Control system, control method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] According to the present invention, an operation for searching for an object using a plurality of moving bodies can be more appropriately or more efficiently performed even in an outdoor area with a relatively large environmental disturbance. [Solution] The present invention is a control system that searches for an object in a desired area by controlling a plurality of ships equipped with a measurement sensor, the control system comprising: a request information acquisition unit that acquires search request information including a request condition of the search; an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information relating to the desired area; a search effectiveness estimation unit that estimates the search effectiveness relating to the search by the plurality of ships on the basis of the environmental information; a search plan determination unit that performs, on the basis of the search request information and the search effectiveness, at least one of a determination relating to whether or not a search satisfying the request condition can be executed, and generation or update of a search plan for a search satisfying the request condition; and an information output unit that outputs a display or notification of information including a determination result by the search plan determination unit, or outputs a command based on the determination result.

Description

Control System, Control Method, and Program

[0001] The present invention relates to a control system, a control method, and a program.

[0002] Conventionally, the practical application of a system that autonomously moves a plurality of unmanned aircraft to search for a specific object has been studied. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for optimizing the behavior of an entire group of unmanned aircraft while each aircraft constituting the plurality of unmanned aircraft autonomously selects its behavior.

[0003] Publication No. 2018 - 105599 of the Re - published Gazette

[0004] Here, when actually performing a search task for an object using a plurality of unmanned aircraft, due to external disturbances in the environment of the search area, the search performance of the unmanned aircraft may deteriorate, and there may be cases where the search task cannot be executed as expected. Areas that are susceptible to such external environmental disturbances are outdoor areas. Particularly in marine areas and airspace areas, there is a problem that the impact of external environmental disturbances on the search performance of unmanned boats is significant.

[0005] Therefore, if the impact of external environmental disturbances in the search target area on the search performance cannot be grasped, it is impossible to appropriately suspend the search execution or change the search plan, and it is impossible to efficiently operate the search task.

[0006] Further, in order to perform a search using a plurality of unmanned aircraft, not only the moving function but also various functions such as collection of measurement data, wireless communication between the unmanned aircraft and the outside, and self - position estimation using GNSS signals need to be installed on the unmanned aircraft. Therefore, it is required to grasp the impact of various external environmental disturbances in the target area on these various functions.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of at least one of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a system, a control method, etc. that can perform a search operation for an object using a plurality of moving bodies more appropriately or more efficiently even in an outdoor area where external environmental disturbances are relatively large.

[0008] According to the present invention, a control system is obtained that controls a plurality of vessels equipped with measurement sensors to search for an object in a predetermined area, comprising: a request information acquisition unit that acquires search request information including the requirements for the search; an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information relating to the desired area; a search performance estimation unit that estimates the search performance of the plurality of vessels or updates the estimated value of the search performance based on the environmental information; a search plan determination unit that determines whether the search that satisfies the requirements can be executed, generates or updates a search plan for the search that satisfies the requirements, based on the search request information and the search performance; and an information output unit that displays or notifies information including the determination result by the search plan determination unit, or outputs a command based on the determination result.

[0009] According to the present invention, even in outdoor areas with relatively large environmental disturbances, object search operations using multiple mobile bodies can be performed more appropriately or more efficiently.

[0010] This is an overall configuration diagram of the control system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of an implementation image when the control system 1 is implemented in real space. This is a diagram showing stakeholders related to the control system 1. This is a configuration diagram showing an unmanned vessel system 1000 composed of multiple unmanned vessels. This is a conceptual diagram showing how the unmanned vessel system 1000 deployed on the sea searches for a target object 7000. This is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the unmanned vessel 1010. This is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the overall control system 2000. This is a diagram showing an example of request information and unmanned vessel-related information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2110 and the unmanned vessel information acquisition unit 2120. This is a diagram showing an example of environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130. This is a diagram showing an example of correspondence information between unmanned vessel performance and environmental disturbances used in the system impact estimation process by the system impact estimation unit 2210. This is a diagram showing an example of a search plan generated or updated by the search plan draft generation unit 2320 or the search plan change draft generation unit 2340. This is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the control system 1. This is a sequence diagram showing the exchange of signals between systems within the control system 1. This is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for estimating search performance according to environmental information by the disturbance influence determination unit 2200. This is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for determining whether the requirements can be met and determining the search plan by the search plan determination unit 2300. This is a diagram showing the relative positions on the sea surface of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 that constitute a group. This is a diagram showing an example of a search method using multiple groups. This is a diagram showing another example of a search method using multiple groups. This is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for updating the estimated value of search performance according to newly acquired environmental information by the search performance update estimation unit 2230, etc. This is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for determining whether the requirements can be met and updating the search plan based on the updated search performance by the search plan determination unit 2300. This is a hardware configuration diagram of the integrated control system 2000.

[0011] The embodiments of the present invention are described below. The present invention has the following configuration: [Item 1] A control system for controlling a plurality of vessels equipped with measurement sensors to search for an object in a predetermined area, comprising: a request information acquisition unit that acquires search request information including the requirements for the search; an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information relating to the desired area; a search performance estimation unit that estimates the search performance of the plurality of vessels or updates the estimated value of the search performance based on the environmental information; a search plan determination unit that determines whether the search that satisfies the requirements can be executed, generates or updates a search plan for the search that satisfies the requirements, based on the search request information and the search performance; and an information output unit that displays or notifies information including the determination result by the search plan determination unit, or outputs a command based on the determination result. [Item 2] A control system according to Item 1, wherein the search request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit includes at least one of the following: object-related information that can identify the object, area information that can identify the desired area, search time information relating to the time of the search, and search target information relating to the target value of the search. [Item 3] A control system according to Item 1 or 2, wherein the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit includes weather conditions including at least one of thunderstorms, fog, rain, snow, hail, sleet, and cloudy skies. [Item 4] A control system according to any one of Item 1 to 3, wherein the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit includes at least one of the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the sun, or the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the moon, or backlighting, frontlighting, solar radiation, and ionospheric disturbance.[Item 5] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 4, wherein the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit includes oceanographic conditions including at least one of wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, and tidal current direction; meteorological conditions including at least one of wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity; or seawater conditions including at least one of seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, water depth, transparency, underwater noise, plankton concentration, and presence or absence of seaweed beds. [Item 6] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 5, wherein the environmental information acquisition unit receives the environmental information from the outside or from the vessel, or interprets the environmental information based on current or past information acquired from the outside or from the vessel. [Item 7] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 6, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of the measurement performance including at least one of the measurable distance and the two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area of ​​the measurement sensor in the desired area, based on the environmental information relating to the desired area. [Item 8] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 7, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of the measurement performance including at least one of the measurable distance and the two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area that the measurement sensor can demonstrate in the desired area, based on the environmental information relating to the desired area and the previously acquired pre-measured performance of the measurement sensor. [Item 9] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 8, wherein the measurement sensor is a camera capable of acquiring image data including the object located in a marine area, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of measurement performance including at least one of the measurable distance, two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, that the camera can achieve in the desired area, based on the environmental information including the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the sun, or the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the moon, or the lunar phase, or backlighting, front lighting, solar radiation, and time of day.[Item 10] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 9, wherein the measurement sensor is an optical camera capable of acquiring image data of the object present in the underwater area, or an acoustic sensor capable of detecting the object present in the underwater area, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of measurement performance, which includes at least one of the measurable distance, two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, that the optical camera or acoustic sensor can perform in the desired area, based on the environmental information, which includes at least one of the following: seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, transparency, and underwater noise in the underwater area of ​​the desired area. [Item 11] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 10, wherein when data information is transmitted via a wireless communication network between a plurality of vessels, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of communication performance, including at least one of the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength of the wireless communication network in the desired area, based on the environmental information, including at least one of fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, and sleet in the desired area. [Item 12] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 11, wherein when at least one of a plurality of vessels receives data information using a satellite communication link, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of communication performance, including at least one of the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength of the satellite communication link in the desired area, based on the weather conditions, including at least one of fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, sleet, and cloudy skies in the desired area, or the state of the ionosphere above the desired area. [Item 13] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 12, wherein when at least one of the multiple ships calculates its own position using a GNSS received signal, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of the ship's self-position calculation performance in the desired area based on weather conditions in the desired area, including at least one of fog, thunder, rain, snow, hail, sleet, or cloudy, or the state of the ionosphere above the desired area.[Item 14] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 13, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated power performance of the vessel in the desired area, including at least one of the following: wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, and tidal current direction; or meteorological conditions in the desired area, including at least one of the following: wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity; or seawater conditions in the desired area, including at least one of the following: seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, transparency, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, and transparency. [Item 15] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 14, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of either the search rate, which indicates the actual number of areas searched by the vessel, or the detection probability, which indicates the probability of the vessel detecting the target object, based on at least one of the environmental information of the desired area, the measurement performance of the measurement sensor, which has been estimated or updated based on the environmental information of the desired area, the communication performance of the vessel, its own position calculation performance, or its power performance. [Item 16] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 15, wherein the search plan determination unit determines, based on the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit, whether or not the search that satisfies the requirements can be performed, or, if the requirements include information regarding the time limit of the search, whether or not there are unsearched or insufficiently searched areas remaining in the desired area at the end of the time limit. [Item 17] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 16, wherein the search plan determination unit generates a search plan that can satisfy at least one of the requirements of object-related information that can identify the object included in the search request information, area information that can identify the desired area, search time information relating to the time of the search, and search target information relating to the target value of the search, based on the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit.[Item 18] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 17, wherein the search plan determination unit determines, based on the estimated search performance results updated according to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit, whether or not the already generated search plan is executable, and, if the search plan includes information about the search time, whether or not there are unexplored or insufficiently explored areas in the desired area at the end of the search time. [Item 19] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 18, wherein the search plan determination unit updates the already generated search plan to satisfy the requirements included in the search request information, based on the estimated search performance results updated according to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit. [Item 20] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 19, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes search target information, which includes at least one of the following: a search rate indicating the actual number of explored areas explored by a plurality of vessels, and a detection probability indicating the probability of detecting the target object by the vessel. [Item 21] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 20, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes an operation plan that includes at least one of the following for the multiple vessels: speed of movement, acceleration, turning angular velocity, turning speed, turning angle, straight-line travel time, movement path, and search execution time schedule. [Item 22] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 21, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes a system configuration plan that includes at least one of the following for the multiple vessels: number of vessels, formation, arrangement distribution, upper limit relative distance between vessels, and target relative distance. [Item 23] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 22, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes a measurement plan that includes at least one of the following for the measurement sensor: type, measurement direction, and measurement timing.[Item 24] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 23, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes a communication plan that includes at least one of the following: a communication standard or communication path to be used for a wireless communication network between a plurality of ships, a communication standard or communication path for a satellite communication line used by the ships, and the transmission timing of measurement data measured by the measurement sensor. [Item 25] A control system according to any one of Items 1 to 24, wherein the information output unit displays and outputs information regarding the reason for the determination of whether or not the search can be executed, as determined by the search plan determination unit. [Item 26] A control method for controlling multiple vessels equipped with measurement sensors to search for an object in a predetermined area, wherein a computer performs: a request information acquisition step of acquiring search request information including the requirements for the search; an environmental information acquisition step of acquiring environmental information relating to the desired area; a search performance estimation step of estimating the search performance of the multiple vessels or updating the estimated value of the search performance based on the environmental information; a search plan determination step of determining whether the search that satisfies the requirements can be performed, generating or updating a search plan for the search that satisfies the requirements based on the search request information and the search performance; and an information output step of displaying or notifying information including the determination result from the search plan determination step, or outputting a command based on the determination result.[Item 27] ​​A program usable in a control system that controls multiple vessels equipped with measurement sensors to search for an object in a predetermined area, wherein the program causes a computer to execute: a request information acquisition command to acquire search request information including the requirements for the search; an environmental information acquisition command to acquire environmental information relating to the desired area; a search performance estimation command that, based on the environmental information, estimates the search performance of the search by the multiple vessels or updates the estimated value of the search performance; a search plan determination command that, based on the search request information and the search performance, determines whether the search that satisfies the requirements can be executed, generates or updates a search plan for the search that satisfies the requirements; and an information output command that displays or notifies information including the result of the determination command, or outputs a command based on the determination result.

[0012] <A. First Embodiment> Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, the embodiments shown below are merely examples, and other known elements or alternative means can be used depending on the application, purpose, or scale.

[0013] [A. Configuration] (A-1. System Configuration) First, the overall system configuration of the control system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described using Figures 1 to 3.

[0014] (A-1-1. Overview of System Configuration) Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a control system 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "System 1") according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the control system 1 comprises an unmanned vessel system 1000 and a central control system 2000. The central control system 2000 is configured to communicate with an external cooperative system 5000 and an external system 6000 via an internet connection or the like, and can input and output information. The central control system 2000 can transmit control commands to the unmanned vessel system 1000 deployed at sea via a ground base station 4000 and a communication satellite 3000, and can also receive the operating status and measurement data of the unmanned vessel system 1000. Therefore, the central control system 2000 can control the operation of the unmanned vessel system 1000, which has multiple unmanned vessels 1010 equipped with measurement sensors capable of detecting the target object 7000, and search for the target object 7000 in a predetermined area. Here, the predetermined area is any area that can be set or pre-set by the user.

[0015] The unmanned vessel system 1000 comprises one or more unmanned vessels 1010. When the unmanned vessel system 1000 is composed of multiple unmanned vessels 1010, the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 are connected to each other by wireless communication and can form a communication network. The unmanned vessel 1010 also has the function of detecting objects 7000, such as ships, floating objects, drifting persons, buoys, and underwater objects such as divers and marine life (whales, etc.), using measurement sensors mounted on the vessel (sound wave sensors such as sonar, optical cameras, IR cameras, laser sensors such as LiDAR, radar sensors such as millimeter-wave sensors and microwave sensors, etc.). It can also perform inspection and measurement of offshore structures such as offshore wind power generation facilities.

[0016] The detection results and measurement data of objects detected by the unmanned vessel system 1000, as well as various information on the operational status of each unmanned vessel 1010 of the unmanned vessel system 1000, are transmitted to the central control system 2000 via the communication satellite 3000 and the ground base station 4000. The central control system 2000 determines operational commands for the unmanned vessel system 1000 based on the information obtained from the unmanned vessel system 1000 and pre-obtained request information. The generated operational commands and other information are transmitted to the cooperative system 5000, and intervention commands can also be obtained from the cooperative system.

[0017] (A-1-2. Example of implementation of control system 1 in real space) Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of an implementation image when control system 1 is implemented in real space. In the example shown in Figure 2, a ground base station 4000 and a central control system 2000 are provided on the ground side shown in the upper right of the diagram. In addition, a cooperative system 5000 is provided on the ground side, which includes related facilities of external cooperative organizations such as external cooperative monitoring organization facilities (including private security organizations, private rescue organizations, etc.), and further, an external system 6000 is provided, such as an AIS (Automatic Identification System) control center and AIS base station that manage information on ships navigating the ocean.

[0018] On the other hand, on the ocean side shown on the left of the diagram, the unmanned vessel system 1000, the target object 7000, and part of the cooperative system 5000, including a surveillance vessel operated by an external cooperating organization, are deployed. The unmanned vessel system 1000 also has multiple groups (1000a, 1000b, 1000c) consisting of a master unit and multiple slave units, and each group can communicate directly or via the communication satellite 3000. The unmanned vessel system 1000 can also communicate with the surveillance vessel directly or via the communication satellite 3000, and for example, detection information regarding the target object 7000 can be notified from the unmanned vessel system 1000 to the surveillance vessel (or research vessel). The unmanned vessel system 1000 may also be connected to an AIS base station in a communicative manner to acquire AIS information.

[0019] In the example shown in Figure 2, the central control system 2000 is shown to be implemented in a land-based facility, but it is not limited to this. All or part of the functions implemented in the central control system 2000 shown in this embodiment can be installed on coastal field bases located in land-based coastal areas (not shown) or on manned mother ships at sea, and the operation and management of the unmanned vessel system 1000 can be performed at the coastal field bases or manned mother ships.

[0020] In the embodiment described in Figures 1 and 2 above, an example was described in which a non-terrestrial network using a geosynchronous orbit or low-earth orbit communication satellite 3000 is used as the communication network for sending and receiving information between the integrated control system 2000 and the unmanned vessel system 1000. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a non-terrestrial network using an unmanned aerial vehicle called a HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) can also be used. In this case, for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle that circles at an altitude of about 8 to 50 km can be used. Furthermore, as the communication network for sending and receiving information between the integrated control system 2000 and the unmanned vessel 1010, it is also possible to use a communication network that directly connects the ground base station 4000 to the unmanned vessel 1010 via wireless communication, without going through the communication satellite 3000 or HAPS. Note that the ground base station 4000 is not limited to a stationary fixed base station, but may also consist of a mobile base station.

[0021] (A-1-3. Stakeholders related to Control System 1) Figure 3 is a diagram showing the stakeholders related to Control System 1. As shown in Figure 3, Control System 1 has an operator who operates the unmanned vessel system 1000 by inputting and outputting information via the user interface unit 2700 of the integrated control system 2000. If all or part of the functions implemented in the integrated control system 2000 shown in this embodiment are implemented in a coastal field base on land or a manned mother ship at sea (not shown), the operator can operate and manage the unmanned vessel system 1000 at the coastal field base or the manned mother ship.

[0022] Furthermore, the external cooperative monitoring organization facilities of the cooperative system 5000 have monitoring supervisors, and the monitoring vessels have monitors, who work together to search for target objects 7000 in the marine area. In addition, the cooperative system 5000 may also include private security companies and private rescue organizations. Furthermore, the AIS control center of the external system 6000 has personnel responsible for generating, operating, and managing AIS information. Moreover, the external system 6000 includes a weather information provision system that provides weather information for the area including the area to be searched, and the weather information provision system has personnel responsible for generating, managing, and distributing weather information.

[0023] Furthermore, the objects 7000 that can be searched by the control system 1 and the cooperation system 5000 include moving objects on the surface of the sea such as ships, floating objects, people adrift, and buoys, as well as moving objects underwater such as divers navigating the sea and marine life (such as whales). The control system 1 can communicate and cooperate with the cooperation system 5000 and the external system 6000 to search for objects 7000 more efficiently. In addition, the objects to be inspected and measured can also include offshore structures such as offshore wind power generation facilities.

[0024] (A-2. Unmanned Vessel System 1000) Next, the system configuration of the unmanned vessel system 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 6.

[0025] (A-2-1. Overview of the Unmanned Vessel System 1000) Figure 4 is a configuration diagram showing the unmanned vessel system 1000, which is composed of multiple unmanned vessels. As shown in Figure 4, the unmanned vessel system 1000 is composed of one or more groups (1000a, 1000b), and each group is composed of multiple unmanned vessels 1010. Furthermore, the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 that make up each group are configured to play the role of a master unit 1001 that can wirelessly communicate with the communication satellite 3000, or a slave unit 1002 that can communicate directly or indirectly with the master unit 1001. The master unit 1001 communicates with the communication satellite 3000, aggregates information collected from the multiple slave units 1002 and transmits it to the communication satellite 3000, and has the function of directly or indirectly transmitting information related to operation commands acquired from the communication satellite 3000 and information it generates itself to each slave unit 1002.

[0026] Group 1000a, shown in Figure 4, comprises a primary connected slave unit 10021 that communicates with the master unit 1001, a secondary connected slave unit 10022 that communicates with the primary connected slave unit 10021, and a tertiary connected slave unit 10023 that communicates with the secondary connected slave unit 10022. Each slave unit (primary connected slave unit 10021, secondary connected slave unit 10022, and tertiary connected slave unit 10023) has the function of relaying information received from other master units 1001 or slave units 1002 to other master units 1001 or slave units 1002, thereby forming a communication network between the master unit 1001 and the multiple slave units 1002.

[0027] (A-2-2. Search by Unmanned Vehicle System 1000) Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram showing how the unmanned vehicle system 1000, deployed on the sea, searches for the target object 7000. As shown in Figure 5, multiple unmanned vehicles 1010 constituting a group are deployed on the sea, and the measurement sensors 1110 mounted on each unmanned vehicle 1010 can detect the target object 7000 that is within the measurable range on or under the sea. The measurement data and detection judgment results of the detected target object 7000 are collected by the master unit 1001 via a communication network between the unmanned vehicles 1010, transmitted from the master unit 1001 to the communication satellite 3000, and then transmitted to the central control system 2000 via the ground base station 4000 and the internet. Furthermore, each unmanned vessel 1010 is equipped with a navigation unit 1300 that allows it to navigate in any direction, and it is possible to perform the task of searching for the target object 7000 based on the operation commands transmitted by the central control system 2000.

[0028] (A-2-3. Configuration of Unmanned Vehicle 1010) Figure 6 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the unmanned vehicle 1010. Although Figure 6 describes the functional block diagram of the unmanned vehicle 1010, the master unit 1001 and the slave unit 1002 of the unmanned vehicle 1010 can both implement the same functions as shown in Figure 6. The unmanned vehicle 1010 is equipped with a measurement unit 1100, a self-state determination unit 1200, a navigation unit 1300, a communication unit 1400, a determination unit 1500, and a recording unit 1600.

[0029] The measurement unit 1100 is a functional unit that uses a measurement sensor 1110 to detect objects 7000 that exist within the measurable range on or under the sea surrounding the unmanned vessel 1010, and acquires measurement information about the objects 7000. The measurement unit 1100 comprises a measurement sensor 1110 and a measurement control unit 1120.

[0030] The measurement sensor 1110 may include one (monocular) or more electro-optical sensors for acquiring image data on or under the sea, optical cameras, infrared sensors (IR sensors), stereo cameras and other optical sensors, laser sensors such as LiDAR for acquiring point cloud data, optical distance measuring sensors such as ToF sensors (Time of Flight sensors), and radar sensors for detecting millimeter waves and microwaves. By measuring the area around the unmanned vessel 1010, the measurement sensor 1110 acquires measurement data for 7000 objects within the measurable range of a two-dimensional plane on the sea. Furthermore, each of the above sensors can be used as a distance measuring sensor to measure the distance to an object based on the measurement data.

[0031] Furthermore, the measurement sensor 1110 may also have an acoustic wave sensor (also called an acoustic wave measurement unit) that includes a sonar that utilizes sound waves such as ultrasound, in addition to the sensors described above. The acoustic wave sensor can acquire measurement data of 7000 objects within the measurable range in the three-dimensional space underwater. It can also be used not only underwater but also in the air above the water. When the acoustic wave sensor is used in the air, it can be used as a distance measuring sensor to measure the distance to the object being measured by measuring the sound waves that are reflected back from the object after being generated. When the acoustic wave sensor is used underwater, it may be either an active sonar that generates sound waves and measures the sound waves that resonate off objects underwater, or a passive sonar that measures the sound emitted from objects underwater. The active sonar can be composed of, for example, a side-scan sonar, a multi-beam sonar, or a single-beam sonar. The acoustic wave sensor may also be composed of a USBL transceiver or an acoustic communication modem.

[0032] Furthermore, the measurement control unit 1120 controls the attitude angle of at least one of the three axes of the measurement sensor 1110 relative to the unmanned vessel 1010 by operating a sensor attitude changing device that can change the attitude of the measurement sensor 1110. Also, for example, if the measurement sensor is an optical sensor, the measurement control unit 1120 can adjust the frame rate, shutter speed, etc. Also, if the measurement sensor is a laser sensor, the measurement control unit 1120 can adjust the output of the irradiating laser. Also, if the measurement sensor is a radar sensor, the measurement control unit 1120 can adjust the output of millimeter waves or microwaves. Also, the measurement control unit 1120 can adjust the measurement sensitivity of the measurement sensor to an arbitrary control amount. Also, if the measurement sensor is an optical sensor, the measurement control unit 1120 can change the zoom amount and resolution of the optical sensor to an arbitrary control amount.

[0033] Next, the self-equipment status determination unit 1200 comprises a navigation status determination unit 1210, an internal status determination unit 1220, and an external status determination unit 1230, and is a functional unit that determines the navigation status, internal and external status of the unmanned vessel 1010. The navigation status determination unit 1210 determines the position (two-dimensional or three-dimensional), speed, heading, direction of movement, acceleration / deceleration, turning speed, and other state quantities related to the navigation status. The internal status determination unit 1220 determines the remaining energy and fuel levels of the battery installed on the vessel, the distance that can be traveled calculated from the remaining energy and fuel levels, temporary abnormal conditions of equipment installed on the vessel (temperature abnormalities, communication abnormalities, etc.), and equipment failure status.

[0034] Furthermore, the external status determination unit 1230 can determine the communication quality status such as communication strength (dB value, etc.), communication speed, and communication delay of wireless communication with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the unmanned vessel system 1000, or wireless communication with the integrated control system 2000 via the communication satellite 3000 or ground base station 4000, or the sea conditions around the vessel (wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, tidal current direction), meteorological conditions (wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity), weather conditions (fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, sleet, cloudy, etc.), seawater conditions (seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, presence or absence of seaweed beds, etc., plankton concentration, water depth, transparency, underwater noise), solar-related information (solar position (altitude, azimuth, trajectory), backlighting, frontlighting, solar radiation), and other conditions (moon position (altitude, azimuth, trajectory, lunar phase), ionospheric disturbance (solar flares, etc.)).

[0035] The method by which the navigation state determination unit 1210 determines the position, speed, direction of movement, and acceleration / deceleration of the aircraft is not particularly limited, but for example, the position, speed, and direction of movement of the aircraft at the present time can be determined using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), GPS (Global Positioning System), RTK-GNSS (Real Time Kinematic - Global Navigation Satellite System), etc. Here, the position information includes at least two-dimensional coordinate information in a plan view (e.g., latitude, longitude), and preferably three-dimensional coordinate information including altitude information. The acceleration and deceleration can be calculated based on the amount of change in the determined speed over time.

[0036] Furthermore, the method for measuring the aircraft's heading involves determining the aircraft's heading at the current time using, for example, a geomagnetic sensor, a GNSS compass, or SLAM technology utilizing the seabed shape. The heading includes at least the attitude angle (direction) in a plan view around the Z axis, and preferably includes attitude information around the three axes: the X, Y, and Z axes. The turning speed can be calculated based on the amount of change over time of the determined heading information.

[0037] Next, the navigation unit 1300 comprises a thrust generation unit 1310, an attitude control mechanism 1320, and a navigation control unit 1330, and is a functional unit that navigates the aircraft in any direction according to operation commands received via the communication unit 1400. The thrust generation unit 1310 can be made of any means capable of generating thrust, and as an example, it can be made of a propeller driven using the power of an engine or electric motor. The thrust generation unit 1310 can also be made of a sail that generates thrust by receiving wind, or it can be made of a wave glider that generates thrust by receiving wave force.

[0038] The attitude control mechanism 1320 consists of a rudder plate on the aircraft and a propeller attitude change mechanism that can change the attitude angle of the propeller (mainly the yaw angle around the Z axis). By changing these angles, the aircraft's nose direction (yaw angle) can be controlled. In addition, the attitude angles of the aircraft's roll angle around the X axis and pitch angle around the Y axis can also be controlled by a center of gravity position change mechanism that changes the position of heavy objects inside the aircraft using actuators.

[0039] Furthermore, the navigation control unit 1330 is a functional unit that controls the aircraft's navigation operation by controlling the thrust generation unit 1310 and the attitude control mechanism 1320. The navigation control unit 1330 has one or more processors, such as a programmable processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), MPU, or DSP), and includes a processing unit that can access memory (storage unit). The memory stores logic, code, and / or program instructions that the processing unit can execute to perform one or more processing steps.

[0040] The processing unit includes a control module configured to control the aircraft's navigation state. For example, the control module adjusts the aircraft's position on the sea surface, speed, acceleration / deceleration, heading, turning speed, and attitude angles around the three axes. In other words, the navigation control unit 1330 controls the aircraft's navigation by causing it to perform various actions such as moving forward, backward, accelerating, decelerating, and turning.

[0041] Next, the communication unit 1400 comprises an inter-unmanned vessel communication unit 1410 and a central control communication unit 1420, and is a functional unit that communicates with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the unmanned vessel system 1000 and the central control system 2000. The inter-unmanned vessel communication unit 1410 is equipped with a communication antenna used for the maritime wireless communication network and communicates with other unmanned vessels 1010 within the unmanned vessel system 1000. The central control communication unit 1420 is equipped with a satellite communication antenna capable of communicating with the communication satellite 3000, or a communication antenna capable of communicating with the ground base station 4000, and communicates with the central control system 2000 via the communication satellite 3000 or the ground base station 4000. In addition to the above-mentioned communication units, the communication unit may also include a communication unit equipped with an AIS antenna or a VHF antenna and that communicates with external patrol boats or AIS base stations.

[0042] Next, the determination unit 1500 is a functional unit that performs data processing such as primary processing and data compression of measurement data acquired by the measurement sensor 1110. For example, the determination unit 1500 can perform primary processing to process the raw data (measurement data) after measurement acquired by the measurement sensor 1110 and generate transmission data for wireless transmission from the unmanned boat system 1000 to the central control system 2000. Furthermore, in order to reduce the transmission load when wirelessly transmitting the transmission data from the unmanned boat system 1000 to the central control system 2000, the determination unit 1500 can perform data compression processing to compress the raw data (measurement data) after measurement and generate transmission data.

[0043] Furthermore, the determination unit 1500 can interpret the state of the object 7000 by performing primary processing on the measurement data, and can determine the presence or absence of a detected object, the size of the detected object, and so on. It may also have a function to determine whether or not to transmit measurement data and data for transmission from the unmanned vessel system 1000 to the integrated control system 2000, or to select the data to be transmitted, based on the interpretation results.

[0044] Next, the recording unit 1600 includes a measurement data recording unit 1610, a own-ship state recording unit 1620, and a determination information recording unit 1630. The measurement data recording unit 1610 records the measurement data measured by the measurement unit 1100. The own-ship state recording unit 1620 records various state information regarding the own ship determined by the own-ship state determination unit 1200. Also, the determination information recording unit 1630 records various determination information determined by the determination unit 1500.

[0045] (A-3. Configuration of the overall control system 2000) Next, the functions and contents of the overall control system 2000 will be described using FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the overall control system 2000. As shown in FIG. 7, the overall control system 2000 includes an information import unit 2100, a disturbance influence pre-determination unit 2200, a search plan determination unit 2300, a disturbance influence update determination unit 2400, a search plan update unit 2500, an information output unit 2600, and a user input reception unit 2700.

[0046] (A-3-1. Information import unit 2100) The information import unit 2100 is a functional unit that acquires information processed or used in each functional unit within the overall control system 2000 from external systems 6000, the unmanned boat system 1000, the cooperation system 5000, etc. The pre-information acquisition unit 2100 includes a request information acquisition unit 2110, an unmanned boat information acquisition unit 2120, and an environmental information acquisition unit 2130.

[0047] The request information acquisition unit 2110 is a functional unit that acquires search request information including the search request conditions for the target 7000 using the unmanned boat system 1000. The unmanned boat information acquisition unit 2120 is a functional unit that acquires the performance information of the unmanned boat 1010 constituting the unmanned boat system 1000 and other information regarding the unmanned boat 1010.

[0048] Using FIG. 8, an example of the information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2110 and the unmanned boat information acquisition unit 2120 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the request information and the unmanned boat related information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2110 and the unmanned boat information acquisition unit 2120. As shown in FIG. 8, the request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2110 includes information regarding the object to be searched, the target area, the search time, the search target value, etc. related to the search conditions. Note that the information regarding the area can include, in addition to the target area, information regarding the prohibited entry area (for example, the position of the navigation route, the permitted passage time zone, traffic jam prediction information, etc.) and information regarding the communicable area (for example, the position of the communicable area with the ground communication station, etc.). Note that the information regarding the prohibited entry area can be obtained from the AIS information acquired from the external system 6000, etc.

[0049] The object to be searched is information that can identify the object 7000, and can include, for example, ships, marine buoys, divers, etc. In addition to this, it can include other marine moving objects such as floating objects and drift survivors, and other underwater moving objects such as marine organisms (such as whales). Also, the target area is information that can identify the position and range of the area to be searched, and can include a marine area or an underwater area. Here, the information of the object to be searched may include the type determination condition for specifying the type of the above-mentioned object 7000.

[0050] Also, the search time is information that can specify the time when the search operation is executed, and is information including the date and time, time, or time zone. Also, the search target value can include the target value of the search rate (also referred to as the coverage rate or the monitoring density distribution) indicating the ratio of the area that has been moved or measured by the unmanned boat 1010 with respect to the target area to be searched, or the target value of the detection probability (also referred to as the target discovery probability, detection rate, encounter rate) indicating the probability that the unmanned boat 1010 detects the object 7000.

[0051] Next, the unmanned boat related information acquired by the unmanned boat information acquisition unit 2120 includes the power performance, measurement performance, communication performance, self-position estimation performance, other performances of the unmanned boat 1010, or the state information of the unmanned boat 1010.

[0052] The power performance includes performance information related to the power of the unmanned vessel 1010, such as maximum travel speed, maximum acceleration, maximum turning angular velocity, and cruising range. The measurement performance includes the type of measurement sensor 1110, the measurable area (including the sea area and the underwater area), and the measurable distance.

[0053] Communication performance may include the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength with a partner unmanned vessel 1010 in a wireless communication network consisting of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 within the unmanned vessel system 1000, or the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength of a satellite communication link using a communication satellite 3000.

[0054] Self-position estimation performance is information indicating the performance of self-position estimation determined by the navigation state determination unit 1210 of the unmanned vessel 1010 using GNSS signals, and may include, for example, the received strength of the GNSS signal. Here, self-position estimation performance can be defined as at least one of the calculation accuracy that allows for more accurate calculation of the self-position and the rate at which miscalculations occur that result in clearly incorrect self-positions.

[0055] Other performance characteristics may include the number of unmanned vessels 1010 available for searching for 7000 targets, the remaining battery capacity (such as on the SoC) of the unmanned vessels 1010, or the power generation capacity of the power generation unit installed on the unmanned vessels 1010.

[0056] Furthermore, the status information of the unmanned vessel 1010 may include abnormal conditions (such as temporary abnormalities like temperature anomalies) and malfunction conditions (such as irreversible failures like component damage) of the unmanned vessel 1010.

[0057] Next, the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 is a functional unit that acquires environmental information related to the target area. The environmental information acquisition unit 2130 can acquire environmental information in advance or in real time from the external system 6000 or the unmanned vessel system 1000, or it can interpret environmental information based on current or past information acquired from the external system 6000 or the unmanned vessel system 1000. The environmental information acquisition unit 2130 acquires various environmental information related to the target area and its surrounding area where the object 7000 is searched. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130. As shown in Figure 9, the environmental information includes externally provided environmental information provided by the external system 6000 and unmanned vessel acquired environmental information acquired from the unmanned vessel system 1000.

[0058] Externally provided environmental information includes oceanographic conditions, meteorological conditions, weather conditions, seawater conditions, solar conditions, and other conditions. Oceanographic conditions include information on oceanographic conditions such as high waves, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, and tidal current direction. Meteorological conditions include information on weather conditions such as wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity. Weather conditions include information on weather conditions such as fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, sleet, and cloudy skies.

[0059] Furthermore, seawater conditions include information about the state of the seawater, such as seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, transparency, and underwater noise. Solar conditions include information about the state of the sun, such as solar position (altitude, azimuth, trajectory), backlighting, frontlighting, and solar radiation. Other conditions are conditions other than the various environmental conditions described above, and include information about the state of the moon, such as lunar position (altitude, azimuth, trajectory, lunar phase) and ionospheric disturbance (caused by solar flares).

[0060] Next, the unmanned vessel measurement information includes, for example, information on the target position and current position of the unmanned vessel 1010. The environmental information acquisition unit 2130 calculates the difference between this target position and the current position and can estimate the magnitude and direction of external forces such as ocean currents and wind acting on the unmanned vessel 1010. Furthermore, the unmanned vessel measurement information can include measurement image information captured by an optical camera or the like. By processing this measurement image information, the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 can interpret the aforementioned wave height, weather, solar conditions, etc. Note that the unmanned vessel measurement information can be obtained, for example, by commanding an unmanned vessel 1010 (such as an unmanned vessel not participating in the search operation) deployed near the desired area where the unmanned vessel measurement information is to be acquired to move to the desired area and acquire the unmanned vessel measurement information.

[0061] (A-3-2. Disturbance Impact Determination Unit 2200) The disturbance impact determination unit 2200 is a functional unit that estimates the impact on the unmanned vessel 1010 based on environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130, and estimates the search performance related to searching by multiple unmanned vessels 1010. When environmental information is updated by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130, the impact on the unmanned vessel 1010 is updated and the estimated value of the search performance related to searching by multiple unmanned vessels 1010 can be updated. The disturbance impact pre-determination unit 2200 includes a system impact estimation unit 2210, a search performance estimation unit 2220, and a search performance update estimation unit 2230.

[0062] The system impact estimation unit 2210 estimates the performance of the unmanned vessel system 1000 affected by environmental disturbances, based on information about environmental disturbances that affect various performance aspects of the unmanned vessel system 1000, and using environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130. Figure 10 shows an example of the correspondence information between unmanned vessel performance and environmental disturbances used in the system impact estimation process by the system impact estimation unit 2210.

[0063] As shown in Figure 10, the correspondence information includes environmental disturbances that affect the power performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 (maximum travel speed, maximum acceleration, maximum turning angular velocity, cruising range, etc.), such as ocean conditions (wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, tidal current direction), meteorological conditions (wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity), and underwater conditions (seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, transparency, presence or absence of seaweed beds, etc.).

[0064] Furthermore, the correspondence information includes environmental disturbances that affect the optical measurement performance of various cameras mounted on the unmanned vessel 1010, such as the position of the sun (altitude, azimuth, trajectory), backlighting, front lighting, solar radiation, the position of the moon (altitude, azimuth, trajectory, lunar phase), and time of day (nighttime). In addition, environmental disturbances that affect the underwater measurement performance of various cameras and acoustic sensors mounted on the unmanned vessel 1010 include seawater conditions (seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, transparency, underwater noise).

[0065] Furthermore, the relevant information includes environmental disturbances that affect the performance of radio communications used for wireless communication, such as weather (fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, sleet, cloudy skies, etc.) and ionospheric disturbances (caused by solar flares).

[0066] Furthermore, the relevant information includes environmental disturbances that affect the power performance (battery performance, etc.) of the unmanned vessel 1010, such as weather conditions (especially air temperature) and seawater conditions (especially seawater temperature). In addition, environmental disturbances that affect the GNSS signal reception performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 include ionospheric disturbances (caused by solar flares), etc.

[0067] Furthermore, the various environmental disturbances mentioned above are included as environmental disturbances that affect the search performance, such as the search rate and detection probability, of the unmanned aerial vehicle system 1000.

[0068] The search performance estimation unit 2220 is a functional unit that estimates various search performances such as measurement performance, communication performance, power performance, power supply performance, GNSS signal reception performance (self-position estimation performance), and search rate performance related to the search conducted by multiple unmanned vessels 1010, based on environmental information related to the search area. The search performance estimation unit 2220 may also have a function to determine whether there is a performance degradation or improvement in the various performances of the unmanned vessels 1010 described above, based on environmental information related to the search area.

[0069] First, an example of a method for estimating measurement performance will be described. The search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate the measurement performance of the measurement sensor 1110 in the search area, including at least one of the measurable distance and the two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, based on environmental information relating to the search area. When estimating measurement performance in this way, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate at least one of the measurable distance and the two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, which are the measurement performance that the measurement sensor can exhibit in the search area, based on environmental information relating to the search area (for example, various environmental disturbance information described as environmental disturbances affecting measurement performance in Figure 10) and the pre-measurement performance of the measurement sensor acquired in advance by the unmanned vessel information acquisition unit 2120 (for example, the specifications of the measurement sensor under normal conditions).

[0070] Here, when a camera capable of acquiring image data including objects 7000 present in the sea area is applied as the measurement sensor 1110, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate at least one of the measurement performance that the camera can achieve in the search area, namely the measurable distance and the two- or three-dimensional measurable area, based on environmental information including at least one of the following: the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the sun, or the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the moon, or the lunar phase, or backlighting, front lighting, solar radiation, and time of day. Since there may be cases where sea surface measurements by the camera are difficult due to the low position of the sun or moon or backlighting, the measurable distance and measurable area are corrected to take such situations into consideration. Furthermore, if the measurement performance deteriorates due to the position of the sun or moon, the search can be performed more efficiently by generating a search plan that changes the measurement direction.

[0071] Furthermore, when an optical camera capable of acquiring image data of objects 7000 present in the underwater area, or an acoustic sensor capable of detecting objects 7000 present in the underwater area, is applied as the measurement sensor 1110, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate at least one of the measurement performance that the optical camera or acoustic sensor can demonstrate in the search area, such as the measurable distance, two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, based on environmental information including at least one of the following in the underwater area of ​​the search: seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, transparency, and underwater noise.

[0072] Next, an example of a method for estimating communication performance will be described. When transmitting data information via a wireless communication network between multiple unmanned vessels 1010, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate the communication performance, including at least one of the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength of the wireless communication network in the search area, based on environmental information including at least one of fog, lightning, rain, snow, hail, or sleet in the search area. This is because water droplets or moisture in the air, or lightning, affect radio waves and change communication performance.

[0073] Next, an example of a method for estimating communication performance will be described. When at least one of the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 receives data information using a satellite communication link via a communication satellite 3000 or the like, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate the communication performance, including at least one of the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength of the satellite communication link in the search area, based on the weather conditions in the search area, which include at least one of fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, sleet, or cloudy skies, or the state of the ionosphere above the search area. This is because, as described above, water droplets or moisture in the air or lightning affect radio waves and change communication performance.

[0074] Next, an example of a method for estimating self-position estimation performance using GNSS received signals will be described. When at least one of the multiple unmanned vessels 1010 calculates its own position using GNSS received signals received from an artificial satellite, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate the self-position calculation performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 in the search area based on weather conditions in the search area, including at least one of fog, thunderstorms, rain, snow, hail, sleet, or cloudy skies, or the state of the ionosphere above the search area (for example, ionospheric disturbances). This is because, as described above, water droplets or moisture in the air, thunderstorms, or ionospheric disturbances affect radio waves and change radio wave reception performance.

[0075] Next, an example of a method for estimating the power performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 will be described. The exploration performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate the power performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 in the exploration area, including at least one of the following: maximum moving speed, maximum acceleration, maximum turning angular velocity, maximum turning speed, maximum turning angle, and possible following distance, based on the oceanographic conditions in the exploration area, including at least one of the following: wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, and tidal current direction; the meteorological conditions in the exploration area, including at least one of the following: wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity; or the seawater conditions in the exploration area, including at least one of the following: seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, transparency, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, and transparency. This is because the above-mentioned oceanographic conditions, meteorological conditions, and seawater conditions cause increases or decreases in external forces and resistance on the unmanned vessel 1010, which in turn alters its power performance.

[0076] For example, when moving against the direction of a disturbance such as waves, ocean currents, tides, or wind, the power performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 will decrease as it is affected by the speed of these disturbances. Conversely, when moving in the same direction as a disturbance such as waves, ocean currents, tides, or wind, the power performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 will improve as it is affected by the speed of these disturbances. In this way, for disturbances with currents, the power performance can be estimated according to the direction and speed of the current.

[0077] Furthermore, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate either the search rate, which indicates the actual number of areas searched by the unmanned vessel 1010, or the detection probability, which indicates the probability of the unmanned vessel 1010 detecting the target object 7000, based on at least one of the environmental information of the area to be searched, the measurement performance of the measurement sensor 1110 estimated based on the environmental information, the communication performance of the unmanned vessel 1010, its self-position calculation performance, or its power performance.

[0078] Here, a decrease in measurement performance reduces the searchable area. Furthermore, a decrease in communication performance shortens the upper limit relative distance between unmanned vessels, preventing widespread deployment of the vessels and thus reducing the searchable area. Additionally, a decrease in self-position calculation performance makes it impossible to control the unmanned vessel's position according to the search plan, leading to increased inefficient operations and a decrease in search performance. Similarly, a decrease in power performance makes it impossible to control the unmanned vessel's position according to the search plan, leading to increased inefficient operations and a decrease in search performance. Thus, when the measurement performance, communication performance, self-position calculation performance, and power performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 decrease, the search rate and detection probability decrease. Therefore, it is desirable to estimate the search rate and detection probability according to these various performance characteristics.

[0079] Furthermore, although not shown in Figure 10, the power performance and communication performance described above will decrease due to the remaining energy of the unmanned vessel 1010. Therefore, if the power supply performance (power supply capacity) decreases due to the influence of environmental disturbances such as weather conditions (temperature) and seawater conditions (seawater temperature), and the remaining energy decreases, or if the remaining energy decreases due to energy consumption, the search performance estimation unit 2220 can estimate the power performance and communication performance according to the remaining energy.

[0080] Next, the search performance update estimation unit 2230 is a functional unit that updates the estimated search performance results based on the updated environmental information when the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 acquires updated environmental information. When the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 acquires updated environmental information, the search performance update estimation unit 2230 can update in real time the estimated values ​​of various search performances related to the search by the unmanned vessel 1010, such as measurement performance, communication performance, power performance, power supply performance, GNSS signal reception performance (self-position estimation performance), search rate, and detection probability, which were estimated by the search performance estimation unit 2220 described above.

[0081] (A-3-3. Search Plan Determination Unit 2300) The search plan determination unit 2300 is a functional unit that, based on the search request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 2110 and the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit 2220, determines whether a search that satisfies the requirements included in the search request information can be executed, and generates or updates a search plan for a search that satisfies the requirements. The search plan determination unit 2300 comprises a request achievement feasibility determination unit 2310, a search plan draft generation unit 2320, a request achievement feasibility update determination unit 2330, a search plan change draft generation unit 2340, a search plan confirmation unit 2350, and a search execution command unit 2360.

[0082] The request fulfillment feasibility determination unit 2310 is a functional unit that determines whether a search that satisfies the requirement conditions included in the search request information can be executed. For example, the request fulfillment feasibility determination unit 2310 can determine whether a search that satisfies the requirement conditions can be executed based on the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit 2220. Furthermore, if the requirement conditions include information regarding the search time limit, the request fulfillment feasibility determination unit 2310 can determine whether there are any unexplored areas that have not yet been explored in the area to be explored at the end of the time limit, or whether there are any insufficiently explored areas where the search has been conducted but the search content, such as the search range or search time, is insufficient.

[0083] For example, the requirement fulfillment determination unit 2310 compares the current speed and direction of ocean currents or tidal currents, which are the current environmental information (or the average value of past environmental information) of the area to be searched, with the power specifications of the unmanned vessel acquired by the unmanned vessel information acquisition unit 2120. If the maximum speed of the unmanned vessel is lower than the speed of the ocean current or tidal current, it can determine that the search requirements cannot be met because the unmanned vessel cannot move against the current or tidal current or stop at a predetermined position.

[0084] The search plan generation unit 2320 is a functional unit that generates a search plan for a search that satisfies the requirements included in the search request information. The requirement achievement determination unit 2310 can, for example, generate a search plan that satisfies at least one of the requirements of the object-related information that can identify the object 7000 included in the search request information, the area information that can identify the area to be searched, the search time information regarding the time of the search, and the search target information regarding the target value of the search, based on the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit 2220.

[0085] Furthermore, the exploration plan generation unit 2320 can generate an exploration plan that can be implemented in the current state of the unmanned vessel 1010, such as the remaining battery level.

[0086] Furthermore, when the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 acquires updated environmental information, and the search performance estimation unit 2220 estimates the search performance according to the updated environmental information, the requirement achievement feasibility update determination unit 2330 can determine whether the search plan already generated by the search plan generation unit 2320 is executable based on the newly updated estimated search performance. In addition, if the search plan includes information regarding the search time, the requirement achievement feasibility update determination unit 2330 can determine whether there are any unexplored areas that have not yet been explored in the area to be explored at the end of the search time, or any areas that have been explored but whose search content, such as the search range or search time, is insufficient.

[0087] Furthermore, the request feasibility update determination unit 2330 can determine whether the search plan can be executed by comparing the amount of energy required to execute the search plan generated by the search plan generation unit 2320, the power performance such as movement speed, with the current battery level of the unmanned vessel 1010 and the updated estimated power performance of the unmanned vessel 1010. In addition, the request feasibility update determination unit 2330 may determine areas where exploration is impossible for each area based on the acquired environmental information and estimated values ​​of various performances of the unmanned vessel 1010.

[0088] Furthermore, when the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 acquires updated environmental information, and the search performance estimation unit 2220 estimates the search performance according to the updated environmental information, the search plan modification generation unit 2340 can update the already generated search plan to satisfy the requirements included in the search request information, based on the search performance estimated by the search performance update estimation unit 2230 according to the updated environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130.

[0089] The following describes the contents of the search plan generated by the search plan generation unit 2320 or updated by the search plan modification generation unit 2340. Figure 11 shows an example of a search plan generated or updated by the search plan generation unit 2320 or the search plan modification generation unit 2340.

[0090] In the example shown in Figure 11, the search plan generated or updated by the search plan generation unit 2320 includes items related to the search objective, items related to the operation plan, a plan related to the group's system configuration, a plan related to measurement, a plan related to communication, and so on.

[0091] The search plan generated by the search plan generation unit 2320, or updated by the search plan modification generation unit 2340, includes search target information that includes, for example, as shown in Figure 11, a search rate indicating the actual number of areas searched by multiple unmanned vessels 1010, and a detection probability indicating the probability of detecting an object 7000 by the unmanned vessel 1010.

[0092] Furthermore, the exploration plan generated by the exploration plan generation unit 2320 or updated by the exploration plan modification generation unit 2340 includes, for example, an action plan that includes at least one of the following for multiple unmanned vessels 1010: movement speed, acceleration, turning angular velocity, turning speed, turning angle, straight-line travel time, movement path, and exploration execution time schedule, as shown in Figure 11. For example, the exploration plan generation unit 2320 or the exploration plan modification generation unit 2340 can estimate power performance based on the time-based information on ocean current and wind speed and direction included in the acquired environmental information, and use the ocean current and wind flow to generate an action plan that includes a movement path, movement speed, and exploration execution time schedule (such as day / night shift changes) that can save power consumption.

[0093] As another example, the search plan modification generation unit 2340 can update the travel route to prioritize areas with relatively low search rates or their surrounding areas, based on the search rate for each area updated by the search performance update estimation unit 2230 using newly acquired environmental information.

[0094] Furthermore, as another example, the search plan modification generation unit 2340 can calculate the amount of energy required to execute the search plan based on the acquired environmental information, such as oceanographic information, and generate an operation plan that includes a movement route, movement speed, and search execution time schedule (such as changes in day / night activity shifts) that can be executed with the current battery level of the unmanned vessel 1010.

[0095] Furthermore, as another example, the exploration plan generation unit 2320 or the exploration plan modification generation unit 2340 identifies areas with high solar radiation or high sea surface temperature based on environmental information, and generates or updates a travel route to avoid such areas when the aircraft is in a high-temperature state, and generates or updates a travel route to pass through such areas when the battery mounted on the aircraft is in a low-temperature state.

[0096] Furthermore, the exploration plan generation unit 2320 or the exploration plan modification generation unit 2340 can create a system configuration plan that modifies the movement path of the unmanned vessel 1010 so that exploration of areas experiencing adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, or fog is postponed. Conversely, if the unmanned vessel 1010 is equipped with solar panels for battery charging, the exploration plan generation unit 2320 or the exploration plan modification generation unit 2340 can, conversely, create a movement path that prioritizes exploration of areas experiencing rain, thereby allowing the solar panels to be washed by the rain.

[0097] Furthermore, the search plan generated by the search plan generation unit 2320, or updated by the search plan modification generation unit 2340, includes a system configuration plan that includes, for example, the number of unmanned vessels 1010, their formation, their deployment distribution, the upper limit relative distance between vessels, and the target relative distance, as shown in Figure 11. In addition to the above information, the system configuration plan may also include unmanned vessel designation information that identifies the unmanned vessel 1010 to be assigned to the search operation. For example, unmanned vessel designation information can be generated by predicting the amount of energy required for the search operation based on acquired environmental information and the target area and search target values ​​included in the search conditions, and by identifying an unmanned vessel 1010 with a battery level equal to or greater than the predicted required power.

[0098] Furthermore, the search plan modification generation unit 2340 can identify unmanned vessels 1010 with high wind, tidal, and ocean current speeds based on newly acquired environmental information, and since the search rate is expected to decrease around such unmanned vessels 1010, it can also change the placement distribution so that the density of aircraft around such unmanned vessels 1010 increases.

[0099] Furthermore, the search plan generation unit 2320 or the search plan modification generation unit 2340 can create a system configuration plan with a modified layout distribution that postpones searching areas experiencing adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, or fog.

[0100] Furthermore, the search plan generation unit 2320 or the search plan modification generation unit 2340 can create a system configuration plan that suppresses the deterioration of search performance in areas where adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, or fog occur, by shortening the upper limit of the relative communication distance between unmanned vessels or increasing the number of vessels in areas where adverse weather conditions occur.

[0101] Furthermore, the search plan generated by the search plan generation unit 2320, or updated by the search plan modification generation unit 2340, includes a measurement plan that includes, for example, the type of measurement sensor 1110, the measurement direction, and the measurement timing, as shown in Figure 11. The measurement timing is a plan concerning the timing of measurement execution, including, for example, whether to perform measurements when the unmanned vessel 1010 is moving or when it is anchored.

[0102] Furthermore, based on the acquired environmental information, a measurement plan can be created that determines the timing of measurement execution so that, when the wave height around the unmanned vessel 1010 is high, the measurement is taken at the top dead center of the wave, based on the wave period.

[0103] Furthermore, the search plan generated by the search plan generation unit 2320 or updated by the search plan modification generation unit 2340 includes, for example, a communication plan that includes at least one of the following: a communication standard or communication path to be used for the wireless communication network between multiple unmanned vessels 1010, a communication standard or communication path for the satellite communication link used by the unmanned vessels 1010, and the transmission timing of measurement data measured by measurement sensors, as shown in Figure 11.

[0104] Furthermore, if the exploration plan generation unit 2320 or the exploration plan modification generation unit 2340 determines from the acquired environmental information that ionospheric disturbance caused by solar flares or the like has occurred, it can create a communication plan that changes the communication path between the unmanned vessel system 1000 and the central control system 2000 from satellite communication via the communication satellite 3000 to another communication path (such as a communication path that directly transmits wireless communication from the unmanned vessel 1010 to the ground base station 4000).

[0105] Furthermore, although not shown in Figure 11, the exploration plan generation unit 2320 or the exploration plan modification generation unit 2340 may also have a function to generate or update the aircraft management plan for the unmanned vessel 1010. In this case, for example, if the unmanned vessel 1010 is equipped with solar panels for battery charging, the acquired environmental information can be used to predict the amount of solar radiation per day and the amount of power generated by the solar panels based on the amount of solar radiation, predict a shortage in battery charge, and generate or update an aircraft management plan to recover or replace the aircraft, or recover the aircraft and charge the battery.

[0106] The search plan confirmation unit 2350 has the function of confirming the search plan generated by the search plan draft generation unit 2320 or updated by the search plan modification draft generation unit 2340. For example, the search plan generated by the search plan draft generation unit 2320 or updated by the search plan modification draft generation unit 2340 is proposed and displayed or notified to the user via the display output unit 2410 or the cooperative system 5000 described later, and the search plan is confirmed when approval input is received from the user. Furthermore, if modification input is received from the user, the search plan can be modified and confirmed according to the content of the modification input.

[0107] The search execution command unit 2360 is a functional unit that generates a command signal based on the search plan confirmed by the search plan confirmation unit 2330 and causes the command output unit 2420, described later, to transmit the command signal to the unmanned vessel system 1000.

[0108] (A-3-4. Information Output Unit 2400) The information output unit 2400 has the function of displaying or notifying information including the decision result determined by the search plan determination unit 2300, and the function of transmitting a command signal generated by the search execution command unit 2360 based on the decision result to the unmanned vessel system 1000. The information output unit 2400 comprises a display output unit 2410 and a command output unit 2420.

[0109] The display output unit 2410 is a functional unit that displays or notifies information including the decision result determined by the search plan determination unit 2300. For example, it can display and output information regarding the decision result regarding whether or not to execute a search, as determined by the request achievement feasibility determination unit 2310 of the search plan determination unit 2300, and the reason for that decision. If the request conditions include information regarding the time limit for the search, the display output unit 2410 can display and output information regarding the unexplored areas or insufficiently explored areas in map format if the request achievement feasibility determination unit 2310 determines that there are unexplored areas that have not yet been explored in the area to be explored at the end of the time limit, or areas where the search has been conducted but the search content, such as the search range or search time, is insufficient. Alternatively, the display output unit 2410 can display and output information regarding the decision result regarding whether or not to execute a search, as determined by the request achievement feasibility determination unit 2310, as well as the reason for that decision, such as whether or not the search objectives, such as the target search rate included in the request conditions, can be achieved.

[0110] Furthermore, the display output unit 2410 can display and output information regarding the determination result concerning whether or not the search can be executed, as determined by the request achievement feasibility update determination unit 2330, and the reason for that determination. In addition, the display output unit 2410 can also display proposed information regarding the search plan generated or updated by the search plan draft generation unit 2320 or the search plan modification draft generation unit 2340.

[0111] Furthermore, the display output unit 2410 can display, in addition to the information described above, the latest environmental information, unmanned vessel acquisition information, and the location of unmanned vessels acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 on the map. It can also display various performance characteristics estimated for each unmanned vessel, associated with the unmanned vessel displayed on the map. In addition, it may have a function to notify the user when the latest environmental information or unmanned vessel acquisition information is acquired.

[0112] The command output unit 2420 can transmit the command signal generated by the search execution command unit 2360 to the unmanned vessel system 1000. The command signal transmitted by the designation output unit 2420 may be transmitted to the unmanned vessel system 1000 via satellite communication through the communication satellite 3000, but it can also be transmitted directly from the ground base station to the unmanned vessel system 1000 without going through the communication satellite 3000.

[0113] (A-3-5. User Input Reception Unit 2500) The user input reception unit 2500 is a functional unit that receives input information from the user. For example, the user input reception unit 2500 may have the function of receiving responses from the user, such as approval or correction, to various proposal information displayed on the display output unit 2410. The user input reception unit 2500 can also receive input via operation buttons provided on the display screen of the display output unit 2410. The display output unit 2410 and the user input reception unit 2500 may be portable mobile devices such as smartphones, tablet terminals, or notebook PCs.

[0114] (A-4. Control Flow of Control System 1) Next, the control flow of the entire control system 1 will be explained. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the control system 1. Steps 101 to 104 shown in Figure 12 are preparatory processes before the search is executed, and steps 106 to 108 are processes performed during the search.

[0115] First, the information import unit 2100's request information acquisition unit 2110 and unmanned vessel information acquisition unit 2120 acquire prior information and unmanned vessel information (step 101).

[0116] Next, the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 of the information import unit 2100 acquires environmental information (step 102).

[0117] Next, the search performance estimation unit 2220 of the disturbance influence determination unit 2200 estimates the search performance related to the search using the unmanned vessel 1010 and the unmanned vessel system 1000 based on environmental information and unmanned vessel information (step 103).

[0118] Next, the request achievement feasibility determination unit 2310 of the search plan determination unit 2300 determines whether a search that satisfies the requirements can be executed based on the request information and search performance, and the search plan draft generation unit 2320 generates a search plan for a search that satisfies the requirements based on the request information and search performance (step 104).

[0119] Next, the search execution command unit 2360 generates a command signal based on the search plan, and the command output unit 2420 transmits the command signal to the unmanned vessel system 1000, thereby causing the unmanned vessel system 1000 to perform the search (step 105).

[0120] Next, the search performance update estimation unit 2230 updates the estimated value of the search performance according to the newly acquired environmental information (step 106).

[0121] Next, the request fulfillment feasibility update determination unit 2330 determines whether a search that satisfies the requirements can be executed based on the request information and the updated search performance, and the search plan change proposal generation unit 2340 updates the search plan for a search that satisfies the requirements based on the request information and the updated search performance (step 107).

[0122] Next, the search execution command unit 2360 generates a command signal based on the updated search plan, and the command output unit 2420 transmits the command signal to the unmanned vessel system 1000, thereby causing the unmanned vessel system 1000 to perform the search (step 108).

[0123] (A-5. Control Sequence within Control System 1) Next, the control sequence between each system within Control System 1 will be explained. Figure 13 is a sequence diagram showing the exchange of signals between systems within Control System 1.

[0124] First, weather information and other data are transmitted from the external system 6000 to the central control system 2000.

[0125] Next, the search plan determination unit 2300 of the central control system 2000 generates a search plan, which is then proposed and displayed to the cooperative system 5000, etc., and the search plan is finalized. Based on the finalized search plan, a search command is generated, and the command signal of the search command is transmitted to each group of the unmanned vessel system 1000.

[0126] Next, environmental information and operational status information acquired by the unmanned vessel 1010 are transmitted from each group of the unmanned vessel system 1000 to the central control system 2000. In addition, the latest weather information and other data are transmitted from the external system 6000 to the central control system 2000.

[0127] Next, the search plan determination unit 2300 of the central control system 2000 updates the search plan according to the received environmental information and weather information, and the updated search plan is proposed and displayed to the cooperative system 5000, etc., and the updated search plan is finalized.

[0128] Next, an update search command is generated based on the finalized update search plan, and the command signal for the update search command is transmitted to each group of the unmanned vessel system 1000.

[0129] (A-6. Estimation of Search Performance) Next, the method for estimating the search performance of the unmanned vessel system 1000 by the disturbance influence determination unit 2200 will be described. Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for estimating search performance according to environmental information by the disturbance influence determination unit 2200. In particular, Figure 14 shows the detailed processing of step 103 of the flowchart shown in Figure 12.

[0130] First, the system impact estimation unit 2210 determines environmental disturbances that affect the search performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 (step 201). For example, by acquiring information such as the correspondence between the unmanned vessel's performance and environmental disturbances, as shown in Figure 10, it is possible to determine the environmental conditions that affect the search performance.

[0131] Next, the system impact estimation unit 2210 determines whether or not there is an impact on the unmanned vessel's performance based on the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 (step 202). In this step, for example, the impact on the unmanned vessel's performance can be determined based on whether or not each environmental disturbance shown in Figure 10 is within a predetermined range or deviates from the predetermined range.

[0132] Next, the exploration performance estimation unit 2220 estimates various performance characteristics of the unmanned vessel 1010 (step 203). In this step, for example, if it is determined in step 202 that there is an impact on the performance of the unmanned vessel, various performance characteristics corresponding to the environmental disturbance can be estimated.

[0133] (A-7. Determination of whether requirements can be met and method for determining the search plan) Next, the method for determining whether requirements can be met and method for determining the search plan will be explained. Figure 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for determining whether requirements can be met and method for determining the search plan by the search plan determination unit 2300. In particular, Figure 15 shows the detailed processing of step 104 of the flowchart shown in Figure 12.

[0134] First, based on the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit 2220, the requirement achievement feasibility determination unit 2310 determines whether or not a search that satisfies the requirement conditions included in the requirement information is possible (step 301).

[0135] Next, based on the result of the determination in step 301 as to whether or not a search that satisfies the requirement conditions included in the request information is feasible, the next processing step to transition to is determined (step 302). In this step, if it is determined that a search that satisfies the requirement conditions is feasible, the process transitions to step 305; on the other hand, if it is determined that a search that satisfies the requirement conditions is not feasible, the process transitions to step 303.

[0136] Next, if it is determined in step 302 that a search that satisfies the requirements is not possible, the user is notified that a search that satisfies the requirements is not possible (step 303). This notification may be displayed to the user of the integrated control system 2000 via the display output unit 2410 of the information output unit 2400, or to the user of the cooperative system 5000. The means of notification are not limited to display output; the user may also be notified by means other than display, such as voice. In this step, if it is determined that a search cannot be performed for some areas, information about the areas where the search is deemed impossible may be displayed. Alternatively, the user may be notified that the search has been interrupted due to the determination that the search cannot be performed.

[0137] Next, the system displays and outputs a suggested change to the requirements to the user and receives a change command from the user (step 304). In this step, for example, the display output unit 2410 can display and output the suggested change to the requirements, and the user input receiving unit 2500 can receive a change command from the user. Another example is that the suggested change to the requirements can be sent to the cooperative system 5000, and the cooperative system 5000 can receive a change command from the user. In this step, for example, the system can display a suggested number of unmanned vessels 1010 that should be added to enable the search. Yet another example is that the system can suggest canceling the search and receive approval from the user to cancel the search.

[0138] Next, the exploration plan generation unit 2320 generates an exploration plan that satisfies the requirements based on the exploration performance and requirements of the unmanned vessel system 1000 (step 305). If a change in the requirements is accepted in step 304, this step generates an exploration plan that satisfies the changed requirements. For example, by comparing the current velocity and direction of ocean currents or tidal currents, which are the current environmental information (or the average value of past environmental information) of the area to be explored, with the power specifications of the unmanned vessels acquired by the unmanned vessel information acquisition unit 2120, areas where exploration is impossible can be determined, and an exploration plan including the number of unmanned vessels that can perform exploration in those areas can be generated.

[0139] Next, the information of the search plan generated in step 305 is displayed to the user (step 306). In this step, for example, the display output unit 2410 can display the search plan, and the user input receiving unit 2500 can receive user input regarding the search plan from the user (e.g., approval, rejection, modification, etc.). Alternatively, the search plan can be sent to the cooperative system 5000, and the cooperative system 5000 can receive modification commands from the user.

[0140] Next, the search plan confirmation unit 2350 confirms the search plan according to the user input information received in step 306 (step 307). For example, if the received user input information is "approved," the search plan is confirmed with the content of the displayed output, and if the received user input information is "changed," the search plan is confirmed with the content of the changed search plan.

[0141] Next, the search execution command unit 2360 generates a designation signal based on the confirmed search plan and transmits the command signal to the unmanned vessel system 1000 (step 308).

[0142] (A-8. How the search is executed according to the search plan) Next, we will explain how the search is executed according to the search plan using Figures 16 to 18.

[0143] (A-8-1. Configuration of the Unmanned Vehicles 1010 Constituting a Group) Figure 16 is a diagram showing the relative positions of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 constituting a group on the sea surface. In the example shown in Figure 16, when multiple unmanned vessels 1010 are made to perform a search according to the search plan, the arrangement and communication connection relationships of a group composed of multiple unmanned vessels 1010 are shown.

[0144] Group 1000a shown in Figure 16 comprises one master unit 1001 and multiple slave units 1002. Furthermore, the master unit 1001 and the multiple slave units 1002 are connected via wireless communication, as shown by the solid lines, thereby forming a wireless communication network at sea. Each slave unit 1002 has a primary connection slave unit 10021 that connects wirelessly to the master unit 1001, and a secondary connection slave unit 10022 that connects wirelessly to the primary connection slave unit 10021.

[0145] In this embodiment, the number of relays by the slave units 1002 when forming a group is not limited, and it may include third-level, fourth-level, or higher-level connected slave units. The primary connected slave unit 10021 shown in Figure 16 has the function of relaying the transmission and reception of information between the master unit 1001 and the secondary connected slave units 10022, thereby enabling the exchange of information between the master unit 1001 and multiple secondary connected slave units 10022.

[0146] Furthermore, the number of secondary connection slave units 10022 that wirelessly connect to the primary connection slave unit 10021 is not limited to one. Multiple secondary connection slave units 10022 can be wirelessly connected to the primary connection slave unit 10021, thereby forming a tree-like communication network in which multiple unmanned vessels 1010 branch off within group 1000a. In addition, since there is an upper limit to the wireless communication distance between each unmanned vessel 1010, the position of at least one of the two unmanned vessels 1010 that communicate wirelessly with each other, for example, the master unit 1001 and the primary connection slave unit 10021, and the primary connection slave unit 10021 and the secondary connection slave unit 10022, is controlled so that the relative distance between the unmanned vessels 1010 is maintained within the range of the communication upper limit relative distance included in the monitoring plan as shown in Figure 11 (for example, about 1.5 km). Furthermore, if the relative distance between the two unmanned vessels 1010 increases and the other unmanned vessel 1010 moves outside the communication range, wireless communication between them will become impossible, and control commands from the central control system 2000 will not be able to be transmitted. Therefore, it is desirable for the two unmanned vessels 1010 that are connected to each other to perform self-position control to maintain the relative distance between them within the communication range, with a higher priority than other control functions.

[0147] On the other hand, the relative distance between unmanned vessels 1010 that do not communicate wirelessly with each other does not require the maintenance of the communication connection described above. However, in order to efficiently search for the target object 7000, which is the objective of the unmanned vessel system 1000, it is preferable for each unmanned vessel 1010 to maintain an appropriate distance so that the measurement ranges of the measurement sensors of each unmanned vessel 1010 do not overlap, or overlap to a moderate degree, rather than being too close together and having most of the measurement ranges of the measurement sensors overlap. Therefore, the relative distance between unmanned vessels 1010 that do not communicate with each other is controlled with a relatively lower priority so as to maintain a preset steady-state relative distance (for example, about 1 km). This control to maintain the steady-state relative distance can be achieved by applying, for example, a control based on the Boids algorithm.

[0148] Furthermore, if the relative distance between the unmanned vessels 1010 becomes too close and there is a possibility of collision, position control can be performed to increase the relative distance with a relatively high priority in order to avoid a collision and prevent damage to the unmanned vessels 1010.

[0149] As described above, control to maintain the relative distance between unmanned vessels 1010 that communicate with each other within the communication range, and avoidance control to avoid collisions with other unmanned vessels approaching at close range are executed with relatively high priority, while control to maintain the relative distance between unmanned vessels 1010 that do not communicate with each other is executed with relatively low priority.

[0150] (A-8-2. An example of a search method using multiple groups) Figure 17 shows an example of a search method using multiple groups. The example shown in Figure 17 shows an example in which multiple unmanned vessels 1010 are deployed based on the search plan described in Figure 11. As described in the search plan shown in Figure 11, there are four groups, and the unmanned vessels 1010 are positioned within the search area so that they are evenly distributed.

[0151] In the search plan shown in Figure 11, the movement path is set to be random and the upper limit relative distance for communication between unmanned vessels is set to 1.5 km. Therefore, each unmanned vessel 1010 shown in Figure 17 moves along a random movement path, ensuring a uniform distribution within the search area and that the relative distance to the wireless communication partner does not exceed the upper limit distance (1.5 km).

[0152] (A-8-3. Another example of a search method using multiple groups) Figure 18 shows another example of a search method using multiple groups. The example shown in Figure 18 is particularly relevant when a search is performed using a relatively small number of unmanned vessels 1010 relative to the search area, and when the unmanned vessels 1010 move in groups that are grouped together so that the relative distance to the radio communication partner does not exceed the upper limit distance (1.5 km), the search operation of each group is shown.

[0153] The search method shown in Figure 18, in which groups patrol and move within the search area, is useful when the number of available unmanned vessels 1010 is relatively small compared to the area of ​​the search area, and when it is difficult to uniformly distribute multiple unmanned vessels 1010 throughout the entire search area due to the constraint of the upper limit distance (1.5 km) for the relative distance to the wireless communication partner.

[0154] (A-9. Processing to update estimated search performance) Next, we will explain a method for updating the estimated search performance in accordance with new environmental information acquired during the search. Figure 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for updating the estimated search performance in accordance with newly acquired environmental information by the search performance update estimation unit 2230, etc. In particular, Figure 19 shows the detailed processing of step 106 of the flowchart shown in Figure 12.

[0155] First, the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 acquires and updates new environmental information from the external system 6000 (step 401).

[0156] Next, the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 acquires newly measured unmanned vessel measurement information from the unmanned vessel 1010 (step 402).

[0157] Next, the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 interprets the measurement information from the unmanned vessel and updates the estimated values ​​of the environmental information (step 403).

[0158] Next, the system impact estimation unit 2210 determines environmental disturbances that affect the search performance of the unmanned vessel 1010 (step 404). For example, by acquiring information such as the correspondence between the unmanned vessel performance and environmental disturbances, as shown in Figure 10, it is possible to determine the environmental conditions that affect the search performance.

[0159] Next, the system impact estimation unit 2210 determines whether or not there is an impact on the unmanned vessel's performance based on the environmental information newly acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 2130 (step 405). In this step, for example, the impact on the unmanned vessel's performance can be determined based on whether or not each environmental disturbance shown in Figure 10 is within a predetermined range or deviates from the predetermined range.

[0160] Next, the exploration performance update estimation unit 2230 updates the estimated values ​​of various performances of the unmanned vessel 1010 according to the newly acquired environmental information (step 406). In this step, for example, the estimated values ​​of various performances of the unmanned vessel 1010 that have already been estimated by the exploration performance estimation unit 2220 can be updated according to the newly acquired environmental information.

[0161] (A-10. Method for determining whether a search can be executed and updating the search plan according to the updated search performance) Next, we will explain a processing method for determining whether a search that satisfies the search conditions can be executed and updating the search plan according to the search performance that has been updated while the search is being executed. Figure 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for determining whether the requirements can be met and updating the search plan based on the updated search performance by the search plan determination unit 2300. In particular, Figure 20 shows the detailed processing of step 107 of the flowchart shown in Figure 12.

[0162] First, the requirement achievement feasibility update determination unit 2330 determines whether the search plan can be completed based on the updated search performance (step 501).

[0163] Next, the process to proceed to is determined based on the result of the determination of whether or not the search plan in step 501 can be completed (step 502). In this step, if it is determined that the search plan can be completed, the process proceeds to step 511; on the other hand, if it is determined that the search plan cannot be completed, the process proceeds to step 503.

[0164] Next, the requirement achievement feasibility update determination unit 2330 determines whether it is possible to generate a search plan that satisfies the requirements based on the updated search performance (step 503).

[0165] Next, the process to proceed to is determined based on the result of the determination in step 503 regarding whether a search plan that satisfies the requirements can be generated (step 504). In this step, if it is determined that a search plan that satisfies the requirements can be generated, the process proceeds to step 507; on the other hand, if it is determined that a search plan that satisfies the requirements cannot be generated, the process proceeds to step 505.

[0166] Next, if it is determined in step 504 that a search plan that satisfies the requirements cannot be generated, the user is notified of the determination that a search plan that satisfies the requirements cannot be generated (step 505). The notification in this step may be displayed to the user of the integrated control system 2000 via the display output unit 2410 of the information output unit 2400, or it may be displayed to the user of the cooperative system 5000. The means of notification are not limited to display output; the user may also be notified by means other than display, such as voice. Alternatively, the user may be notified that the search has been interrupted due to the determination that the search cannot be executed.

[0167] Next, a suggested change to the requirements is displayed to the user, and a change command is received from the user (step 506). In this step, for example, the display output unit 2410 can display the suggested change to the requirements, and the user input receiving unit 2500 can receive a change command from the user. Another example is that the suggested change to the requirements can be sent to the cooperative system 5000, and a change command from the user can be received from the cooperative system 5000. Yet another example is that the user can be asked to cancel the search execution, and approval for the cancellation of the search execution can be received from the user.

[0168] Next, the search plan modification generation unit 2340 updates the search plan (step 507). If a change in the requirements was accepted in step 506, this step updates the search plan to satisfy the changed requirements.

[0169] Next, the information of the search plan updated in step 507 is displayed to the user (step 508). In this step, for example, the display output unit 2410 displays the updated search plan, and the user input receiving unit 2500 can receive user input from the user regarding the updated search plan (e.g., approval, rejection, change, etc.). Alternatively, the updated search plan can be sent to the cooperative system 5000, and the cooperative system 5000 can receive change commands from the user.

[0170] Next, the search plan confirmation unit 2350 confirms the updated search plan according to the user input information received in step 508 (step 509). For example, if the received user input information is "approved," the updated search plan is confirmed with the content displayed and outputted; if the received user input information is "changed," the search plan is confirmed with the content after the change.

[0171] Next, the search execution command unit 2360 generates a designation signal based on the finalized search plan and transmits the command signal to the unmanned vessel system 1000 (step 510).

[0172] (A-11. Hardware Configuration) Figure 21 is a hardware configuration diagram of the integrated control system 2000. Here, the integrated control system 2000 in the present invention is an information processing device such as a server or a PC. As shown in the figure, the integrated control system 2000 includes an input device 100, an output device 200, a processing device 300, a main memory device 400, an auxiliary memory device 500, a communication device 600, and a bus 700 that electrically connects each of these devices.

[0173] The input device 100 can constitute the user input receiving unit 2720 of the user interface unit 2700, and is a device for the user to input information and instructions to the integrated control system 2000. Specifically, the input device 100 is, for example, a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, or voice input device such as a microphone.

[0174] The output device 200 is a device that outputs various information generated by the integrated control system 2000, and can constitute the display output unit 2410 of the user interface unit 2700. Specifically, the output device 200 can constitute the display output unit 2410 with eyewear, AR, VR display devices, etc., and may also be a printer or a speaker.

[0175] The processing unit 300 is, for example, a device that performs arithmetic processing. Specifically, the processing unit 300 is, for example, a CPU, a microprocessor, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or other semiconductor devices capable of performing calculations.

[0176] The main memory 400 is a memory device including RAM and ROM that allows reading and temporary writing to memory elements at arbitrary addresses at any time during processing, without requiring waiting times dependent on access patterns. For example, RAM is temporarily written to and read from during programs, application programs, and various other processes executed by the processing unit 300. ROM is a non-volatile memory in which recorded information is not lost even if the power to the device is lost. The auxiliary storage device 500 is a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or flash memory that can store digital information.

[0177] The communication device 600 is a device that performs wireless or wired information communication between the integrated control system 2000 and the outside world.

[0178] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit its scope. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

[0179] [A-2. Effects of this embodiment] The above-described embodiment makes it possible to perform object search operations using multiple mobile units more appropriately or efficiently, even in outdoor areas with relatively large environmental disturbances. For example, it makes it possible to perform object search operations using multiple vessels more appropriately or efficiently, even in marine areas with large changes in weather and ocean conditions.

[0180] 1...Control system (system) 100...Input device 200...Output device 300...Processing device 400...Main memory 500...Auxiliary memory 600...Communication device 700...Bus 1000...Unmanned vessel system 1001...Master unit 1002...Slave unit 10021...Primary connected slave unit 10022...Secondary connected slave unit 10023...Tertiary connected slave unit 1010...Unmanned vessel 1100...Measurement unit 1110...Measurement sensor 1120...Measurement control unit 1200...Self-state determination unit 1210...Navigation state determination unit 1220...Internal state determination unit 1230...External state determination unit 1300...Navigation unit 1310...Thrust generation unit 1320...Attitude control mechanism 1330...Navigation control unit 1400...Communication unit 1410... Unmanned Vehicle Communication Unit 1420... Overall Control Communication Unit 1500... Judgment Unit 1600... Recording Unit 1610... Measurement Data Recording Unit 1620... Self-Vehicle Status Recording Unit 1630... Judgment Information Recording Unit 2000... Overall Control System 2100... Information Import Unit 2110... Request Information Acquisition Unit 2120... Unmanned Vehicle Information Acquisition Unit 2130... Environmental Information Acquisition Unit 2200... Disturbance Influence Judgment Unit 2210... System Influence Estimation Unit 2220... Search Performance Estimation Unit 2230... Search Performance Update Estimation Unit 2300... Search Plan Determination Unit 2310... Request Achievement Feasibility Judgment Unit 2320... Search Plan Draft Generation Unit 2330... Request Achievement Feasibility Update Judgment Unit 2340... Search Plan Change Draft Generation Unit 2350... Search Plan Confirmation Unit 2360... Search Execution Command Unit 2400... Information output unit 2410... Display output unit 2420... Command output unit 2500... User input reception unit 3000... Communication satellite 4000... Ground base station 5000... Cooperative system 6000... External system 7000... Target object

Claims

1. A control system for controlling multiple vessels equipped with measurement sensors to search for an object in a predetermined area, comprising: a request information acquisition unit that acquires search request information including the requirements for the search; an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information relating to the desired area; a search performance estimation unit that estimates the search performance of the multiple vessels or updates the estimated value of the search performance based on the environmental information; a search plan determination unit that determines whether the search that satisfies the requirements can be executed, generates or updates a search plan for the search that satisfies the requirements, based on the search request information and the search performance; and an information output unit that displays or notifies information including the determination result by the search plan determination unit, or outputs a command based on the determination result.

2. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit includes at least one of the following: object-related information that can identify the object, area information that can identify the desired area, search time information relating to the time of the search, and search target information relating to the target value of the search.

3. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit includes weather conditions including at least one of thunderstorms, fog, rain, snow, hail, sleet, and cloudy skies.

4. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit includes at least one of the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the sun, or the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the moon, or backlighting, frontlighting, solar radiation, and ionospheric disturbance.

5. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit includes oceanographic conditions including at least one of wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, and tidal current direction; meteorological conditions including at least one of wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity; or seawater conditions including at least one of seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, water depth, transparency, underwater noise, plankton concentration, and presence or absence of seaweed beds.

6. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the environmental information acquisition unit receives the environmental information from an external source or the vessel, or interprets the environmental information based on current or past information acquired from an external source or the vessel.

7. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of measurement performance, which includes at least one of the measurable distance of the measurement sensor in the desired area, or a two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, based on the environmental information relating to the desired area.

8. A control system according to claim 7, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates an estimated value of measurement performance that the measurement sensor can perform in the desired area, including at least one of a measurable distance, a two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, based on the environmental information relating to the desired area and the prior measurement performance of the measurement sensor acquired in advance.

9. A control system according to claim 7, wherein the measurement sensor is a camera capable of acquiring image data including the object located in a marine area, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates an estimated value of measurement performance including at least one of the measurable distance, two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, that the camera can achieve in the desired area, based on the environmental information including the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the sun, or the position, altitude, azimuth, and trajectory of the moon, or the lunar phase, or backlighting, front lighting, solar radiation, and time of day.

10. A control system according to claim 7, wherein the measurement sensor is an optical camera capable of acquiring image data of an object present in an underwater area, or an acoustic sensor capable of detecting an object present in an underwater area, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates an estimated value of measurement performance, including at least one of the measurable distance, two-dimensional or three-dimensional measurable area, that the optical camera or acoustic sensor can perform in the desired area, based on the environmental information, which includes at least one of seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, transparency, and underwater noise in the underwater area of ​​the desired area.

11. A control system according to claim 1, wherein when data information is transmitted via a wireless communication network between a plurality of ships, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of communication performance, including at least one of the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength of the wireless communication network in the desired area, based on the environmental information, including at least one of fog, lightning, rain, snow, hail, and sleet in the desired area.

12. A control system according to claim 1, wherein when at least one of the plurality of ships receives data information using a satellite communication link, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of communication performance, including at least one of the communication range, communication speed, and communication strength of the satellite communication link in the desired area, based on the weather conditions in the desired area, including at least one of fog, thunder, rain, snow, hail, sleet, and cloudy conditions, or the state of the ionosphere above the desired area.

13. A control system according to claim 1, wherein when at least one of the plurality of vessels calculates its own position using a GNSS received signal, the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of the vessel's self-position calculation performance in the desired area based on weather conditions in the desired area including at least one of fog, thunder, rain, snow, hail, sleet, or cloudy, or the state of the ionosphere above the desired area.

14. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated power performance of the vessel in the desired area, including at least one of the following: maximum moving speed, maximum acceleration, maximum turning angular velocity, maximum turning speed, maximum turning angle, and follow distance, based on oceanographic conditions including at least one of wave height, wave speed, ocean current speed, ocean current direction, tidal current speed, and tidal current direction in the desired area, or meteorological conditions including at least one of wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity in the desired area, or seawater conditions including at least one of seawater temperature, seawater density, salinity, magnesium concentration, pH value, transparency, presence or absence of seaweed beds, plankton concentration, water depth, and transparency in the desired area.

15. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search performance estimation unit estimates or updates the estimated value of either a search rate indicating the actual number of areas searched by the vessel or a detection probability indicating the probability of detecting the target object by the vessel, based on at least one of the environmental information of the desired area, the measurement performance of the measurement sensor estimated or updated based on the environmental information of the desired area, the communication performance of the vessel, its own position calculation performance, or its power performance.

16. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan determination unit determines, based on the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit, whether or not the search that satisfies the required conditions can be performed, and, if the required conditions include information regarding the time limit for the search, whether or not there are unexplored or insufficiently explored areas in the desired area at the end of the time limit.

17. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan determination unit generates a search plan that can satisfy at least one of the requirements of object-related information that can identify the object included in the search request information, area information that can identify the desired area, search time information relating to the time of the search, and search target information relating to the target value of the search, based on the search performance estimated by the search performance estimation unit.

18. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan determination unit determines, based on the estimated search performance updated according to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit, whether or not the already generated search plan is executable, and, if the search plan includes information about the search time, whether or not there are unexplored or insufficiently explored areas in the desired area at the end of the search time.

19. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan determination unit updates the already generated search plan to satisfy the requirement conditions included in the search request information, based on the estimated search performance result updated according to the environmental information updated by the environmental information acquisition unit.

20. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes search target information that includes at least one of: a search rate indicating the actual number of searched areas where the search has been conducted by a plurality of vessels; and a detection probability indicating the probability that the vessels will detect the target object.

21. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes an operation plan that includes at least one of the following for a plurality of vessels: speed of movement, acceleration, turning angular velocity, turning speed, turning angle, straight-line travel time, travel path, and search execution time schedule.

22. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes a system configuration plan that includes at least one of the number of vessels, formation, arrangement distribution, upper limit relative distance between vessels, and target relative distance of a plurality of vessels.

23. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes a measurement plan that includes at least one of the type of measurement sensor, the measurement direction, and the measurement timing.

24. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the search plan generated or updated by the search plan determination unit includes a communication plan that includes at least one of the following: a communication standard or communication path used for a wireless communication network between a plurality of ships; a communication standard or communication path for a satellite communication line used by the ships; and the transmission timing of measurement data measured by the measurement sensor.

25. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the information output unit displays and outputs information regarding the reason for the determination of whether or not the search can be executed, as determined by the search plan determination unit.

26. A control method for controlling multiple vessels equipped with measurement sensors to search for an object in a predetermined area, wherein a computer performs: a request information acquisition step of acquiring search request information including the requirements for the search; an environmental information acquisition step of acquiring environmental information relating to the desired area; a search performance estimation step of estimating the search performance of the multiple vessels or updating the estimated value of the search performance based on the environmental information; a search plan determination step of determining whether the search that satisfies the requirements can be performed, generating or updating a search plan for the search that satisfies the requirements, based on the search request information and the search performance; and an information output step of displaying or notifying information including the determination result from the search plan determination step, or outputting a command based on the determination result.

27. A program usable in a control system that controls multiple vessels equipped with measurement sensors to search for an object in a predetermined area, wherein the program causes a computer to execute: a request information acquisition command to acquire search request information including the requirements for the search; an environmental information acquisition command to acquire environmental information relating to the desired area; a search performance estimation command that, based on the environmental information, estimates the search performance of the multiple vessels or updates the estimated value of the search performance; a search plan determination command that, based on the search request information and the search performance, determines whether the search that satisfies the requirements can be executed, generates or updates a search plan for the search that satisfies the requirements; and an information output command that displays or notifies information including the determination result of the search plan determination command, or outputs a command based on the determination result.

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