, longitude, and altitude information using, for example, the Global Positioning System (GPS). Alternatively, the location information may be acquired using a wireless LAN, an indoor messaging system (IMES), a radio frequency identifier (RFID), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) (registered trademark), geomagnetism, or the like. In one embodiment of the present invention, the location information of the rescue requester terminal 200D preferably includes the altitude of the location where the terminal is located. The communication terminal 200 is equipped with various sensors, such as an acceleration sensor and an angular velocity sensor, to detect abnormal operation of the terminal. The abnormal operation may refer to the detection of abnormal values ​​from various sensors detected by the terminal, which can determine whether the terminal has received an external impact.

[0020] Next, the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the server 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. (1) Hardware Configuration of the Server The server 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, an input / output unit 130, and a storage unit 170.

[0021] The control unit 110 is typically a processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor, etc., and is realized by a logic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), etc. The control unit 110 reads out a program (software) stored in the storage unit 170 and executes the code and instructions included in the program, thereby performing the functions and methods described in each embodiment.

[0022] The storage unit 170 stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 100. The storage unit 170 may include, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 170 may also include memory (random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), etc.) that provides a working area for the control unit 110.

[0023] The communication unit 120 is implemented as hardware such as a network adapter, communication software, or a combination thereof. The communication unit 120 transmits and receives various data to and from the rescue requester terminal 200D and the rescuer terminal 200S via the network 500.

[0024] The input / output unit 130 includes an input device that accepts various operations from an administrator or the like on the server 100, and an output unit that outputs processing results processed by the server 100. The input device may include, for example, a keyboard and a microphone, and the output device may include, for example, a display and a speaker.

[0025] (2) Functional Configuration of Server The server 100 includes an acquisition unit 111, an identification unit 112, a communication control unit 113, an estimation unit 114, and a determination unit 115 as functions realized by the control unit 110. Note that among the functional units shown in FIG. 2 , functional units that are not essential in the embodiments described below may be omitted. Furthermore, the functions or processes of the functional units may be realized by machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI) to the extent feasible.

[0026] Details will be described later, but the processing of each functional unit will be briefly described. The acquisition unit 111 acquires location information of the communication terminals 200 from the plurality of communication terminals 200. The identification unit 112 identifies the rescue requester terminal 200D from the plurality of communication terminals 200 based on the location information. The communication control unit 113 functions as a transmission unit that transmits information related to the location where the rescue requester terminal 200D is located to the rescuer terminal 200S. The estimation unit 114 estimates a rescue route near the location where the rescue requester terminal 200D is located from time-series changes in the location information of at least the plurality of communication terminals 200. The determination unit 115 performs various determination processes.

[0027] <Control Flow of Server> In addition to the description of each functional unit of the server 100, the control flow of the server 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0028] The acquisition unit 111 continuously acquires the location information of each communication terminal 200 from the communication terminal 200 (step S11). The acquisition unit 111 acquires the location information of multiple communication terminals 200 before a disaster occurs and stores it in the database server 101. FIG. 4 shows an example of a table storing the location information of each communication terminal 200. Table TB10 stores the location information and the time when the location information was acquired for each identification information (terminal ID) that identifies each communication terminal 200, in association with the time when the location information was acquired. Note that the identification information that identifies each communication terminal may be, for example, a telephone number, an International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI), a Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), an IC Card Identifier (ICCID), a MAC address, a serial number, an Identifier for Vendor (IDFV), or a unique identification issued by the service provider, for example, when registering with a rescue support service. Note that the interval at which the location information is acquired may be variable depending on whether a disaster has occurred. For example, the interval at which location information is acquired may be, for example, every 30 minutes to 1 hour before a disaster occurs, and may be every 10 minutes after a disaster occurs. Note that location information may be periodically discarded if no disaster occurs.

[0029] When a disaster occurs, the identification unit 112 identifies, based on the location information acquired by the acquisition unit 111, communication terminals 200 located in the disaster area whose location information remains unchanged before and after the disaster as rescue-requiring terminals (step S12). Information from L-Alert, Kikikuru, and other sources may be used to identify the occurrence of a disaster. L-Alert is a disaster information sharing system that distributes information on the issuance and cancellation of evacuation orders by each local government regarding disasters occurring in areas managed by each local government. L-Alert is a common platform that enables the rapid and efficient transmission of disaster-related information to residents by simultaneously transmitting disaster-related information, such as evacuation orders and evacuation advisories issued by local governments and lifeline operators, to various media outlets, such as broadcast stations and app providers. Kikikuru is a service that classifies the risk of disaster occurrence (disaster risk) into five levels and provides disaster risk forecasts for the next few hours in 1-kilometer mesh units.

[0030] Identifying a rescue requester terminal will be described using FIG. 5. FIGS. 5(a) to 5(c) are diagrams schematically illustrating the change in the location of each communication terminal over time. Note that area 10 is shown to make the change in location easier to understand, but it may also be, for example, the coverage area of ​​a base station in an area where a disaster has occurred. FIGS. 5(a) to 5(c) respectively show the locations of communication terminals 200 present within the coverage area of ​​the same base station at times t, t+1, and t+2. Note that, here, it is assumed that a disaster occurred between time t and time t+1. In FIG. 5, the location information of communication terminals U1 to U3 remains unchanged between time t and time t+2, whereas the location information of other communication terminals (e.g., communication terminal G1) has changed. Therefore, the identification unit 112 identifies communication terminals U1 to U3 as rescue requester terminals. Note that the time it takes for the identification unit 112 to identify a communication terminal as a rescue requester terminal may be, for example, one hour, but is not limited to this.

[0031] The communication control unit 113 transmits to the rescuer terminal 200S information for displaying the location of the rescue requester terminal 200D identified by the identification unit 112 superimposed on three-dimensional terrain information about the vicinity of the location (step S13). Specifically, the communication control unit 113 transmits to the rescuer terminal 200S location information including the altitude of the location of the rescue requester terminal 200D, three-dimensional terrain data about the vicinity of the location of the rescue requester terminal 200D, and three-dimensional building data. The three-dimensional terrain data and building data may be 3D data provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or a map information provider. Alternatively, BIM (Building Information Modeling) or CAD information provided by a construction company or the like may be used.

[0032] FIG. 6 shows an example of a display screen of the rescuer terminal 200S. The screen 40 includes an area 41 displaying the topography of the area near the location of the rescue requester terminal 200D (communication terminal U1 in FIG. 4 ) in three dimensions, and an area 42 displaying the building where the rescue requester terminal 200D is located in three dimensions. According to one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in area 42, the rescue requester terminal 200D may be displayed superimposed on three-dimensional data of the building. Because the building (a house in the illustrated example) in area 42 is three-dimensional data, its orientation can be changed in response to the rescuer's operation. Note that the illustration is merely an example, and the information displayed on the rescuer terminal 200S is not limited to this.

[0033] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a communication device whose location information remains unchanged before and after a disaster is identified as a rescuer's device, and the identified device is superimposed on three-dimensional data of the location of the rescuer's device and displayed on the rescuer's device. This allows the rescuer to obtain information about the location of the rescuer in advance, enabling appropriate rescue operations. Furthermore, the rescuer's device's location, including its vertical position, is provided to the rescuer, enabling more appropriate rescue operations.

[0034] The acquisition unit 111 further acquires information about abnormal operation detected by the communication terminal 200 along with the location information. The abnormal operation is a phenomenon that can determine whether the communication terminal 200 has received a strong external impact, and may be, for example, a deviation of a value detected by an acceleration sensor or an angular velocity sensor of the communication terminal 200 from a value in a normal state by a predetermined threshold or more. The identification unit 112 may identify the rescue requester's terminal based on the information about the abnormal operation in addition to the location information. This makes it possible to more accurately determine, for example, that the communication terminal is located near the epicenter or the site of an explosion.

[0035] In addition, after a disaster occurs, if information reporting one's own safety is sent from communication terminal 200 using any service, communication terminal 200 does not need to be subject to determination as to whether it is a terminal for a person requiring rescue.

[0036] The acquisition unit 111 continues to acquire location information for multiple communication terminals 200 located in the disaster area, even after a disaster occurs. The estimation unit 114 estimates a rescue route near the location of the rescue requester's terminal 200D based on time-series changes in the location information for the multiple communication terminals 200 and three-dimensional topographical information. When a disaster occurs, evacuation routes may be restricted due to, for example, road subsidence, building collapse, or river flooding. In this case, according to one embodiment of the present invention, time-series changes in location information for multiple communication terminals 200 can be acquired, thereby making it possible to grasp the movement trends (people flow data) of each communication terminal 200. In other words, a route traveled by a larger number of communication terminals 200 can be used as a rescue route. The estimation unit 114 may estimate, based on the people flow data, a route traveled by a larger number of communication terminals 200 as a rescue route. Multiple rescue routes may be estimated, and the rescue route may be updated after a disaster occurs in response to acquisition of information on road closure status.

[0037] As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, estimated rescue routes can be provided to rescuers by utilizing people flow data based on time-varying position information.

[0038] The flow of data in one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 7. Location information T10 of a communication terminal is stored in a storage (database server) T11. Data T13 relating to a rescue requester's terminal identified based on the real-time location information of the communication terminal, past location information stored in the storage T11, and safety confirmation data T12 is transmitted to the rescuer's terminal as rescue requester data T16, together with three-dimensional (3D) map data T14 and 3D building data T15.

[0039] While the present invention has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art would readily be able to make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are within the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions included in each component, step, etc. may be rearranged so as not to cause logical inconsistencies, and multiple components, steps, etc. may be combined or separated into one. Furthermore, the configurations described in the above embodiments may be appropriately combined. For example, each component described as being included in server 100 may be realized in a distributed manner by multiple servers. Furthermore, the processing described above as being performed by server 100 may be performed by communication terminal 200, and the processing described above as being performed by communication terminal 200 may be performed by server 100.

[0040] For example, in the above description, three-dimensional data is transmitted from the server 100 to the rescuer terminal 200S. However, only the position information of the rescue requester terminal 200D may be transmitted from the server 100 to the rescuer terminal 200S, and the process of superimposing the position information on the three-dimensional topographical data may be performed by the rescuer terminal 200S.

[0041] Furthermore, if movement is detected after time t+2 for a communication terminal that has been set as a terminal for a person requiring rescue, the setting as a terminal for a person requiring rescue may be canceled, or if the safety of a user of a communication terminal that is not moving is confirmed, the setting as a terminal for a person requiring rescue may be canceled.

[0042] The programs of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided in a state stored in a storage medium readable by an information processing device. The storage medium may store the programs in a "non-transitory tangible medium." The programs include, for example, software programs and control programs. When the functional units of the server 100 are realized by software, the server 100 functions as an acquisition unit 111, an identification unit 112, a communication control unit 113, an estimation unit 114, and a determination unit 115 by having a processor execute programs loaded into memory.

[0043] The storage medium may, where appropriate, comprise one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific ICs (ASICs), etc.), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards or drives, any other suitable storage media, or any suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may, where appropriate, be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile.

[0044] In addition, the program of the present disclosure may be provided to the server 100 via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast waves) capable of transmitting the program.

[0045] Furthermore, each embodiment of the present disclosure may be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission. Note that the program of the present disclosure may be implemented using, for example, a scripting language such as JavaScript (registered trademark) or Python, or the C language, Go language, Swift, Koltin, Java (registered trademark), or the like.

[0046] According to each aspect of the present disclosure described above, by providing a safer environment for users, it is possible to contribute to achieving Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Sustainable cities and communities."

[0047] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Server (information processing device) 110 Control unit 111 Acquisition unit 112 Identification unit 113 Communication control unit 114 Estimation unit 115 Determination unit 120 Communication unit 130 Input / output unit 170 Storage unit 101 Database server 500 Network 600 Rescue support system

Claims

1. An information processing device that supports rescue operations during disasters, comprising: an acquisition unit that continuously acquires location information of a communication terminal from the communication terminal; an identification unit that, when the disaster occurs, identifies, based on the location information acquired by the acquisition unit, a communication terminal located in a disaster area whose location information has not changed before and after the disaster as a rescue requester's terminal; and a transmission unit that transmits information to a rescuer's communication terminal that displays the location where the rescue requester's terminal identified by the identification unit is located, superimposed on three-dimensional topographical information around the location.

2. The information processing device described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit further acquires information regarding abnormal operation detected in the communication terminal, and the identification unit identifies the rescue requester terminal based on the information regarding the abnormal operation in addition to the location information.

3. The information processing device described in claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits information that displays the location of the rescue requester's terminal on a three-dimensional display of buildings located near the location, with the height at which the rescue requester's terminal is located superimposed so that it can be identified.

4. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit continuously acquires location information of multiple communication terminals located in the disaster area even after the disaster occurs, and further comprises an estimation unit that estimates a rescue route near the location of the rescue requester's terminal from time-series changes in the location information of the multiple communication terminals and the three-dimensional topographical information.

5. A control method for an information processing device that supports rescue operations during a disaster, comprising the steps of: continuously acquiring location information of a communication terminal from the communication terminal; when the disaster occurs, identifying, based on the location information acquired in the acquiring step, a communication terminal located in a disaster area whose location information has not changed before and after the disaster as a rescue-requiring terminal; and transmitting information to a rescuer's communication terminal that displays the location where the rescue-requiring terminal identified in the identifying step is located, superimposed on three-dimensional topographical information around the location.

6. A control program for an information processing device that supports rescue operations during disasters, the control program for the information processing device realizing the following functions in the information processing device: a function of continuously acquiring location information of a communication terminal from the communication terminal; a function of, when the disaster occurs, identifying, based on the location information acquired by the acquiring function, a communication terminal located in a disaster area whose location information has not changed before and after the disaster as a terminal of a person requiring rescue; and a function of transmitting information to the communication terminal of a rescuer that displays the location of the terminal of a person requiring rescue identified by the identifying function superimposed on three-dimensional topographical information around the location.

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