# US 12,118,761 B2 · Information processing apparatus and information processing method

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- Number: US 12,118,761 B2
- Document ID: US12118761B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/617,705
- Filed: 2020-06-25
- Published: 2022-07-28
- Granted: 2024-10-15
- Earliest claimed: 2019-06-27
- Assignees: Ntt Docomo, Inc.
- Applicants: Ntt Docomo, Inc.
- Inventors: Tomoe Ushiro; Naoki Kameyama; Yuichiro Segawa; Yasuhiro Kitamura
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12118761B2

## CPC

- G05D 1/0088: {characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours (using knowledge based models G06N5/00)}
- G06V 20/17: taken from planes or by drones
- A01K 29/002: {for monitoring or measuring size or weight of the animal, e.g. monitoring growth}
- A01K 29/005: {Monitoring or measuring activity}
- G05D 1/101: {specially adapted for aircraft}
- G05D 1/46: Control of position or course in three dimensions [3D]
- G06V 40/10: Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
- G06V 40/103: {Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition}
- H04N 5/222: Studio circuitry; Studio devices; Studio equipment (cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00)
- B64U 10/13: Flying platforms
- B64U 2101/31: for surveillance
- Y02A 40/70: in livestock or poultry
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- A01K: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- B64U: UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

## Abstract

Server apparatus, by controlling aerial vehicle, causes aerial vehicle to fly within a close range of an animal group, and causes aerial vehicle to capture images of the animal group. Aerial vehicle transmits captured image data to server apparatus via communication network, and server apparatus checks a health state of animals of the animal group using the captured image data with a method such as image analysis. Server apparatus performs machine learning using position information history of wireless terminals attached to animals (that is, a movement history of the animal group), specifies an area for checking the state of the animal group, and causes aerial vehicle to fly to the specified area and to capture images of the animal group.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to:
estimate a movement route of an animal group and specify a checking area and a timing that satisfies a predetermined condition based on an estimated density of animals in the animal group and on a movement history of the animal group;
perform control such that an aerial vehicle that captures images of the animal group is caused to fly to the checking area at the timing specified by the processor;
specify the checking area in which the animals of the animal group of a threshold number or more are facing in the same direction based on a movement direction specified from the movement history of the animal group; and
cause the aerial vehicle to fly in a direction directly facing the animal group in the checking area specified by the processor so as to capture faces of the animals.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to specify the checking area and a time within which the animal group remains in the checking area based on the movement history of the animal group, and perform control such that the aerial vehicle is caused to fly so as to arrive at the checking area specified by the processor at the time specified by the processor.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to specify the checking area based on information of a weather history corresponding to when the animal group moved in addition to the movement history of the animal group.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to specify the checking area based on a difference between the movement route of the animal group that was estimated based on the movement history of the animal group and latest position information of the animal group.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to specify the checking area further based on image capturing conditions when the aerial vehicle captures the images of the animal group.

### Claim 6

An information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to:
estimate a movement route of an animal group and specify a checking area and a timing that satisfies a predetermined condition based on an estimated density of animals in the animal group and on a movement history of the animal group;
perform control such that an aerial vehicle that captures images of the animal group is caused to fly to the checking area at the timing specified by the processor;
extract images of individual animals of the animal group, that behave independently from the animal group in a first checking area in which a state of the animal group was checked;
specify a second checking area in which the state of the extracted individual animals is checked; and
perform control such that the aerial vehicle is caused to fly to the first checking area and second checking area that were specified by the processor.

### Claim 7

An information processing method comprising:
estimating a movement route of an animal group and specifying a checking area and a timing that satisfies a predetermined condition based on an estimated density of animals in the animal group and on a movement history of the animal group;
performing control such that an aerial vehicle that captures images of the animal group is caused to fly to the checking area at the time specified;
specifying the checking area in which animals of the animal group of a threshold number or more are facing in the same direction based on a movement direction specified from the movement history of the animal group; and
causing the aerial vehicle to fly in a direction directly facing the animal group in the checking area specified so as to capture faces of the animals.

### Claim 8

An information processing method comprising:
estimating a movement route of an animal group and specify a checking area and a timing that satisfies a predetermined condition based on an estimated density of animals in the animal group and on a movement history of the animal group;
performing control such that an aerial vehicle that captures images of the animal group is caused to fly to the checking area at the timing specified by the processor;
extracting images of individual animals of the animal group, that behave independently from the animal group in a first checking area in which a state of the animal group was checked;
specifying a second checking area in which the state of the extracted individual animals is checked; and
performing control such that the aerial vehicle is caused to fly to the first checking area and second checking area that were specified.