Moving body guidance system, moving body, and object

Abstract

This moving body guidance system is provided with a moving body (10) that moves underwater; and an object (20) that is installed underwater in order to guide the moving body. The moving body is provided with an imaging unit (12) that images the surroundings and a control unit (13) that controls the movement of the moving body. The object is provided with a light-emitting part (21) having a plurality of light sources. The light-emitting part is configured such that the color of at least some of the light sources imaged by the imaging unit change depending on relative angles in horizontal direction and vertical direction between the moving body and the light-emitting part. The control unit controls the movement of the moving body on the basis of the colors of the plurality of light sources imaged by the imaging unit.

Description

Mobile body guidance system, mobile body, and object Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-189302 (filed on October 28, 2024), and the entire disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference for that purpose.

[0002] This disclosure relates to a mobile body guidance system, a mobile body, and an object.

[0003] Conventionally, in order to conduct underwater surveys or seabed surveys, etc., mobile bodies such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) or an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) have been used. For example, an AUV needs to dock underwater with a docking object (hereinafter simply referred to as an "object") for power supply (charging) or transfer of acquired data, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a guidance device that enables position control of a mobile body using light.

[0004] Japanese Patent No. 4421306

[0005] (1) A mobile body guidance system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a mobile body that moves underwater and an object installed underwater for guiding the mobile body. The mobile body includes an imaging unit that images the surroundings and a control unit that controls the movement of the mobile body. The object includes a light emitting unit having a plurality of light sources. The light emitting unit is configured such that the color of at least a part of the plurality of light sources imaged by the imaging unit changes according to the relative angles in the horizontal and vertical directions between the mobile body and the light emitting unit. The control unit controls the movement of the mobile body based on the colors of the plurality of light sources imaged by the imaging unit.

[0006] (2) As an embodiment of the present disclosure, in (1), each of the plurality of light sources is composed of a set of light emitters including a first light emitter that emits light of a first color and a second light emitter that emits light of a second color.

[0007] (3) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (1) or (2), the light-emitting unit has an orthogonal group of light sources comprising two or more light sources arranged in the horizontal direction and two or more light sources arranged in the vertical direction.

[0008] (4) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (3), the light-emitting unit has a light source that is different from the orthogonal group of light sources for specifying the orientation of the light-emitting unit.

[0009] (5) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (3), the orthogonal group of light sources consists of two or more light sources arranged in the horizontal direction or two or more light sources arranged in the vertical direction that flash.

[0010] (6) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (3), the orthogonal group of light sources is such that the number of two or more light sources arranged in the horizontal direction is different from the number of two or more light sources arranged in the vertical direction.

[0011] (7) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (1), each of the plurality of light sources is composed of a set of light-emitting elements consisting of a first light-emitting element that emits light in a first color and a second light-emitting element that emits light in a second color, or a third light-emitting element that emits light in a third color.

[0012] (8) A mobile body according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a mobile body that moves in water and is guided by an object installed in water and equipped with a light-emitting unit having a plurality of light sources, comprising an imaging unit that images the surroundings and a control unit that controls the movement of the mobile body, wherein the light-emitting unit is configured such that the color of at least a portion of the plurality of light sources imaged by the imaging unit changes according to the relative angle between the mobile body and the light-emitting unit in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the control unit controls the movement of the mobile body based on the colors of the plurality of light sources imaged by the imaging unit.

[0013] (9) An object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an object installed in water to guide a moving body moving in water, comprising a light-emitting unit having a plurality of light sources, wherein the light-emitting unit is configured such that the color of at least a portion of the plurality of light sources, which are imaged by the moving body, changes according to the relative angle between the moving body and the light-emitting unit in the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0014] Figure 1 shows an example configuration of a guidance system for a moving object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 shows an example configuration of a light-emitting part of an object installed in water to guide the moving object. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the change in the color of the light source of the light-emitting part according to the relative angle between the moving object and the light-emitting part. Figure 4 shows another example configuration of the light-emitting part. Figure 5 shows another example configuration of the light-emitting part. Figure 6 shows another example configuration of the light-emitting part. Figure 7 shows another example configuration of the light-emitting part. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a position information table of the object. Figure 9 shows another example configuration of the light-emitting part. Figure 10 shows another example configuration of the light source.

[0015] Hereinafter, the guidance system of the mobile body 10 (see Figure 1), the mobile body 10, and the object 20 (see Figure 1) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the guidance system of the mobile body 10 according to the present embodiment. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the description of this embodiment, the description of the same or corresponding parts will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0016] The guidance system for the mobile body 10 according to this embodiment comprises a mobile body 10 that moves underwater and an object 20 installed underwater to guide the mobile body 10. The object 20 may be installed on the seabed or an underwater structure, or it may be installed underwater by being suspended from a moored ship as in the example in Figure 1. The object 20 has at least a function that enables position control of the mobile body 10 using light, and in this embodiment it further functions as a dock (resident) that can house the mobile body 10 for power supply or data transfer, etc.

[0017] The mobile body 10 comprises an imaging unit 12 that images its surroundings and a control unit 13 that controls the movement of the mobile body 10. In this embodiment, the mobile body 10 is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), but it may be any other type of underwater vehicle. The mobile body 10 also includes a propulsion device 11 for movement. In this embodiment, the propulsion device 11 is a propeller, and the rotation and direction of movement of the propeller are controlled by the control unit 13. As will be described in detail later, the control unit 13 controls the movement of the mobile body 10 based on the colors of multiple light sources 22 present in the object 20 imaged by the imaging unit 12. Therefore, the control unit 13 acquires an image from the imaging unit 12 that includes the multiple light sources 22, performs image processing such as determining the colors, and performs various calculations necessary to control the position and movement of the mobile body 10. The control unit 13 may be composed of, for example, one or more processors. The processor may be a general-purpose processor (e.g., a CPU) that reads a program and performs a specific function, or a dedicated processor (e.g., an ASIC) specialized for a specific process. For example, the control unit 13 may operate according to a program stored in memory. The program may be stored and provided on a recording medium such as a DVD-ROM. The imaging unit 12 may be, for example, a camera. The camera may be an RGB camera as in this embodiment, or it may be an underwater stereo camera capable of calculating distance information. The images captured by the imaging unit 12 include still images, but in this embodiment, they will be described as moving images. Here, the mobile body 10 may further be equipped with a mobile body-side communication device 14. The mobile body-side communication device 14 may be, for example, an acoustic communication device or an optical communication device, and may be capable of communicating with an object-side communication device 23 equipped on the object 20.

[0018] The object 20 includes a light-emitting unit 21 having a plurality of light sources 22. As will be described in detail later, the light-emitting unit 21 is configured such that the color of at least some of the plurality of light sources 22 captured by the imaging unit 12 changes according to the relative angle between the moving body 10 and the light-emitting unit 21 in the horizontal and vertical directions. Here, the light-emitting unit 21 has orthogonal groups of light sources (groups of light sources arranged in a cross shape) (see Figure 2). The horizontal direction corresponds to the arrangement of one group of light sources arranged in a straight line (they are parallel), and the vertical direction corresponds to the arrangement of the other group of light sources arranged in a straight line, and the horizontal direction is orthogonal to the vertical direction. However, for example, the vertical direction does not need to be parallel to the direction of gravity. The horizontal direction and the vertical direction can be rephrased as a first direction and a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction, respectively. That is, in the description of this embodiment, the horizontal direction and the vertical direction are merely examples of the first direction and the second direction. Also, in this embodiment, the object 20 is a dock and has a storage unit for storing the moving body 10 in addition to the light-emitting unit 21. The light-emitting unit 21 may be provided in a part of the storage unit, for example, as shown in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the ideal entry path for the mobile body 10 is described as entering and being stored such that the center of the light-emitting unit 21 is in the center of the front in the direction of travel when viewed from the mobile body 10. Here, the object 20 may further be equipped with an object-side communication device 23. The object-side communication device 23 may be, for example, an acoustic communication device or an optical communication device, and may be able to communicate with the mobile body-side communication device 14 provided by the mobile body 10.

[0019] At airports, the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) is a system of indicator lights that allows aircraft to determine their approach angle based on the color of the lights they are visible to. PAPI indicates that an aircraft is outside the correct range by increasing the number of white or red lights depending on whether its altitude is higher or lower than the correct approach descent path. At airports, PAPI consists of four lights in a horizontal row, each appearing either white or red to the aircraft. If the aircraft's approach descent angle is within the correct range, the two left lights will be white and the two right lights will be red (equal numbers of white and red). If the aircraft is slightly higher than the correct approach descent path, the three left lights will be white and the one right light will be red; if it is considerably higher, all four lights will be white. If the aircraft is slightly lower than the correct approach descent path, the one left light will be white and the three right lights will be red; if it is considerably lower, all four lights will be red. PAPI traffic lights have a white or red light source (or a lamp with white and red filters), a lens is placed between the light source (or filter) and the aircraft, and the color is configured to change depending on the vertical relative angle between the traffic light and the aircraft.

[0020] The guidance system for the moving body 10 according to this embodiment controls the movement of the moving body 10 based on the color of the light source 22 in the image captured by the moving body 10, but it does not directly use the PAPI technology used in airports. First, the colors that are easily transmitted in water are limited to blue to green (wavelengths of light from approximately 430 nm to 550 nm), and the colors that are easily transmitted change depending on the sea conditions. Therefore, PAPI, which uses white and red, cannot be directly applied. Also, the moving body 10 can move freely in water. Therefore, it is insufficient for the color to change only according to the relative angle in the vertical direction, and the color also needs to change according to the relative angle in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (horizontal direction). For this reason, the light-emitting part 21 of the object 20 installed in the water to guide the moving body 10 has the configuration described below.

[0021] Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of the light-emitting unit 21. The light-emitting unit 21 has an orthogonal group of light sources, which consists of two or more light sources 22 arranged horizontally (a group of light sources for horizontal confirmation) and two or more light sources 22 arranged vertically (a group of light sources for vertical confirmation). In the example in Figure 2, the light-emitting unit 21 has four light sources 22 arranged in a straight line horizontally, and four light sources 22 arranged in a straight line vertically. In this embodiment, each of the multiple light sources 22 is composed of a set of light sources consisting of a first light source that emits light in a first color and a second light source that emits light in a second color. Here, the first color and the second color are, for example, colors that are easily transmitted in water, and are selected so that the wavelength of light is in the range of 430 nm to 550 nm. The first color and the second color are not limited to specific colors, as long as the control unit 13 can distinguish between them based on the image captured by the imaging unit 12, but in this embodiment, the first color is blue and the second color is green. Furthermore, the first and second light-emitting elements are not limited to a specific type of light-emitting device, but in this embodiment they will be described as LEDs. Also, similar to PAPI traffic lights, in this embodiment each of the multiple light sources 22 has a lens positioned between the two light-emitting elements and the moving body 10, and is configured to change color according to the relative angle between the light-emitting unit 21 and the moving body 10. In the example in Figure 2, the horizontal direction confirmation light source group has two light sources 22 on the right and left sides from the center. The vertical direction confirmation light source group has two light sources 22 on the upper and lower sides from the center. Here, the center of the light-emitting unit 21 is the position that is in the center of the front in the direction of travel when the moving body 10 enters the object 20, which is a dock, via the correct entry path.

[0022] Each of the multiple light sources 22 changes color according to the relative horizontal and vertical angles between the moving body 10 and the light-emitting unit 21, appearing blue or green when viewed from the moving body 10 (in the image captured by the moving body 10). Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the color change of the light sources 22 of the light-emitting unit 21 according to the relative angle between the moving body 10 and the light-emitting unit 21. When the moving body 10 approaches the light-emitting unit 21 via the correct approach path, the horizontal and vertical confirmation light sources, as seen from the moving body 10, appear as two blue and two green (equal numbers of blue and green), as shown by the group of light sources enclosed by the dashed lines in Figure 3.

[0023] If the moving body 10 deviates to the right horizontally from the correct approach path, the number of green lights in the horizontal confirmation light source group will exceed the number of blue lights. If the moving body 10 deviates to the left horizontally from the correct approach path, the number of blue lights in the horizontal confirmation light source group will exceed the number of green lights. If the moving body 10 deviates downward vertically from the correct approach path, the number of green lights in the vertical confirmation light source group will exceed the number of blue lights. Also, if the moving body 10 deviates upward vertically from the correct approach path, the number of blue lights in the vertical confirmation light source group will exceed the number of green lights. Therefore, the control unit 13 of the moving body 10 can execute control to move the moving body 10 to the correct approach path based on the colors of the multiple light sources 22 captured by the imaging unit 12. For example, if all of the colors of the multiple light sources 22 captured by the imaging unit 12 are green, the control unit 13 can determine that the moving body 10 is deviated to the right horizontally and downward vertically from the correct approach path. Therefore, the control unit 13 controls the propulsion device 11 to move the moving body 10 to the left horizontally and upward vertically. Also, for example, if the number of blue and green light sources in the vertical direction confirmation group captured by the imaging unit 12 is equal, but the number of blue light sources in the horizontal direction confirmation group is greater than the number of green light sources, the control unit 13 can determine that the moving body 10 is deviated to the left horizontally from the correct approach path. Therefore, the control unit 13 controls the propulsion device 11 to move the moving body 10 to the right horizontally.

[0024] Here, the more light sources 22 there are in the light-emitting unit 21, the higher the resolution for determining the degree of deviation of the moving body 10 from the correct entry path. In the example in Figure 2, the light-emitting unit 21 has a configuration in which four light sources 22 are arranged in the horizontal direction and four in the vertical direction. To further increase the resolution (to reduce the amount of deviation in the entry angle of the moving body 10 corresponding to the difference in color of one light source 22), the light-emitting unit 21 may adopt a configuration in which six light sources 22 are arranged in the horizontal direction and six in the vertical direction, for example, as shown in Figure 4. The light-emitting unit 21 may adopt a configuration in which even more light sources 22 are arranged in at least one of the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0025] Furthermore, unlike aircraft landings, the moving object 10 moving underwater may approach from a negative depression angle. Therefore, the colors of the multiple light sources 22 may change to correspond to the deviation in the approach angle from -30° to +30° for the vertical direction confirmation light source group. For example, in the vertical direction confirmation light source group, if there are an equal number of blue and green lights, it corresponds to a deviation of 0°; if all light sources 22 are blue, it corresponds to a deviation of +30°; and if all light sources 22 are green, it corresponds to a deviation of -30°. Similarly, the colors of the multiple light sources 22 may change to correspond to the deviation in the approach angle from -30° to +30° for the horizontal direction confirmation light source group. In the example in Figure 3, the deviation to the left in the horizontal direction corresponds to a deviation of a positive approach angle.

[0026] Furthermore, when the object 20 is installed on the seabed, there is no need to consider the mobile body 10 entering from a negative depression angle, so the configuration of the light-emitting unit 21 shown in Figure 5 can be adopted, allowing the size of the object 20 to be reduced.

[0027] Furthermore, if the imaging unit 12 is an underwater stereo camera, the control unit 13 can directly measure the distance to the object 20. Even if the imaging unit 12 is an RGB camera as in this embodiment, the control unit 13 can determine when the distance to the object 20 has approached sufficiently by the process described below. Here, "approaching the object 20 sufficiently" means approaching the object 20 to the extent that the control unit 13 can execute control to move the moving body 10 to the correct entry path based on the colors of the multiple light sources 22 captured by the imaging unit 12.

[0028] First, the control unit 13 may utilize the fact that when the distance to the object 20 is far, the multiple light sources 22 of the light-emitting unit 21 are captured as a single point light source. When the multiple light sources 22 in the captured image are extracted as a single point light source, the control unit 13 may perform a simple movement control instead of controlling the movement of the moving body 10 based on the colors of the multiple light sources 22. The simple movement control may be a control that moves the moving body 10 so that the point light source is in the center of the image in the direction of travel captured by the imaging unit 12. For example, when the multiple light sources 22 are extracted as a single point light source, the control unit 13 may move the moving body 10 so that the point light source is included within a predetermined range from the center of the image in the direction of travel. Here, the predetermined range may be predetermined in the vertical and horizontal directions.

[0029] Furthermore, by including a light source 22 in the light-emitting unit 21, which is composed of a third light-emitting element that emits light in a third color different from both the first and second colors, the control unit 13 can determine the approximate distance to the object 20. The third color is a color that does not easily penetrate water (a wavelength of light outside the range of approximately 430 nm to 550 nm), and in this embodiment, it is red. Red is more easily attenuated in water than blue and green. Therefore, the control unit 13 can determine that the distance to the object 20 has approached sufficiently by seeing red.

[0030] Figure 6 illustrates a light-emitting unit 21 that includes a third light-emitting element. In Figure 6, each of the multiple light sources 22 is composed of a set of light-emitting elements consisting of a first light-emitting element that emits a first color (blue) and a second light-emitting element that emits a second color (green), or a third light-emitting element that emits a third color (red). For example, the light-emitting unit 21 may include a red light source 22a in addition to orthogonal light source groups (a horizontal light source group and a vertical light source group). If red is included in the colors of the multiple light sources 22 captured by the imaging unit 12 (if the light source 22a is lit), the control unit 13 may determine that the distance to the object 20 has approached sufficiently. The control unit 13 may then control the propulsion device 11 to reduce the movement speed of the moving body 10 to a predetermined value or less. Furthermore, the light-emitting unit 21 is not limited to one, but may include multiple red light sources 22a. Also, the position of the red light source 22a is not limited as long as it is not included in the orthogonal light source group.

[0031] Here, the attitude of the mobile body 10 in water has a much greater degree of freedom compared to, for example, an aircraft. Therefore, it is preferable that the light-emitting unit 21 is configured to be able to identify the orientation that serves as the reference for alignment when the mobile body 10 docks.

[0032] For example, the light-emitting unit 21 may have a light source 22b that is different from the orthogonal light source group and is used to identify the orientation of the light-emitting unit 21. In the example in Figure 6, the light source 22b, which serves as a marker for identifying the orientation, is located at the upper left end of the light-emitting unit 21. The control unit 13 can identify the orientation of the moving body 10 (its orientation relative to the light-emitting unit 21) by extracting the light source 22b, which is different from the orthogonal light source group, from the image captured by the imaging unit 12 and corresponding it to the upper left end of the light-emitting unit 21. The control unit 13 may rotate the moving body 10 according to the identified orientation of the moving body 10 (its orientation relative to the light-emitting unit 21), for example, so that the position of the light source 22b is at the upper left as seen from the moving body 10. Here, in the example in Figure 6, the color of the light source 22b, which is a marker for identifying the orientation, is red, but it is not limited to a specific color. For example, the color of the light source 22b may be blue or green, or a fourth color (for example, white). Furthermore, the position of the light source 22b is not limited to the upper left end of the light-emitting section 21, but may be the upper right, lower right, or lower left end, as an alternative example.

[0033] The light-emitting unit 21 may be able to determine its orientation without having a marker. For example, the orthogonal group of light sources of the light-emitting unit 21 may be configured such that two or more light sources 22 arranged horizontally or two or more light sources 22 arranged vertically blink. For example, the horizontal direction confirmation group may have one light source 22 on and off at predetermined intervals (for example, every two seconds) from left to right. The control unit 13 may then determine from the image captured by the imaging unit 12 that the blinking light sources 22 correspond to the horizontal direction and control the attitude of the moving body 10.

[0034] Furthermore, the orthogonal light source groups of the light-emitting unit 21 may have a configuration in which the number of two or more light sources 22 arranged horizontally is different from the number of two or more light sources 22 arranged vertically. This configuration allows the light-emitting unit 21 to determine its orientation without the need for markers. Figure 7 illustrates an orthogonal light source group with a different number of lights in the horizontal and vertical directions. In the example in Figure 7, there are four light sources for horizontal direction confirmation and six light sources for vertical direction confirmation. The control unit 13 may determine from the image captured by the imaging unit 12 that the six arranged light sources 22 correspond to the vertical direction and control the attitude of the moving body 10.

[0035] In this case, multiple objects 20 may be arranged in the guidance system for the mobile body 10. In this case, it is preferable that each of the multiple objects 20 has a unique identification symbol (ID) so that the mobile body 10 can determine which object 20 it is. The object 20 may transmit its ID via an object-side communicator 23, and the mobile body 10 may receive it via a mobile body-side communicator 14. Data transmission and reception underwater may be carried out using known acoustic or optical communication methods.

[0036] Furthermore, the control unit 13 of the mobile body 10 may pre-store a position information table containing information on the positions of multiple objects 20, as shown in Figure 8, in an accessible storage device (e.g., memory). In this case, the control unit 13 can calculate the precise coordinates (absolute position) of the mobile body 10 from the precise position information of the target object 20 obtained from the position information table and the relative distance to the target object 20. In particular, if the imaging unit 12 is an underwater stereo camera, the control unit 13 can calculate the precise position of the mobile body 10.

[0037] Here, the IDs of the multiple objects 20 may be transmitted to the mobile body 10 by the multiple light sources 22 of the light-emitting unit 21 flashing in a unique pattern, without going through the object-side communication device 23 and the mobile body-side communication device 14. The control unit 13 may identify the flashing patterns of the multiple light sources 22 from the image captured by the imaging unit 12 and identify the ID of the object 20 from the flashing patterns. For example, if all the light sources 22 of an object 20 with ID n (n = 1, 2, 3...) have a unique flashing pattern that turns off once every n seconds, the control unit 13 may identify the ID of the object 20 by calculating the time interval at which all the light sources 22 turn off.

[0038] As described above, the guidance system for the mobile body 10, the mobile body 10, and the target object 20 according to this embodiment enable high-precision positioning of the mobile body 10 when docking in water.

[0039] While embodiments of this disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art will find it easy to make various modifications or alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications or alterations are included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0040] In the above embodiment, a group of orthogonal light sources is composed of a light source 22 which is a set of light sources consisting of a first light source that emits light in a first color and a second light source that emits light in a second color. Here, as shown in Figure 9, the group of orthogonal light sources may have different flashing patterns, but both light sources 22 may be composed of a set of light sources that emit light in a first color. That is, in this modified example, each of the multiple light sources 22 is composed of a set of light sources consisting of a first light source that emits light in a first color and flashes in a first pattern, and a second light source that emits light in a first color and flashes in a second pattern. For example, the first pattern is a pattern that lights up every 1 second. For example, the second pattern is a pattern that lights up every 2 seconds. In this case, blue (first color) in Figure 3 corresponds to lighting up every 1 second (first pattern). Also, green (second color) in Figure 3 corresponds to lighting up every 2 seconds (second pattern).

[0041] In the above embodiment, the light source 22 is configured such that a lens is positioned in the direction of light emission from a first light-emitting element (blue LED) that emits a first color and a second light-emitting element (green LED) that emits a second color, and the color selectively changes according to the relative angle between the light-emitting unit 21 and the moving body 10. Here, as shown in Figure 10, the light source 22 may include, for example, a white light-emitting element and be configured so that the color continuously changes according to the relative angle between the light-emitting unit 21 and the moving body 10 by an optical system including a prism, a slit, and a lens. In this modified example, there may be only one light source 22 included in the light-emitting unit 21. Here, the change from blue to green (a change in the wavelength of light from approximately 430 nm to 550 nm) is configured to occur according to the relative angle in the horizontal direction and the relative angle in the vertical direction by appropriately arranging, for example, a prism and a slit. Here, when the moving body 10 enters the object 20, which is a dock, via the correct entry path, the color of the light source 22 as seen from the moving body 10 becomes light blue (wavelength of light is approximately 490 nm). Therefore, the control unit 13 controls the movement of the moving body 10 so that the color of the light source 22 in the captured image becomes light blue.

[0042] 10 Mobile unit 11 Propulsion device 12 Imaging unit 13 Control unit 14 Mobile unit-side communication device 20 Target object 21 Light-emitting unit 22, 22a, 22b Light source 23 Target object-side communication device

Claims

1. A guidance system for a moving body, comprising: a moving body that moves underwater; and an object placed underwater to guide the moving body, wherein the moving body comprises: an imaging unit that images its surroundings; and a control unit that controls the movement of the moving body; the object comprises: a light-emitting unit having a plurality of light sources; the light-emitting unit is configured such that the color of at least some of the plurality of light sources imaged by the imaging unit changes according to the relative angle between the moving body and the light-emitting unit in the horizontal and vertical directions; and the control unit controls the movement of the moving body based on the colors of the plurality of light sources imaged by the imaging unit.

2. The guidance system for a moving object according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of light sources is composed of a set of light-emitting bodies consisting of a first light-emitting body that emits light of a first color and a second light-emitting body that emits light of a second color.

3. The guidance system for a moving body according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light-emitting unit has a group of orthogonal light sources composed of two or more light sources arranged in the horizontal direction and two or more light sources arranged in the vertical direction.

4. The guidance system for a moving body according to claim 3, wherein the light-emitting unit has a light source for determining the orientation of the light-emitting unit, which is different from the orthogonal group of light sources.

5. The guidance system for a moving body according to claim 3, wherein the orthogonal group of light sources consists of two or more light sources arranged in the horizontal direction or two or more light sources arranged in the vertical direction that flash.

6. The guidance system for a moving body according to claim 3, wherein the number of two or more light sources arranged in the horizontal direction is different from the number of two or more light sources arranged in the vertical direction.

7. The guidance system for a moving object according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of light sources is composed of a set of light-emitting bodies consisting of a first light-emitting body that emits light of a first color and a second light-emitting body that emits light of a second color, or a third light-emitting body that emits light of a third color.

8. A moving body that moves underwater, guided by an object installed underwater and equipped with a light-emitting unit having multiple light sources, comprising: an imaging unit that images the surroundings; and a control unit that controls the movement of the moving body, wherein the light-emitting unit is configured such that the color of at least some of the multiple light sources imaged by the imaging unit changes according to the relative angle between the moving body and the light-emitting unit in the horizontal and vertical directions; and the control unit controls the movement of the moving body based on the colors of the multiple light sources imaged by the imaging unit.

9. An object installed in water to guide a moving body moving underwater, comprising a light-emitting unit having a plurality of light sources, wherein the light-emitting unit is configured such that the color of at least a portion of the plurality of light sources, as imaged by the moving body, changes according to the relative angle between the moving body and the light-emitting unit in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Images