JP2003341599A - Information presenting device and information presenting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information presenting system for effectively presenting information. <P>SOLUTION: When a base station 91 detects an information presented person 93, the base station 91 instructs a flying robot 90 to take an assigned position and attitude. The robot 90 performs flying to take a designated position and attitude. The robot 90 is provided with an arrow as an information presenting means. The position and attitude of the robot 90 are controlled by the base station 91, whereby the system presents the information of arrow direction to the information presented person 93. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information presenting apparatus and an information presenting system, and more particularly to an information presenting apparatus and an information presenting system capable of effectively presenting information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, due to the development of display technology,
Various displays are used as information presenting devices for presenting information such as advertisements.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a specific example of a conventional information presenting apparatus. The conventional information presentation device has a support structure such as a support as shown in FIG. Alternatively,
As in the general electronic bulletin board shown in FIG. 31 (b), the support mode was added to a structure such as a building.

In addition, a structure itself that floats by buoyancy, such as a balloon, an airship, or an ad balloon, or an information presenting portion added to the structure, so that it can float at a position where there are few obstacles or the frequency of visual recognition is high. In recent years, many information presenting devices have been used for presenting information such as advertisements by moving to a position where is expected. For example, JP-A-200
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-6784 discloses a floating robot which is an information presenting device that combines a conventional airship and a projector.

[0005]

However, since the above-described information presenting apparatus that requires support requires a support structure such as a support column or a structure, the size of the information presenting portion depends on the size and rigidity of the support structure. There was a problem that it was limited by. Further, since such an information presenting device occupies a predetermined area, it can be arranged only in the real estate owned by the information presenter. Therefore, the position is almost fixed, and there is a problem that more effective information presentation cannot be performed. In addition, in order to use it for a temporary use such as guidance to the venue of an event, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the manager of the land where the information presenting device is arranged. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time and effort.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned information presenting device of the type that floats or flies avoids this problem because it does not occupy an area on the ground. In the case of presenting information by using the floating robot disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-6784, there is an advantage in this respect.

However, since the buoyancy is proportional to the volume, the information presenting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-6784 requires a floating portion having a predetermined size or more. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is not suitable for use in a situation such as a height of a line of sight of a human being, a building or a general shopping street, and it is impossible to effectively present information.

[0008] For example, of the generally used radio-controlled unmanned airships, the smallest one has a length of about 3 m. For this reason, for example, at a height of 1 to 2 m above the ground, which is most likely to be caught by human eyes, there are many obstacles, and it is almost impossible to use such an unmanned airship for information presentation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an information presenting apparatus and an information presenting system which can effectively present information without occupying an area. To do.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an information presenting device is an information presenting device including information presenting means for presenting information, and performs flapping flight. It is characterized in that it is provided with a levitation means for levitation.

Further, it is preferable that the information presenting device further comprises a position obtaining means for obtaining the position of the information presenting device, and the information presenting means controls the presentation of information according to the obtained position.

Further, it is preferable that the information presenting device further comprises a posture obtaining means for obtaining the posture of the information presenting device, and the information presenting means controls the presentation of information according to the obtained posture.

Further, it is desirable that the information presenting device further comprises first control means for controlling the position of the information presenting device according to the information presented by the information presenting device.

Further, it is preferable that the information presenting device further comprises second control means for controlling the attitude of the information presenting device according to the information presented by the information presenting device.

Further, in the information presenting apparatus, it is desirable that the above-mentioned levitation means and information presenting means be controlled independently.

Further, it is desirable that the straight line connecting the above-mentioned information presenting means and the information presented person to be presented with information is located in the region where the moving volume density of the levitation means is the lowest.

Further, it is desirable that the above-mentioned information presenting means presents information by using a floating means.

Further, it is desirable that the above information presenting means presents information by controlling the visual state of the floating means.

Further, it is desirable that the above-mentioned information presenting means presents information by controlling the reflectance as a visual state.

Further, it is desirable that the above-mentioned information presenting means presents information by controlling light emission as a visual state.

Further, it is preferable that the information presenting device further comprises a diffusing means for diffusing the emitted light in the floating means.

Further, the levitation means has a plurality of visual states which are different for each part of the levitation means, and the information presenting means presents information by controlling the posture of the information presenting apparatus with respect to the information presenter. It is desirable to do.

Further, it is desirable that the above-mentioned levitation means have different visual states on the front and back of the levitation means, and the information presenting means presents information by controlling the front and back of the levitation means directed to the information presented person.

Further, it is desirable that the above information presenting means presents information by combining a plurality of the information presenting devices.

Further, it is desirable that the above information presenting means presents information at a height corresponding to the position of human eyes.

Further, it is desirable that the above-mentioned information presenting means presents information by changing the manner of flapping flight by controlling the levitation means.

Further, it is desirable that the information presenting device further comprises a sound producing means for producing a sound.

Further, it is preferable that the above-mentioned sounding means changes the sound in accordance with the change in the manner of the flapping flight.

Further, it is preferable that the information presenting device further comprises an obtaining means for obtaining a physical quantity, and the information presenting means presents information according to the obtained physical quantity.

Further, it is preferable that the information presenting device further comprises a detecting means for detecting a human body, and the information presenting means presents information when the human body is detected by the detecting means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an information presentation system includes the above-mentioned information presentation device and an energy replenishment device for replenishing the information presentation device with driving energy.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,
The information presentation system is the above-described information presentation device, and includes an information presentation device further including a communication unit, and a control device that communicates with the information presentation device and controls one or more information presentation devices.

Further, it is preferable that the information presentation system further comprises an acquisition means for acquiring a physical quantity, and the control device controls the information presentation apparatus according to the acquired physical quantity.

Further, it is desirable that the information presentation system further comprises a detection means for detecting the human body, and the control device controls the information presentation device according to the information of the human body detected by the detection means.

[0035]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.
-Embodiment of 3rd invention is demonstrated. In the following description, the same parts and components are designated by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

[First Embodiment] An information presentation system (hereinafter, simply referred to as a system) according to the first embodiment is a fluttering flight robot which is an information presentation device for providing predetermined information, and controls the same. And a base station that Below, the system of this implementation is
The description will be given assuming that the system is an information presentation system that provides direction guidance. More specifically, the description will be made assuming that the present invention is an information presenting device that presents an arrow-shaped figure at a height about the line of sight of a human being, that is, an information presenting person, and an information presenting system using the same.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the system according to the present embodiment exchanges information with a fluttering flying robot (hereinafter simply referred to as a robot) 90 having an information presenting unit, which is arranged in a work space 92. And a base station 91 that operates.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned system will be specifically described. When the base station 91 detects the information-presented person 93, the base station 91 instructs the robot 90 to orient at a predetermined position. The robot 90 that receives the instruction positions at the designated position.
The robot 90 is provided with arrow-shaped figures as information presenting means. By controlling the position and orientation of the robot 90 by the base station 91, this system
Information indicating the direction of the arrow is presented to the information-presented person 93.

Next, the robot 90 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main configuration of the robot 90 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the robot 90 has a support structure 1 as a main structure, on which each component is arranged.

More specifically, the right actuator 21 and the left actuator 22 are fixed to the upper portion of the support structure 1. The right wing 31 is attached to the right actuator 21,
Left wing 32 is attached to left actuator 22. The configuration of each wing 31 and 32 will be described later in detail.

An electrode 61 is arranged below the support structure 1. Each of the actuators 21 and 22 rotates the blades 31 and 32 attached thereto with three degrees of freedom about the fulcrum of the actuators 21 and 22 as a center. The rotation of each actuator 21 and 22 is controlled by the control device 4 mounted on the support structure 1. The detailed structure of each actuator 21 and 22 will be described later.

The center of gravity O of the robot 90 in the state shown in FIG.
Is vertically below the midpoint A0 of the rotation center.

Further, the support structure 1 includes an acceleration sensor 5
1, an angular acceleration sensor 52, and a pyroelectric infrared sensor 53 for detecting a human body are mounted.

Further, a communication device 7 is arranged on the support structure 1. The communication device 7 transmits and receives information to and from the base station 91.

The control device 4 detects the floating state of the robot 90 based on the information sent from the acceleration sensor 51 and the angular acceleration sensor 52.

Further, the above-mentioned communication device 7 transmits the information held by the control device 4 to the base station 91. Further, the communication device 7 receives the instruction signal from the base station 91.

The control device 4 calculates the operating parameters of the actuators 21 and 22 in accordance with the instruction signal received from the base station 91, and determines the drive.

Further, the support structure 1 is provided with an arrow mark 8 as an information presenting means. The arrow mark 8 is arranged on the upper portion of the support structure 1 in which the wings 31 or 32 do not block the line of sight from the information-presented person 93 in consideration of visibility.

The left and right actuators 21 and 2 described above
2, control device 4, sensors 51 to 53, and communication device 7
The power supply for driving the is supplied by the power supply 6. Power supply 6
Is a secondary battery and is charged by electric power supplied via the electrode 61. The electrode 61 also serves as a positioning pin. Therefore, the robot 90 can be localized in a positioning hole (not shown) of the base station 91 in a predetermined posture.

Although FIG. 2 shows that the electrode 61 is composed of two pins, a positive electrode and a negative electrode, it is composed of three or more pins including those for detecting the state of charge. It may be configured.

Next, the above-mentioned support structure 1 will be described in more detail. It is desirable that the support structure 1 be sufficiently lightweight while ensuring mechanical strength. In the support structure 1 for the robot 90 in the present embodiment, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) shaped into a substantially spherical shell is used.

It should be noted that support legs may be arranged below the support structure 1 so as not to fall when grounded. Also, the support structure 1
The material and shape are not limited to the above materials and the shape shown in FIG. 2 as long as they do not impair flight performance.

As mentioned above, the material of the support structure 1 is
Light weight and high rigidity are desirable. So, for example,
It is also possible to use a composite material in which an organic substance such as chitosan used in organisms such as crabs and shrimps and an inorganic substance such as silica gel are hybridized at the molecular level. By using the composite material, the optimal composition value originally possessed by living organisms, which is provided in the exoskeleton such as crab and shrimp, is light and strong, and is easy to shape, is directly applied to the support structure 1. Can be diverted. Further, the above-mentioned composite material is a desirable material because it is less harmful to the environment. Furthermore, the support structure 1 having high rigidity can be constructed by using calcium carbonate, which is a material of the shell, instead of the above-mentioned chitosan.

Further, the arrangement and shape of the actuators 21 and 22 and the wings 31 and 32 are not limited to those shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the floating stability of the robot 90 is particularly important, that is, the position of the center of gravity O is set to the wings 31 and so that the robot 90 naturally assumes the posture shown in FIG. 32 mechanical action center points (center A of rotation center A
It is located below the position 0). However, the center of gravity O
It is better to match the position of the mechanical action point (the center point A0 of the rotation center) with the left and right wings 3 required for posture control of the robot 90.
Since the difference between the fluid forces of 1 and 32 can be minimized, the posture of the robot 90 can be easily changed. Therefore, the form of the robot 90 is the center of gravity O described above.
Is not limited to a position below the position of the mechanical action center point of the wings 31 and 32, and the position of the center of gravity O and the position of the mechanical action point may be different depending on the purpose of presenting information in this system. It is also conceivable to design in such a manner as to agree with each other, that is, to give priority to ease of posture control.

Next, the structure and operation of the wings 31 and 32 of the robot 90 will be described below.

Here, for convenience of explanation, the coordinate system in FIG. 2 is defined. First, the approximate center of the support structure 1 is the origin. The direction of gravitational acceleration is downward and the opposite is upward. Define the z-axis from the origin upwards.

Next, the direction connecting the shape center of the right actuator 21 and the shape center of the left actuator 22 is defined as the left-right direction, and the y-axis is defined from the origin toward the left wing 32. Further, the x axis is defined as the outer product direction in the right-handed system of the y axis and the z axis from the origin, and hereinafter, this is referred to as the front and the opposite direction is referred to as the rear.

Further, in FIG. 2, the robot 90 has a right wing 3
Mechanical action point A1 for the right actuator 21 of No. 1
And a center of gravity A of the left wing 32 with respect to the mechanical action point A2 of the left actuator 22, the center of gravity O of the present apparatus is located on a line lowered in the direction of gravity acceleration. In the present embodiment, the rotor 229 (not shown) of the left actuator has a substantially spherical shape, and the left wing 32
The left wing 32 is arranged so that the ball center of the rotor 229 is located on the extension line of the main shaft 321 of FIG. The mechanical action point A2 on the left actuator 22 and the fulcrum of the rotational movement of the main shaft 321 coincide with the spherical center of the rotor 229. The same applies to the right actuator 21.

Thereafter, the above-mentioned x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis are assumed to be the coordinate system specific to the robot 90 of the present embodiment, which is fixed to the support structure 1 in the state shown in FIG. Explain.

On the other hand, with respect to the fixed coordinate system of the robot 90, the x'axis, the y'axis and the z'axis are defined as spatial coordinates having an origin fixed at an arbitrary point fixed in space. As a result, the work space 92 in which the robot 90 moves
The coordinates of are represented by using the respective coordinates of the x ′ axis, the y ′ axis, and the z ′ axis, and the unique coordinates of the robot 90 are represented by the respective coordinates of the x axis, the y axis, and the z axis. expressed.

Next, the structure of the wings 31 and 32 will be described. The left wing 32 is provided with a support member composed of a main shaft 321 and a branch 322 extending in a branch shape from the main shaft 321, and a membrane 3
It is formed by stretching 23. The main shaft 321 is the left wing 32.
In, at the position from the front. Also, the branch 322
Goes downward (the farther it is from the main axis 321). Further, the left wing 32 has an upwardly convex cross-sectional shape. This allows the left wing 32 to have high rigidity with respect to the force received from the fluid, particularly when the left wing 32 is lowered.

The main shaft 321 and the branches 322 have a hollow structure of carbon graphite for weight reduction. Further, the film 323 has a spontaneous tension in the direction in which it contracts in the plane, and functions to increase the rigidity of the entire left wing 32.

The numerical values used in the experiments by the present inventors are as follows. The diameter of the main shaft 321 of the left wing 32 is 100 at the base portion supported by the support structure 1.
μm, 50 μm at the tip, and the main shaft 321 has a taper shape that becomes thinner from the root toward the tip. The material of the film 323 is polyimide, and the size of the film 323 is about 1 cm in the front-rear direction, about 4 cm in the left-right direction, and the thickness is about 2 μm.

Further, the structure of the specific left wing 32 described above will be illustrated. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of the left wing 32. The left wing 32 shown in FIG.
21 is shown with its thickness enlarged. The right wing 31 (not shown) is attached to the support structure 1 so as to be mirror-symmetrical to the left wing 32 across the xz plane.

Note that the shapes and materials of the wings 31 and 32 shown here are one of the specific examples, and the configurations of the wings 31 and 32 that realize the flight function are the same as those shown here. Not limited.

Next, regarding the operation of the wings 31 and 32,
The left wing 32 will be described as an example. Left actuator 22
Can move the left wing 32 with three degrees of freedom of rotation. That is, the driving state of the left wing 32 is represented by that posture. Here, for convenience of the following description, the posture of the left wing 32 is defined as follows based on the state shown in FIG. 4 and 5 are a first diagram and a second diagram for showing the posture of the left wing 32.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, a fulcrum (dynamic action point A2) of the rotational movement of the main shaft 321 and axes (// x, // y) respectively parallel to the x-axis and the y-axis are included. The angle formed by the line segment connecting the point A2 and the root of the main shaft 321 of the left wing 32 with the plane with reference to a plane parallel to the xy plane is the fluttering stroke angle θ. In addition, a point parallel to the yz plane including the fulcrum (dynamic action point A2) of the rotational movement of the main shaft 321 and the axes (/ y, // z) parallel to the y-axis and the z-axis, respectively, is used as a reference point. A2 and spindle 3 of left wing 32
The angle formed by the line segment connecting the root of 21 with the plane is the declination α
And

At this time, the stroke angle θ is positive above the plane parallel to the xy plane and negative below the plane. The argument α is positive in front of the plane parallel to the yz plane,
Negative behind.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the tangent plane p1 of the film 323 at the root of the main shaft 321 of the left wing 32 is point A.
The angle formed by a plane p0 including the main axis 321 and an axis (// x) that passes through 2 and is parallel to the x-axis is a twist angle β. At this time, the twist angle β is positive in the clockwise direction when viewed from the root of the main shaft 321 toward the tip.

Next, the actuators 21 and 22 will be described. The actuators 21 and 22 in the present embodiment are driven by a traveling wave generated by using a piezoelectric element (piezo) because of large torque, easy reciprocating motion, and simple structure. An actuator generally called an ultrasonic motor is used.

First, a general ultrasonic motor will be examined. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a general ultrasonic motor 23.

Referring to FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 6A, the ultrasonic motor 23 has projections 232 to 232 on an aluminum disc 231 having a piezoelectric element 230 attached to its lower surface.
237 are arranged in six places so as to form a regular hexagon with the center of the disk 231 as the center of gravity, and electrodes 238 divided into 12 in the circumferential direction are arranged on the lower surface of the piezoelectric element 230.

Further, an outline of the structure of the ultrasonic motor 23 is shown in FIG. 6 (b). Every other electrode of the 12-divided electrode 238 is electrically short-circuited, and a voltage is applied to each of the electrodes 238 with the disk 231 as a reference. That is, two different phases of voltage are applied to the piezoelectric element 230. This state is separately shown in FIG. 6C for hatching and black painting. By applying a voltage to each of these in different temporal patterns, a traveling wave is generated on the disk 231 and the tips of the protrusions 232 to 237 perform an elliptical motion.

An example of specific numerical values of the general ultrasonic motor 23 used for the above examination will be given.

The torque of the ultrasonic motor 23 is 1.0 gf.
In cm, the unloaded rotation speed is 800 rpm. The maximum current consumption at that time is 20 mA. The diameter of the disk 231 is 8 mm, and the interval where the protrusions 232 to 237 are arranged is 2 mm. The thickness of the disc 231 is 0.4
mm, the height of the protrusion is about 0.4 mm. The drive frequency of the piezoelectric element 230 in this case is 341 kHz.

A stator can be constructed using the general ultrasonic motor 23 described above. This stator conveys a rotor 239 (not shown) arranged in contact with the stator by the elliptic movement of the tips of the above-mentioned projections 232 to 237.

In the robot 90 of this embodiment,
The actuators 21 and 22 that utilize the above-mentioned stator portion are used.

Next, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the right actuator 21. Referring to FIG. 7, the right actuator 21 has a spherical shell-shaped rotor 219 as shown in FIG. 7B.
Is sandwiched and held by a stator 210 and a bearing 211 similar to the above-mentioned stator. However, the contact portion of the stator 210 with the rotor 219 is
9 processed into a shape matching the surface.

The rotor 219 according to the present embodiment.
As a specific example of the size, the outer diameter is 3.1 mm and the inner diameter is 2.
The right wing main shaft 311 is arranged on the surface of a 9 mm spherical shell. Clockwise when viewed toward the surface of the stator 210 having the protrusion (hereinafter, this is called forward rotation, and the reverse rotation is referred to as reverse rotation).
When the operation of transporting the rotor 219 is performed, the right wing main shaft 311 moves in the direction of θ shown in FIG. 7B.

Further, in order to drive the above-mentioned rotor 219 with three degrees of freedom, the upper auxiliary stator 212 and the lower auxiliary stator 213 are shown in FIG. 7A together with the bearings 214 and 215 as well as the stator 210 and the bearing 211. To arrange. In the present embodiment, a specific example of the size of each auxiliary stator 212, 213 is 0.7 times that of the stator 210.

The driving directions of the above-mentioned stators are not always orthogonal. However, the combination of these movements allows the rotor 219 to be driven in three degrees of freedom in order to impart rotation to each independent element.

For example, with respect to the rotor 219, the upper auxiliary stator 212 rotates forward and the lower auxiliary stator 21 rotates.
If positive rotation is similarly given by 3, the rotor 219 rotates in the combined β direction. If the upper auxiliary stator 212 gives a reverse rotation and the lower auxiliary stator 213 gives a positive rotation, it rotates in the α direction.

In actual driving, performing two rotations with different rotation centers reduces efficiency due to friction. Therefore, for example, it is desirable to perform a driving method such that the upper auxiliary stator 212 and the lower auxiliary stator 213 are alternately operated in a very short period of time, during which the protrusions of the inactive stator do not contact the rotor 219. This is for all stator electrodes
By applying a voltage in the contracting direction of the piezoelectric element, it can be realized without adding a special component.

The actual driving frequency of the piezoelectric element is 30
Since the fluttering frequency is 0 kHz or more, which is sufficiently higher than the fluttering frequency of about 100 Hz at the most, even if the actuators 21 are alternately operated, a substantially smooth movement can be given to the right wing main shaft 311.

As described above, the actuators 21 and 22 having the three degrees of freedom and having the characteristics equivalent to those of the general ultrasonic motor 23 used in the above-described study are formed.

Since the amplitude of the traveling wave generated by the stator is on the order of submicron, the rotor 2 described above is
19 is required to be the sphericity of this order.
Since a parabolic mirror used in consumer optical products has a processing accuracy of several tens of nanometers, and an optical component used in an optical interferometer has a processing accuracy of several nanometers, such a rotor is It can be created with the current processing method and technology.

It should be noted that this is only one of the specific examples in which the actuators 21 and 22 for giving the movements of three degrees of freedom to the wings 31 and 32 in the present invention are constituted by ultrasonic motors, and the arrangement and size of each component, The material, the driving method, and the like are not limited to these as long as the physical functions required for flapping flight, such as torque, can be realized.

Needless to say, the wings 31 and 32
There is no particular limitation on the drive mechanism of the above and the types of the actuators 21 and 22 used to drive the wings 31 and 32. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-1695
Even with a fluttering mechanism or the like using a combination of an exoskeleton structure and a linear actuator as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 67, the operation of the wing 31 and 32 equivalent to the actuators 21 and 22 described above can be realized. .

Although electric power is used as driving energy, it is also possible to use an internal combustion engine. In addition, due to the physiological redox reaction found in insect muscles,
It is also possible to use an actuator that converts chemical energy into kinetic energy. For example, a method of using a muscle obtained from an insect as a linear actuator, or an artificial muscle of a composite material made by compounding amino acids of a protein of an insect muscle and an inorganic substance at a molecular level as a linear actuator, There is a method such as.

Further, it goes without saying that it is also possible to obtain a basic driving force with an actuator having high energy efficiency such as the above-mentioned internal combustion engine and use an actuator driven by electric power as a control or an auxiliary for these.

Next, a method of levitating the robot 90 will be described. Here, the force that the wings 31 and 32 receive from the fluid is referred to as the fluid force. Further, for the sake of simplicity of description, it is assumed that the air flow is in a state caused only by flapping, that is, in a windless state. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, the external force exerted on the robot 90 is the force acting on the wings 31 and 32 from the fluid,
That is, it is assumed that there are only fluid force and gravity.

In order for the robot 90 to constantly levitate, (sum of upward fluid forces exerted on the wings)> (robot 90) on average during one flapping motion.
Gravitational force).

Here, a method of flapping an insect in a simplified manner, that is, a method of making the fluid force at the time of landing larger than the fluid force at the time of launch will be described. For convenience of explanation, the behavior of the fluid or the force exerted by the fluid on the wings 31 and 32 will be described with reference to the main components thereof.
Further, the magnitude of the levitation force and gravity acting on the robot 90 due to this flapping method will be described later.

The wings 31 and 32 include the wings 31 and 32.
The fluid force acts in the direction opposite to the direction in which the moves. Therefore, when the wings 31 and 32 are downed, the wings 31 and 3 are
The upward fluid force acts on 2 and the downward fluid force acts on the wings 31 and 32 at the time of launch. Therefore, by increasing the fluid force at the time of the down stroke and decreasing the fluid force at the time of the launch, the upward direction is obtained when time-averaged between one flapping motion (the down motion and the launch motion are collectively called the flapping motion). Will be obtained.

For that purpose, first, the wing 3
If the down stroke is performed so that the volume of the space in which 1 and 32 move is maximized, almost the maximum fluid force acts on the wings 31 and 32. This corresponds to downing the wings 31 and 32 substantially perpendicular to the tangential plane of the wings 31 and 32.

On the other hand, when the launch is performed so that the volume of the space in which the wings 31 and 32 move is minimized, the wings 3
The hydrodynamic forces exerted on 1 and 32 are almost minimal. This is almost along the curve of the cross section of wings 31 and 32.
Equivalent to launching 1 and 32.

The operation of the wings 31 and 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 for the left wing 32 as an example. 8 and 9 are first and second sectional views of the left wing 32 perpendicular to the main shaft 321. FIG. 8 is a view showing a case where the left wing 32 is moved down so that the volume of the moving space is maximized, and FIG. 9 is a case where the left wing 32 is launched so that the volume of the moving space is minimized. FIG.

In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the position of the left wing 32 before the movement is shown by a broken line, and the position of the left wing 32 after the movement is shown by a solid line. Further, the moving direction of the left wing 32 is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line arrow. The fluid force acts on the left wing 32 in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the left wing 32, as indicated by the thick arrow in FIGS. 8 and 9.

In this way, the left wing 32 is adjusted so that the volume of the space in which the left wing 32 moves at the time of launch is larger than the volume of the space in which the left wing 32 moves at the time of landing.
By changing the posture of the left wing 32 with respect to the moving direction of the left wing 32, the fluid force in the upward direction acting on the left wing 32 is more than the gravity acting on the robot 90 in the time average during one flapping motion. Can be large.

In the robot 90 of this embodiment, the wings 31
The twist angle β of 32 and 32 is controllable. for that reason,
By changing the twist angle β with time, the above-described movement of the wings 31 and 32 is realized.

Specifically, following the flapping operation of the left wing 32 shown in FIGS.
S4 will be described. 10 to 13 are diagrams showing steps S1 to S4 of the flapping operation of the left wing 32.

First, referring to FIG. 10, in step S1, the left wing 32 is downed. At that time, the stroke angle θ of the left wing 32 changes from + θ0 to −θ0.

Next, referring to FIG. 11, in step S2, the first rotation operation of left wing 32 is performed. At this time, the twist angle β of the left wing 32 changes from β0 to β1.

Further, referring to FIG. 12, in step S3, the left wing 32 is launched (stroke angle θ = −θ0 → +
θ0 and twist angle β = β1 → β2 are performed. At this time, the stroke angle θ of the left wing 32 is −θ in order to perform the movement along the curved surface of the left wing 32 and minimize the fluid force.
It changes from 0 → to + θ0, and the twist angle β changes from β1 to β2.

Further, referring to FIG. 13, step S4
Then, the second rotation operation of the left wing 32 is performed. At this time, the twist angle β of the left wing 32 changes from β2 to β0.

The above-mentioned steps S1 and S3
At time average of the fluid force acting on the left wing 32 at
As described above, due to the difference in volume of the space in which the left wing 32 moves, an upward fluid force is exerted. The magnitude relationship between the vertical component of the upward fluid force and gravity will be described later.

Needless to say, in steps S2 and S4 as well, the time average of the fluid force acting on the left wing 32 is preferably the upward fluid force.

Here, the wings 31 and 32 of the robot 90 are
Then, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, in the vicinity of the leading edges of the wings 31 and 32, the center of rotation of the wings 31 and 32 (spindle 321).
Part) is located. That is, the length from the main shaft 321 to the rear edge of the wing 32 is longer than the length from the main shaft 321 to the front edge of the wing 32. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, in the rotation operation of the wing 32, in addition to the flow of the fluid generated along the rotation direction of the wing 32, the wing 32 moves along the direction from the main shaft 321 to the trailing edge of the wing 32. Fluid flow occurs.

Then, as a reaction of the flow of the fluid, a force opposite to the direction of the respective flow acts on the wings 31 and 32, and in the step S2 shown in FIG. The hydrodynamic force is applied to the left wing 32, as shown in FIG.
In step S4 shown in FIG. 3, the downward fluid force is mainly applied to the left wing 3.
Given to 2.

Further, in step S3 shown in FIG.
The launching operation is performed while changing the twist angle β of the left wing 32 from β1 to β2 along the curve of the cross section of the left wing 32. In addition, the left wing 3 in step S2 shown in FIG.
The rotation angle of 2 is larger than the rotation angle of the left wing 32 in step S4 shown in FIG. Thereby, step S2
Also in step S4, the fluid force acting upward on the left wing 32 overcomes the fluid force acting downward, and the fluid force upward acts on the left wing 32 on the time average.

10 to 13, the posture of the left wing 32 before the movement in each of steps S1 to S4 is shown by a wavy line, and the posture after the movement is shown by a solid line. Further, the moving direction of the left wing 32 in each of the steps S1 to S4 is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line arrow. Further, the flow of the fluid mainly generated in each of the steps S1 to S4 is indicated by the solid line arrow.

Next, FIG. 14 shows changes over time in the stroke angle θ and the twist angle β. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the values of the stroke angle θ and the twist angle β as a function of time. However, in FIG. 14, the ratios of the stroke angle θ and the twist angle β on the vertical axis are different.

The numerical values used in the experiments by the present inventors are as follows. θ0 is 60 °. β
0 is 0 °. β1 is −120 °. β2 is -7
It is 0 °.

Furthermore, in the above description, steps S1 to S4 are described as independent operations for the sake of simplicity of explanation, but in step S1 the left wing 32 is lowered while the twist angle of the left wing 32 is increased. Operation is also possible. Further, the above-described example is described from the most approximate consideration, and the fluttering method that can actually fly is not limited to the above-described example.

Although the left wing 32 has been described here, the same discussion can be applied to the right wing 31 by defining the stroke angle θ, the deflection angle α, and the twist angle β based on the left-handed system in a mirror-symmetrical manner with respect to the xz plane. Is established. Hereinafter, the upward fluid force acting on the wings 31 and 32 is referred to as the levitation force, and the wings 3
The forward fluid force acting on 1 and 32 is the propulsion force.

Next, the robot 90 according to the present embodiment.
A control method for causing the robot to perform an arbitrary motion will be described. Here, the stroke angle θ, the declination angle α, and the twist angle β based on the right-handed system are used for the left wing 32 of the robot in the present embodiment, and the left-handed system that is mirror-symmetrical with respect to the xz plane is used for the right wing 31. The wing posture is shown by using the stroke angle θ, the deviation angle α, and the twist angle β based on.

As described above, the levitation movement by flapping is
It is done by the fluid force on the wings. Therefore, the acceleration and angular acceleration given to the robot 90 are directly controlled by the movement of the wings.

First, let S be the difference between the target floating state and the current floating state. Let T (S) be a function that represents the conversion of the levitated state into acceleration and angular acceleration. Let s be acceleration and angular acceleration. Fα (s) is the acceleration sensor 5
1 and a function representing a control algorithm including the sensor response of the angular acceleration sensor 52. Let sα be the actuator control amount. Let Gw (sα) be a function representing the response between the actuators 21 and 22 and the wings 31 and 32. Let Sw be the movement of wings 31 and 32. Gfs (s
Let w) be a function representing the acceleration or angular acceleration Se exerted on the robot 90 by the movement of the wings 31 and 32. Let Se be the change of the levitated state performed by this series of processes. At that time, the process of obtaining the output Se from the input S is as shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a response in flapping motion control.

Further, referring to FIG. 15, in actuality, due to the inertial force between the wings 31 and 32 and the fluid, the motion Rw of the wings 31 and 32 up to the present and the influence depending on the time history of the motion of the fluid. Rfs is added to Gw and Gfs.

In addition to the method described above, there may be a method of accurately obtaining all the functions other than Fα and calculating the control algorithm Fα from which S = Se. However, this method requires the fluid flow around the robot 90 and the time history of the movement of the wings 31 and 32, and requires a huge amount of data and a calculation speed. Moreover, the coupled behavior of the fluid and the structure is complicated, and in many cases, a chaotic response results. Therefore, this method is not practical. Therefore, it is simple and desirable to prepare a basic motion pattern in advance, divide the target floating state, and combine these basic motion patterns in time series to realize them.

For the movement of the object, the x direction, the y direction, and the z direction 3
Translational degrees of freedom and θx direction, θy direction, θz direction 3
There are rotational degrees of freedom, that is, 6 degrees of freedom. That is, it is rotation about the front-back, left-right, up-down, and these directions.

Of these, the movement to the left and right can be performed by combining the rotation in the θz direction and the movement in the front-rear direction. Therefore, here, a description will be given of how to realize the vertical movement, that is, the translational movement in the z-axis direction, the longitudinal movement, that is, the translational movement in the x-axis direction, and the rotation movement around the x-axis y-axis and the z-axis.

(1) Movement of the wings 31 and 32 in the vertical direction (z-axis direction)
The force received by the fluid from the fluid depends on the moving speed of the wings 31 and 32. Therefore, in order to increase (decrease) the upward fluid force exerted on the wings 31 and 32, there are methods such as A: increase (decrease) the amplitude of the stroke angle θ and B: increase (decrease) the fluttering frequency. . The robot 90 can be raised (lowered) by these methods. However, the fluid force also includes negative values.

According to these methods, the fluid force itself which the blades 31 and 32 receive from the fluid becomes large.
Therefore, when the blades 31 and 32 receive the fluid force from other than the vertical direction, when the mechanical fulcrums A1 and A2 of the blades 31 and 32 are exerted by the blades 31 and 32 in a direction other than the vertical direction, they are lifted. At the same time, the force applied to the fulcrums A1 and A2 in that direction is also increased. For example, if the fluttering frequency is increased while performing a substantially uniform linear motion forward, the robot 90 moves up with increasing speed. As described above, depending on the way of flapping at the present time, such other movements are accompanied, but hereinafter, the control from the idle state will be described unless otherwise specified.

The levitation force also changes by changing the torsion angle β of the wings 31 and 32 to change the volume of the space in which the wings 31 and 32 move. For example, by setting the twist angle β such that the volume of the space in which the wings 31 and 32 move at launch is larger, or the volume of the space in which the wings 31 and 32 move at landing is smaller, The time average of the upward fluid force acting on 31 and 32 is small. In fact, feather 31
Since and 32 are not rigid bodies and are accompanied by deformation, the volume of the space in which the wings 31 and 32 move also changes with the same twist angle β. However, in the first principle, consider the volume of the space in which the wings 31 and 32 move, where the torsion angle β perpendicular to the direction in which the wings 31 and 32 move becomes the largest.
Also, consider the volume of the space in which the wings 31 and 32 move, where the twist angle β parallel to the direction in which the wings 31 and 32 move is minimized.

In this case, as a side effect, the fluid force also acts in the direction perpendicular to the flapping. Therefore, when the fluid force in the vertical direction is at a level at which control is hindered, it is necessary to add movement of the wings 31 and 32 to cancel the fluid force. In the simplest case, it can be realized by changing the argument α.

Further, in step S2 or step S4 described above, the operation in the z-axis direction can be performed by changing the rotational angular velocities of the wings 31 and 32. For example, if the rotation angular velocity (-dβ / dt) of the wings 31 and 32 is increased in step S2,
Since the downward flow velocity of the fluid generated by this rotation increases, the upward fluid force acting on the wings 31 and 32 due to this reaction increases.

In the above case, the torque exerted on the robot 90 with the main shafts 311 and 321 of the wings 31 and 32 as the rotation axes is changed secondarily. Therefore, it is desirable to perform this rotation angular velocity change within a range where this change does not hinder control.

Further, in this case, the force exerted on the robot 90 in the front-rear direction also changes secondarily. Therefore, when this change causes a control problem, it is desirable to control the force in the front-back direction, which will be described later as (2).

(2) Operation in the front-back direction (x-axis direction) In the fluttering method described above, the fluid force in the positive x direction acts on the wings 31 and 32 mainly in steps S2 and S4. Therefore, this feather 31 and 3
In the method of moving in 2, the robot moves up while moving forward.

Further, at the time of down stroke, by increasing the deflection angle α and moving the wings 31 and 32 forward, a backward fluid force acts on the wings 31 and 32. Therefore, at the time of landing, that is, by controlling the declination α in step S1, the backward fluid force acting on the wings 31 and 32 in step S1 is changed to another forward flow (mainly in steps S2 and S4). You can move backward if you make it larger than your physical strength, and you can move forward if you make it smaller. Further, if the backward fluid force and the forward fluid force are substantially balanced, the vehicle can stand still in the front-rear direction.

In particular, if the robot 90 is stationary in the front-rear direction, the left and right wings 31 and 32 perform substantially symmetrical movements, and the gravitational force and the levitation force of the robot 90 are balanced, a hovering state is realized. it can.

Incidentally, with the change of the deflection angle α, as a side effect,
The vertical component of the fluid force exerted on the wings 31 and 32 changes. Therefore, if the vertical component of the fluid force is at a level that causes a control hindrance, it is necessary to add movements of the vanes 31 and 32 to cancel it. This is conveniently performed mainly by the vertical movement described in (1) above.

Further, in steps S2 and S4 described above, the forward fluid force increases when the angular velocity of the rotational movement of the wings 31 and 32 is increased, and decreases when the angular velocity is decreased. This also makes it possible to change the movement in the front-back direction.

It is also possible to use the method of utilizing the x-axis direction component of the secondary fluid force that accompanies the change in the twist angle β of the wings 31 and 32 described in (1). That is, at the time of down stroke, if the twist angle β> 0, the force acts in the forward direction, and if the twist angle β <0, the force acts in the backward direction.

Although the relationship among the twist angle β, the deflection angle α, and the stroke angle θ at the time of launch is constrained to some extent, the above fluid force control can also be performed in step S3.

(3) The rotation operation with the z-axis as the rotation axis The front-back direction control described in (2) is individually performed for the left wing 32 and the right wing 31, and the robot 90 is made to differ. Can be torqued.

That is, the forward fluid force of the right wing 31 is
If you raise it to that of the left wing 32, the robot 90
The direction to the left is toward the positive direction of the axis. As a result, it is possible to perform a rotating operation with the z axis as the rotation axis.

(4) As in the rotating operation (3) with the x-axis as the rotation axis, the upward fluid force of the right wing 31 is applied to the left wing 3
If it is made larger than that of 2, the right side is lifted, and if it is made smaller, the left side is lifted. As a result, it is possible to perform a rotating operation with the x axis as the rotation axis.

(5) Rotation around the y-axis As described in (2), the torque applied to the robot 90 about the y-axis can be changed by changing the angular velocity of the twist angle β of the wings 31 and 32. . As a result, it is possible to perform a rotation operation with the y axis as the rotation axis. For example, if the rotational angular velocity of the twist angle β in step S1 is increased, the robot 90 lowers the nose, and conversely, if it is decreased, the nose is raised.

(6) Hovering (flying in the air) FIG. 16 shows the relationship between the stroke angle θ, the deviation angle α, and the twist angle β when the robot 90 is stopped. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the values of the stroke angle θ, the deflection angle α, and the torsion angle β when the robot 90 is stopped, as a function of time. However, in FIG.
The ratio of the vertical axis of each angle is different.

The numerical values used in the experiments by the present inventors are as follows. θ0 is 60 °. β
0 is -10 °. α1 is 30 °. β1 is -1
It is 00 °. β2 is −60 °.

Further, in the operations shown in the above (1) and (2), the motion of the left wing 32 in each of the steps S1 to S4, and thereby the mechanical fulcrum A2 of the left wing 32.
FIG. 17 shows the acceleration and the angular acceleration that occur in 1. Figure 1
FIG. 7 is a diagram associating the control of the wings 31 and 32 with the operation brought about thereby. In FIG. 17, for each movement of the left wing 32 in steps S1 to S4,
The circles indicate the acceleration and the angular acceleration generated at the mechanical fulcrum A2 of the left wing 32. However, because it can be caused by the asymmetry of the movement of the left and right wings 31 and 32,
The rotation operation with the x-axis and the z-axis as the rotation axes shown in (3) and (4) is omitted.

Next, the robot 90 according to the present embodiment.
A method for determining a control method for causing the robot to perform an arbitrary exercise will be described.

The current flying state of the robot 90 is obtained by using a value obtained by appropriately converting the values acquired by the acceleration sensor 51 and the angular acceleration sensor 52 mounted on the robot 90. For example, the speed is obtained by adding an initial value of the speed to a value obtained by integrating the acceleration with time. Further, the position is obtained by giving an initial value of the position to a value obtained by integrating the speed with time. Of course, it is also possible to use a method that includes the time history of the floating state in the floating state.

The controller 4 determines the operation of the robot 90 based on the current levitating state of the robot 90 and the target levitating state. For this control, a conventional control method can be applied except that it is performed in three dimensions.

The operation of the robot 90 is controlled by the controller 4.
It is converted to drive the actuators 21 and 22.

For this conversion, a method using a table reference or its complement is fast. For example, in FIG.
Basic operation and actuator 21 that realizes it
3 is a table that defines the combination of the drive of the drive unit 22 and the drive of the drive unit 22. By preparing the table shown in FIG. 18 in advance,
The operation of the robot 90 is converted by the control device 4 into the drive of the actuators 21 and 22. The leftmost column in FIG. 18 is a target operation. A and B for flapping are A for flapping when moving forward and B for flapping when stopped. More specifically, FIG.
4 and FIG. 16 are time-discretized time histories of the deflection angle α, the twist angle β, and the stroke angle θ. The control device 4 calculates this drive or the drive complementary thereto from the operation of the robot 90 from the table shown in FIG.

Here, for the sake of explanation, the method of first calculating the operation of the robot 90 and converting it into the drive of the actuators 21 and 22 was used, but the drive of the actuators 21 and 22 is directly selected from the floating state. You may use the method.

For example, when performing localization control, the above-mentioned actuator 2 is used depending on the difference between the current position and the target position.
It may be a method of directly calculating one of the driving methods 1 and 22 or a driving method that complements the driving method.

Needless to say, the physical quantity representing the flying state of the robot 90 is not limited to the above-mentioned position, velocity, acceleration, etc. Needless to say, the method for determining the drive of the actuators 21 and 22 is
It is not limited to this mode.

Next, the robot 90 according to the present embodiment.
The conditions under which it is possible to levitate will be described below.

In the experimental environment of the present inventors, traveling wave actuators were used as the actuators 21 and 22. According to this traveling wave actuator, the stator 21
Since 0 is equivalent to the ultrasonic motor 23, the torque is 1.0 gf · cm for flapping in the θ direction.

Therefore, the present inventors calculated the fluid force when flapping with this torque by simulation. The values in that case are given below as specific examples.

The wings 31 and 32 are formed by the actuator 21.
It is assumed that the direction away from and 22 is the long side, and the long side is 4 cm and the short side is 1 cm. Note that wings 31 and 3
Ignore the variation of 2. Further, since the wing of the dragonfly having a width of 8 mm and the length of 33 mm was about 2 mg, the mass of the wings 31 and 32 is set to 3 mg.

Further, the ultrasonic motor 23 has the projection tip 2
Since the rotor is driven by the accumulation of minute elliptic motions of 32 to 237, the actual rising and falling of the driving torque is on the periodic order of the elliptic motion, that is, on the order of 10 5 Hertz. However, it is set to ± 250 gf · cm / sec due to the constraint of calculation stability. That is, the torque increases by 1 gf · cm in 0.004 seconds.

These feathers 31 and 32 are
This side is fixed while leaving only the rotational degree of freedom about the axis of rotation, and torque is applied to this rotational degree of freedom. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a result of calculating the reaction force applied to the rotating shaft using the above-mentioned specific numerical values. However, the angle of deviation α = 0 (degrees) and the angle of twist β = 0 (degrees).

Referring to FIG. 19, wing 3 at time 0 seconds
1 and 32 are horizontal, that is, the stroke angle θ = 0
(Degree). From this time to 0.004 seconds, the torque was linearly increased to 1 gf · cm, and 0.004
Keep 1 gf · cm from second to 0.01 second. Then, the torque is changed to 1 gf from 0.01 second to 0.018 second.
-Linear change from cm to -1gf-cm, keep -1gf-cm from 0.018s to 0.03s, and 1g again from 0.03s to 0.038s.
Change linearly to f · cm.

The contact reaction force obtained as described above is applied at the time of down stroke, that is, at time 0.0 when the torque is negative.
It is about 0.29 gf on average from 14 seconds to time 0.034 seconds.

Since the above simulation is the result of the flapping motion with one degree of freedom, the action of the fluid force at launch is unknown. However, since the resistance of the fluid decreases compared to the cross-sectional area, the downward fulcrum reaction force that acts at launch can be reduced, and it is possible to launch with the same torque as when launching, so the time required for launch is It is much shorter than the time required for downhill. That is, the time during which the force is applied during launch is short, and the levitation force is further obtained by using the rotation of the wings 31 and 32 in addition to the down stroke. It can be said that it is possible to levitate a mass of about 0.29 g. That is, if the mass of the entire apparatus (robot 90) in the present embodiment is 0.58 g or less, it is possible to levitate. Hereinafter, the weight of the robot 90 will be examined using the above-mentioned specific numerical values.

First, the mass of the stator 210 is 0.054 g, which is equivalent to a disk having a specific gravity of 2.7, a thickness of 0.4 mm and a radius of 4 mm because the electrode and the piezoelectric element are thin.

The weight of the auxiliary stators 212 and 213 is 0.019 g because the diameter of the stator 210 is 0.7 times.

Three bearings 211, 214, 215
Have an outer diameter of 4.2 mm, an inner diameter of 3.8 mm, and a thickness of 0.
It is a 4 mm toroidal ball bearing. The material is titanium with a specific gravity of 4.8, and since there is a void of about 30%, the mass of the bearings 211, 214, 215 is about 0.
It is 013 g.

Since the rotor 219 is made of aluminum and has a wall center radius of 3 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm, its mass is about 0.061 g.

From the total sum of these, the mass of the actuator 21 is 0.192 g. The mass of the right wing 31 is
As described above, the amount is 0.003 g.

Since there are a total of two left and right configurations as described above, the sum of masses is 0.390 g. The support structure 1 shown in FIG. 1 adopted by the present inventors has a diameter of 1 cm and a specific gravity of 0.
9. Since it is a sphere having a thickness of 0.1 mm, the support structure 1 has a mass of about 0.028 g.

Further, the control device 4 adopted by the present inventors,
The communication device 7, the acceleration sensor 51, and the angular acceleration sensor 52 are semiconductor bare chips each having a size of 5 mm × 5 mm, and each mass is about 0.01 g. That is, the sum of these masses is 0.04 g.

The power source 6 adopted by the present inventors weighs 0.13 g. As described above, the total weight of all the constituent elements of the robot 90 is 0.579 g. for that reason,
As described above, the levitation force is 0.58 with the pair of wings 31 and 32.
Since gf is obtained, the robot 90 can levitate in this configuration.

Next, the communication device 7 will be described. The communication device 7 has a transmission function and transmits measured values of various sensors. Thereby, the base station 91 can obtain the information of the robot 90.

More specifically, the base station 91
Is the acceleration information of the robot 90 obtained from the acceleration sensor 51, and the robot 90 obtained from the angular acceleration sensor 52.
The angular acceleration information can be obtained. Actually, it is better to obtain position information and posture information obtained by further integrating velocity information and acceleration information obtained by integrating these
Communication traffic is efficient. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the method of obtaining the position information and the posture information described above is used. The above-mentioned integral calculation is performed by the control device 4
Will do.

Further, the communication device 7 has a reception function and receives a control signal from the base station 91. Accordingly, the base station 91 can control the robot 90.

In the present embodiment, the following description will be made assuming that the information exemplified here is transmitted and received, but of course the information to be transmitted and received is not limited to the above. For example, it is also possible to transmit and receive a response signal or the like for confirming whether or not the robot 90 has correctly received the control signal issued from the base station 91.

Next, the control device 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 18. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 4
Is composed of an arithmetic unit 41 and a memory 42.

The arithmetic unit 41 described above has a function of transmitting information obtained by various sensors in the robot 90 via the communication unit 7.

The memory 42 has a function of holding the above-mentioned transmitted / received data.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, arithmetic unit 41 includes acceleration sensor 51 and angular acceleration sensor 5.
The acceleration and the angular acceleration of the robot 90 are calculated from the information from 2. Subsequently, the velocity and angular velocity of the robot 90 are calculated by performing an integral calculation on these, and further the position and orientation of the robot 90 are calculated by performing an integral calculation on these. Then, the arithmetic device 41 appropriately transmits the information on the position and orientation of the robot 90 described above to the base station 91 via the communication device 7. Also,
From the base station 91, information on the current position and orientation of the robot 90 should be transmitted. Robot 9
0 receives this via the communication device 7. Then, the arithmetic unit 41 calculates an acceleration and an angular acceleration suitable for the position and orientation to be received, and the respective actuators 21 and 22 are calculated from the acceleration and the angular acceleration.
It has the function of determining the operating parameters of.

More specifically, the arithmetic unit 41 is
The table has time series values of the deflection angle α, the torsion angle β, and the stroke angle θ corresponding to a combination of typical acceleration and angular acceleration to be given to the robot 90, and these values or their interpolated values. Is the operating parameter of each actuator 21 and 22. The time-series values of the deflection angle α, the twist angle β, and the stroke angle θ are, for example, in the case of hovering in which both acceleration and angular acceleration are 0, the values shown in the graph of FIG. 19 are discretized. .

The declination angle α, torsion angle β, and
The stroke angle θ and the stroke angle θ are examples of control parameters, and are described on the premise that the actuators 21 and 22 are driven by designating these parameters for convenience of explanation. However, for example, it is more efficient to use a method that directly converts the drive voltage and the control voltage of the actuators 21 and 22 to realize these. Since these are not particularly different from the existing actuator control system, the declination angle α, the torsion angle β, and the stroke angle θ are given as typical parameters here. Note that the method is not limited to the present embodiment as long as it is a method that can realize equivalent functions.

Furthermore, the function of the control device 4 is not limited to the above-mentioned function, and adding another function is
It is possible as long as it does not interfere with the localization to the position and posture to reach.

Furthermore, since the flight control is linked in terms of time, the time history of the operation of the wings 31 and 32 is
It is also possible to use a method of storing it in the memory 42 of the control device 4 and correcting the control signal from the base station 91 with this time history information.

When the floating movement of the robot 90 is prioritized, untransmittable data may occur from the communication band. Also, there may be cases where communication is lost. In addition to these, if the increase in weight does not hinder the levitation movement, it is effective to mount the memory 42. On the contrary, except for the registers in the arithmetic unit 41, depending on the function of the robot 90,
The memory 42 is not explicitly required.

The above configuration is an example of a configuration for realizing the function of orienting the robot 90 to the designated position and posture of the base station 91. Therefore, if the equivalent function is realized, the above-mentioned configuration is performed. It is not limited to the configuration.

Next, the drive energy source of the robot 90, that is, the power source 6 will be described. Electric power for driving the left and right actuators 21 and 22, the control device 4, and the sensors 51 to 53 of the robot 90 is supplied by the power supply 6.

The power supply 6 in this embodiment uses a lithium ion polymer as an electrolyte. Therefore, the lithium ion polymer may be enclosed in the support structure 1. As a result, an extra structure for preventing liquid leakage is unnecessary, and the substantial energy density can be increased.

The general mass energy density of lithium ion secondary batteries currently on the market is 150 Wh /
It is kg. Actuator 21 in the present embodiment
Since the maximum current consumption at and 22 is 40 mA, if the electrolyte weight of the power supply 6 is about 0.1 g, about 7.5 minutes of flight is possible in the present embodiment.

In addition, the maximum current consumption of the left and right actuators 21 and 22 in this embodiment is 40 mA in total.
Is. The power supply voltage is 3V. Therefore, since the weight of the electrolyte of the power source 6 is 0.1 g, it is 0.12 W /
It is required to realize the power source 6 having a weight power density of 0.1 g, that is, 1200 W / kg. Here, the weight power density of the lithium ion polymer secondary battery realized as a commercial product is about 600 W / kg, which is the same as that of a battery in a product of 10 g or more used in information devices such as mobile phones. It is the value of the weight power density. In general, the ratio of the electrode area to the mass of the electrolyte is inversely proportional to the size, so that the power supply 6 in the present embodiment has an electrode area ratio 10 times or more that of the secondary battery used in the above-mentioned information equipment. Mass power density of about 10 times can be achieved,
The initial mass power density is fully achievable.

If the energy satisfying these specifications can be supplied and the localization of the position and posture to be reached by the robot 90 is not hindered, the drive energy supply is based on the above-described types and methods. Not limited. For example, other types of energy sources such as solar cells, fuel cells, and nuclear power can be used.

Further, depending on the type of actuator,
It goes without saying that the driving energy is not limited to electrical energy.

Further, a method of supplying the driving energy of the actuators 21 and 22 from the outside can be used. For example, the medium for supplying electric power energy from the outside includes a temperature difference, an electromagnetic wave and the like, and the mechanism for converting this into driving energy includes a thermoelectric element and a coil, respectively.

It is also possible to use a method of mounting different types of energy sources together. When an energy source other than electric power is used, it is considered that the control basically uses an electric signal from the control device 4.

Next, the sensors 51 to 53 mounted on the robot 90 will be described. The acceleration sensor 51 detects a 3-DOF translational acceleration of the support structure 1, and the angular acceleration sensor 52 detects a 3-DOF rotational angular acceleration of the support structure 1.

The pyroelectric infrared sensor 53 is used in the robot 90.
Is arranged so that the detection area faces forward, and the presence of the information-presented person 93 is detected within a range in which the information presented by the robot 90 can be received. The detection results of these sensors 51 to 53 are sent to the control device 4.

The acceleration sensor 51 used by the present inventor
A specific numerical value of the band is 40 Hz.
Naturally, the higher the band of the acceleration sensor 51 and the angular acceleration sensor 52, the more precise the control can be performed in time. However, the change of the flying state of the robot 90 occurs as a result of one or more flapping. Therefore, it is possible to put the sensor into practical use even with a sensor currently on the market having a band of several tens Hz.

In the present embodiment, the position and orientation of the robot 90 are detected by the acceleration sensor 51 and the angular acceleration sensor 52. However, if the position and orientation of the robot 90 can be measured, the above sensor can be used. Not limited to For example, at least two acceleration sensors capable of measuring accelerations in the directions of three axes orthogonal to each other are arranged at different positions of the support structure 1, and the posture of the robot 90 is calculated based on the acceleration information obtained from the acceleration sensors. It is also possible. It is also possible to use a method in which position information is explicitly incorporated into the work space 92, and the robot 90 detects the position information to calculate the position and orientation. For example, it is possible to use a method of calculating the position and orientation of the robot 90 by providing a magnetic field distribution in the work space 92 and detecting the magnetic field distribution with a magnetic sensor.
A method using a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor or the like is also conceivable. If the base station 91, which will be described later, has a function of directly detecting the position and orientation of the robot 90, needless to say, this sensor is not essential.

Although the sensors such as the acceleration sensor 51 and the angular acceleration sensor 52 are expressed as parts different from the control device 4, they are integrated with the control device 4 by the micromachining technique from the viewpoint of weight reduction. May be formed on the silicon substrate.

It should be noted that the sensors 51 to 51 according to the present embodiment.
Reference numeral 53 is a minimum constituent element as an example for achieving the object of the present embodiment, and the types, the number, and the configurations of the sensors are not limited to the above.

For example, in the robot 90, the wings 31 and 32 are driven by control without feedback, but a wing angle sensor is provided at the base of the wings 31 and 32, and feedback is performed based on the angle information obtained from the angle sensor. It is also possible to use a method of driving the wings 31 and 32 more accurately.

On the contrary, if the air flow in the floating area is known and the robot can be localized at the target position only by the predetermined fluttering method, it is not necessary to detect the floating state of the robot 90. , Acceleration sensor 5
1 and the angular acceleration sensor 52 are not essential.

Above, the description of the robot 90 is completed, and then the base station 91 will be described.

First, the main structure and function of the base station 91 will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the main configuration and functions of the base station 91. The main purpose of the base station 91 is the robot 9
Since it is the information acquisition from 0 and the control of the robot 90 based on this, FIG. 20 is only an example in which these are embodied. Unless it inhibits, it doesn't limit it here.

Referring to FIG. 20, base station 9
1 is a calculation device 911, a memory 912, and a communication device 917.
With. Further, an external interface 918 (not shown) is provided here.

The communication device 917 described above has a function of receiving a signal transmitted from the robot 90. It also has a function of transmitting a signal to the robot 90.

The base station 91 has a memory 912.
Map data of the work space 92 stored in the robot 9 and the robot 9 received from the robot 90 via the communication device 917.
It has a function of determining the action of the robot 90 from various information including 0 position information. It also has a function of transmitting this behavior to the robot 90 via the communication device 917.

With the above-mentioned receiving function, action determining function, and transmitting function, the base station 91 becomes the robot 90.
The communication device 91 is based on itself or its surrounding environment information.
The robot 90 is controlled via 7.

The control of these robots 90 is performed in accordance with the purpose input through the external interface 918 (for example, the position in the work space 92 for presenting information, the content of the information to be presented, etc.). 911 decides.

Further, with reference to FIG. 20, the base station 91 uses the upper surface thereof as a takeoff / mounting stand for the robot 90. That is, the base station 91 includes the charger 913 on the upper surface. Then, the electrode 61 of the robot 90 is coupled to the charging hole 914. As a result, the charger 913 is electrically connected to the power supply 6, and the battery is ready for charging. In this embodiment, the charger 9 is used to save power.
13 is controlled by the arithmetic unit 911, and operates and charges only when the robot 90 is coupled to the base station 91.

Further, the charging hole 914 also serves as a positioning hole. Further, the base station 91 includes an electromagnet 915 to attract the robot 90 if necessary.
That is, the base station 9 of the robot 90 before takeoff
The relative position with respect to 1 is fixed by operating the electromagnet 915. The relative speed is 0.

The base station 91 has a pyroelectric infrared sensor 916 to detect a human body. The base station 91 detects the presence of the information-presented person 93 by using the pyroelectric infrared sensor 916, and accordingly, the present system starts the information presentation operation.

Next, an operation instruction given from the base station 91 to the robot 90 will be described.

In this embodiment, the base station 91 communicates with the robot 90, and the robot 9
From 0, information about the flying state such as the position and orientation of the robot 90 is obtained. In addition, the base station 91
Transmits to the robot 90 control information such as an instruction of a position and an attitude to reach.

More specifically, the base station 91
Includes an arithmetic unit 911, a memory 912, and a communication unit 917, and the arithmetic unit 9 is connected via an external interface 918.
In order to achieve the purpose input in 11, the current position and orientation of the robot 90 acquired from the robot 90 via the communication device 917 and the map data of the work space 92 stored in the memory 912 are reached next. It has a function of calculating the position and orientation of the robot 90 to be operated. Then, it has a function of transmitting this to the robot 90 via the communication device 917.

Further, it has a function of judging the end of information presentation based on the information of the pyroelectric infrared sensor 53 received from the robot 90.

The information input from the external interface 918 is mainly information on the position of the robot 90 in the work space 92 for presenting information and the content of information to be presented. All of these pieces of information finally consist of the levitating state of the robot 90 and the operation control of the peripheral devices included in the robot 90 in the levitating state. Therefore, as the method of converting the information presentation position and the information content to be presented into the action of the robot 90, the existing robot control method can be applied as it is.

The base station 91 described above is a structure for realizing the function of the robot 90 to reach the position and posture in which information can be presented. It is to design. Therefore, it goes without saying that the configuration is not limited to the above as long as the same function as the above can be realized.

Next, the base station 91 performs
A method of assisting the robot 90 when taking off and landing will be described.

At the start or end of flapping of the robot 90, that is, when the robot 90 is taking off and landing, the airflow generated by flapping rapidly increases or decreases and is unstable. Therefore, it is difficult for the base station 91 to control the position and posture of the robot 90. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the electromagnet 915 provided in the base station 91 attracts the robot 90 before the takeoff. Therefore, when the robot 90 takes off, the base station 91 is operated by the robot 90 by using a method such as operating the electromagnet 915 until the airflow due to flapping becomes stable, and stopping the adsorption by the electromagnet 915 when the airflow becomes stable. It is possible to realize a stable takeoff of.

An outline of landing of the robot 90 will be described. First, the robot 90 is moved so that the electrode 61 of the robot 90 is located above the charging hole 914. And
In this state, the electromagnet 915 is operated to attract the robot 90 to the base station 91. Furthermore, if the flapping of the robot 90 is stopped after that, the position and attitude of the robot 90 at the time of landing can be stabilized even when the air flow becomes unstable. In addition, in order to facilitate localization,
It is desirable that at least one of the electrode 61 and the charging hole 914 has a tapered shape.

If the weight permits, the robot 90 may have the electromagnet 915. Also, with this configuration, the robot 90 is capable of stable takeoff and landing not only for the base station 91 but for all substances made of ferromagnetic or soft magnetic materials.

Further, in order to realize takeoff with a smaller acceleration of the robot 90, a force sensor is arranged in the electromagnet 915, and the force applied to this force sensor causes the electromagnet 915 to move.
It is also possible to use a method of controlling the suction force of.

Further, the above-mentioned assisting method is only an example of a method for preventing unstable floating of the robot 90 due to airflow instability during takeoff and landing, so a mechanism for temporarily holding the robot 90 during takeoff and landing is used. Other means may be used as long as they are available. For example, a method of sucking the robot 90 by using air instead of the electromagnet 915 can be used. Alternatively, a method of taking off and landing the robot 90 along a guide mechanism such as a rail can be used.

This is the end of the description of the base station 91, and the operation of the system will now be described.

In the present system, the robot 90 is localized in a predetermined position and posture in the work space 92 according to an instruction from the base station 91, and gives a direction instruction by the arrow mark 8. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a flow of various kinds of information in the system of the first embodiment. Figure 21
The above operation will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. The "levitation state" described below refers to the levitating mode in the space of this system, and the "levitation information" refers to the information representing this and must be elevated or suspended. Is not mandatory. It should be noted that non-flying flight and descent are also included in one mode of the floating state.

First, the standby state of the robot 90 will be described as the beginning of the operation of the system.

Before starting the operation of the robot 90, the electrode 61 is connected to the charging hole 914 of the base station 91 and fixed. Further, the power supply 6 is charged as needed.

At that time, it is assumed that the arithmetic unit 911 and the memory 912 of the base station 91 are already in operation. At this time, the pyroelectric infrared sensor 916 of the base station 91 has started its operation. By detecting the information-presented person 93, the standby state is released and the information-presentation operation is started.

When the information presenting operation is started, the robot 9
0 first takes off from the base station 91. Therefore, next, takeoff of the robot 90 will be described.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing the processing for the robot 90 of this system to perform a takeoff operation. In the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 22, the arithmetic unit 911 of the base station 91 executes the program stored in the memory 912, and the control unit 4 of the robot 90 executes the program based on the instruction signal from the base station 91. It is realized by executing a program.

The take-off operation of the robot 90 is performed by the robot 90.
Starts flapping operation and obtains buoyancy acting on the robot 90.

In the present embodiment, the base station 9
1 sends a control signal to the robot 90 with the position vertically above the robot 90 as the target position. Then, the robot 90 starts a flapping motion to reach this position, whereby the above-described take-off motion is started.

Before the flapping operation is started, the electromagnet 915 of the base station 91 is operated and the robot 90 is attracted to the base station 91 (S102).
Then, the acceleration sensor 51, the angular acceleration sensor 52, the control device 4, and the communication device 7 in the robot 90 start operating by the time the electromagnet 915 releases the adsorption at the latest (S121, S122). Also in the base station 91, the communication device 917 starts operating,
The computing device 911 needs to reach a state in which the floating state of the robot 90 can be detected (S101). Also, it is necessary to establish the connection of the communication path.

Then, as described above, the base station 91 instructs the robot 90 to set the position vertically above the robot 90 as the arrival target position of the robot 90 as a takeoff start instruction (S103). Also, the robot 90 is instructed to set the standby posture as the target posture to reach.

Upon receiving the above instruction from the base station 91 (S123), the robot 90 calculates the drive of the wings 31 and 32 for reaching the reaching target (S12).
4). Then, according to the calculation result, the driving of the wings 31 and 32 for starting the flapping operation is started (S12).
5).

Further, during this time, the control device 4 of the robot 90 needs to start the calculation for obtaining the position and posture of the robot 90 at least before the robot 90 starts the flapping operation.

Here, the base station 91 stands by while the airflow due to the flapping of the robot 90 is stabilized (S104). When the airflow due to flapping is stabilized, the electromagnet 915 of the base station 91 weakens the attraction of the robot 90 (S105).

The robot 90 practically always performs a calculation to grasp its position and orientation. Then, in response to a request from the base station 91 (S106, S12
6) This information, that is, information on the floating state (hereinafter, simply referred to as floating information) is transmitted to the base station 91 (S127, S107).

The base station 91 determines whether or not the robot 90 has levitated based on the obtained levitating information of the robot 90.

The base station 91 is replaced by the electromagnet 915.
When the attraction force of the electromagnet 915 is further weakened from the point where the attraction force of the robot 90 and the buoyancy of the robot 90 are balanced, the robot 9
0 starts ascending. That is, the base station 91
Is the electromagnet 9 until the robot 90 is detected to levitate.
By repeating the decrease in the suction force of 15 (S105), the request for the levitation information (S106), and the reception of the levitation information (S107), the robot 90 can be levitated, that is, take off (YES in S108, S128). Then YES).

After the takeoff is completed, the base station 91
The electromagnet 915 is stopped (S109), and the attraction force of the electromagnet 915 is set to zero.

By the above operation, the takeoff of the robot 90 is completed. The robot 90 that has taken off by the above-described operation reaches the destination and presents the information that is the purpose at the destination. Therefore, next, the information presentation (direction instruction) performed by the present system will be described.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing processing for the present system to present information.

Referring to FIG. 23, first, when the robot 90 takes off, the base station 91 causes the memory 912 to
The position and orientation of the robot 90 to be reached are calculated from the map data stored in (1) and the information to be displayed (S201). When the robot 90 cannot reach the destination in a linear motion due to an obstacle or the like, it is possible to reach the destination by repeating the localization to the waypoint which can avoid the obstacle. Base station 91
Specifies the reaching target thus calculated to the robot 90 via communication (S202).

The robot 90 has a base station 91.
The information of the above-mentioned destination is received from (S221), and the time history of control to reach the designated position and orientation is calculated (S222). Then, according to the calculation result, the driving of the wings 31 and 32 is changed appropriately (S223). By repeating this, the base station 91 performs localization to the designated position and posture.

During this time, the base station 91 appropriately requests the robot 90 for levitation information (S203). In response to this (S224), the robot 90 transmits the levitation information to the base station 91 (S225). Based on the obtained levitation information of the robot 90 (S204), the base station 91 determines whether the robot 90 has reached the target (S205).

Then, when the robot 90 completes the localization to the position and posture to be reached, the robot 90
Performs a localization operation. It is desirable that the localization operation is an airborne flight that maintains its position and attitude.

The base station 91 is replaced by the robot 90.
When detecting the arrival at the destination to which the information should be presented (YES in S205), the base station 91 calculates the information presented by the robot 90 (S206) and performs the information presenting operation on the robot 90. Command (S
207). Based on this instruction, the robot 90 (S22
If YES in 6), the information presentation operation is performed (S227).

In the present embodiment, the robot 90 orients at a predetermined position in a predetermined posture to determine the position and direction of the arrow mark 8 and present information. For example, when giving a direction instruction, the base station 91 may calculate the posture of the robot 90 so that the direction indicated by the arrow mark 8 is substantially coincident with the desired direction. Note that, here, the localized position and orientation of the robot 90 are equivalent to the presentation information. Therefore, as the direction indicating method, the method of determining the position and orientation of the robot 90 can be used as it is.

At this time, the robot 9
When 0 generates the wing sound, the probability that the information-presented person 93 recognizes the robot 90 can be increased. Therefore, although the wing sound naturally occurs due to the flapping, it is desirable that the robot 90 flaps at 30 Hz or more and 20000 Hz or less in consideration of the human audible frequency band.

Needless to say, by this point,
The base station 91 has an external interface 918.
It is necessary to calculate the information presentation operation of the robot 90 from the presentation information obtained through the above.

At the end of the information presentation, the base station 91 instructs the robot 90 to end the information presentation operation. However, in the present embodiment, this is equivalent to moving to the landing position.

Since the robot 90 is flapping and levitating, it is possible to move and orient with high mobility. Further, needless to say, since the robot 90 is levitated, it is possible to present information at a free position without the need for supporting structures such as columns.

The arrow mark 8 shown in the present embodiment.
Is an example of the information presenting means, and the content of the presented information is not limited to this.

The above information presenting operation is continuously performed while the human body is detected by the pyroelectric infrared sensor 53 of the robot 90 (YE in S228 and S229).
S). Then, the pyroelectric infrared sensor 53 of the robot 90
Does not detect the human body and determines that the information-presented person 93 has left the information presentation range of the robot 90 (N in S229).
O), the robot 90 transmits an instruction to end the information presentation to the base station 91 (S230, S).
208).

With the above, the information presenting process is completed, and subsequently, the robot 90 starts a landing operation.

Next, the landing operation of the robot 90 will be described. The landing operation is performed in the following order. That is, the robot 90 is localized at a position and posture in which the electrode 61 of the robot 90 is located substantially vertically above the charging hole 914 of the base station 91. Next, the base station 91 connects the robot 90 (the electrode 61 thereof) to the electromagnet 91.
Adsorb by activating 5.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart showing a process for the robot 90 of the present system to land.

Referring to FIG. 24, the base station 91 calculates the target position and orientation of the robot 90, as in the case of taking off and presenting information. That is, the electrode 61 of the robot 90 is connected to the charging hole 9 of the base station 91.
The position and posture (hereinafter referred to as the landable state) of the base station 91, which is located substantially vertically above the base station 14 and at which the electromagnet 915 of the base station 91 can attract the robot 90, are calculated. Then, the base station 91 instructs the robot 90 about the above-described position and posture by communication (S301).

According to this, the robot 90 starts the localization to the position and the posture to reach (S321). That is, the drive of the wings 31 and 32 required to reach the above-described position and orientation is calculated (S322), and the drive of the wings 31 and 32 is started according to the calculation result (S32).
3).

The base station 91 appropriately transmits a floating information request to the robot 90 by communication (S30).
2). In response to this, the robot 90 transmits the levitation information to the base station 91 (S324, S325).
Based on the obtained levitation information, the base station 91 determines that the robot 90 has reached the above-described landable state (S303, S304).

Then, when the base station 91 determines that the robot 90 has reached the landing ready state (YES in S304), it activates the electromagnet 915 to fix the robot 90 to the base station 91 (S30).
5).

After the robot 90 is fixed to the base station 91, the acceleration sensor 51 and the angular acceleration sensor 52 of the robot 90 stop operating.

After the robot 90 is fixed to the base station 91, the base station 91 instructs the robot 90 to stop flapping (S306).
After this, the communication device 7 and the control device 4 may be stopped (YES in S326).

The above operation completes the landing of the robot 90. It should be noted that the above-described series of processing in the present system is merely an example of a method for realizing the function of the present system for presenting information by the arrow mark 8 at a certain position and posture. Therefore, the operation of the robot 90 that realizes this is not limited to the above-described operation.

The robot 9 according to the present embodiment.
Function sharing between the control device 4 of 0 and the information processing of the base station 91 will be described below.

Since the robot 90 and the base station 91 can exchange information through a communication path, each function can be divided into various forms. For example, a so-called stand-alone type in which all the functions of the base station 91 described above are contained in the robot 90 and the base station 91 is abolished is also possible. However, as described above, if the robot 90 has an excessive mass, it becomes difficult to float. Further, the lighter the weight of the robot 90, the more agile the movement of the robot 90 becomes, and the operating efficiency of the system is improved. That is, it is generally desirable that most of the information processing is performed by the base station 91 and the robot 90 is designed to be lightweight. In particular, a temporary storage device with a certain mass or more is required to store the presented information, which increases with the amount of information to be presented. That is, the amount of information that can be presented by the robot 90 is limited by the floatable mass of the robot 90. Therefore, it is desirable that the presented information be prepared in the memory 912 that does not lead to an increase in the weight of the robot 90.

In addition to the above discussion, regarding the functional division of the control device 4 of the robot 90 and the information processing of the base station 91, it is necessary to consider that an improvement in communication speed leads to an increase in weight.

For example, in the case of communication using radio waves, the higher the communication speed, the higher the energy as a carrier,
Power consumption increases because high frequency radio waves must be used. Therefore, the weight of the power source 6 increases.
Further, it is necessary to improve the signal quality by using a compensating circuit or the like, the number of constituent elements increases, and the weight of the communication device increases. Overall, it is necessary to design the actual function sharing in consideration of these trade-offs.

For example, the details of flapping, that is, the wing 31.
And the angles α, β and θ of 32 are also included in the base station 9
Consider the case where 1 directs. In general, the frequency of flapping flight is several tens of Hz or higher, so the control frequency band of α, β, and θ is on the order of kHz. In this case, assuming that each of α, β, and θ data has 8 bits, in order to control each at 1 kHz, a single communication path requires 8 (bit) × 1 (k
Hz) × 3 × 2 (number of actuators) = 48 (kb
Communication speed of ps) is required. It should be noted that this is a transmission-only speed, and in practice a band for reception is also required. Since communication overhead is added to this, 1
A communication method having a communication speed of about 00 kbps is required.

By the way, the robot 90 moves forward, backward,
And for basic movements such as turning left and right,
It is possible to prepare a fluttering method of a certain pattern corresponding to each movement. Therefore, these basic motions and flapping patterns corresponding to the respective motions are included in the robot 90, and the base station 91 calculates the basic motions corresponding to the planned route and instructs the robot 90,
The robot 90 can be caused to fly on a desired route by using a method such as selecting the included fluttering pattern from the instructed basic motion. In this way, the robot 90 takes control of a high frequency band represented by the control of the fluttering itself, and the base station 9
It is desirable that 1 is a form in which control in a low frequency band represented by route control is undertaken from the viewpoint of reducing the amount of calculation of the control device 4 and reducing traffic on the communication path. In addition, the pattern of these basic motions and the flapping corresponding to each motion,
It is desirable to prepare a table in the control device 4 from the viewpoint of processing speed and reduction of the amount of calculation in the control device 4.

Furthermore, it is expected that the arithmetic capacity and communication speed of the arithmetic unit represented by the control unit 4 will be greatly improved in the future. Therefore, the mode of information processing in the robot 90 and the base station 91 described here is as follows.
This is an example of the basic idea based on the current situation, and the specific function sharing is not limited to the one described here in the future.

As the information presentation method in this system, a method other than the above information presentation method will be considered.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the information to be presented is substantially fixed in space, that is, its position is not changed, but it is also possible to present the information with an operation. For example, an information presenting method may be used in which the robot 90 moves on a predetermined circumference while keeping a posture such that the arrow mark 8 always indicates the center of the circle, thereby indicating the area near the center. Alternatively, the robot 90 may move in a direction substantially coinciding with the arrow mark to cooperate with the direction indication to provide an information presentation method.

[0274] Further, the feather sound is used for more effective information presentation, but an information presentation method of presenting information by the feather sound itself may be used. For example, an information presenting method of presenting information of warning by making the frequency of the wing noise undulate like a siren can be considered.

Further, in the present embodiment, assuming the energy saving, the information presenting operation is performed only when the information presenter 93 is detected by the pyroelectric infrared sensor 916, but more time information is required. This does not apply if priority is given to the presentation. In that case, in the present system, the configuration for controlling the information presentation according to the presence or absence of the information recipient is not essential. Further, in the present embodiment, the pyroelectric infrared sensor 9 is used as a trigger for starting the information presentation.
Although the human body is directly detected by 16, it is not limited to this. For example, a weight sensor, an electric field sensor, etc. are mentioned. More specifically, use of a human body detection device such as that used for existing automatic doors can be mentioned.

Further, by providing the base station 91 with an external signal interface capable of utilizing the human body detection signal of such existing equipment, the convenience can be further enhanced.

Further, the energy replenishing mechanism in this system will be described below. Needless to say, the charging method and form of the power supply 6 in the above description exemplify one form of energy replenishment that is generally used to achieve both weight reduction and continuous use. That is, if the charging method or form satisfying the function as the power source is the power source 6,
The aspect of the charging mechanism and the charging mechanism are not limited to those shown here.

For example, an energy replenishment method in which a coil is formed on the wings 31 and 32 by thin metal film sputtering, and an electric wave given from the outside is converted into electric power by the coil and rectified to charge the power source 6 may be used. .

Further, for example, there may be a charging station for charging only other than the base station 91, and the energy replenishment method may be used for charging there.

When energy other than electric power is used, an energy replenishment method suitable for this is required. In this case, of course, the shapes of the electrode 61 and the charging hole 914 are not limited to those shown in this embodiment. In addition, it is not essential that the position also serves as the positioning as shown in the present embodiment.

The communication method in this system will be described below. In the present embodiment, the base station 91 always controls the robot 90 by obtaining the information of the robot 90. However, when the robot 90 is capable of autonomous operation, the base station 91 always operates. It is not always necessary to control 90.

Further, by temporarily holding the information in the memory 42, the frequency of communication between the base station 91 and the robot 90 can be reduced. This is effective, for example, when there are a plurality of robots and base stations, which will be described later, when traffic reduction of the communication path is required.

It is desirable that the connection between the robot 90 and the base station 91 be designed on the assumption that there is a possibility of interruption. Here, by incorporating a behavior pattern in the case where the communication path is interrupted in the robot 90 in advance, it is possible to minimize the adverse effect caused by the communication interruption when the connection is resumed.

For example, even when the robot 90 and the base station 91 are not communicating with each other, the robot 90 finally reaches the position and posture instructed by the base station 91 and performs hovering. It may be possible to provide a function of keeping the floating state constant. In this case, the base station 9
There is no need for the 1 to communicate with the robot 90, leaving room for allocating the functionality of the base station 91 for other purposes.

By buffering the previous operation in the memory 42, the robot 90 can continue to fly even if the communication path is interrupted. Conversely, memory 4
Second, by buffering the information of the robot 90, when the communication path is restored, the information is transmitted to the base station 9
The robot 9 while the communication path is interrupted by getting 1
The information of 0 can be obtained by the base station 91.

On the contrary, by using the above-mentioned buffering, the function of the robot system can be achieved by a weaker radio wave even in an environment where there are many obstacles and the radio wave is easily blocked. Therefore, power saving can be achieved, the weight of the power source 6 can be reduced, and the mobility of the robot 90 can be enhanced.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the environment in the work space 92 is not changed for the sake of simplicity of description, but the environment is changed in actual use. Major environmental changes include the generation of airflow and changes in obstacles. Naturally, when these environmental changes exist, it is necessary to prepare the above-mentioned control correction means according to these environmental changes.

Note that the airflow is affected by flapping flight in the same manner as a general aircraft. for that reason,
For this correction, the method used for general aircraft path planning can be applied as it is.

Further, in the present embodiment, the base station 91 is one for the sake of simplicity of description, but
The robot 90 may be controlled by a plurality of base stations 91. For example, when the work space 92 is wider than the communicable range of the base station 91 and the robot 90, a plurality of base stations 91 may be provided so as to cover the work space 92 and the control of the robot 90 may be spatially shared. Conceivable. In such a case, the roaming technology used for the mobile communication body can be used as it is.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control function of the robot 90, the takeoff and landing assistance function, and the energy replenishment function (that is, the charging function) are integrated in the base station 91, but these functions are integrated in the base station 91. Is not mandatory. For example, when the cruising distance (that is, the distance that can continue the flight without supplementing driving energy from the outside) is shorter than the communicable range, another energy is included in the communicable range covered by one base station 91. There may be a form in which there is a replenishment station.

Of course, if the robot 90 has all the functions of the base station 91 and the weight is such that it can float, the robot 90 alone can be used as a stand-alone type. On the contrary, most of the information processing is performed by the base station 91 and the robot 90
It is also possible that the control unit of (1) only drives the actuators 21 and 22.

In addition, one base station 91 is
It is also possible to control a plurality of robots 90. For example, it is effective when the present system is used for guiding a venue having a complicated route, and when a plurality of arrow marks 8 are arranged. Of course, a plurality of base stations 91 may control a plurality of robots 90. In these controls, there is no direct relation to flapping flight, and the conventional robot control method can be applied as it is.

As described above, the information presenting system in the present embodiment is characterized in that information is presented by using the robot 90 that performs flapping flight.

The levitation by such flapping flight is theoretically suitable for downsizing as compared with a balloon or an airship because the levitation force depends not on the volume but on the surface area. Therefore, effective information presentation can be effectively performed at a height of 1 to 2 m above the ground, which corresponds to the line of sight of a person and has the highest information presentation effect, without occupying an area on the ground.

[0295] For example, it is assumed that the guidance to the event site is specifically assumed and that the guidance information is provided using a balloon having a total length of about 10 cm. A cubic helium balloon having a total length of 10 cm has a maximum levitating mass of about 1.1 g, and the surface area of this balloon is about 600 square centimeters. If the mass per square centimeter is 2m
Even if the balloon is composed of a very light film of g, the mass of the balloon itself exceeds the buoyancy of the balloon and the balloon cannot be levitated. The relationship between the buoyancy generated by a balloon and the mass of the balloon itself is that the volume is proportional to the cube of the length and the surface area is proportional to the square of the length. Therefore, the smaller the balloon is, the more the buoyancy of the balloon becomes. The relationship is smaller than the volume (mass) of itself. Therefore, under the above-mentioned conditions, the balloon cannot rise as long as it is larger than at least 10 cm, and cannot serve as an information presenting device. In reality, a motor for movement, a control device, etc. are required, so that the mass other than the floating portion is much larger than the above-mentioned mass.

In addition, a fixed-wing levitation mechanism that levitates by lift, such as a small aircraft, cannot fly in the air, and is therefore often obstructed by obstacles at an altitude that is most effective for presenting information such as an altitude of 1 to 2 m. In many cases, it is impossible to present information.

On the other hand, since fluttering flight can be performed at a stop, it is not necessary to keep moving forward unlike a general aircraft.
Therefore, it is suitable for presenting information that is generally required to stay at a certain position.

In addition, the levitation mechanism by flapping flight is different from the levitation mechanism using a rotary wing such as a helicopter.
Since the drag force can be effectively used, it is suitable for downsizing even compared with the levitation mechanism using these rotary blades. Also,
The levitation mechanism by flapping flight uses drag,
The movement speed of the buoyancy generating portion can be set relatively small. For example, if the helicopter blade is a flat plate tilted at an angle θh in the first approximation, the velocity in the levitating direction given to the nearest fluid per unit movement amount of the blade is sinθh times the velocity of the blade. In the case of flapping flight, it is possible to give the fluid the same velocity as the velocity of the wing. That is, in the flapping flight, the speed of the wings can be reduced to sin θh times as compared with the case of the helicopter. For this reason, even when there are obstacles such as humans and structures in the vicinity of presenting information, it is possible to reduce damage when the wings contact these obstacles. It also has the effect of reducing noise.

From the above, the fluttering flight is a levitation means capable of stopping and flying even in an environment where there are many obstacles such as indoors. By providing the fluttering levitation device in this system, an environment with many obstacles can be obtained. Also in this, this system can be used to present information without occupying an area on the ground.

At the most effective height for presenting information, such as the height of 1 to 2 m, the information that can be recognized by the information-presented person may change depending on the position where the information is presented.
For example, even if it is a square, it looks like a rectangle when viewed obliquely. Therefore, by correcting or converting the information to be presented according to the position or orientation acquired by the information presentation device, or by presenting the information when the information presentation device reaches a predetermined position or orientation, It is possible to prevent changes in the recognized information and to provide accurate information presentation.

Further, the information presenting system in the present embodiment can easily present the information by installing the presenting information such as the arrow mark in the fluttering and levitation mechanism having the above-mentioned function. At this time, by arranging the straight line connecting the presented information and the information-presented person in a region where the moving volume density of the wings is relatively low, it is possible to reduce the interference of the wings with the information presentation. That is, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of a situation in which the provided information is blocked by the movement of the wings and does not reach the information recipient. For this reason,
It becomes easy for the person to be presented with information to recognize the presented information.

In addition, when a human is walking or in many other cases,
It is generally horizontal. Therefore, it is most effective to present the information at the eye level. Since the information presentation system of the present embodiment can move the information presented by levitation in a three-dimensional arbitrary direction, it is possible to easily present the information at a highly effective position.

Also, due to the change in the manner of flapping,
More information can be presented. For example, by moving the robot 90 so that the arrow mark points to a certain point in space, it is possible to present information indicating the point.

Further, the information presenting system of the present embodiment can effectively convey the information itself that the information is being presented to the information presented person by generating the wing noise. Moreover, since the information can be presented by the feather sound itself, the amount of presented information can be increased without functionally adding another configuration.

Further, by providing the human body detection mechanism in the information presentation system of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform efficient information presentation such as information presentation when a human body is detected.

Further, the robot 9 according to the present embodiment.
0 is provided with a replenishable energy source such as a secondary battery, and the system is further provided with a device for charging the replenishable energy source, so that information can be continuously presented. It is possible to build a high-quality information presentation system.

The above-mentioned information presentation system is characterized in that information is presented using an information presentation device (robot 90) that performs flapping flight. for that reason,
The information presentation device may be limited in mass, and as a result, the amount of information presented may be limited. However, in order to improve the convenience of the user who presents information, it is desirable that the information presentation system present information regardless of the amount of information presented. Therefore, a more convenient information presentation system will be described below.

[Second Embodiment] In the second embodiment, an information presentation system will be described which presents arbitrary information that can be displayed by a group of robots at a height about the line of sight of a human. .

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system according to the second embodiment. Referring to FIG. 25, the system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of fluttering flying robots (hereinafter, simply referred to as robots) 90a to 90f (robot 90 is a representative of robots 90a to 90f) and these robots 90a. .About.90f and a base station 99 capable of exchanging information.

Specifically, in the system of the present embodiment described above, the following operation is performed.

That is, according to the instruction from the base station 99, the robots 90a to 90f are localized at the designated positions. The base station 99 controls the positions and postures of the robots 90a to 90f, so that the robot 9
0a to 90f are arranged in the shape of an arrow, and the present system presents information called a direction instruction by the arrow.

Since robot 90 in the present embodiment is similar to robot 90 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, description thereof will not be repeated here. However, the arrow mark 8 is abolished.

The robots 90a to 90f have different IDs for distinguishing individual communication. This ID is transmitted, for example, as a header in communication described later, and the base station 99 described later
Be notified to.

Next, the base station 99 will be described. The base station 99 in the present embodiment also has the same configuration as the base station 91 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the description here will not be repeated. However, it has six communication paths so that it can individually communicate with the six robots 90a to 90f. In addition, six sets of electromagnets 915a to 915f for taking off and landing six robots and charging the robots,
And charging holes 914a to 914f.

As described above, the base station 99 in the present embodiment communicates individually with the robots 90a to 90f in the same manner as the base station 91 in the first embodiment. At that time, by referring to the ID given to each robot 90, the information of each robot 90 is obtained individually, and the control information such as the position and orientation to reach each robot 90 is given individually.

The conventional control method for a plurality of robots can be directly applied to these control modes.

Next, the operation of the system will be described. The robots 90a to 90f according to the present embodiment are
Work space 92 according to instructions from the base station 99
In each of the above, the human body is localized in a predetermined position and posture.
In this system, the direction at this time is indicated by forming an arrow shape. The above operation will be described more specifically. Note that, among the operations of the system in the present embodiment, the operations of the six robots 90a to 90f are almost the same as the operations of the robot 90 in the first embodiment, except for the information presentation operation,
Only the information presenting operation will be described below.

The base station 99 can arbitrarily set the positions and postures of the robots 90a to 90f. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25, the base station 99 arranges these robots 90a to 90f in the shape of an arrow to determine the position and direction of the arrow, thereby presenting information in this system.

However, as in the first embodiment, since the localized positions and orientations of the robots 90a to 90f are equivalent to the presentation information, the robots 90a to 90f are the same as those in the first embodiment. The robot 90 performs the same operation as the robot 90 in the embodiment.

Naturally, by this time, the base station 99 needs to calculate the arrangement of the robots 90a to 90f from the presentation information obtained via the external interface 918. In the present embodiment, for the above reason, the information to be presented by the robots 90a to 90f is the arrival target itself of the robots 90a to 90f, and is therefore already calculated.

Since the robots 90a to 90f are flapping and levitating, they can move and orient with high mobility. Further, needless to say, since the robot 90 is levitated, it is possible to present information at a free position without the need for supporting structures such as columns. Therefore, information can be presented at an altitude of 1 to 2 m, which is most easily recognized by humans.

Further, the system in this embodiment is
By presenting information by combining the robots 90, which are a plurality of information presenting devices, the amount of information presented can be increased. For example, in the case where information is provided using n robots 90 in this system, if the amount of information that can be shown by one robot 90 is a, then the information amount that is the nth power of a is provided. You can Also in this case, the weight of the robot 90 to be levitated does not change, so that the amount of information presented can be increased without affecting the levitating performance of the robot 90.

Further, the present system is capable of presenting not only arrows but also arbitrary information such as figures within the constraint of the number of robots 90.

The information transmission of the system in this embodiment is the same as that of the system in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 21 except that a plurality of communication paths are prepared corresponding to the robots 90a to 90f. Is.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the information presented is substantially fixed in space 92, that is,
Although the description is given assuming that the position is not changed, the information may be presented by changing the position with an operation. For example, the robots 90a to 90f are
An information presenting method may be used in which an area near the center is instructed by exercising on a predetermined circumference while maintaining an information presenting state in which the center is always instructed. Alternatively, the robots 90a to 90f may be an information presenting method that cooperates with a direction instruction by moving in a direction substantially matching the presented direction.

The communication method according to the present embodiment requires a plurality of communication paths because there are a plurality of robots 90. For forming the plurality of communication paths, a generally used method can be applied as it is. For example, it may be a time division method, wavelength modulation, or a communication method such as encoding data by including data including ID and decoding on the robot side according to the ID.

[0327] Further, regarding the measures against the communication interruption,
A method similar to that in the first embodiment can be performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the number of base stations 99 is one for the sake of simplicity of explanation, but the robots 90a to 9a are composed of a plurality of base stations 99.
It is also possible to control 0f. For example, the work space 92
But the base station 99 and the robots 90a to 90f
If it is wider than the communicable range with, the plurality of base stations 99 may be provided so as to cover the work space 92, and the control of the robots 90a to 90f may be spatially shared by the plurality of base stations 99. In this case, the roaming technique used in the conventional mobile communication can be used as it is. Naturally, the robot 90a
It is also possible to use a method in which a plurality of base stations 99 share and control ~ 90f for each individual. For example,
The base station 91 in the first embodiment is
Since one robot 90 is controlled, by using six base stations 91 in the first embodiment, one robot 90a to 90f is assigned to each base station 91. The configuration of the form is realized.

Further, in the present embodiment, the base station 99 is integrated with the control functions of the robots 90a to 90f, the takeoff / landing assistance function, and the energy supplementing function (that is, the charging function), but these functions are not always required. Integrated into 99 is not mandatory. For example, when the cruising distance (that is, the distance that can continue to jump without replenishing driving energy from the outside) is shorter than the communicable range, one base station 99 covers another communicable range. A form such as the existence of an energy replenishment station is possible.

Of course, if all the functions of the base station 99 can be included in the robots 90a to 90f, and the weight of the robots 90a to 90f is such that it can float, the robots 90a to 90f are regarded as stand-alone types.
It is also possible to use only f alone. On the contrary, most of the information processing is performed by the base station 99 and the robot 9
The control unit of 0a to 90f includes the actuators 21 and 2
It may be a form in which only 2 is driven.

Further, in the present embodiment, six robots 90 are used as the minimum number for explicitly indicating a shape that can be recognized as an arrow, but naturally the number of robots 90 is not limited to this. That is, more complicated information can be presented by using more robots 90 within the range in which the robots 90 can be controlled.

Further, in the present embodiment, as the system for taking off and landing a plurality of robots 90, the mechanism that can be most simply realized is taken as an example. However, a mechanism that allows a plurality of robots 90 to take off and land. If so, the present invention is not limited to that shown in the above-described present embodiment.

For example, using a robot transfer system,
If the robots 90 can be transported to and set in the charging holes 914, it is not essential that the charging holes 914, the electromagnets 915, and the like be provided in the base station 99 for the number of robots 90.

[Third Embodiment] In the third embodiment, an information presentation system will be described which presents arbitrary information that can be displayed in a dot matrix at a height about the line of sight of a human.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system according to the third embodiment. Referring to FIG. 26, the system according to the present embodiment is a base for exchanging information with a group of fluttering flying robots (hereinafter simply referred to as robots) equipped with light emitting elements, and robots 90 included in these robot groups. And the station 98.

The system of this embodiment is characterized in that information is presented by using these robot groups as a dot matrix. Specifically, in the system according to the present embodiment described above, the following operation is performed.

That is, in accordance with an instruction from the base station 98, the n × m robot group 90 (i, j) (1
≤ i ≤ n, 1 ≤ j ≤ m, where n and m are natural numbers)
(Hereinafter, simply referred to as robot group 90 (i, j))
Localize in rows and m columns. After that, the base station 98 controls the blinking of each light emitting element of the robot 90 included in the robot group 90 (i, j) to present information such as characters and figures on the n × m dot matrix. .

FIG. 27 shows the robot 90 shown in FIG.
It is a figure showing about the main composition of. The robot 90 shown in FIG. 27 is similar to the robot 90 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and therefore description thereof will not be repeated here. However, the arrow mark 8 is abolished. Instead, the light emitting element 81 and the diffusion optical system 82 are arranged.

In order to increase the light emitting area, the light emitting element 81 emits visible light from above the wings 31 and 32 via the diffusion optical system 82 arranged above the wings 31 and 32.
With the reciprocating movement of the wings 31 and 32, the apparent light emitting area is expanded to the cross-sectional area of the moving space of the wings 31 and 32. However, here, in order to reduce the weight, the diffusion optical system 82 includes the main axes 311 and 321 and the branches 312 and 32.
Also serves as 2. For example, in the left wing 32, the main shaft 321 and the branch 322 made of a semitransparent resin are provided in the diffusing optical system 8.
Used as 2. Since the diffusion optical system 82 is semitransparent,
The light emitted from the light emitting element 81 is scattered. for that reason,
Light is emitted from the entire diffusion optical system 82.

The light emitting element 81 is controlled by the control device 4. Further, the control device 4 receives the control information of the light emitting element 81 from the base station 98 via the communication device 7, and controls the light emitting element 81 by this.

Further, the robot 90 is provided with different IDs for distinguishing individual communication.

Next, the base station 98 will be described. The base station 98 in the present embodiment has a communication path capable of individually communicating with the robot group 90 (i, j). In addition, the electromagnets 915 (i, i,
j) and charging holes 914 (i, j). Since the other configurations are the same as those of base station 99 in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof will not be repeated here.

The base station 98 in the present embodiment has a robot group 90 through the communication device 917.
It is characterized in that the control information of the light emitting element 81 of each of the robots 90 included therein is individually transmitted to (i, j). By this function and the control function of the light emitting element 81 of the control device 4, the base station 98 can individually control the light emitting element 81 of the robot group 90 (i, j) for each robot 90.

Similar to the base station 99 of the first embodiment, the base station 98 as described above individually communicates with the robot group 90 (i, j) to obtain information on each of the contained robots 90. It also gives control information such as the position and orientation to reach each robot 90.

The conventional robot control method can be applied to these control methods as they are. Next, the operation of the entire system will be described.

The robot group 90 (i, j) is localized in a certain position and posture in the work space 92 according to an instruction from the base station 98, and presents information. FIG. 28
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flow of various information in the system of the third embodiment. The above operation will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. In addition, in FIG. 28,
Robot group 90 of the system according to the present embodiment
An overview for the (i, j) single element robot is shown.

Referring to FIG. 28, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment with respect to each robot 90 (i, j) except the information presenting operation.
Since the operation is substantially the same as that of the robot 90 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 24, the description thereof will not be repeated here. Hereinafter, only the information presentation operation of the system in the present embodiment will be described.

The base station 98 is a robot group 9
The position and orientation of 0 (i, j) to be reached are specified to the robot group 90 (i, j) via communication.

As an example, the base station 98 is
The position designation of each robot 90 included in the robot group 90 (i, j) is set in a grid pattern of n rows and m columns as shown in FIG. FIG. 26 shows the position of each robot 90 when n = 5 and m = 6. Each robot 90 realizes this arrangement by locating at a designated position. This is because each robot 90 of the present embodiment performs localization of the robot 90 shown in the first embodiment with respect to the set position of each robot 90 of the robot group 90 (i, j). Will be realized in.

If the light emission of each robot 90 is controlled by the signal from the base station 98 in the state where the robot groups 90 (i, j) are arrayed in this way, it is possible to control a general dot matrix display. Similarly, any information can be displayed in the system. By performing the above-described control, the present system can display arbitrary characters, figures, and the like, and the display can be easily changed as in the dot matrix display.

Further, since the robot group 90 (i, j) is flapping and levitating, it is possible to move and orient with high mobility. Further, needless to say, since the robot 90 is levitated, it is possible to present information at a free position without the need for supporting structures such as columns.

Furthermore, in the system according to the present embodiment, within the constraint of the number of robots 90, figures, characters, etc.
Any information can be presented.

In this embodiment, the robot 90 is arranged in the shape of a rectangular grid, but this is not limiting, and different arrangements can more effectively present information depending on the purpose. . For example, the robot group 90
(I, j) can also be configured in the shape of a spherical shell.

Next, an information presentation method in the system of this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the information presented is substantially fixed in space, that is, its position is not changed, but it is also possible to present the information with an operation. For example, the robot group 90 (i, j) moves on a predetermined circumference while always maintaining a posture in which the center of the robot is indicated by an arrow,
An information presentation method may be used in which the area near the center is more limited and designated. Alternatively, an information presentation method may be possible in which the robot group 90 (i, j) moves in a direction substantially coincident with the arrow to coordinate the direction indication.

Further, as shown in a concrete example in FIG.
A method of presenting information by using an afterimage phenomenon associated with movement may be used. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a first specific example of the information presentation method using the afterimage phenomenon.

Referring to FIG. 29, in the simplest case, with respect to the robot group 90 (i, j), the robot group 90 (i, j) is arranged vertically with j = 1 and is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the arrangement. While sweeping, blinking of the light emitting element 81 in each robot 90 is controlled. As a result, the arrow is displayed as an afterimage as shown in FIG. By doing so, it is possible to present information using the afterimage phenomenon.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a second specific example of the information presentation method using the afterimage phenomenon. Referring to FIG. 30, when the robot group 90 (i, j) moves so as to form a closed curved surface such as a substantially cylindrical surface, continuous information presentation is performed on the cylindrical surface using the afterimage phenomenon. be able to.

In the system of the present embodiment described above, since there are a plurality of robots 90, a plurality of communication paths are required. For forming the plurality of communication paths, a generally used method of forming communication paths can be applied as it is. For example, a time division method, wavelength modulation, or a method of encoding data including an ID in a composite manner and decoding the data according to the ID on the robot side can be considered.

Further, the same contents as the description of the first embodiment also apply to the system of the present embodiment regarding the interruption of communication, and therefore the description will not be repeated here.

Although the light emitting element 81 is a light emitting element having a characteristic of only blinking in the present embodiment,
The present invention is not limited to this as long as it does not hinder the localization to the position and posture to reach. For example, color display can be performed using three primary colors such as blue green red.

Further, in the present embodiment, the light emitting element 81 is used in consideration of visibility, but a passive visible light emitting method such as a reflecting plate may be used. This is particularly effective when the external light is strong and the active light emitting element cannot effectively present information, such as in the daytime. As described above, the information presentation system according to the present embodiment has the physical quantity acquisition function, and by changing the information to be presented according to the physical quantity obtained from this, more effective information presentation can be performed. For example, it is possible to perform more effective information presentation that corresponds to the ambient brightness, which is a change in the physical quantity related to the information presentation.

Further, instead of the above-mentioned light emitting element 81, the wing 3
Information can also be presented using the color coding of 1 and 32. For example, the wings 31 and 3 of the robot 90 (i, j)
Information can be presented in the same manner as in the system according to the present embodiment by changing the direction of the wings 31 and 32 that are visually recognized by changing the posture of 2 in which the front surface is black and the back surface is white.

In this embodiment, the light emitting area is prioritized. That is, the diffusing optical system 82 is provided on the surfaces of the wings 31 and 32, and the light emitting element 81 irradiates visible light toward the diffusing optical system 82, but the light emitting form is not limited to this.
For example, a luminescent form may be used in which fluorescent paint is applied to the surfaces of the wings 31 and 32, and the wing is irradiated with excitation light.

As a matter of course, if the requirements required for information presentation are satisfied, a method of directly irradiating visible light directly to the information-presented person 93 may be used. For example, the light emitting element 8 is provided at a portion where the visible light emitted from the light emitting element 81 reaches the information presented person 93 without being blocked by the loci of the wings 31 and 32.
The method of arranging 1 may be sufficient.

A method that combines the above methods may be used. For example, a method in which the robot 90 includes a light emitting element 81 and a diffusion optical system 82 colored in different colors on the front and back of the wings 31 and 32 can be considered. At this time, when the surroundings are bright and the information cannot be presented by the light emission by the light emitting element 81, the information can be presented by changing the postures of the wings 31 and 32 instead of the light emitting element 81.

As described above, the present system presents information by using the wings of the robot 90, so that information of the maximum size can be presented. Therefore, even when presenting larger information, it is possible to prevent the mass of the medium (the robot 90 in the present system) that presents information from increasing, and prevent the levitating function from decreasing.

Further, the information presentation using the wings of the robot 90 is most effectively realized by changing the visual state of the wings, especially by changing the reflectance and light emission of the wings. further,
As described above, by disposing the diffusing optical system 82 on the wing portion of the robot 90 and causing the wings 31 and 32 to emit light, it is possible to perform information presentation that maximizes the size of the wing.

Further, in the system according to the present embodiment, information can be presented by changing the postures of wings 31 and 32 of robot 90. This method of providing information can be realized without the need for any structure to be added to the levitation mechanism, and thus the simplest and inexpensive information presentation can be realized.

Further, in the system according to the present embodiment, different visual characteristics are given to both sides of the wings 31 and 32 of the robot 90, and the posture of the robot 90 is changed so that the surface of the wings 31 and 32 facing the information-presented person 93 is changed. Information can also be presented by changing by.

In this embodiment, the number of base stations 98 is one for the sake of simplicity of explanation, but the robot group 90 is composed of a plurality of base stations 98.
It is also possible to control (i, j). For example, the work space 92 has a base station 98 and a robot group 90.
When the communication range with (i, j) is wider, a plurality of base stations 98 are provided so as to cover the work space 92.
It is also possible to spatially share the control of the robot group 90 (i, j) by the plurality of base stations 98.

In this embodiment, the base station 98 is integrated with the control function of the robot group 90 (i, j), the takeoff / landing assistance function, and the energy replenishment function (that is, the charging function). It is not essential that the functionality be integrated into the base station 98. For example, when the cruising flight distance (that is, the distance that can keep jumping without replenishing driving energy from the outside) is short compared to the communication range, another base station 98 covers another communication range. A form such as the existence of an energy replenishment station is possible.

Of course, if all the functions of the base station 98 can be included in the robot group 90 (i, j) and the weight of the robot 90 is such that it can float, the robot group 90 (i, j j) It is also possible to use only one alone. On the contrary, most of the information processing is performed by the base station 98, and the robot group 9
The control unit of 0 (i, j) includes actuators 21 and 2
It may be a form in which only 2 is driven.

Further, in the present embodiment, for example, 30 robots 90 are used in FIG. 26 in order to explicitly show a shape that can be recognized as an arrow, but naturally the number of robots is not limited to this.

Further, in the present embodiment, each element of the set of robots 90 changes its visual recognition state in each robot 90 to provide various variable information. However, the arrangement of the robot 90 is not limited to the above arrangement. For example, the matrix arrangement may be changed,
They may be arranged concentrically.

Further, in the present embodiment, as the system for taking off and landing a plurality of robots 90, the mechanism that can be most simply realized is taken as an example. However, a mechanism that allows a plurality of robots 90 to take off and land. If so, the present invention is not limited to that shown in the above-described present embodiment.

For example, using a robot transfer system,
If the robots 90 can be transported to the charging holes 914 and set, it is not essential that the charging holes 914, the electromagnets 915, and the like are provided in the base station 98 for the number of the robots 90.

On the contrary, one base station 98
Does not have to include a configuration for taking off and landing all robots 90. For example, two or more base stations 98 can share the take-off and landing of the robot 90.

Furthermore, the systems described in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments are examples of the configuration for realizing the functions in each of the embodiments, and do not limit the configuration of the system. . For example, a plurality of robots equipped with the arrow mark 8 shown in the first embodiment,
The information presentation method shown in the second embodiment may be used to arrange the information in an arrow shape to provide more recognizable information.

Further, the system in this embodiment is
In addition to the information shown in the first to third embodiments that is commutative in a specific language such as a direction instruction, it is also possible to present abstract information. For example, by providing information using illumination or the like in the system of this embodiment, the system of this embodiment can be used for entertainment, viewing, decoration, advertising, eye catching, and the like. In this case, in the information presentation system,
The presentation of information and the control of the position and orientation of the robot 90, which is an information presentation device, are performed independently.

Furthermore, the information presenting method in the above information presenting system can be provided as a program. Such a program is a flexible disk attached to a computer, a CD-ROM, a ROM, a RAM.
Also, it can be recorded as a computer-readable recording medium such as a memory card and provided as a program product. Alternatively, the program may be provided by being recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk built in the computer. Further, the program can be provided by downloading via the network.

The provided program product is installed and executed in a program storage unit such as a hard disk.

The program product includes the program itself and the recording medium on which the program is recorded.

The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main configuration of a robot 90 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of left wing 32.

FIG. 4 is a first diagram showing the posture of the left wing 32.

FIG. 5 is a second diagram showing the posture of the left wing 32.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a general ultrasonic motor 23.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a right actuator 21.

8 is a first cross-sectional view of the left wing 32 perpendicular to the main shaft 321. FIG.

9 is a second cross-sectional view of the left wing 32 perpendicular to the main shaft 321. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing step S1 of the flapping operation of the left wing 32.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing step S2 of the flapping operation of the left wing 32.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing step S3 of the flapping operation of the left wing 32.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing step S4 of the flapping operation of the left wing 32.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing values of a stroke angle θ and a twist angle β as a function of time.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a response in flapping motion control.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the values of a stroke angle θ, a declination angle α, and a torsion angle β when the robot 90 is stopped, as a function of time.

FIG. 17 is a diagram associating the control of the wings 31 and 32 with the operation brought about by the control.

FIG. 18 is a table that defines a basic operation and a combination of driving the actuators 21 and 22 that realizes the basic operation.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a result of calculating a reaction force applied to a rotating shaft by using a specific numerical value.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a main configuration and functions of a base station 91.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a flow of various kinds of information in the system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a process for the robot 90 of the present system to perform a takeoff operation.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing processing for presenting information by the present system.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a process for the robot 90 of the present system to land.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a main configuration of the robot 90 shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the flow of various types of information in the system of the third embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a first specific example of an information presentation method using an afterimage phenomenon.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a second specific example of the information presentation method using the afterimage phenomenon.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a specific example of a conventional information presentation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 support structure, 4 control device, 6 power supply, 7 communication device, 8 arrow mark, 21 right actuator, 22 left actuator, 23 ultrasonic motor, 31 right wing, 32
Left wing, 41 arithmetic unit, 42 memory, 51 acceleration sensor, 52 angular acceleration sensor, 53,916 pyroelectric infrared sensor, 61 electrode, 81 light emitting element, 82 diffusion optical system, 90, 90a to 90f, 90 (i, j) Robot, 91, 98, 99 base station, 92
Workspace, 93 Information recipient, 210 Stator, 2
11, 214, 215 Bearings, 212 Upper auxiliary stator, 213 Lower auxiliary stator, 219, 229
Rotor, 230 piezoelectric element, 231 disk, 232-
237 protrusions, 238 electrodes, 311, 321 spindles, 3
12,322 branches, 313,323 film, 911 arithmetic unit, 912 memory, 913 charger, 914,914
a to 914f, 914 (i, j) charging hole, 915, 9
15a to 915f, 915 (i, j) electromagnet, 917
Communication device, 918 External interface.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G09F 25/00 G09F 25/00 L 27/00 27/00 G (72) Inventor Keita Hara Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Sharp F-term (reference) 5C096 AA01 AA22 BA01 BA04 BC02 BC13 CA03 CA06 CA12 CA22 CA28 CB04 CC36 CD04 CD22 CD36 CF02 DB01 DB09 DB19 DB33 DC02 DC12 DC15 DC30 DD04 FA02 FA08

Claims (25)

[Claims] 1. An information presenting apparatus comprising information presenting means for presenting information, characterized by comprising levitating means for levitating by flapping flight. 2. The information presentation device according to claim 1, further comprising a position acquisition unit that acquires a position of the information presentation device, wherein the information presentation unit controls presentation of information according to the acquired position. 3. The information presentation device according to claim 1, further comprising an attitude acquisition unit that acquires an attitude of the information presentation device, wherein the information presentation unit controls presentation of information according to the acquired attitude. 4. The information presentation device according to claim 1, further comprising a first control unit that controls a position of the information presentation device according to information presented by the information presentation unit. 5. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising second control means for controlling the posture of the information presenting apparatus according to the information presented by the information presenting means. 6. The floating means and the information presenting means,
The information presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the information presentation device is controlled independently. 7. A straight line connecting the information presenting means and an information presented person who is presented with the information is located in a region where the moving volume density of the levitation means is the lowest.
The information presentation device according to claim 6. 8. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information presenting means presents information using the levitation means. 9. The information presenting device according to claim 8, wherein the information presenting means presents information by controlling a visual state of the floating means. 10. The information presenting device according to claim 9, wherein the information presenting means presents information by controlling reflectance as the visual state. 11. The information presenting means presents information by controlling light emission as the visual state.
The information presentation device described in. 12. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a diffusing unit for diffusing the emitted light in the floating unit. 13. The levitation means is provided with a plurality of visual states different for each part of the levitation means, and the information presenting means controls information by controlling a posture of the information presenting apparatus with respect to the information presented person. The information presenting device according to claim 9, which presents. 14. The levitation unit has different visual states on the front and back of the levitation unit, and the information presenting unit presents information by controlling the front and back of the levitation unit toward the information-presented person. Item 13. The information presentation device according to item 13. 15. The information presenting device according to claim 1, wherein the information presenting means presents information by combining a plurality of the information presenting devices. 16. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information presenting means presents information at a height corresponding to the position of human eyes. 17. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information presenting means presents information by changing the manner of the flapping flight by controlling the levitation means. 18. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sounding unit that generates a sound. 19. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the sound producing unit changes the sound in accordance with a change in a state of the flapping flight. 20. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires a physical quantity, wherein the information presentation unit presents information according to the acquired physical quantity. 21. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detecting means for detecting a human body, wherein the information presenting means presents information when the human body is detected by the detecting means. 22. An information presentation system comprising: the information presentation device according to claim 1; and an energy replenishment device that replenishes the information presentation device with drive energy. 23. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit, the information presenting apparatus communicating with the information presenting apparatus, and one or more of the information presenting apparatuses. An information presentation system including a control device for controlling. 24. The information presentation system according to claim 23, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires a physical quantity, wherein the control device controls the information presentation device according to the acquired physical quantity. 25. The information according to claim 23, further comprising detection means for detecting a human body, wherein the control device controls the information presentation device according to information on the human body detected by the detection means. Presentation system.