JP2004212199A - Apparatus and method for determining region, program for realizing region determination function, and computer-readable medium in which the program is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and a method for determining a region capable of accurately determining whether a moving body is present in the region or outside the region, a program for realizing a region determination function, and a computer-readable information recording medium in which the program for realizing the region determination function is recorded. <P>SOLUTION: The region determination apparatus is provided with both a positioning means 23 for positioning the location of the moving body 11 and a locational information managing means 27 for managing the location of the moving body 11 at every time instant and determines the plausibility of determination as a numerical index on the basis of the relative locational relation between the location of the moving body 11 and the region 4 acquired by the positioning means 23 or its history of changes. The region determination apparatus is provided with a determining means 29, determines that the moving body 11 is present in the region 4 when the numerical index reaches a first threshold value, which determines that the moving body 11 is present in the region 4, and determines that the moving body 11 is present outside the region 4 when the numerical index reaches a second threshold value, which determines that the moving body 11 is present outside the region 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an area determination device, an area determination method, a program that exercises an area determination function, and a computer that records a program that exercises an area determination function, which determines whether a moving object exists in an area or exists outside an area. The present invention relates to a readable information recording medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable terminals capable of detecting the current position (latitude, longitude, and altitude) of one's own by some kind of self-position detecting means are becoming popular. Examples include a mobile phone with a GPS (Global Positioning System) and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with a GPS module. Since many of these mobile terminals also have a network connection function, the user of the mobile terminal can receive various online services using his / her own location as a key (for example, see Patent Document 1). For example, the user of the mobile terminal can very easily search for the nearest bus stop from his / her own position, or browse the weather forecast around the current position.
[0003]
Some of such online services utilize the inside / outside determination and the entry / exit determination. The inside / outside area determination refers to determining whether the position of the mobile terminal is inside or outside the specific area. The entry / exit determination refers to the mobile terminal continuously detected at a predetermined time interval. This means detecting from the position history that the mobile terminal has entered or exited a specific area.
[0004]
As an application example of the area inside / outside determination, an advertisement distribution service that broadcasts an advertisement associated with a certain area to portable terminals in the area at once is considered. As an application example of the entry / exit determination, a service is proposed in which a wandering elderly person is provided with a portable terminal, and when it is detected that the elderly person has left the area around their home, a warning is notified to a supervisor.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-337354 (FIG. 4)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, there are the following problems in using the self-position detected by the GPS-equipped mobile terminal for inside / outside area determination and entry / exit determination.
(A) Area inside / outside judgment
In the conventional area inside / outside determination method, an error is always present in the result of positioning by GPS, so that a self-position slightly different from the original position is detected. If the detected coordinates are directly used for the inside / outside determination of the area, an erroneous determination result may be obtained near the boundary of the area. This is because in the conventional area inside / outside determination method, it is simply determined whether the coordinates obtained by positioning by the GPS are inside or outside the area.
[0007]
(B) Entry / exit judgment
In the conventional approach / exit determination method, with a relatively inexpensive GPS module mounted on a mobile terminal, if positioning is performed multiple times while stopped at one location, a slightly different position is detected each time due to an error. There are many. Due to such a positioning error, if the position obtained as a result of the positioning is directly used for area entry / exit determination, even though the mobile terminal is continuously stopped near the boundary of the area, for example, the entry and exit repeatedly occur. A phenomenon occurs in which the result of the determination being made is output.
[0008]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to exhibit an area determination device, an area determination method, and an area determination function that can more accurately determine whether a moving object exists in an area or exists outside an area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable information recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute a region determination function is recorded.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The region inside / outside determination device of the present invention is a region determination device that determines whether a moving object exists in a region or exists outside a region, and a positioning unit that measures a position of the moving object; Position information management means for managing a position at each time, and a relative position between the position obtained by the positioning means and the area in determining whether the moving object is inside or outside the area. Determine the likelihood of the determination as a numerical index from the history of the relationship or the change thereof, if the numerical index has reached the first threshold to determine that the moving body is present in the area, the moving body is in the area Determining that the moving object is outside the area if the numerical index has reached a second threshold value for determining that the moving object exists outside the area. Territory A determination device.
According to the above configuration, instead of directly using the result of the area determination based on the position obtained by the positioning means, an appropriate threshold is provided for the certainty of the determination represented as a numerical index, and the threshold is used as a reference. The decision can be finally determined. As a result, erroneous area determination due to a positioning error can be significantly reduced, and it can be more accurately determined whether or not a moving object is present in the area.
[0010]
In the above configuration, the determination unit may determine, as the numerical index, a probability that the moving object is considered to be present in the area according to a distance from the measured position of the moving object to a boundary of the area. It is preferable that the first probability is set as, and when the first probability is equal to or greater than a threshold probability set in advance as a threshold, it is desirable to determine that the moving object is present in the area.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not the moving object is present in the area, based on whether or not the first probability has reached a preset threshold probability.
[0011]
In the above configuration, the determination unit may determine, as the numerical index, a probability that it is considered to be outside the area according to a distance from a measured position of the moving body to a boundary of the area. A second probability that the sum of the probability and the probability is 1 is set, and when the second probability is equal to or larger than a threshold probability set in advance as a threshold, the mobile body is determined to be outside the area. It is desirable to do.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not the moving object exists in the area, depending on whether or not the second probability has reached a preset threshold probability.
[0012]
In the above configuration, the determination unit accumulates a difference between the first probability and the second probability obtained for each positioning by a predetermined calculation method, and the accumulated value enters the area from outside the area. When it is determined that the moving object has entered the area when it has reached the entry detection threshold as a threshold in the case where it is considered, the exit as the threshold when it is considered that the mobile has exited from the area to the outside of the area. It is desirable to adopt a configuration in which when the detection threshold is reached, it is determined that the moving object has left the area.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to more accurately determine whether the moving object has entered or exited the area, depending on whether or not the accumulated value has reached a preset threshold value.
[0013]
In the above configuration, it is preferable that the moving body is a portable terminal device.
According to the above configuration, instead of directly using the result of the area determination based on the position obtained by the positioning means, an appropriate threshold is provided for the certainty of the determination represented as a numerical index, and the threshold is used as a reference. The decision can be finally determined. Thereby, erroneous area determination due to a positioning error can be significantly reduced, and it can be more accurately determined whether or not a portable terminal device is present in the area. Further, a difference between the first probability and the second probability obtained for each positioning is accumulated by a predetermined calculation method, and a more accurate movement is performed according to whether or not the accumulated value has reached a preset threshold. It is possible to determine whether the body has entered or exited the area.
[0014]
The inside / outside determination method of the present invention is an area determination method for determining whether a moving object exists in an area or exists outside an area, and a positioning step of positioning the position of the moving object; and A position information management step of managing a position for each time, and determining whether the moving object is inside or outside the area, a relative position between the position obtained by the positioning means and the area. Determine the likelihood of the determination as a numerical index from the history of the relationship or the change thereof, if the numerical index has reached the first threshold to determine that the moving body is present in the area, the moving body is in the area Determining that the moving object is outside the area if the numerical index has reached a second threshold value for determining that the moving object is outside the area. An area determination method according to symptoms.
[0015]
The area inside / outside determination program that exerts the inside / outside determination function of the present invention is a program that exercises an area determination function of determining whether the moving object is present in the area or outside the area, and the position of the moving body. Positioning means for measuring the position of the moving body, position information managing means for managing the position of the moving body at each time, and determining whether the moving body is inside or outside the area by the positioning means. The likelihood of the determination is obtained as a numerical index from the relative position relationship between the determined position and the area or the history of the change, and the numerical index reaches a first threshold value for determining that the moving object is present in the area. If the moving object is within the area, the moving object is determined to be within the area, and if the numerical index reaches a second threshold value for determining that the moving object is present outside the area, the moving object is determined to be within the area. A program to exhibit area determination function for causing to function as determination means to be in part.
[0016]
The computer readable information recording medium characterized by recording the inside / outside determination program of the present invention is a program that exhibits an area determination function of determining whether the moving object exists in the area or outside the area. A recorded computer-readable information recording medium, comprising: positioning means for positioning the position of the moving body; position information managing means for managing the position of the moving body at each time; and In determining whether the object is inside or outside, the likelihood of the determination is obtained as a numerical index from the relative positional relationship between the position obtained by the positioning means and the area or the history of changes thereof, and the moving body is If the numerical index has reached a first threshold value for determining that the moving object exists inside the area, it is determined that the moving object is inside the area, and the moving object is determined to be in the area. A computer-readable information recording a program that functions as a judging means for judging that the moving object is outside the area if the numerical index has reached a second threshold value for judging that the moving object is outside; It is a recording medium.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an area determination system 1 including an area determination server 7 to which an area determination device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.
The area determination system 1 includes at least an area determination server 7 and a mobile terminal 3, and preferably includes a network 13 and a base station 5. The area determination system 1 may have a configuration in which the area-related information providing server 9 and the entry / exit warning notification server 11 are connected to the network 13.
[0018]
The mobile terminal 3 is an information terminal that can be carried by an operator who moves around the area 4 and is, for example, a portable telephone device such as a pager. If the mobile terminal 3 is, for example, a portable telephone device, the mobile terminal 3 is configured to be positioned with reference to a base station 5 for performing a telephone call or data communication. Needless to say, the mobile terminal 3 may be configured to perform positioning using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) instead of or in addition to being measured based on the base station 5.
[0019]
The network 13 is a data communication line through which data communication is performed using, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) as a protocol. The network 13 may be configured to perform data communication by wire or may be configured to perform data communication by wireless.
[0020]
Specifically, the area determination server 7 mainly has two functions with respect to the movement trajectory of the mobile terminal 3. First, the area determination server 7 has a function of determining whether the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4 or outside the area 4 (hereinafter, referred to as an “inside / outside area determination function”). What is characteristic in the area determination server 7 is that the likelihood of the determination is obtained as a numerical index from the relative positional relationship between the position of the mobile terminal 3 and the area 4 or the history thereof, and the mobile terminal 3 It has a function of determining whether it exists in the area 4 or outside the area. Second, the area determination server 7 has a function of determining whether the mobile terminal 3 has entered the area 4 or has exited the area 4 (hereinafter referred to as an “entry / exit determination function”).
[0021]
When the area determination server 7 detects that the mobile terminal 3 has entered the area 4 or has left the area 4 by the entry / exit determination function, the area-related information providing server 9 and the entry / exit alarm notification server 11 May be notified that the entry / exit has been detected. Hereinafter, this notification is referred to as “entry / exit detection notification”. The area-related information providing server 9 includes an area-related information database (not shown) that manages content information associated with the area 4.
[0022]
When the area-related information providing server 9 receives the entry / exit detection notification from the area determination server 7, for example, the content information associated with the area 4 in which the entry / exit has been detected is transmitted via the network 13 to the mobile terminal 3. Is transmitted. As the content information, various information on the area 4 can be adopted, and for example, information on a delicious restaurant existing inside the area 4 may be used. This content information is registered in advance in the related information database (not shown) in association with the area 4. In this way, the mobile terminal 3 of the area-related information providing server 9 can acquire various information according to the moved area 4.
[0023]
Further, the entry / exit alarm notification server 11 includes an alarm notification destination database (not shown) for managing notification destinations to be notified of an alarm notification regarding the mobile terminal 3 entering or leaving the area 4. . The entry / exit alarm notification server 11, which has received the entry / exit detection notification from the area determination server 7, sends the mobile terminal 3 into the area 4 with respect to the alarm notification destination 8 stored in the alarm notification destination database. It has a function of notifying that it has left the area 4.
[0024]
In this way, the recipient who has received the alarm notification can easily know that the mobile terminal 3 has entered, for example, an undesired area 4 or has left the undesired area 4. As such an alarm notification, for example, the mobile terminal 3 is carried by the wandering elderly and the surroundings of the wandering elderly are designated in the area 4, and when the wandering elderly leaves the vicinity of the home, the family of the wandering elderly is Inform the possessed terminal or the like.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the area determination server 7 of FIG.
The area determination server 7 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 63, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 64, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 65, a display unit 60, a hard disk 61, an operation unit 62, and a bus 55. It has a portion 62. It should be noted that the area-related information providing server 9 and the entry / exit warning notification server 11 of FIG. 1 have substantially the same hardware configuration as the area determination server 7, respectively, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0026]
The bus 55 in FIG. 2 has a function of connecting each device such as the CPU 63 and is a bus line having an address bus and a data bus. The CPU 63, the ROM 64, the RAM 65, the hard disk 61, and the display unit 60 are connected to the bus 55 directly or indirectly, and preferably, an operation unit 62 is connected thereto. The CPU 63 is a central processing unit that operates a program using the RAM 65 as a work area, and also controls a ROM 64 and the like connected to the bus 55.
[0027]
The ROM 64 is a read-only information recording medium, and may include a flash ROM that is a rewritable nonvolatile memory. The RAM 65 has a function as a work area for executing a program. The hard disk 61 is a large-capacity storage medium for recording and reproducing information magnetically, for example. The operation unit 62 is an operation unit such as a mouse and a keyboard for operating the object displayed on the display unit 50.
[0028]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration example of the area determination server 7 of FIG.
The area determination server 7 includes a communication module 21, a positioning module 23, a determination module 29, and a database 24. The communication module 21 has a function of performing data communication with a computer other than the area determination server 7 using, for example, TCP / IP as a protocol. The database 24 is a so-called middleware that has an area shape management table 25 and a terminal state management table 27, and has a configuration in which information can be registered, updated, searched, and deleted by relational of each table.
[0029]
The positioning module 23 has a function of positioning the position of the mobile terminal 3. The positioning module 23 in FIG. 3 performs positioning at, for example, a preset time interval. The positioning module 23 is configured to measure the position of the mobile terminal 3 with reference to the base station 5 corresponding to the mobile terminal 3, for example. Needless to say, the positioning module 23 may perform positioning of the mobile terminal 3 using a GPS module or the like provided in the mobile terminal 3.
[0030]
The positioning module 23 has a function of registering the position of the mobile terminal 3 at each time in the terminal state management table 27, for example. The terminal status management table 27 has a configuration in which, for example, a terminal ID (IDentification), a positioning time, and a position corresponding to the mobile terminal 3 can be registered. The position is the latitude and longitude of each base station 5 and the radius of the communicable range when the base station 5 is used as a reference, or the latitude and longitude indicating the location of the mobile terminal 3 itself when using GPS. Longitude.
[0031]
On the other hand, the area shape management table 25 in the database 24 manages an area ID (Identification) as an identifier for identifying the area 4 in FIG. 1 and an area shape indicating the shape of the area 4 in association with the area ID. ing. The determination module 29 includes an inside / outside determination function for determining whether the mobile terminal 3 in FIG. 1 is present in the area 4 or outside the area 4, and a function in which the mobile terminal 3 enters the area 4 or enters the area 4. It has an entry / exit detection function that detects exit.
[0032]
The determination module 29 in FIG. 3 obtains the area shape corresponding to the area ID indicating the shape of the area 4 from the area shape management table 25 to determine the shape of the area 4 in order to determine the shape of the area 4. The determination module 29 acquires the positioning time and the position corresponding to the terminal ID indicating the mobile terminal 3 from the terminal state management table 27 when performing the inside / outside determination function and the entry / exit detection function. The determination module 29 is configured to exhibit a region inside / outside determination function and an entry / exit detection function, which will be described in detail later, based on the region shape, the positioning time, and the position, for example.
[0033]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the mobile terminal 3 of FIG.
The mobile terminal 3 includes a CPU 11a, a RAM 11b, a ROM 11c, an operation unit 11d, and a display unit 11g, and preferably includes a GPS signal reception unit 11h.
The CPU 11a is a central processing unit, and operates a program using the RAM 11b as a work area, and controls the ROM 11c and the like connected to the bus 11i.
[0034]
The ROM 11c is a read-only information recording medium, and may include a flash ROM that is a rewritable nonvolatile memory. The RAM 11b has a function as a work area for executing a program. The operation unit 11d is operation means such as a mouse, a tablet device, and a keyboard for operating objects such as buttons displayed on the screen of the display unit 11g.
[0035]
The display unit 11g is a display unit having a function of displaying characters and figures, and is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an EL (Electro Luminescence). The GPS (Global Positioning System) signal receiving unit 11h has a function of receiving a GPS signal from a satellite, and can grasp the current position based on the GPS signal.
[0036]
When the mobile terminal 3 in FIG. 1 is a portable telephone device such as a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) or a pager, the GPS signal receiving unit 11h is omitted, and the base station 5 that relays the mobile terminal 3 is used. It goes without saying that the position information of the mobile terminal 3 may be obtained. Here, the position is indicated, for example, by latitude, longitude, or address.
[0037]
The area determination system 1 is configured as described above. Next, an example of an area determination method as an operation example will be described with reference to FIGS.
<Inside / outside area judgment function (algorithm 1)>
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the mobile terminal 3 is arranged around the area 4. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the concept of the area inside / outside determination function. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where the area inside / outside determination function is performed in accordance with the movement trajectory of the mobile terminal 3, and FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result determined by performing an inside / outside determination function.
[0038]
The inside / outside determination function in the area determination system 1 is a function of determining whether the mobile terminal 3 shown in FIG. 5 exists in the area 4 or outside the area. First, as a general fact, there is a problem that when the mobile terminal 3 is located, a positioning error occurs, and the position of the mobile terminal 3 cannot be strictly acquired. For example, when the area 4 as shown in FIG. 5 is set, the actual position may be the position P even if the current position of the measured mobile terminal 3 is the position P ′. The position P ′ is inside the area 4, but the position P is outside the area 4. Therefore, when the positioning error is not taken into consideration, the inside / outside determination of the mobile terminal 3 has an opposite result.
[0039]
Therefore, in the area determination system 1, the area determination server 7 uses the following algorithm 1 so as to prevent such a case from occurring, thereby exhibiting an area inside / outside determination function in consideration of a positioning error.
Specifically, the area determination server 7 uses the algorithm 1 to determine whether the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4 or outside the area 4 by the determination module 29 shown in FIG.
[0040]
More specifically, it is assumed that, for example, when the mobile terminal 3 exists at the true position (actual position) P, the determination module 29 detects its own position P ′ as a positioning result. At this time, the determination module 29 obtains the probability p that the true position P exists in the area 4 and the probability q that the true position P exists outside the area 4 as follows. Note that the determination module 29 has already acquired the region shape and the like regarding the region 4 for performing the region inside / outside determination function as described above.
[0041]
(1) The determination module 29 calculates a distance d from the boundary of the area 4 in FIG. 7 to the detected position P ′ of the mobile terminal 3.
(2) Next, the determination module 29 determines whether the detected position of the mobile terminal 3 is inside the area 4 or outside the area 4.
(3) Next, according to the distance d from the boundary of the region 4, the determination module 29 determines the probability p (internal probability) that the true position P is considered to exist in the region 4 and the probability p (internal probability) outside the region 4. A probability q (external probability) considered to exist is determined. At this time, a calculation method is used in which the resulting internal probability p and external probability q satisfy the following conditions (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e).
[0042]
(A) The sum of the internal probability p that the detected position of the mobile terminal 3 is considered to be inside the region 4 and the internal probability q that is considered to be outside the region 4 is always p + q = 1. For example, when the internal probability is p = 0.7, the external probability is q = 0.3.
(B) If the detected position of the mobile terminal 3 is exactly on the boundary of the area 4, the internal probability is set to 0.5 and the external probability is set to 0.5.
[0043]
(C) When the detected position of the mobile terminal 3 is within the area 4, the internal probability p is set to be larger as the distance d from the boundary of the area 4 is larger.
(D) When the detected position of the mobile terminal 3 is outside the area 4, the external probability q is set to be larger as the distance d from the boundary of the area 4 is larger.
(E) When the detected position of the mobile terminal 3 is a sufficient distance d from the boundary of the area 4, the internal probability p = 1 or the external probability q = 1 is set according to the determination result of the above (2). I do.
[0044]
The calculation method for obtaining the internal probability p and the external probability q from the distance d is as follows, as long as the conditions (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are satisfied. It can be appropriately selected according to the size, size, positioning environment, GPS device performance, and application characteristics. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the distance d and the internal probability p and the external probability q, for example.
[0045]
Then, the determination module 29 sets the threshold probability as a threshold value for determining that the internal probability p exists in the region 4 to be, for example, 80%, and determines that the internal probability p is 80% or more. It is determined that the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4. The area determination server 7 determines whether the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4 or is outside the area 4 for an application that uses whether the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4 or exists outside the area 4. The presence can be provided more accurately. Needless to say, such an area inside / outside determination function may be performed by using the external probability q instead of or in addition to the internal probability p.
[0046]
A specific example of the area inside / outside determination function will be described below. Here, for example, a circular area having a radius R = 1000 m is assumed as the area 4, and the calculation is performed by employing, for example, the following equation.
[0047]
p = 1 (d <−50 m) (1)
p = −0.01 × d + 0.5 (−50 m ≦ d ≦ 50 m) (2)
q = 1-p (3)
Here, the meaning of each symbol is as follows.
p: Probability that the point X exists in the area 4 (internal probability p)
q: Probability that the point X exists outside the area 4 (external probability q)
d: distance from the boundary of region 4 to point X
Here, when the point X is outside the region 4, the distance d = the distance d [m] from the boundary of the region X at the point X. When the point X is within the region 4, the distance d = − (point The distance d from the boundary of the X region 4 is d) [m].
[0048]
In the area inside / outside determination function, the internal probability p and the external probability q are obtained by, for example, the above equations (1), (2) and (3). When the inside / outside determination of the points A, B, C, D, and E in FIG. 7 is performed by the above equations (1), (2), and (3), the result shown in FIG. 8 is obtained. Then, the determination module 29 of the area determination server 7 determines that the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4 when the internal probability p is a threshold probability set in advance as a threshold.
[0049]
According to the inside / outside determination function in the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to more accurately determine whether the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4 or outside the area 4 in consideration of the positioning error. become. This is because the probability that the mobile terminal exists inside the area and the probability that it exists outside the area are obtained from the distance between the position of the mobile terminal 3 and the boundary of the area 4. Is determined to be inside the area, and only when the probability of existing outside the area is sufficiently high, it is determined that the mobile terminal exists outside the area.
[0050]
<Entry / exit detection function (algorithm 2)>
Next, the entry / exit detection function will be described. The entry / exit detection function is a function of determining whether the mobile terminal 3 has entered the area 4 or has exited the area 4 using the inside / outside area determination function. This entry / exit detection function is mainly determined by the area determination server 7 of the area determination system 1.
[0051]
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a trajectory of the mobile terminal 3 moving around the area 4, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a simulation result of the entry / exit detection function.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for detecting the entry / exit of the area 4 by the entry / exit detection function.
First, the mobile terminal 3 moves so as to draw a trajectory T with respect to, for example, a circular area 4 shown in FIG. 9 and position histories are obtained in the order of histories S1, S2,. And
[0052]
Here, the inside / outside determination of the histories S1, S2,..., S11 is performed by, for example, adopting Equation (1), Equation (2), and Equation (3) in the above-described inside / outside determination function. . Then, the determination module 29 of the area determination server 7 exhibits an entry / exit detection function by employing the following Algorithm 2.
[0053]
The parameters in the simulation of the entry / exit detection function are defined as follows, for example. Note that “x ← y” means “substitute y for x”.
S: Entry / exit judgment variable
status: a flag for holding whether the mobile terminal 3 exists in the area 4 or outside the area 4. status indicates “internal” or “external”.
Sin (constant): Entry detection threshold of entry / exit determination variable S (Sin> 0)
Sout (constant): exit detection threshold (constant) of entry / exit determination variable S (Sout <0)
[0054]
f (x): entry / exit determination function
f (0) = 0
f (a) ≧ f (b) (a> b)
Sin = 1.0 (4)
Sout = −1.0 (5)
f (x) = 2x (6)
[0055]
First, the determination module 29 of the area determination server 7 in FIG. 3 exhibits an entry / exit detection function according to the following procedure. The initial value of the entry / exit determination variable S is set, for example, as entry / exit determination variable S ← 0, status ← “external”.
[0056]
1. First, the positioning module 23 detects the position of the mobile terminal 3 (Step ST1 in FIG. 11).
2. Next, the determination module 29 obtains an internal probability p and an external probability q for the detected position of the mobile terminal 3 by using the above-mentioned area inside / outside determination function (step ST2). Needless to say, the position of the mobile terminal 3 may be measured using other positioning methods.
[0057]
3. Next, when the internal probability p = 1 in step ST3 (step ST3), the determination module 29 sets an entry / exit determination variable S ← Sin (step ST10). On the other hand, in step ST7, when the external probability q = 1, the entry / exit determination variable S ← Sout is set (step ST12). If neither the internal probability p = 1 nor the external probability q = 1, the process proceeds to step ST8, where the determination module 29 determines the entry / exit determination variable S ← enter / exit determination variable S + f ( (Internal probability p−external probability q).
[0058]
4. As a result, if the entry / exit determination variable S> Sin in step ST9, the determination module 29 sets the entry / exit determination variable S ← Sin (step ST10). On the other hand, if the entry / exit determination variable S ≦ Sout in step ST11, the determination module 29 sets the entry / exit determination variable S ← Sout (step ST12).
5. Then, the judgment module 29 executes the following processing (a) when status = "external", and executes the processing (b) when status = "internal".
[0059]
(A) If the entry / exit determination variable S = Sin in step ST4, it is detected that the mobile terminal 3 has entered the area 4 (step ST5). Then, the determination module 29 satisfies status ← “internal” (step ST6).
(B) If the entry / exit determination variable S = Sout in step ST13, it is detected that the mobile terminal 3 has exited out of the area 4 (step ST14). Then, the determination module 29 sets status ← “external” (step ST15).
6. Then, the determination module 29 returns the process to step ST1 (the process of 1.).
[0060]
The function f (x) and the parameters Sin and Sout in the algorithm 2 can be appropriately set according to the positioning environment, the performance of a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, and the nature of the application.
[0061]
According to the entry / exit detection function in the embodiment of the present invention, even when the positioning result of the mobile terminal 3 involves an error, the mobile terminal 3 can more accurately enter the area 4 or exit the area 4. Can be detected.
[0062]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, each configuration of the above-described embodiment can be partially omitted or arbitrarily combined so as to be different from the above. For example, each configuration of the above embodiment can be partially omitted or arbitrarily combined as different from the above. Further, for example, the area determination server 7, the area-related information providing server 9, and the entry / exit warning notification server 11 in the above-described embodiment may each be a server of any one or a combination thereof, and may have each function. It goes without saying that each of these servers may be configured so that a part of the plurality of functions is operated by the plurality of servers.
[0063]
The program for performing the above-described area determination function for operating the area determination system 1 is not limited to a form installed and operated in an electronic device such as a computer as described above. ), CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), CD-RW (Compact Disc-ReWriterble) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).
[0064]
In addition, the program for performing the area determination function is not limited to the form stored in the information recording medium, but may be an electronic device such as a user's computer via a transmission medium such as a network that performs wireless or wired data communication. Needless to say, the program may be downloaded to the Internet.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an area determination system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an area determination server.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of an area determination server.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which mobile terminals are arranged around an area.
FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a concept of a region inside / outside determination function.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where an inside / outside determination function is performed.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result determined by performing an area inside / outside determination function.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a trajectory of a mobile terminal moving around an area.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a simulation result of an entry / exit detection function.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of entry / exit detection determination.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 area determination system (area determination device), 3 mobile terminal (mobile body), 4 areas, 23 positioning module (positioning means), 29 determination module (determination means), 27 terminal state management table (position information management means), p Internal probability (first probability), q External probability (second probability)

Claims (8)

An area determination device that determines whether the moving object exists in the area or exists outside the area,
Positioning means for positioning the position of the moving body,
Position information management means for managing the position of the moving body at each time,
In determining whether the moving object is inside or outside the area, a numerical index indicates a likelihood of the determination based on a relative positional relationship between the position obtained by the positioning means and the area or a change history thereof. If the numerical index has reached a first threshold for determining that the moving object is present inside the area, it is determined that the moving object is inside the area, and the moving object is present outside the area. A determination unit that determines that the moving object is outside the region if the numerical index has reached a second threshold value for determining the region. The determining means is configured to determine, as the numerical index, a first probability as a probability that the moving object is considered to be present in the area according to a distance from the position of the measured moving object to a boundary of the area. A probability is set, and when the first probability is equal to or greater than a threshold probability set in advance as a threshold, it is configured to determine whether the moving object is present in the area. An area determination device according to any one of the preceding claims. The determining means, as the numerical index, according to a distance from the measured position of the moving object to a boundary of the area, the first probability as a probability considered to be present outside the area. A second probability that the sum is 1 is set, and when the second probability is equal to or greater than a threshold probability set in advance as a threshold, it is determined that the moving object is present outside the area. The area determination device according to claim 1. The determining means accumulates a difference between the first probability and the second probability obtained for each positioning by a predetermined calculation method, and when the accumulated value seems to have entered the area from outside the area. When reaching the entry detection threshold as the threshold of, it is determined that the moving body has entered the area, and reached the exit detection threshold as a threshold when it is considered that the mobile has exited from the area to the outside of the area 4. The area determining apparatus according to claim 3, wherein it is configured to determine that the moving body has moved out of the area at the time. The area determination device according to claim 1, wherein the mobile object is a portable terminal device. An area determination method for determining whether a moving object exists in an area or exists outside an area,
A positioning step of positioning the position of the moving body,
A position information management step of managing the position of the moving body at each time,
In determining whether the moving object is inside or outside the area, a numerical index indicates a likelihood of the determination based on a relative positional relationship between the position obtained by the positioning means and the area or a change history thereof. If the numerical index has reached a first threshold for determining that the moving object is present inside the area, it is determined that the moving object is inside the area, and the moving object is present outside the area. Determining that the moving object is outside the area if the numerical index has reached a second threshold value to be determined. A program that exercises an area determination function of determining whether a moving object exists in an area or exists outside an area,
Positioning means for positioning the position of the moving body,
Position information management means for managing the position of the moving body at each time,
In determining whether the moving object is inside or outside the area, a numerical index indicates a likelihood of the determination based on a relative positional relationship between the position obtained by the positioning means and the area or a change history thereof. If the numerical index has reached a first threshold for determining that the moving object is present inside the area, it is determined that the moving object is inside the area, and the moving object is present outside the area. If the numerical index has reached a second threshold value to be determined, a program for performing an area determination function is provided, which functions as determination means for determining that the moving object is outside the area. A computer-readable information recording medium that records a program that exercises an area determination function of determining whether the moving object exists in the area or exists outside the area,
Positioning means for positioning the position of the moving body,
Position information management means for managing the position of the moving body at each time,
In determining whether the moving object is inside or outside the area, a numerical index indicates a likelihood of the determination based on a relative positional relationship between the position obtained by the positioning means and the area or a change history thereof. If the numerical index has reached a first threshold for determining that the moving object is present inside the area, it is determined that the moving object is inside the area, and the moving object is present outside the area. A computer-readable information recording program for executing a function as a judging means for judging that the moving object is outside the area if the numerical index has reached a second threshold value to be judged Medium.

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