Patent Application
20250111175
Some aspects of embodiments relate to a display control system, a method, and an information processing apparatus.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technique for making it possible to read information embedded in a small-sized device, also called “tag,” by means of an external reader using near field wireless communication. For example, attaching an RFID tag in which unique identification information is embedded to an article makes it possible to know the whereabouts of the article efficiently and makes it easier to visualize information on the article that is under management. Among others, a passive-type RFID tag, which transmits information by using the energy of an electromagnetic wave emitted from a reader, is low in manufacturing cost because a battery is unnecessary, and thus can operate semi-permanently; therefore, the use of this type of RFID tags is spreading in various scenes.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-129312 discloses a management system that uses RFID for increasing efficiency in managing the progress of construction work. In the management system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-129312, in a situation where RFID tags are installed at particular places and RFIDs are attached to construction materials, the user is provided with latest information regarding the located places and statuses of construction materials on the basis of information read by a hand-held terminal from these RFID tags.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-141415 discloses a technique that combines reading of information from an RFID tag with a self-location estimation method for the purpose of estimating the location of the target of management without relying on global positioning system (GPS) measurement, which tends to be unstable in an environment in which there exist many shielding entities. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-141415, the located place of the target of management is estimated on the basis of the known location of a location tag and a relative movement amount of a reading device calculated in accordance with a self-location estimation method (also called “pedestrian dead reckoning” (PDR)).
Each of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2020-129312 and 2021-141415 suggests that information that includes the calculated located place of the article is visualized. However, on an actual work site such as a construction work site, many articles could exist. Therefore, if the located places of these articles are simply visualized, congestion of pieces of information occurs on the screen, resulting in poor visibility of the information. In addition, if the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-129312, which relies solely on the reading of information from RFID tags, is employed, there is no option but to install the RFID tags with high density in order to estimate the located place of an article. Though it is possible to overcome this disadvantage by combining tag reading with a self-location estimation method as in the method disclosed in 2021-141415, the self-location estimation method is susceptible to the influence of cumulative errors. Therefore, an innovative way of display that effectively assists the user in grasping the located place is demanded when displaying information regarding the estimated located place.
Some embodiments provide an improved scheme for displaying information regarding the located place of the target of management.
According to a certain aspect of the embodiments, a display control system that has the following configuration is provided. The display control system includes a plurality of first wireless devices, at least one reading device, and one or more processors and one or more memories. The plurality of first wireless devices is attached respectively to a plurality of targets of management movable in a real space. First identification information for identifying a corresponding target of management is stored in each of the plurality of first wireless devices. The at least one reading device is capable of reading, from a wireless device, identification information stored in the wireless device. The one or more memories store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the display control system to estimate, based on a result of reading the first identification information from the first wireless device by a first reading device, position coordinates where each of the plurality of targets of management is located, cause a display device to display information regarding the plurality of targets of management, segment the real space into a plurality of coordinate areas regularly and set a block area from at least one of the coordinate areas, and display, on the display device, block area information that represents the block area and coordinate area information regarding the coordinate area to which the position coordinates estimated for each of the plurality of targets of management belong.
Further features of various embodiments will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
With reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments will now be described in detail. The description of the embodiments below shall not be construed to limit the scope of the appended claims. Though a plurality of features will be described in the embodiments, not all of these features are necessarily indispensable for embodying the present disclosure. Any two or more of these features may be combined where appropriate. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar components, and the same explanation thereof will not be repeated.
In the present embodiment, the process management system 1 manages location information that indicates the located place of each target of management. A plurality of zones is set in a real space for the purpose of management of location information. These zones are candidates for the located place of each target of management. The location information of each target of management further includes two-dimensional or three-dimensional position coordinates of the spot where this target of management is estimated to be located.
In the example illustrated in
For the purpose of keeping track of the located place of the target of management, the process management system 1 uses a wireless device called “tag”. A location tag is a wireless device (second wireless device) installed in each of zones that are candidates for the located place of the target of management in the process management system 1. In the illustrated system, a location tag 40a is installed in the zone 10a, a location tag 40aa is installed in the zone 10aa, a location tag 40ab is installed in the zone 10ab, a location tag 40ac is installed in the zone 10ac, a location tag 40ad is installed in the zone 10ad, and a location tag 40ae is installed in the zone 10ae. Similarly, a location tag 40b is installed in the zone 10b. Two or more location tags may be installed in one zone. In the example illustrated in
A target tag is a wireless device (first wireless device) attached to each target of management in the process management system 1. In
In the internal memory of each of the target tags, identification information (first identification information) for identifying the target of management to which this tag is attached is stored.
In the description below, when there is no need for making distinctions between the zones 10a to 10bb, they will be collectively referred to as the zone(s) 10 by omitting the alphabet(s) suffixed to the reference numeral.
The same holds true for the articles 30 (article 30a, 30b, . . . ), the location tags 40 (location tag 40a, 40b, . . . ), the target tags 50 (target tag 50a, 50b, . . . ), users 20, and other elements.
The number of zones set in a real space and the number of the targets of management are not limited to those of the example illustrated in
In the present embodiment, each tag such as the location tag 40 and the target tag 50 is assumed to be a passive-type RFID tag (passive tag). The passive tag includes a compact integrated circuit (IC) chip with a built-in memory, and an antenna. Unique identification information for identifying this tag, and other information, are stored in the memory. In this specification, identification information is simply referred to also as “ID”, and identification information for tag identification is referred to also as “tag ID”. A tag ID may be regarded as information for identifying the target to which this tag is attached. The IC chip of a passive tag operates by using the energy of an electromagnetic wave emitted from a tag reader, modulates the tag ID and other information that are stored in the memory into an information signal, and transmits (returns) the information signal via the antenna.
In another embodiment, each tag may be an active-type RFID tag. In a case where power supplied from a built-in battery of each tag is used for transmitting information therearound actively (for example, periodically), the tag may be referred to as “beacon tag”. In another embodiment, each tag may be a wireless device configured to return information in response to a signal sent from a reader, for example, in conformity with a near field communication (NFC) scheme or a Bluetooth® scheme. Each tag may be referred to by any name such as “IC tag”, “IC card”, or “responder”.
The process management system 1 includes the reading system(s) 100 and a management server 200. The reading system 100 and the management server 200 are connected to a network 5. The network 5 may be a wired network, a wireless network, or any combination of them. Examples of the network 5 include the Internet, an intranet, and a cloud network.
The reading system 100 includes at least a tag reader 110. The tag reader 110 is a reading device capable of reading information stored in a wireless device such as an RFID tag. For example, by reading a tag ID from the target tag 50, the tag reader 110 is capable of detecting the target of management to which the target tag 50 is attached. The tag reader 110 makes a reading try either periodically or in response to some kind of a trigger such as a user operation, and then transmits a tag reading result to the management server 200. The tag reader 110 may be configured to be able to communicate with the management server 200 directly. Also, the tag reader 110 may be configured to be able to communicate with the management server 200 indirectly via some kind of a relaying device (for example, a user terminal 160 to be described below). A further explanation of an example of a specific configuration of the tag reader 110 will be given later.
In the example illustrated in
The management server 200 is an information processing apparatus configured to manage, in a database, location information of the targets of management, statuses regarding the progress of the work, and other information. The management server 200 may be implemented as, for example, an application server, a database server, or a cloud server by using a high-power general-purpose computer. The management server 200 receives the tag reading result from the tag reader 110, and updates the database on the basis of the received tag reading result. The management server 200, when updating the status of each target of management, checks the located place of each target of management estimated on the basis of the tag reading result against the planned place of this target of management in each work process. A further explanation of an example of a specific configuration of the management server 200 will be given later.
Though a single management server 200 is illustrated in
In the example illustrated in
The control unit 111 includes a memory that stores a computer program, and one or more processors (for example, a central processing unit (CPU)) that run the computer program. The control unit 111 performs overall control on the function of the tag reader 110 described in this specification. For example, the control unit 111 causes the reading unit 116 to execute reading of an RFID tag within a tag reading range, and causes the storage unit 112 to temporarily store read information, reading time, and a signal reception level as reading result data. In addition, concurrently with the reading of the RFID tag, the control unit 111 causes the measurement unit 114 to measure the location of the tag reader 110, and causes the storage unit 112 to store the measurement result. Then, the control unit 111 transmits the reading result data and the measurement result data stored in the storage unit 112 to the management server 200 via the communication unit 113, together with the reader identification information (referred to also as “reader ID”) of the own device.
The storage unit 112 may include any kind of a storage medium such as, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a read only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), an optical disk, or a magnetic disk. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 112 stores the above-described reading result data, the above-described measurement result data, and the above-described reader ID of the tag reader 110.
The communication unit 113 is a communication interface used for the tag reader 110 to communicate with the management server 200. For example, the communication unit 113 may be a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface configured to communicate with a WLAN access point, or a cellular communication interface configured to communicate with a cellular base station. The communication unit 113 may be a connection interface for connection to a relaying device (for example, a Bluetooth® interface or a universal serial bus (USB) interface).
The measurement unit 114 is a unit capable of measuring the location of the tag reader 110. In the present embodiment, the measurement unit 114 measures an amount of relative movement of the tag reader 110 from a certain reference location by using a self-location estimation method also called PDR, and outputs the measured movement amount to the control unit 111. The reference location for the measurement of the relative movement amount may be, for example, the location of the tag reader 110 at the point in time of activation of the tag reader 110. The relative movement amount of the tag reader 110 can be treated as a relative location. For example, the measurement unit 114 includes a triaxial acceleration sensor 114a, a gyroscopic sensor 114b, and a geomagnetic sensor 114c. The triaxial acceleration sensor 114a measures an acceleration applied to the tag reader 110 in a device coordinate system unique to the tag reader 110, and outputs first sensor data. The gyroscopic sensor 114b measures an angular velocity of the tag reader 110, that is, a change in attitude of the tag reader 110, and outputs second sensor data. The geomagnetic sensor 114c measures an azimuth of the tag reader 110 in a real space, and outputs third sensor data. Based on the sensor data outputted from these sensors, the measurement unit 114 performs cumulative calculation of the acceleration while converting the direction of the acceleration of the tag reader 110 into a direction in the coordinate system of the real space; by this means, it is possible to measure the relative movement amount of the tag reader 110. The relative movement amount outputted from the measurement unit 114 to the control unit 111 may be a two-dimensional vector on a horizontal plane or a three-dimensional vector including a height-directional component, too.
As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the position coordinates of the installed location of each of the location tags 40 are known and registered in a database. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the position coordinates of the spot where the tag reader 110 is currently located on the basis of the relative movement amount from the point in time at which the tag reader 110 detected a certain location tag 40 to the current point in time and on the basis of the known position coordinates of this location tag 40. Mainly described in the present embodiment is a case where it is the management server 200 that estimates the absolute location of the tag reader 110; however, the control unit 111 or the measurement unit 114 of the tag reader 110 may access the database and may estimate the absolute location of the tag reader 110.
Also, the tag reader 110 may be disposed in a fixed manner to correspond to the location tag 40. In this case, when the tag reader 110 detects the target tag 50, the management server 200 estimates the position coordinates of the target tag 50 on the basis of the position coordinates of the location tag 40 detected at the same time. Since each of a plurality of location tags is associated with the corresponding one of a plurality of tag readers 110, it is possible to estimate the position coordinates of the target tag 50 without using the self-location estimation method to be described later.
Instead of the above configuration, in which the tag reader 110 includes the measurement unit 114, the reading system 100 may include a measurement device that is not the tag reader 110 (for example, a measurement device capable of measuring the relative movement amount by using the self-location estimation method).
In a certain variation example, the measurement unit 114 may further include an atmospheric pressure sensor 114d indicated by a broken-line box in
For example, it is possible to calculate the relative height of the current location from the reference point by multiplying an amount of drop in atmospheric pressure from a pressure value at the reference point to a pressure value at the current location by a predetermined coefficient in a linear atmospheric-pressure-versus-height model. In a case where the reference point lies on the ground, this relative height indicates the height of the current location with respect to the ground. An atmospheric pressure sensor configured to measure atmospheric pressure at the reference point may be additionally provided.
The operation unit 115 receives an operation performed by the user 20. The operation unit 115 includes, for example, a physical input device such as buttons, switches, or levers provided on the housing of the tag reader 110. The operation unit 115 receives an operation performed by the user 20 via the input device, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 111. The operation unit 115 may include an audio input interface such as a microphone.
The reading unit 116 is a unit capable of reading, from each of the location tags 40 and the target tags 50 that are managed by the process management system 1, information stored in this tag. As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the tag reading try can be made by the reading unit 116 periodically (for example, once per second) without requiring any explicit user instructions. The transmission of data from the communication unit 113 to the management server 200 can also be performed periodically (for example, once at intervals of a few seconds) or at each time of tag reading without requiring any explicit user instructions. The control unit 111 may exclude, from data to be transmitted, a record that is the same as a record that has already been transmitted within an immediately preceding predetermined time for the purpose of reducing a load of communication by omitting redundant data transmission. In another embodiment, either the tag reading try by the reading unit 116 or the transmission of data to the management server 200, or both, may be performed upon detecting a user input via the operation unit 115. In a case where the communication unit 113 communicates with the management server 200 indirectly via a relaying device, the transmission of data to the management server 200 may be performed only while a connection between the communication unit 113 and the relaying device is enabled.
The control unit 161 includes a memory that stores a computer program, and one or more processors that run the computer program. The processor may be a CPU, or an integrated circuit (IC) such as a microcontroller (for example, a single-chip microcontroller). The control unit 161 performs overall control on the function of the user terminal 160 described in this specification. For example, in the process management system 1, when the user 20 wants to browse the location information or the status of the target of management, the control unit 161 causes the display unit 171 to display a screen that presents the requested information. Some examples of the screen displayed to the user 20 will be further described later.
The storage unit 162 may include any kind of a storage medium such as, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a RAM, an optical disk, or a magnetic disk. In the present embodiment, for example, the storage unit 162 temporarily stores, for the purpose of screen display, a map image received from the management server 200 that will be described later and information regarding the located place of the target of management.
The communication unit 163 is a communication interface used for the user terminal 160 to communicate with the management server 200. For example, the communication unit 163 may be a WLAN interface or a cellular communication interface. Though not illustrated in
The imaging unit 164 is a so-called camera unit configured to capture an image of a real space and generate still-picture or moving-picture image data. The imaging unit 164 outputs the generated image data to the control unit 161. For example, the image data generated by the imaging unit 164 may be used for optical character recognition (OCR) or for reading a visual code such as a barcode or a QR code®.
The operation unit 165 receives an operation performed by, and information inputted by, the user 20. The operation unit 165 includes an input device such as, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, buttons, or a pointing device. The operation unit 165 receives an operation performed by the user 20 via the input device, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 161. The operation unit 165 may further include another kind of an input device such as an audio input interface such as a microphone, a sensor configured to detect vibrations, or the like.
The display unit 171 displays an image and information. The display unit 171 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. The audio output unit 172 outputs sound/voice. The audio output unit 172 may be, for example, speakers. The vibration unit 173 causes the user terminal 160 to vibrate. The vibration unit 173 may be, for example, a vibrator that includes an eccentric motor.
The communication unit 210 is a communication interface used for the management server 200 to communicate with other devices. The communication unit 210 may be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 210 communicates with the reading system 100 (for example, either one or both of the tag reader 110 and the user terminal 160). The work DB 220 is a database that stores various kinds of data for estimating the location of the target of management and managing the progress of the work and is accessible from the management unit 230. In the present embodiment, the work DB 220 includes a target table 310, a zone table 320, a location tag table 330, a reader table 340, a work process table 350, a movement amount table 360, a tag detection table 370, and a granularity control table 380. The management unit 230 is a set of a plurality of software modules configured to perform various kinds of processing related to location estimation and progress management. Each individual software module can be operated by running a computer program stored in a memory (not illustrated) by one or more processors (not illustrated) of the management server 200. In the present embodiment, the management unit 230 includes a data management unit 231, an estimation unit 232, a status determination unit 233, and a display control unit 234.
The location tag table 330 includes three data items that are the following: tag ID 331, installed zone 332, and tag location 333. The tag ID 331 is identification information for uniquely identifying the location tag 40 installed in a work space. The value of the tag ID 331 is the same as the value of the tag ID stored internally in the location tag 40 corresponding thereto. The installed zone 332 identifies, by the value of the zone ID 321 in the zone table 320, the zone where each of the location tags 40 is installed. That is, the tag ID of each of the location tags 40 is associated with the installed zone corresponding to this location tag 40 in the location tag table 330. As illustrated in
Being premised on the positional relationship among zones illustrated in
Walls, floors, and ceilings in buildings like the illustrated one often block wireless signals. Installing the location tag 40 in each of zones partitioned from one another by such shielding entities makes it possible to determine at which zone at which point in time of detection the tag reader 110 is/was located, based on identifying which one of the location tags 40 is/was detected by the tag reader 110. The present embodiment combines such a simple determination of the located zone based on tag reading and a more precise location estimation using the self-location estimation method to be described later. For a relatively wide zone, it could happen that the detectable range of a single location tag 40 is not wide enough to cover the entire area of the zone; therefore, as in “floor A1” of
The data management unit 231 manages various kinds of data stored in the work DB 220, such as those described above. Data to be registered into each table of the work DB 220 can be generated by, for example, users or engineers. The data management unit 231 may receive data files in which such data are described via the communication unit 210 and register the data into each table. The map image data of each zone may be, for example, data that is based on computer-aided-design (CAD) drawing. The data management unit 231 may, for example, provide the user terminal 160 with a user interface (UI) for accepting data registration, correction, or deletion.
The displayed map image indicates that two rooms are included in this floor, and an icon 531 that represents the location tag 40 that has already been installed and already been registered is superimposed on the map image. The location tag registration screen 510 further includes a location tag selection field 521 and a button 551. When the user selects the tag ID of the location tag 40 that the user has installed anew in the location tag selection field 521, an icon 532 that represents the selected location tag 40 is displayed near the map display area 515. The user specifies the installed location of this new location tag 40 by moving (for example, dragging and dropping) the icon 532 to the spot on the screen where the user has installed this new location tag 40 (see the arrow 540). Then, upon the user operating the button 551, registration information that includes the selected tag ID and the specified installed location is transmitted from the user terminal 160 to the management server 200. Based on the registration information received in this way, the data management unit 231 can register a new record regarding the location tag 40 into the location tag table 330.
The planned place registration screen 610 includes a building selection field 611, a floor selection field 612, a map display button 613, and a map display area 614. The user selects the building and floor of the planned place for which the registration wants to be performed in the respective fields 611 and 612, and then operates the map display button 613. Upon this operation, a map image of the floor appears in the map display area 614. The planned place registration screen 610 further includes a process selection field 621, a target selection field 622, and a button 641. When the user selects the work process for which the registration wants to be performed in the process selection field 621, the targets of management handled in this work process become selectable in the target selection field 622. Then, when the user selects the target of management for which the registration wants to be performed in the target selection field 622, an icon 631 that represents the selected target of management is displayed near the map display area 614. The user specifies the planned place of this target of management in the selected work process by moving the icon 631 to the on-screen planned place that represents the destination to which this target of management should be moved (see the arrow 640). Then, upon the user operating the button 641, registration information that includes the selected target ID, the selected work ID, the selected process ID, and the specified planned place is transmitted from the user terminal 160 to the management server 200. Based on the registration information received in this way, the data management unit 231 can register a planned place corresponding to each combination of a work process and a target of management into the work process table 350.
The configuration of the database managed by the management server 200 is not limited to the configuration described here. Two or more tables having been described above may be merged into one table. One table having been described above may be split into two or more tables. Each table may include an additional data item(s). One or more of the data items having been described above may be omitted.
For example, the target table 310 may include additional data items, such as the manufacturer of the article as the target of management and the owner thereof, and the organization to which the user belongs. Any data item having been described as that of the work process table 350 may be merged into the target table 310. In that case, the target table 310 could contain each pair of data items that indicate a planned place and a process status for each of a plurality of work processes. In place of a plurality of data items representing respective statuses of a plurality of work processes, a single data item that selectively represents one of a plurality of status values related to the plurality of work processes may be adopted (for example, “Process A Completed”, “Process B Completed”, or the like).
The zone table 320 may include a data item that represents the ground height of each floor. The zone table 320 may include a data item that represents the height above sea level of the ground surface of each area or each building. Such a ground height or a height above sea level may be used when, for example, the height of the spot where a certain target of management is located is calculated from an atmospheric pressure measurement value.
Based on the result of reading the tag ID from the target tag 50 by the tag reader 110 (first reading device) and based on the result of reading the tag ID from the location tag 40 by the tag reader 110 that is the identical tag reader, the estimation unit 232 estimates the located place of the target of management to which this target tag 50 is attached. The movement amount table 360 and the tag detection table 370 of the work DB 220 are used for such located place estimation.
Suppose that a certain tag reader 110 reads a tag ID from a certain target tag 50 at a first point in time and reads a tag ID from a certain location tag 40 at a second point in time. The second point in time may be before or after the first point in time. Based on the relative movement amount of the tag reader 110 between the first point in time and the second point in time and based on the known location of the detected location tag 40, the estimation unit 232 is capable of detecting the position coordinates of the located place of the target of management to which the detected target tag 50 is attached.
The estimation unit 232, specifically, adds into the movement amount table 360 each record of the measurement result data received from the reading system 100 via the communication unit 210 as the measurement result record. The estimation unit 232, moreover, adds into the tag detection table 370 each record of the reading result data received from the reading system 100 via the communication unit 210 as the reading result record. When the target tag 50 is detected by the tag reader 110, the estimation unit 232 can estimate the position coordinates (u, v, h) of the spot where the target tag 50 is located at this point in time in accordance with Equation 1 shown below.
(u, v, h)=(U0+(X−X0), V0+(Y−Y0), H0+(Z−Z0)) Equation 1,
where (X, Y, Z) denotes the amount of movement of the tag reader 110 at the time of reading the tag ID from the target tag 50;
In the variation example having been described above, instead of employing Equation 1 shown above, the height-directional component H may be calculated by substituting the measurement value of atmospheric pressure into a relational expression that expresses an atmospheric-pressure-versus-height model. The estimation unit 232 updates the cell of the coordinate 316 in the target table 310 with the latest position coordinates of the target of management estimated in this way.
In a case where the same target tag 50 is detected more than once within a certain time period, the estimation unit 232 may estimate the position coordinates of the target of management corresponding thereto on the basis of the relative movement amount of the tag reader 110 at the point in time of the highest signal reception intensity. In a case where the same target tag 50 is detected more than once within a certain time period, the estimation unit 232 may estimate that the target of management corresponding thereto is located at the center (for example, the barycenter) of a plurality of detection positions calculated using the above equation.
Based on a correlation between the result of reading the tag ID from the target tag 50 of a certain target of management and the result of reading the tag ID from one location tag 40 or more, the estimation unit 232 can select the reference location tag that is to be used for estimating the located place of this target of management. The correlation mentioned here may include either one or both of a temporal correlation or a spatial correlation. For example, the estimation unit 232 can focus on each of the location tags 40 in the ascending order of the difference between the tag ID reading times for a certain target tag 50 and can select the location tag 40 that satisfies the following first and second conditions first as the reference location tag.
The estimation unit 232 estimates that the target of management corresponding thereto is located in the zone associated with the tag ID of the reference location tag selected in accordance with the above conditions. That is, the value of the installed zone 332 in the location tag table 330 of the reference location tag selected for the target tag 50 of a certain target of management identifies the located zone of this target of management. The estimation unit 232 updates the cell of the located zone 315 in the target table 310 with the zone ID of the latest located zone of the target of management estimated in this way. For the target of management for which the reference location tag cannot be selected because the location tag 40 that satisfies the above conditions does not exist, the estimation unit 232 may regard its located place unknown and thus may leave its cell of the located zone 315 and its cell of the coordinate 316 blank.
The status determination unit 233 checks the located place of each target of management estimated on the basis of the result of reading the tag ID from the target tag 50 by the tag reader 110 against the planned place designated by the work process table 350, thereby determining the status of the work process regarding this target of management. In the present embodiment, the status determination unit 233 checks, based on granularity that differs depending on type information associated with each target of management, the located place estimated about this target of management against the planned place for the work process. That is, in the present embodiment, the granularity of checking the located place of each target of management against the planned place (hereinafter referred to also as “collation level”) is variable. The granularity control table 380 of the work DB 220 is a table in which mapping between the type information associated with each target of management and the collation level is stored.
For example, assume that the granularity control table 380 defines that the located place should be checked against the planned place at a first level for a certain type. In this case, the status determination unit 233 can determine that, if the located place of the target of management of interest is the same as either a first level zone corresponding to the planned place in a certain work process or any lower level zone belonging to the first level zone, the work process has completed regarding this target of management.
In a first example, the type information that influences the granularity of checking the located place against the planned place includes a target type that indicates the type of each target of management (for example, the value of the target type 314 in the target table 310).
In this case, the status determination unit 233 checks the located place of a first target of management whose target type indicates a first type against the planned place on the basis of first spatial granularity, and checks the located place of a second target of management whose target type indicates a second type different from the first type against the planned place on the basis of second spatial granularity different from the first spatial granularity.
The lower level zone that belongs to “building A” in this example includes “floor A1”, “floor A2”, “room A2-1”, “room A2-2”, and the like.
Articles that fall under a category of so-called general-purpose materials are used for various parts of a building and are interchangeable among those of the same kind; therefore, their destination of movement is often designated with relatively rough granularity when they are moved. By contrast, each non-general-spec dedicated article is premised to be used at a particular spot; therefore, their destination of movement could be designated with relatively precise granularity when they are moved. Articles that play intermediate roles between general-purpose ones and dedicated ones also exist. With the example described above, it is possible to flexibly meet such various requirements in status updating influenced by the type of the article or the type of the target of management.
In another example, the type information that influences the granularity of checking the located place against the planned place includes a process type that indicates the type of each of a plurality of work processes associated with each target of management (for example, the type in the work process table 350). In this case, the status determination unit 233 checks the located place of the target of management against the planned place on the basis of first spatial granularity when updating a status related to a first work process if the process type of the first work process indicates a first type. The status determination unit 233 checks the located place of the target of management against the planned place on the basis of second spatial granularity finer than the first spatial granularity when updating a status related to a second work process if the process type of the second work process indicates a second type different from the first type. Typically, the second work process mentioned here could be a work process that follows the first work process.
The granularity control table 380b according to this example includes three data items that are the following: process type 382, type name 384, and collation level 385. The process type 382 is identification information for uniquely identifying each candidate for the type of the work process. The type name 384 represents the name of each process type. In the example illustrated in
In many kinds of work such as constructing a building, constructing transportation infrastructure, or setting up an event venue, the place where a relevant article should be located changes as the work progresses. Carrying each individual article into the work site with relatively rough granularity suffices in the first half of the work, whereas it is possible that each individual article is required to have been delivered to a particular place that depends on its intended purpose of use in the second half of the work. With the example described above, it is possible to flexibly meet such various requirements in deployment of the targets of management for each work process.
A combination of the examples having been described above is also conceivable.
In a case where the type information associated with a certain target of management indicates a predetermined type, the status determination unit 233 may check the located place of this target of management against the planned place at the level of position coordinates. For example, the process ID “P19” in the example illustrated in
In the work process table 350, three-dimensional position coordinates (u5, v5, h5) are registered in the cell of the planned place 356 for the target of management associated with the process ID “P19”. In this case, the status determination unit 233 can determine that the work process has completed for this target of management in a case where the distance between the position coordinates estimated regarding this target of management and the position coordinates (u5, v5, h5) as the position coordinates of the planned place is less than a distance threshold. Adopting this precise collation at the level of the position coordinates instead of relying on the located zone makes it possible to automatically determine whether or not a particular article (for example, a dedicated article) has been installed or fixed at the designed place in a certain work process and to reflect the determination result into the status.
In accordance with the method described in this section, the status determination unit 233 checks the latest located place of each target of management handled in each work process with the planned place, and updates, into “Completed”, the value of the process status 357 for the target of management determined to have been moved to the planned place appropriately.
The display control unit 234 is capable of causing the display unit 171 of the user terminal 160 to display information regarding each of a plurality of targets of management for the purpose of assisting the user in grasping the located place of the target of management and confirming a status about it. Among others, in the present embodiment, a work space is regularly segmented into a plurality of coordinate areas (referred to also as “grid”) so as to make it possible to get a big picture of, or a rough understanding of, the located place of the target of management. The display control unit 234 is capable of commanding display of, on the screen, coordinate area information regarding the coordinate area to which the position coordinates estimated for each target of management belong. In addition, the display control unit 234 is capable of commanding display of, on the screen, located zone information regarding the located zone estimated for each target of management. Since the display control unit 234 is capable of controlling display of such information regarding the target of management, the process management system 1 may be referred to also as the display control system 1.
The number of the coordinate areas set in the work space, and the size of the coordinate area, are not limited to those in the example illustrated in
In
Coordinate-area-based information display to be described below is beneficial in that does not suffer such erroneous recognition of the located zone.
As an example, the coordinate area information displayed on the screen may include statistical information regarding the target(s) of management estimated to be located in each coordinate area. For example, the statistical information mentioned here may include one or more of the following items of information:
The filtering conditions could include one or more of, for example, a condition related to the target of management, a condition related to the work process, and a condition related to the tag reader that detected the target of management. For example, the condition related to the target of management could include a condition related to the name of the target of management or the target type.
The condition related to the work process could include a condition related to the process ID, the due date, the planned place, the process status, the date of completion, and the auxiliary status. The condition related to the tag reader could include a condition of limitation to the targets of management detected by the particular tag reader only (for example, the tag reader used by the login user).
The function button 705 of the information browsing screen 700 is a button for calling up a UI for allowing the user to specify the filtering conditions described above. Since such a UI may be configured using any known method, a detailed explanation of it is not given here. In the example illustrated in
As illustrated in
The function button 706 is a button for calling up a UI that enables the user to change the settings related to information display. The function button 707 is a button for calling up a UI that enables activation of some kind of an auxiliary function. Since these UIs may be configured using any known method, a detailed explanation of them is not given here. The settings related to information display could include, for example, the size of a coordinate area described above. The auxiliary function could include, for example, downloading an at-a-glance data file regarding the displayed targets of management.
Unlike the example illustrated in
The filtering conditions mentioned here may be the same as the conditions having been described above regarding the coordinate area information.
When the user operates the display switching button 703 with located zone information displayed in the map display area 710, the display control unit 234 commands that coordinate area information be displayed in place of the located zone information in the map display area 710. In the example illustrated in
Having been described above is an example in which a selection can be made between a first display mode of superimposing coordinate area information on a map image and a second display mode of superimposing located zone information on the map image; however, a third display mode of superimposing individual position coordinates of the target of management may be further selectable.
In the third display mode, for example, the display control unit 234 can arrange icons that represent the targets of management respectively at, in the map display area 710, positions corresponding to the targets of management that satisfy the specified filtering conditions.
In general, position coordinates relying on a self-location estimation method are susceptible to the influence of cumulative errors in sensor output and thus sometimes fail to pick up the location of the target of management accurately. Therefore, by making located zone information displayable in the map display area 710 in accordance with a user selection as in the example illustrated in
Setting a block area is effective for, for example, grasping the whereabouts of articles, persons, and the like on an event site.
As shown in the information browsing screen 700, block area information 742 and boxes 741 are displayed in the first section (the map display area 710) thereof. The box 741 corresponds to each of the location tags 40 and displays the total of the detected targets of management at the timing of detecting each of the location tags 40. In the example illustrated in
In the example illustrated in
A priority display setting may be made on a particular target tag 50. For example, a target tag 50cq with a priority display setting is assigned to a particular person on an event venue. The display control unit 234 displays a sign or characters indicating priority display in the corresponding box 741 (in the example illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In this chapter, with reference to the flowcharts of
First, in S11, the reading unit 116 of the tag reader 110 makes a try at reading a tag ID from a nearby RFID tag by emitting an electromagnetic wave within its reading range. If the tag ID is received from the nearby RFID tag by using the energy of the electromagnetic wave as the result of this tag reading try (S12: YES), the process proceeds to S16. If the tag ID is not received (S12: NO), the process proceeds to S13.
In S13, for example, based on sensor data outputted from the triaxial acceleration sensor, the gyroscopic sensor, and the geomagnetic sensor, the measurement unit 114 of the tag reader 110 measures the relative movement amount of the tag reader 110. The measurement unit 114 may cause the atmospheric pressure sensor to measure atmospheric pressure. Next, in S14, the control unit 111 acquires the current time as the measurement time by, for example, looking up an internal real time clock. Next, in S15, the control unit 111 transmits measurement result data that includes the relative movement amount (and the atmospheric pressure value) measured by the measurement unit 114, the measurement time, and the reader ID of the tag reader 110 to the management server 200 via the communication unit 113.
In S16, the control unit 111 acquires the current time as the reading time of the tag ID. Next, in S17, the control unit 111 transmits reading result data that includes the read tag ID, the reading time, the reception level, and the reader ID of the tag reader 110 to the management server 200 via the communication unit 113.
After that, the process returns to S11. The data transmission processing described above is performed iteratively while the try at reading the tag ID by the reading system 100 is active.
First, in S21, focusing on one target of management, the estimation unit 232 of the management server 200 acquires a reading result record regarding the target tag 50 attached to this target of management from the tag detection table 370. Next, in S22, the estimation unit 232 extracts, from the tag detection table 370, a reading result record regarding one or more location tags 40 received from the same tag reader 110 as that of the acquired reading result record. Next, in S23, based on a correlation between the reading result record regarding the target tag 50 and the reading result record regarding the one or more location tags 40, the estimation unit 232 selects one reference location tag that should be taken as a reference for located place estimation.
Next, in S24, the estimation unit 232 calculates the relative movement amount of the tag reader 110 between the reading time of the target tag 50 and the reading time of the reference location tag by referring to the measurement result record in the movement amount table 360. Next, in S25, based on the calculated relative movement amount of the tag reader 110 and the known location of the reference location tag, the estimation unit 232 estimates the position coordinates of the target of management of interest. In addition, in S26, the estimation unit 232 estimates that the zone associated with the reference location tag in the location tag table 330 is the located zone of the target of management of interest.
Then, in S27, the estimation unit 232 updates the cell of the coordinate 316 and the cell of the located zone 315 in the target table 310 with the coordinate value of the position coordinates estimated in S25 and with the zone ID of the located zone estimated in S26, respectively.
The estimation unit 232 can repeat the above-described processing while sequentially focusing on each of one or more targets of management that might have moved within a certain time period. Performing the above-described processing periodically makes it possible to keep the location information that indicates the located place of each target of management up to date in the work DB 220.
First, in S31, the status determination unit 233 selects a work process whose progress should be updated among work processes that constitute a work defined in the work process table 350. The work process selected here may be, for example, a work process associated with the target of management whose located place has changed, a work process designated by the user, or a work process that is due. Next, in S32, the status determination unit 233 selects one target of management whose status regarding the selected work process is “Not completed yet”.
Next, in S33, based on either one or both of the target type of the selected target of management and the process type of the work process, the status determination unit 233 determines a collation level for checking the located place against the planned place by looking up the granularity control table 380. Next, in S34, the status determination unit 233 acquires the latest located place (located zone or position coordinates) of the selected target of management from the target table 310. In addition, the status determination unit 233 acquires the planned place of the selected target of management in the selected work process from the work process table 350.
Next, in S35, the status determination unit 233 checks the located place of the selected target of management against the planned place in accordance with the collation level determined in S33. For example, assuming that the planned place is represented by the zone ID and further assuming that the level of its zone is equal to the collation level, the located place can be determined to agree with the planned place if the zone ID of the located zone of the target of management is equal to the zone ID of either the planned place or any lower level zone belonging to the planned place. The located place, in a case where the planned place is represented by its position coordinates and where the collation level indicates position-coordinate-level collation, can be determined to agree with the planned place if the distance between the position coordinates of the target of management and the position coordinates of the planned place is less than a predetermined distance threshold. If the located place agrees with the planned place (S36: YES), in S37, the status determination unit 233 updates the status of the selected target of management in the selected work process into “Completed”. If the collation fails (S36: NO), S37 is skipped, and the status is not updated.
Next, in S38, the status determination unit 233 determines whether or not there is any remaining target of management whose status regarding the work process selected in S31 is “Not completed yet”. If there is any remaining target of management whose status is “Not completed yet”, the process returns to S32, and the status determination unit 233 selects a target of management whose status is “Not completed yet” from among the remaining targets of management and then repeats S33 to S38. If there is no remaining target of management whose status is “Not completed yet”, the status update processing for the work process selected in S31 ends. Though not illustrated, of course, the above-described status update processing may be repeated for other work processes.
First, in S41, the display control unit 234 of the management server 200 acquires, from the target table 310, the location information of one or more targets of management that satisfy filtering conditions that can be designated on the user terminal 160. For example, the display control unit 234 may acquire, from the target table 310, the located zones and position coordinates of the targets of management estimated to be located in the designated zone now.
Next, in S42, the display control unit 234 acquires map image data of the designated zone from the zone table 320. Next, in S43, the display control unit 234 sets a plurality of coordinate areas in the designated zone.
Next, in S44, based on the located zones of the one or more targets of management acquired in S41, the display control unit 234 generates a list of the targets of management on a categorized-by-located-zone basis as located zone information. In addition, in S45, based on the position coordinates of the one or more targets of management acquired in S41, the display control unit 234 generates statistical information of the targets of management on a categorized-by-coordinate-area basis as coordinate area information.
Next, in S46, the display control unit 234 transmits the generated located zone information to the user terminal 160 via the communication unit 210. The control unit 161 of the user terminal 160 controls the display unit 171 to display the located-zone-by-located-zone list of the targets of management in the list display area 720 of the information browsing screen 700. In addition, in S47, the display control unit 234 transmits the generated coordinate area information together with the map image data to the user terminal 160 via the communication unit 210. The control unit 161 of the user terminal 160 controls the display unit 171 to perform superimposed display of the categorized-by-coordinate-area statistical information on the map image in the map display area 710 of the same screen, namely, the information browsing screen 700.
When the conditions for filtering the targets of management to be displayed are changed, the display control processing in S41 and the subsequent steps may be executed again to update the screen display. The display control unit 234 may monitor the location information stored in the target table 310, and, when there is a change in the location information, may execute the display control processing again and cause the control unit 161 of the user terminal 160 to update the screen display.
First, in S51, the display control unit 234 of the management server 200 acquires, from the target table 310, the location information of one or more targets of management that satisfy filtering conditions that can be designated on the user terminal 160. Next, in S52, the display control unit 234 acquires map image data of the designated zone from the zone table 320. Next, in S53, the display control unit 234 sets a plurality of coordinate areas in the designated zone.
Next, in S54, based on the located zones of the targets of management, the display control unit 234 generates a list of the targets of management on a categorized-by-located-zone basis. In addition, in S55, based on the located zones of the targets of management, the display control unit 234 generates statistical information of the targets of management on a categorized-by-located-zone basis as located zone information. Moreover, in S56, based on the position coordinates of the targets of management, the display control unit 234 generates statistical information of the targets of management on a categorized-by-coordinate-area basis as coordinate area information.
Next, in S57, the display control unit 234 transmits the generated categorized-by-located-zone list of the targets of management to the user terminal 160 via the communication unit 210. The control unit 161 of the user terminal 160 controls the display unit 171 to display the located-zone-by-located-zone list of the targets of management in the list display area 720 of the information browsing screen 700. Next, in S58, the control unit 161 receives a designation of the mode of display by the user via the operation unit 165. In a case where the first display mode of superimposing coordinate area information on a map image is designated (S59: YES), the process proceeds to S60.
In a case where the second display mode of superimposing located zone information on the map image is designated (S59: NO), the process proceeds to S61.
In S60, the display control unit 234 transmits the coordinate area information together with the map image data to the user terminal 160 via the communication unit 210. The control unit 161 of the user terminal 160 controls the display unit 171 to perform superimposed display of the categorized-by-coordinate-area statistical information on the map image in the map display area 710 of the information browsing screen 700. On the other hand, in S61, the display control unit 234 transmits the located zone information together with the map image data to the user terminal 160 via the communication unit 210. The control unit 161 of the user terminal 160 controls the display unit 171 to perform superimposed display of the categorized-by-located-zone statistical information on the map image in the map display area 710 of the information browsing screen 700.
Similarly to the above-described example, when the conditions for filtering the targets of management to be displayed are changed, the display control processing in S41 and the subsequent steps may be executed again to update the screen display. The display control unit 234 may monitor the location information stored in the target table 310, and, when there is a change in the location information, may execute the display control processing again and cause the control unit 161 of the user terminal 160 to update the screen display.
The information browsing screen 700 according to the examples having been described with reference to
With reference to
In location estimation using a self-location estimation method, as a result of cumulative errors in movement amount measurement, location information with high accuracy cannot always be obtained. In view of this, by displaying coordinate-area-based information instead of displaying an estimated location specifically, it is possible to present stable information while suppressing sensitivity in display information to the cumulative errors. Also, by making it possible to not only display coordinate area information but also display, in parallel or selectively, information regarding the located zone of the target of management that can be estimated without relying on a self-location estimation method, it is possible to more effectively assist the user in grasping the located place of the target of management.
In the embodiments having been described above, based on the results of reading identification information from a first wireless device and a second wireless device by a first reading device, estimation is performed as to which zone each target of management is located in and as to which spot each target of management is located at. Such reading of identification information from a wireless device does not require communication with an external apparatus such as a GPS satellite or a wireless base station. Therefore, it is possible to gather records to be used for location information estimation in a stable manner also in an environment in which it is difficult to perform external communication, for example, indoors, under the ground, inside a tunnel, or the like.
In the embodiments having been described above, a plurality of zones is set in a real space with a plurality of different spatial granularities, and the located zone of each target of management is any of the plurality of zones. Based on granularity that differs depending on type information associated with each target of management, the located place of this target of management is checked against the planned place in process management, and the status of the work process is updated. Therefore, the scheme according to the embodiments having been described above is especially useful for grasping the located place of the target of management in process management of a work that involves movement of the target of management. However, the uses of the techniques according to the present disclosure are not limited thereto.
The embodiments having been described above may be implemented by supplying, to a system or an apparatus via a network or in the form of a storage medium, a program that realizes one or more functions, and by causing one or more processors in the computer of the system or the apparatus to read out and run the program. The present disclosure may be embodied by means of circuitry (for example, ASIC) that realizes the one or more functions.
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments having been described above, and various alterations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Claims are appended hereto so as to make the claimed scope of the present disclosure public.
According to the present disclosure, an improved scheme for displaying information regarding the located place of the target of management is provided.
While the present disclosure has described exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that some embodiments are not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-171097, which was filed on Oct. 2, 2023 and which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-171097 | Oct 2023 | JP | national |
