KR101702205B1 - Interior navigation apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a QR code recognition unit for acquiring data including a QR code; A first information extracting unit for extracting first information stored in the QR code from the obtained data; A second information extracting unit for extracting second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit from the obtained data; And a route guidance controller for providing a moving direction to a predetermined destination by using the second information extracted by the second information extracting unit.

Description

[0001] INTERIOR NAVIGATION APPARATUS AND METHOD [0002]

The present invention relates to an indoor navigation apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an indoor navigation apparatus and method, which coordinates a room of a building, captures a QR code by an indoor navigation device, and uses the relative direction information of the indoor navigation device and a QR code To an indoor navigation device and a method for guiding a moving route of an indoor navigation device.

As the spread of smart phones equipped with cameras is spreading, camera means carried by users are becoming popular. Accordingly, a variety of technologies and means utilizing a camera provided in a smart phone are activated together with a Quick Response Code (QR code) capable of transmitting information through a two-dimensional picture including figures.

A QR code is a code composed of a two-dimensional lattice pattern that can display more information than bar codes that are already widely used. The QR code is a means for photographing an image and processing information of the photographed image , A smartphone) to easily recognize information. QR codes can contain tens of characters to 1800 characters, while existing one-dimensional barcodes can store only about 20 characters of numeric information, and the included information can be used as a QR reader such as a smart phone And it is advantageous to store character type data such as alphabets or numerals rather than general bar codes, and has advantages such as recognition speed, recognition rate, and resilience, which are widely used as marketing means and publicity means.

In recent years, QR codes have been attached, printed and distributed to find information about books on book covers, or they can be printed on a plate of a rotating sushi house or easily found on the street. In addition, as disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2010-0085887, a QR code can be utilized to provide various kinds of information. Therefore, the QR code can be used for information necessary for the whole life such as business card, telephone number, text, homepage URL, and the like.

The above-described background technology is technical information that the inventor holds for the derivation of the present invention or acquired in the process of deriving the present invention, and can not necessarily be a known technology disclosed to the general public prior to the filing of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention provide an indoor navigation apparatus and method for coordinate interior of a building, photographing a QR code with an indoor navigation device, and guiding a moving route of a user by using relative direction information of an indoor navigation device and a QR code do.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a QR code recognition unit for acquiring data including a QR code; A first information extracting unit for extracting first information stored in the QR code from the obtained data; A second information extracting unit for extracting second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit from the obtained data; And a route guidance controller for providing a moving direction to a predetermined destination by using the second information extracted by the second information extracting unit.

In the present embodiment, the route guidance control unit may guide the direction in which the user should go by comparing the current moving direction and the destination of the user from the second information extracted by the second information extracting unit.

In the present embodiment, the second information extracting unit may extract the current moving direction of the user according to the angle at which the QR code is scanned.

In the present embodiment, the navigation system may further include a communication unit for receiving the indoor map data from the navigation server, and the indoor map data may be coordinates of the indoor points.

In the present embodiment, the relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit is represented by a normal vector and a direction vector, and the normal vector is a plane including the QR code and a camera sensor of the QR code recognition unit And the direction vector may correspond to a direction in which the QR code is located in a plane including the QR code.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method of generating QR codes, comprising: obtaining data including QR codes; Extracting first information stored in the QR code from the acquired data; Extracting second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit from the obtained data; And providing a moving direction to a predetermined destination using the extracted second information.

In the present embodiment, the route guidance control unit may guide the direction in which the user should go by comparing the current moving direction and the destination of the user from the second information extracted by the second information extracting unit.

In the present embodiment, the second information extracting unit may extract the current moving direction of the user according to the angle at which the QR code is scanned.

In the present embodiment, the navigation system may further include a communication unit for receiving the indoor map data from the navigation server, and the indoor map data may be coordinates of the indoor points.

In the present embodiment, the relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit is represented by a normal vector and a direction vector, and the normal vector is a plane including the QR code and a camera sensor of the QR code recognition unit And the direction vector may correspond to a direction in which the QR code is located in a plane including the QR code.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a computer program stored on a medium for executing the method using a computer.

Other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

According to the present invention as described above, first, since each point in a room is coordinateized and a QR code is used, it is not necessary to install a device separately, and it is possible to obtain an effect that no cost is incurred. Second, it is possible to provide accurate information from the current position to a desired destination by coordinateing the indoor position. Third, the three points containing information in the QR code are recognized separately, and the current position and direction of the user can be recognized differently according to the angle of the scan.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a computer program stored on a medium for executing the method using a computer.

Other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

1 is a block diagram of a system for providing an indoor navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the indoor navigation apparatus of FIG.
3 is a view showing a state in which a navigation service is provided on an indoor navigation device.
4 is a flowchart illustrating an indoor navigation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. The effects and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but may be implemented in various forms. In the following embodiments, the terms first, second, and the like are used for the purpose of distinguishing one element from another element, not the limitative meaning. Also, the singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, the terms include, including, etc. mean that there is a feature, or element, recited in the specification and does not preclude the possibility that one or more other features or components may be added. Also, in the drawings, for convenience of explanation, the components may be exaggerated or reduced in size. For example, the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of explanation, and thus the present invention is not necessarily limited to those shown in the drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or corresponding components throughout the drawings, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted .

1 is a block diagram of a system for providing an indoor navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an indoor navigation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a navigation server 100 and an indoor navigation device 300. And a communication network 400 interconnecting the plurality of indoor navigation devices 300 and the navigation server 100. [

The navigation server 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may provide navigation application to the indoor navigation device 300 and provide map data for the navigation service to the indoor navigation device 300. [ In addition, various functions for providing the navigation service in the indoor navigation device 300 through the location data and other data transmission / reception with the indoor navigation device 300 can be performed.

The plurality of indoor navigation devices 300 refers to a communication terminal that can use a web service in a wired / wireless communication environment. Here, the indoor navigation device 300 may be the user's personal computer 301 or the user's portable terminal 302. Although the portable terminal is shown as a smart phone in FIG. 1, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a terminal equipped with an application capable of web browsing as described above can be borrowed without limitation.

In more detail, the indoor navigation device 300 may be a computer (e.g., a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, etc.), a media computing platform (e.g., a cable, a satellite set top box, a digital video recorder), a handheld computing device (E. G., A PDA, an email client, etc.), any form of mobile phone, or any other type of computing or communication platform, but the invention is not so limited.

Meanwhile, the communication network 400 connects the plurality of indoor navigation devices 300 with the navigation server 100. That is, the communication network 400 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the indoor navigation devices 300 can access the navigation server 100 and then transmit and receive data. The communication network 400 may be a wired network such as LANs (Local Area Networks), WANs (Wide Area Networks), MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks), ISDNs (Integrated Service Digital Networks), wireless LANs, CDMA, Bluetooth, But the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the indoor navigation apparatus of FIG.

2, the indoor navigation apparatus 300 includes a communication unit 310, a memory 320, an input / output unit 330, a program storage unit 340, a control unit 350, A QR code recognition unit 360, a first information extraction unit 370, a second information extraction unit 380, a route guidance control unit 390, and the like.

In detail, the communication unit 310 may be a device including hardware and software necessary to transmit / receive a signal such as a control signal or a data signal through a wired / wireless connection with another network device such as the navigation server 100. For example, the communication unit 310 may include a local communication unit or a mobile communication unit. A short-range wireless communication unit includes a Bluetooth communication unit, a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication unit, a near field communication unit, a WLAN communication unit, a Zigbee communication unit, Data Association) communication unit, a WFD (Wi-Fi Direct) communication unit, an UWB (ultra wideband) communication unit, an Ant + communication unit, and the like. The mobile communication unit transmits and receives radio signals to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. Here, the wireless signal may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal, or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The memory 320 temporarily or permanently stores the data processed by the control unit 350 or temporarily or permanently stores the content data transmitted to the indoor navigation device 300. Herein, the memory 320 may include magnetic storage media or flash storage media, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The input / output unit 330 may include a display unit and an input unit. Here, the display unit may display the indoor map and display the direction so as to guide the user's movement path on the map. Meanwhile, when the display unit and the touch pad have a layer structure and are configured as a touch screen, the display unit can be used as an input device in addition to the output device. The display unit may include a liquid crystal display, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, a flexible display, a three-dimensional display, And an electrophoretic display.

The input unit means means for the user to input data for controlling the serialized content data display device. For example, the input unit may include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (contact type capacitance type, pressure type resistive film type, infrared ray detection type, surface ultrasonic wave conduction type, A piezo effect method, etc.), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like, but is not limited thereto. The input unit may obtain a user input. For example, the input unit can acquire a user event on a map, a scroll input, a direction key input, and a touch input with a motion having a predetermined direction.

The program storage unit 340 includes an operation of receiving indoor map data from the navigation server 100, an operation of displaying indoor map data on the input / output unit 330 of the indoor navigation device 300, an operation of inputting / 330, and the like.

The control unit 350 controls the entire process of guiding the route in the indoor navigation device 300 as a kind of central processing unit. That is, the control unit 350 drives the control software installed in the program storage unit 340 and controls the QR code recognition unit 360 to acquire data including the QR code. The first information extraction unit 370, Extracts first information stored in the QR code by decoding the obtained data, and controls the second information extracting unit 380 to obtain relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit from the obtained data And extracting the second information including the second information.

Here, the control unit 350 may include all kinds of devices capable of processing data, such as a processor. Herein, the term " processor " may refer to a data processing apparatus embedded in hardware, for example, having a circuit physically structured to perform a function represented by a code or an instruction contained in the program. As an example of the data processing apparatus built in hardware, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) circuit, and a field programmable gate array (FPGA), but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, the indoor navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention coordinates the interior of the building, captures the QR code with the indoor navigation device, and displays the user's travel route using the direction information of the indoor navigation device and the QR code . This will be described in more detail as follows.

A typical method of conventional indoor positioning is Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi). It is generally known to have a low level of technical difficulty, and Wi-Fi is also known as the most common technology because it is embedded in most mobile devices. Indoor positioning techniques using WiFi are largely classified into "triangulation" and "fingerprinting" techniques. Triangulation techniques measure RSS (Received Signal Strength) from three or more APs, convert the signal to distance, and then calculate by solving simple equations. However, it does not work well when using triangulation techniques indoors. The reason for this is that since the signal is attenuated and reflected by the walls and obstacles of the indoor space, errors are generated when the intensity of the signal is converted into the distance.

Meanwhile, Bluetooth low energy (BLE) included in Bluetooth is a representative technology that can be applied to indoor positioning. Most smart phones support BLE, so there is a great expectation in the future. Typical techniques include proximity techniques that use beacons to generate signals. Proximity technique is a technique that estimates that a beacon is in a position where a beacon is present when a beacon generates a very weak signal and the user receives a signal close to the beacon. This method is becoming more popular because of its miniaturization of beacon and its long-term operation with battery, which makes it possible to attach to various places in the indoor space. However, since the beacon signal reaching range is short, when an indoor location is desired in an entire airport or a large shopping mall, there is a problem that a huge amount of beacons must be installed.

In order to solve such problems, an indoor navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention coordinates a room of a building, photographs a QR code with an indoor navigation device, and uses the relative direction information of the indoor navigation device and the QR code And guiding the movement path of the user.

Here, the indoor navigation device 300 can be applied in the form of a smart phone on which a QR code recognition application is carried and carried by a user, can be applied to a computer device connected to the Internet by installing QR code recognition software, It can also be applied to a QR code recognition device. The present invention is not limited by such a configuration. The indoor navigation device 300 may include a camera module or an optical scanning module capable of recognizing an external QR code.

In detail, the QR code is a kind of two-dimensional code and has been developed primarily as a "code easy to recognize". While the bar code has information in only one direction, the QR code can be recorded by having information in two directions This is a code that dramatically increases the amount of information. Two-dimensional codes such as PDF417, DataMatrix and Maxi Code are being developed. Such a two-dimensional code can contain not only characters but also sound, photographs, and image information, and can be displayed on a scanner to display product information or be linked to an input web site.

The QR code recognition unit 360 acquires data including the QR code. In one embodiment, the QR code recognition unit 360 converts a surrounding image including the QR code acquired through the camera module into a grayscale image in units of pixels, and calculates a distribution according to the brightness of each pixel with respect to the grayscale image , The pixels having the brightness value density level equal to or greater than the threshold value are extracted based on the histogram and set as the candidate pixel group. Then, a recognition point is found through the recognition marker for the set candidate pixel group, If the points are recognized, they can be recognized as QR codes.

The first information extracting unit 370 decodes the data obtained from the QR code and extracts the first information stored in the QR code. Here, the first information may be a concept similar to conventional information stored in a conventional QR code and transmitted to a user terminal. However, according to various embodiments of the present invention, the first information may also not coincide with the information stored in the conventional QR code. For example, the first information includes a plurality of data that can be provided according to relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit 360 according to a condition-based method, which is an embodiment of the present invention, It can be differentiated from the information stored in the conventional QR code.

The second information extracting unit 380 extracts second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit 360 from the obtained data. The second information is information extracted to provide different information according to relative direction information so as to greatly improve the range and function of the existing QR code. Among the information, the relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit 360 can be used to determine the position of the user based on the QR code and the angle information between the user having the indoor navigation device 300, Information, and is represented by a normal vector and a direction vector.

The normal vector corresponds to an angle formed by the plane including the QR code and the plane including the camera sensor of the QR code recognition unit 360. The direction vector is a direction in which the QR code is located in the plane including the QR code .

The route guidance control unit 390 guides the route to the user using the second information including the relative direction information between the QR code extracted by the second information extracting unit 380 and the QR code recognizing unit 360 .

In other words, if the indoor navigation device 300 captures a QR code installed all over the room in order to know the direction to which the user should go while moving in the coordinateized room, the QR code recognition unit 360 may include a QR code The first information extracting unit 370 extracts the first information stored in the QR code by decoding the data obtained from the QR code and the second information extracting unit 380 extracts And extracts second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit 360 from the data. Then, the route guidance control unit compares the current moving direction of the user with the destination from the second information, and guides the user in the direction to be taken.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, the position of the indoor navigation device 300 indicates a current position when a QR code installed at an intersection of a room where a current user is coordinate is scanned. At this time, when the angle at which the user scans the QR code is 0 to 45 degrees, the current arrow points upward in Fig. That is, the user is currently moving in the direction of the arrow, and at this time, it is possible to recognize that the destination D is located to the left of the movement path of the user. The user will then be able to change direction because he knows he needs to move to the current left.

According to the present invention as described above, first, since each point in a room is coordinateized and a QR code is used, it is not necessary to install a device separately, and it is possible to obtain an effect that no cost is incurred. Second, it is possible to provide accurate information from the current position to a desired destination by coordinateing the indoor position. Third, the three points containing information in the QR code are recognized separately, and the current position and direction of the user can be recognized differently according to the angle of the scan.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an indoor navigation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in step S110, the QR code recognizing unit acquires data including a QR code (step S110). The first information extracting unit extracts, from the obtained data, Extracting second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit from the obtained data by a second information extracting unit (step S130) ), And providing the moving direction to the predetermined destination by using the extracted second information by the route guidance control unit (step S140).

First, data including a QR code is acquired by a QR code recognition unit (step S110). In one embodiment, the QR code recognition unit 360 converts a surrounding image including the QR code acquired through the camera module into a grayscale image in units of pixels, and calculates a distribution according to the brightness of each pixel with respect to the grayscale image , The pixels having the brightness value density level equal to or greater than the threshold value are extracted based on the histogram and set as the candidate pixel group. Then, a recognition point is found through the recognition marker for the set candidate pixel group, If the points are recognized, they can be recognized as QR codes.

Next, the first information extracting unit extracts first information stored in the QR code from the obtained data (step S120). The first information extracting unit 370 decodes the data obtained from the QR code and extracts the first information stored in the QR code. Here, the first information may be a concept similar to conventional information stored in a conventional QR code and transmitted to a user terminal. However, according to various embodiments of the present invention, the first information may also not coincide with the information stored in the conventional QR code. For example, the first information includes a plurality of data that can be provided according to relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit 360 according to a condition-based method, which is an embodiment of the present invention, It can be differentiated from the information stored in the conventional QR code.

Next, the second information extracting unit extracts second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit from the obtained data (step S130). The second information extracting unit 380 extracts second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit 360 from the obtained data. The second information is information extracted to provide different information according to relative direction information so as to greatly improve the range and function of the existing QR code. Among the information, the relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit 360 can be used to determine the position of the user based on the QR code and the angle information between the user having the indoor navigation device 300, Information, and is represented by a normal vector and a direction vector.

Next, the route guidance control unit provides the direction of movement to the predetermined destination using the extracted second information (step S140). In other words, if the indoor navigation device 300 captures a QR code installed all over the room in order to know the direction to which the user should go while moving in the coordinateized room, the QR code recognition unit 360 may include a QR code The first information extracting unit 370 extracts the first information stored in the QR code by decoding the data obtained from the QR code and the second information extracting unit 380 extracts And extracts second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit 360 from the data. Then, the route guidance control unit compares the current moving direction of the user with the destination from the second information, and guides the user in the direction to be taken.

The embodiments of the present invention described above can be embodied in the form of a computer program that can be executed on various components on a computer, and the computer program can be recorded on a computer-readable medium. At this time, the medium may be a magnetic medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, an optical recording medium such as CD-ROM and DVD, a magneto-optical medium such as a floptical disk, , A RAM, a flash memory, and the like, which are specifically configured to store and execute program instructions. Further, the medium may include an intangible medium that is implemented in a form that can be transmitted over a network, and may be, for example, a medium in the form of software or an application that can be transmitted and distributed through a network.

Meanwhile, the computer program may be designed and configured specifically for the present invention or may be known and used by those skilled in the computer software field. Examples of computer programs may include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that may be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

The specific acts described in the present invention are, by way of example, not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. For brevity of description, descriptions of conventional electronic configurations, control systems, software, and other functional aspects of such systems may be omitted. Also, the connections or connecting members of the lines between the components shown in the figures are illustrative of functional connections and / or physical or circuit connections, which may be replaced or additionally provided by a variety of functional connections, physical Connection, or circuit connections. Also, unless explicitly mentioned, such as "essential "," importantly ", etc., it may not be a necessary component for application of the present invention.

Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and all ranges that are equivalent to or equivalent to the claims of the present invention as well as the claims .

1: Indoor navigation system
100: Navigation server
300: Indoor navigation device
400: communication network

Claims (11)

A QR code recognition unit for acquiring data including a QR code;
A first information extracting unit for extracting first information stored in the QR code from the obtained data;
A second information extracting unit for extracting second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognizing unit from the obtained data; And
And a route guidance controller for providing a moving direction to a predetermined destination using the second information extracted by the second information extracting unit,
Wherein the first information includes data to be provided based on direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit according to a condition based method,
The second information is information extracted for providing different information according to the relative direction information,
Wherein the relative direction information is represented by a normal vector and a direction vector as angle information between the user and the QR code having the indoor navigation apparatus, and the normal vector includes a plane including the QR code and a camera sensor of the QR code recognition unit Wherein the direction vector is a vector corresponding to a direction in which the QR code is located in a plane including the QR code. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the route guidance control unit compares the current moving direction of the user with the destination from the second information extracted by the second information extracting unit and guides the user in a direction to be taken. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the second information extracting unit extracts a current moving direction of the user according to an angle at which the QR code is scanned. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a communication unit for receiving the indoor map data from the navigation server,
Wherein the indoor map data are coordinates of respective points in the room. delete Acquiring data including a QR code by a QR code recognition unit;
Extracting first information stored in the QR code from the acquired data by a first information extracting unit;
Extracting second information including relative direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit from the acquired data by a second information extraction unit; And
And providing a moving direction to a predetermined destination using the extracted second information by a route guidance control unit,
Wherein the first information includes data to be provided based on direction information between the QR code and the QR code recognition unit according to a condition based method,
The second information is information extracted for providing different information according to the relative direction information,
Wherein the relative direction information is represented by a normal vector and a direction vector as angle information between the user and the QR code having the indoor navigation apparatus, and the normal vector includes a plane including the QR code and a camera sensor of the QR code recognition unit Wherein the direction vector is a vector corresponding to a direction in which the QR code is located in a plane including the QR code. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the route guidance control unit compares the current moving direction of the user with the destination from the second information extracted by the second information extracting unit and guides the direction the user should take. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the second information extracting unit extracts the current moving direction of the user according to the angle at which the QR code is scanned. The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising a communication unit for receiving the indoor map data from the navigation server,
Wherein the indoor map data is coordinates of points in a room. delete A computer program stored on a medium for executing a method of any one of claims 6 to 9 using a computer.

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