Control device and control method

Abstract

This control device 10 comprises: a determination unit 11 that, by using observation data of an observation apparatus disposed at a node when a region is divided, determines a direction of a flow of an environmental field at a position of the observation apparatus; and a control unit 12 that calculates a movement destination of the observation apparatus on the basis of the direction of the flow of the environmental field, and transmits the movement destination of the observation apparatus to the observation apparatus.

Description

Control device and control method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device and a control method.

[0002] In the fields of meteorology and oceanography, data assimilation is an important technique for linking observations and numerical models in a complementary manner (see Non-Patent Document 1). For example, observational data collected by satellites, ground-based observatories, ocean buoys, floats, etc. are used to generate initial values ​​for simulations (see Non-Patent Documents 2 and 3). There is also a method for adding errors to observational data (Non-Patent Document 4).

[0003] “Chapter 3 Data Assimilation”, Japan Meteorological Agency, [online], [Retrieved May 14, 2024], <URL: https: / / www.jma.go.jp / jma / kishou / books / nwptext / 45 / 1_chapt3.pdf> “AMeDAS, Temperature”, Japan Meteorological Agency, [online], [Retrieved March 29, 2024], <URL: https: / / www.jma.go.jp / bosai / map.html#5 / 34.5 / 137 / &elem=temp&contents=amedas&interval=60> “Argo Project Real-time Database”, Japan Meteorological Agency, [online], [Retrieved May 14, 2024], <URL: http: / / ds.data.jma.go.jp / gmd / argo / data / indexJ.html>Miyoshi et al., “Data Assimilation in Meteorology,” “Tenki” 54.4, April 2007, [online], [Retrieved May 14, 2024], <URL: https: / / www.metsoc.jp / tenki / pdf / 2007 / 2007_04_0015.pdf>

[0004] The initial values ​​for the simulation are generally obtained as representative values ​​of grid points when the target region is divided into grids.

[0005] In simulations of meteorological and oceanic conditions, the atmosphere and ocean that are the objects of observation move spatially, so the object of observation at a certain grid point moves to a nearby grid point. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately understand the changes in observation data, including the movement of the object between grid points in space and time.

[0006] If observation equipment is placed at all grid points at all times and fixed-point observations are made at each time, it will be possible to accurately grasp the status of the observation target that has flowed to nearby grid points, and the accuracy of the simulation is expected to improve. However, it is costly to place a large number of observation equipment at all grid points at all times and to fix and control the positions of the observation equipment at the grid points.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can observe changes in observation data due to movement of an observation target at low cost.

[0008] A control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a determination unit that determines the direction of flow of the environmental field at the position of an observation device using observation data from the observation device placed at a node when the region is divided, and a control unit that calculates the destination of the observation device based on the direction of flow of the environmental field and transmits the destination of the observation device to the observation device.

[0009] A control method of one aspect of the present disclosure is a control method performed by a control device, which uses observation data from an observation device placed at a node when a region is divided to determine the direction of flow of the environmental field at the position of the observation device, calculates the destination of the observation device based on the direction of flow of the environmental field, and transmits the destination of the observation device to the observation device.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a technology that can observe changes in observation data due to movement of an observation target at low cost.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of division of a target area and an example of nodes. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of division of a target area and an example of nodes. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the operation flow of the control system. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the operation flow of the control system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of calculation of the environmental field direction. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image of the movement direction of the observation equipment when the environmental field direction has been determined. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image of the movement direction of the observation equipment when the environmental field direction has not been determined. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a control device.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0013] [Summary of the Disclosure] The present disclosure relates to a technology that can efficiently acquire on-site observation data for generating initial values ​​for simulations at low cost in order to make future predictions of the global environment, extreme weather, and the like.

[0014] The challenge is to operate observation equipment at low cost with minimal data communication, without using simulations, and observe changes due to the movement (current) of meteorological and oceanographic conditions.

[0015] To solve this problem, in the present disclosure, the destination of an observation device is set based only on the observation data of the observation device at the site, without performing a real-time simulation.

[0016] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, dynamic changes in the environmental field, which are important in the simulation, are measured using the positional relationship of the grid in the simulation.

[0017] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, when there is no dynamic change in the environmental field or when the direction of change is uncertain, consumption of the power supply and the like is minimized.

[0018] These measures will reduce the cost of observation using portable observation equipment and improve prediction accuracy by using on-site observation data that captures changes that are important for simulation.

[0019] [Configuration of Control System] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0020] The control system 1 includes a control device 10, a terminal device 20, and a plurality of observation devices 30. These are communicatively connected via a communication network 40. The communication network 40 is, for example, a wireless communication network.

[0021] The control device 10 is a server device that controls the destination (position) of the observation equipment 30 .

[0022] The terminal device 20 is a client terminal used by a user of the control system 1 .

[0023] The observation equipment 30 is an equipment that starts or ends observation based on instructions from the terminal device 20, and stores observation data observed periodically or irregularly within the observation equipment itself and transmits it to the control device 10. The observation data includes, for example, wind direction and speed, current direction and current speed, as well as the observation time and observation position.

[0024] [Functions of the Control Device] As shown in FIG. 1 , the control device 10 includes a determination unit 11 , a control unit 12 , a setting unit 13 , a first storage unit 14 , and a second storage unit 15 .

[0025] The determination unit 11 has a function of determining the direction of flow of the environmental field at the position of the observation device 30 using observation data from the observation device 30 placed at a node (described below) when the target area is divided. The determination unit 11 also has a function of determining, as the direction of flow of the environmental field, the direction closest to the direction of flow of the environmental field among the directions from the node to multiple neighboring nodes. The direction of flow of the environmental field determined by the determination unit 11 is the direction of movement of the observation target, which is the direction of movement of the observation device 30. Hereinafter, this will be referred to as the environmental field direction.

[0026] The control unit 12 has a function of calculating the destination of the observation device 30 based on the environmental field direction and transmitting the destination of the observation device 30 to the observation device 30. The control unit 12 also has a function of transmitting the positions of nearby nodes located in the environmental field direction to the observation device 30 as the destination of the observation device 30.

[0027] When the environmental field direction is not determined, the setting unit 13 has the function of setting the energy consumption of the observation equipment 30 to a minimum, or setting the direction perpendicular to the previous environmental field direction of the observation equipment 30 (= the previous movement direction of the observation equipment 30) as the environmental field direction (= the current movement direction of the observation equipment 30), and setting that environmental field direction as the movement direction for the observation equipment 30.

[0028] The first storage unit 14 has a function of storing observation data transmitted from the observation equipment 30 .

[0029] The second storage unit 15 has a function of storing various data other than observation data, such as environmental field direction data and destination data of the observation equipment 30, including past data.

[0030] [Method of arranging observation equipment] The initial values ​​for a simulation are generally obtained as representative values ​​of lattice points when the target area is divided into a lattice. As shown in Fig. 2A, lattice point A is the representative value within a certain concentric circle R. Grid point A is surrounded by eight neighboring lattice points B. If the lattice is not rectangular, for example, if it has a honeycomb structure (hexagonal), there will be three neighboring nodes B around node A, as shown in Fig. 2B.

[0031] Since both the lattice point A and the node A are considered to be types of nodes in a broad sense, the nodes include lattice points of a lattice structure (quadrilateral) and nodes of a honeycomb structure (hexagonal). However, the shape is not limited to quadrangles and hexagons, and nodes of triangles, etc. may also be used.

[0032] As for the movement of meteorological and oceanographic phenomena, winds and ocean currents move between grid points, so grid points where these changes are large are selected in advance. Specifically, grid points that show a large range of fluctuation over time over a certain period of time are selected as grid points A based on the pixel values ​​of satellite images and the analytical values ​​of numerical forecast models.

[0033] For example, the standard deviation s of various fluctuating parameters x as shown in the following formula (1) ｊ Evaluation function F(s ｊ ) may be used to find the grid point with the maximum value within the target region.

[0034]

[0035] j is the type of each variable parameter (for example, wind speed, current speed), and a and b are arbitrary constants.

[0036] A single movable observation device 30 is placed at the center lattice point A of the 3×3 lattice points in the simulation. At the same time, multiple locations within the 3×3 lattice point area may be set.

[0037] [Overview of Observation Equipment Control Method] The control device 10 calculates the direction of the environmental field at the position of the observation equipment 30 using observation data from the observation equipment 30, and sets the destination of the observation equipment 30 in the direction of the environmental field.

[0038] The control device 10 moves the observation equipment 30 along the direction of the environmental field, while simultaneously calculating the flow speed, moving distance, moving speed, etc., and operates the equipment so that it can return to grid point A at the desired observation time interval.

[0039] When there is no environmental field direction, or when the environmental field direction changes frequently in a short period of time and the environmental field direction cannot be determined, the control device 10 circulates within the observation area and waits until the flow direction becomes apparent.

[0040] [Control Method of Observation Equipment (Details)] FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the operation flow of the control system.

[0041] Step S1: Based on a user instruction, the terminal device 20 transmits an observation start instruction or observation end instruction to the observation equipment 30 and the control device 10. The terminal device 20 may automatically transmit the observation start instruction or observation end instruction based on an observation period preset by the user.

[0042] Steps S2 to S5: After starting observation, the observation equipment 30 acquires observation data periodically or irregularly and transmits it to the control device 10. The control device 10 stores the observation data from the observation equipment 30 in the first memory unit 14.

[0043] Steps S6 to S10: Based on an observation start instruction from the terminal device 20, the determination unit 11 of the control device 10 determines whether or not it is necessary to calculate the environmental field according to the calculation time of the environmental field direction (S6).

[0044] If it is determined that environmental field calculation is necessary, the judgment unit 11 of the control device 10 reads observation data (e.g., wind direction and speed, current direction and speed) from the first memory unit 14 (S7), calculates the environmental field direction at the position of the observation equipment 30 using the observation data (S8), and stores the calculated environmental field direction and observation position in the second memory unit 15 (S9, S10).

[0045] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the determination unit 11 of the control device 10 determines the environmental field direction D to be the composite value of the wind direction vector U and the flow direction vector V (weighted sum of vectors (a*U+b*V), where a and b are constants). The environmental field direction D may be the wind direction vector U alone or the flow direction vector V alone. Observation data other than wind direction and flow direction may also be used. Furthermore, the observation data may be instantaneous values ​​or average values ​​over a certain period (e.g., 10 minutes).

[0046] In order to obtain a value representing the flow between grid points, the environment field direction D is basically calculated as a direction in 45-degree increments centered on grid point A (the direction of eight neighboring grid points B). That is, as shown in Fig. 4, the determination unit 11 of the control device 10 converts the environment field direction D into the closest direction among the eight directions in 45-degree increments, and sets this direction as the environment field direction D. This environment field direction D is the movement direction of the observation target, and also the movement direction of the observation equipment 30.

[0047] The determination unit 11 of the control device 10 basically calculates one environmental field direction at the calculation time of the environmental field direction. The determination unit 11 of the control device 10 can also switch the calculation timing of the environmental field direction depending on the time period. For example, the determination unit 11 of the control device 10 may calculate the wind, which changes frequently (high time resolution), every hour, and the ocean current, which changes slowly (low time resolution), every half day.

[0048] Step S11: Next, the determination unit 11 of the control device 10 determines whether or not the environmental field direction has been determined. For example, if there is absolutely no movement in the environmental field, or if the direction changes randomly over a certain period of time (e.g., 10 minutes), resulting in the average value of the observation data being close to 0, the determination unit 11 determines that the environmental field direction has not been determined.

[0049] Steps S12 to S19: A case where the environmental field direction has been determined will now be described. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an image of the movement direction of the observation equipment 30 when the environmental field direction has been determined.

[0050] The control unit 12 of the control device 10 reads the environmental field direction and observation position of the observation equipment 30 from the second storage unit 15 (S12), and determines whether or not a destination calculation is required (S13). When this determination is made for the first time after an observation start instruction is issued, the determination is "required."

[0051] If it is determined that a destination calculation is required, the control unit 12 of the control device 10 reads out the position of the desired nearby lattice point B (neighboring lattice point B at the end of the environmental field direction D) from the second memory unit 15 (S14), and uses the environmental field direction of the observation equipment 30, the observation position, and the position of the desired nearby lattice point B to calculate the distance from the observation position of the observation equipment 30 (≒ lattice point A) to the desired nearby lattice point B, and estimates the movement speed of the observation equipment 30 based on the environmental field direction.

[0052] Then, the control unit 12 of the control device 10 calculates the destination of the observation device 30 based on the results of these calculations (S15). The destination may be the latitude and longitude corresponding to the position of the desired nearby lattice point B, or the latitude and longitude corresponding to a point near the desired nearby lattice point B.

[0053] Thereafter, the control unit 12 of the control device 10 transmits the calculated destination to the observation device 30 (S16), and stores the destination in the second storage unit 15 (S17, S18). The observation device 30 continues the observation process and moves to the destination transmitted from the control device 10 (S19).

[0054] However, the observation device 30 may not necessarily be at lattice point A when the destination is calculated. In this case, the control unit 12 of the control device 10 moves the observation device 30 to a location on the shortest distance on an extension line from lattice point A to the desired nearby lattice point B.

[0055] The control unit 12 of the control device 10 also estimates the movement speed of the turnaround and calculates the turnaround position so that the robot can return to lattice point A when calculating the next environmental field direction. In this case, the robot will turnaround even if it has not yet reached neighboring lattice point B. If the distance to the desired neighboring lattice point B is equal to or less than a threshold (for example, half), it is also possible to incorporate a pattern in which the robot turnsaround after reaching the desired neighboring lattice point B.

[0056] In determining whether or not to turn back, a threshold value may be set based on the variance of observed values ​​observed from when the moving direction is determined until when the turning back is performed, in addition to the distance.

[0057] When the observation device 30 turns back at the target nearby grid point B and reaches grid point A, if there is still time until the next calculation of the environmental field direction, the control unit 12 of the control device 10 makes the observation device 30 wait near grid point A. The method of making the observation device 30 wait is the same as that when the environmental field direction is not determined, as described in step S11.

[0058] Furthermore, the control unit 12 of the control device 10 basically constantly monitors the position to which the observation device 30 is moving, and makes corrections if the direction or speed deviates from the estimated value. The destination is monitored until the time for calculating the next environmental field direction begins, and when that calculation time arrives, the state transitions to the state before the calculation of the environmental field direction (the transition destination if No in S13).

[0059] Steps S20 to S27: A case where the environmental field direction is not determined in step S11 will be described below. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an image of the movement direction of the observation equipment 30 when the environmental field direction is not determined.

[0060] This applies to cases where there is absolutely no movement in the environmental field, where the direction changes randomly over a certain period of time (for example, 10 minutes), resulting in the average value of the observation data being close to zero.

[0061] In this case, the setting unit 13 of the control device 10 causes the observation equipment 30 to hover near the central grid point A so as not to use movement energy until the time for calculating the next environmental field direction.

[0062] Alternatively, when the observation device 30 has sufficient movement energy, the setting unit 13 of the control device 10 checks the variation in the values ​​of the environmental field direction, and in order to obtain a highly accurate representative value, sets the direction of movement (= current environmental field direction) for the observation device 30 to a direction rotated 90 degrees from the previous movement direction (= previous environmental field direction), as shown in Figure 6. The processing in this case is as follows.

[0063] The setting unit 13 of the control device 10 reads the previous environmental field direction, current observation position, and previous destination of the observation equipment 30 from the second storage unit 15 (S20), and determines whether or not destination calculation is required (S21).

[0064] If it is determined that a destination calculation is necessary, the control unit 12 of the control device 10 sets the current environmental field direction D' to a direction obtained by rotating the previous environmental field direction D by 90 degrees, reads the position of the current target neighboring lattice point B' (neighboring lattice point B' ahead of the environmental field direction D') from the second storage unit 15 (S22), calculates the distance from the current observation position of the observation device 30 (≈ lattice point A) to the target neighboring lattice point B', and estimates the movement speed of the observation device 30 based on the environmental field direction D'.The control unit 12 of the control device 10 then calculates the destination of the observation device 30 based on these calculation results (S23).

[0065] Thereafter, the setting unit 13 of the control device 10 transmits the calculated destination to the observation device 30 (S24), and stores the destination in the second storage unit 15 (S25, S26). The observation device 30 continues the observation process and moves to the destination transmitted from the control device 10 (S27).

[0066] [Effect] According to this embodiment, the direction of the environmental field at the position of the observation device 30 is determined using the observation data of the observation device 30 placed at lattice point A, the destination of the observation device 30 is calculated based on the environmental field direction, and the destination of the observation device 30 is transmitted to the observation device 30, thereby providing a technology that can observe changes in observation data due to the movement of the observation target at low cost.

[0067] [Others] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure.

[0068] The control device 10 of the present embodiment described above can be realized, for example, by using a general-purpose computer system including a CPU 901, a memory 902, a storage 903, a communication device 904, an input device 905, and an output device 906, as shown in Fig. 7. The memory 902 and the storage 903 are storage devices. In this computer system, the CPU 901 executes a predetermined program loaded onto the memory 902, thereby realizing each function of the control device 10.

[0069] The control device 10 may be implemented by one computer, or by multiple computers, or may be a virtual machine implemented on a computer.

[0070] The program for the control device 10 can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a HDD, SSD, USB memory, CD, or DVD. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a non-transitory recording medium. The program for the control device 10 can also be distributed via a communication network.

[0071] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 control system 10 control device 11 determination unit 12 control unit 13 setting unit 14 first storage unit 15 second storage unit 20 terminal device 30 observation equipment 40 communication network 901 CPU 902 memory 903 storage 904 communication device 905 input device 906 output device

Claims

1. A control device comprising: a determination unit that determines the direction of flow of the environmental field at the position of an observation device using observation data from the observation device placed at the node when the area is divided; and a control unit that calculates the destination of the observation device based on the direction of flow of the environmental field and transmits the destination of the observation device to the observation device.

2. The control device described in claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the direction from the node to multiple neighboring nodes that is closest to the direction of flow of the environmental field as the direction of flow of the environmental field, and the control unit transmits the position of the neighboring node located in the direction of flow of the environmental field to the observation equipment as the destination of the observation equipment.

3. The control device of claim 1, further comprising a setting unit that, when the direction of flow of the environmental field is not determined, sets the energy consumption of the observation equipment to a minimum, or sets the direction of flow of the environmental field to a direction perpendicular to the previous direction of flow of the environmental field of the observation equipment, and sets the direction of flow of the environmental field as the direction of movement of the observation equipment.

4. A control method performed by a control device, which uses observation data from an observation device placed at a node when a region is divided to determine the direction of flow of the environmental field at the position of the observation device, calculates the destination of the observation device based on the direction of flow of the environmental field, and transmits the destination of the observation device to the observation device.

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