JP2004291147A - Robot's behavior control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take a state-depending action and a reflex action in parallel cooperatively and organically without interfering with each other. <P>SOLUTION: A reflex action hierarchy monitoring schema is disposed in the nearest low rank of a root schema of a state-action-depending action hierarchy. The reflex action hierarchy monitoring schema has a dummy action function, and the monitoring action function maximizes own activity level in response to the schema execution in the reflex action hierarchy and sets all used resources to return values. As a result, the root schema always selects the reflex action hierarchy monitoring schema, so that competition between resources in action hierarchies is avoided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a behavior control system for a robot that realizes realistic communication with a user by performing an autonomous operation, and particularly relates to a recognition result of an external environment such as vision and hearing and an internal state such as instinct and emotion. The present invention relates to a behavior control system, a behavior control method, and a robot apparatus for a situation-dependent behavior type robot that integrally determines a situation where a robot is placed and selects an appropriate behavior.
[0002]
More specifically, the present invention relates to a situation-dependent action in which the situation where the robot is placed is determined in an integrated manner and selects an appropriate action, and a robot action control system that appropriately performs a serious reflex action on the system. In particular, the present invention relates to a behavior control system for a robot that cooperatively and organically executes a situation-dependent behavior and a reflex behavior in a cooperative and organic manner without inappropriate interference.
[0003]
[Prior art]
A mechanical device that performs a motion resembling a human motion using an electric or magnetic action is called a “robot”. It is said that the robot is derived from the Slavic word "ROBOTA (slave machine)". In Japan, robots began to spread from the late 1960's, but most of them were industrial robots (industrial robots) such as manipulators and transfer robots for the purpose of automation and unmanned production work in factories. Met.
[0004]
Recently, a pet-type robot that imitates the body mechanism and operation of a four-legged animal such as dogs, cats, and bears, or the body mechanism and motion of an animal that walks upright on two legs, such as a human or monkey. Research and development on the structure of a legged mobile robot such as the "humanoid" or "humanoid" robot and stable walking control thereof have been progressing, and expectations for its practical use have been increasing. These legged mobile robots are unstable compared to crawler type robots, making posture control and walking control difficult.However, they are excellent in that they can realize flexible walking and running operations such as climbing up and down stairs and over obstacles. I have.
[0005]
One of the uses of the legged mobile robot is to perform various difficult tasks in industrial activities and production activities. For example, maintenance work in nuclear power plants, thermal power plants, petrochemical plants, transport and assembly of parts in manufacturing factories, cleaning in high-rise buildings, rescue in fire spots and other dangerous and difficult work, etc. .
[0006]
Another use of the legged mobile robot is not the work support described above, but a life-based use, that is, a use in "symbiosis" or "entertainment" with humans. This type of robot faithfully reproduces the movement mechanism of legged walking animals, such as humans, dogs (pets), and bears, and rich emotional expressions using limbs. In addition, it does not simply execute a pre-input motion pattern faithfully, but also dynamically responds to words and attitudes received from the user (or another robot) (such as "praise", "scratch", and "slap"). It is also required to realize a corresponding and lively response expression.
[0007]
In the conventional toy machine, the relationship between the user operation and the response operation is fixed, and the operation of the toy cannot be changed according to the user's preference. As a result, the user eventually gets tired of toys that repeat only the same operation. On the other hand, an intelligent robot autonomously selects an action including a dialogue and a body motion, so that it is possible to realize realistic communication at a higher intellectual level. As a result, the user feels a deep attachment and familiarity with the robot.
[0008]
In robots or other realistic dialogue systems, it is common to select actions sequentially in response to changes in the external environment, such as vision and hearing. Further, as another example of the action selection mechanism, a mechanism in which emotions such as instinct and emotion are modeled to manage an internal state of the system, and an action is selected according to a change in the internal state. Of course, the internal state of the system changes due to changes in the external environment, and also changes due to the selected action.
[0009]
However, there are few examples related to situation-dependent behavior control, in which the situation where the robot is placed, such as the external environment and the internal state, is integrated and the behavior is selected.
[0010]
Here, the internal state includes, for example, an instinct element corresponding to access to the limbic system in a living body, and intrinsic and social needs corresponding to access to the cerebral neocortex. In addition, it is composed of elements captured by the ethological model, and elements called emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, and surprise.
[0011]
In conventional intelligent robots and other autonomous interactive robots, internal states composed of various factors such as instinct and emotion are all collected as “emotional” to manage the internal state one-dimensionally. That is, each element constituting the internal state exists in parallel with each other, and the action is selected only based on the external situation or the internal state without a clear selection criterion.
[0012]
Further, in the conventional system, the selection and manifestation of the action includes all the actions in one dimension and determines which one to select. For this reason, as the number of operations increases, the selection becomes more complicated, and it becomes more difficult to select an action that reflects the situation or internal state at that time.
[0013]
On the other hand, in order for an intelligent robot to achieve autonomous behavior, it is thought that in addition to the situation-dependent behavior, it is necessary to realize a serious reflexive body motion in the system.
[0014]
The reflexive behavior here refers to, for example, system boot or shutdown, processing behavior when an error occurs, or directly receives the recognition result of external information input from the sensor, classifies this, and directly determines the output behavior. Action. For example, it is preferable to implement a behavior such as chasing or nodding a human face as a reflex action.
[0015]
The situation-dependent action and the reflex action can be implemented as different control hierarchy levels in a robot action control system, and can be executed simultaneously or in parallel. However, in such a hierarchical system architecture, there is no way to communicate, that is, exchange information, between the behavioral layers. For this reason, if activities that interfere with each other in each behavioral hierarchy appear independently, it becomes difficult to perform consistent performance as a whole system.
[0016]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to provide a reflection-type operation which realizes a reflection-type body operation in response to a recognized external stimulus and a situation-dependent type operation in which a situation where a robot is placed is integrally determined and an appropriate action is selected. An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent robot behavior control system that can appropriately perform the above-mentioned behavior.
[0017]
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an excellent robot behavior control system capable of cooperatively and organically executing a situation-dependent action and a reflex action in a cooperative and organic manner without inappropriate interference.
[0018]
Means and Action for Solving the Problems
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, a behavior control system for a robot that operates autonomously,
A first behavior hierarchy for controlling the behavior of the robot;
A second behavior hierarchy that controls the behavior of the robot independently of the first behavior hierarchy;
A log memory module that is provided for each behavior hierarchy and records the execution status of the behavior in the behavior hierarchy,
A connection unit for communicating recorded contents between the log memory modules of each behavior hierarchy,
A robot behavior control system characterized by comprising:
[0019]
However, the term “system” as used herein refers to a logical collection of a plurality of devices (or functional modules that realize specific functions), and each device or functional module is in a single housing. It does not matter in particular.
[0020]
Here, the first behavior hierarchy is, for example, a situation-dependent behavior hierarchy in which a situation where the robot is placed is determined in an integrated manner and an appropriate behavior is selected. The second behavior hierarchy is a reflex behavior hierarchy that governs extremely important behaviors of the system, such as booting and shutting down the system and handling various errors.
[0021]
In the first and second behavior layers, behavior control is basically performed independently. However, if inappropriate interference (contention of used resources) occurs between the action layers, a malfunction of the system is caused. Therefore, in the first behavior hierarchy, the behavior in the first behavior hierarchy is controlled according to the recorded contents of the log memory module on the second behavior hierarchy obtained through the connection unit. It has become.
[0022]
For example, in the first behavioral hierarchy, based on the recorded contents of the log memory module of the second behavioral hierarchy obtained through the connection unit, while the second behavioral hierarchy is active, a standby state is provided. It is in a state.
[0023]
Alternatively, in the first behavior hierarchy, a device used in the second behavior hierarchy based on the recorded contents of the log memory module of the second behavior hierarchy obtained via the connection unit Select actions that avoid resources.
[0024]
That is, when critical behaviors of the system are activated, such as when the system is booted, when the system is shut down, and when an error is avoided, the activities of the context-dependent behavior hierarchy are avoided or restricted.
[0025]
Here, each action hierarchy is
One or more behavior modules, comprising: a state machine describing the aircraft operation; and an activity evaluator that evaluates an activity level of the current aircraft operation state in the state machine and an aircraft resource used at the time of activation of the aircraft operation state. ,
Instruct the action evaluator of each action module to calculate an activity level and a used resource, select an action module to be activated according to each activity level and a used resource, and select the selected action module. An action state control unit that controls the action state of each action module by instructing the state machine to execute,
Can be configured.
[0026]
The behavior evaluator evaluates an activity level of the state machine according to an external environment of a body and / or an internal state of the robot.
[0027]
Further, the behavior state control unit transitions the behavior module whose activity level has decreased from the active state to the standby state, and transitions the behavior module whose activity level has increased from the standby state to the active state. The behavior state control unit can select two or more behavior modules whose resources do not compete with each other according to the activity level.
[0028]
Further, each action hierarchy can be configured as a tree structure of action modules according to the realization level of the machine operation. Then, the behavior state control unit disposed in the top-level behavior module of the tree structure, instructs the behavior module to evaluate the activity level and the used resource toward the lower level of the tree structure, Selection and an instruction to execute a state machine can be made.
[0029]
In such a case, the activity log of the behavior module of the second behavior hierarchy is monitored via the log memory module immediately below the root behavior module in the first behavior hierarchy, and the second activity hierarchy is monitored. A behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module for detecting the start / end of each behavior module in the behavior hierarchy of the above may be provided.
[0030]
The behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module excites its activity level sufficiently high in response to the activity of the behavior module on the second behavior hierarchy side detected via the log memory module, and Resources can be requested.
[0031]
In such a case, since the behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module is disposed immediately below the root behavior module, it can greatly affect the selection and execution of another schema within the same behavior hierarchy. That is, since the root behavior module always selects the behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module, resource competition between the behavior layers is avoided, and a system-critical schema can be executed without any trouble.
[0032]
In addition, the behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module can release the restriction on the behavior module selection and its execution imposed by the activity detection by releasing its own required resources and lowering the activity level. This removes resource contention and allows other behavior modules to continue normal activity.
[0033]
In this way, with the intervention of the behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module, it is possible to suitably avoid resource competition between a plurality of behavior hierarchies, and to execute cooperatively and organically in parallel without inappropriate interference. .
[0034]
In each action hierarchy, an action module can be selected and executed according to a unique policy. Further, resource management in each behavior hierarchy can be simplified.
[0035]
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from more detailed descriptions based on embodiments of the present invention described below and the accompanying drawings.
[0036]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0037]
A. Configuration of robot device
FIG. 1 schematically shows a functional configuration of a robot device 1 used in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the robot apparatus 1 includes a control unit 20 that performs overall control of the entire operation and other data processing, an input / output unit 40, a driving unit 50, and a power supply unit 60. . Hereinafter, each unit will be described.
[0038]
The input / output unit 40 includes, as input units, a CCD camera 15 corresponding to the eyes of the robot apparatus 1, a microphone 16 corresponding to the ears, and a touch sensor disposed at a part such as a head or a back to detect a user's contact. 18 or other various sensors corresponding to the five senses. The output unit is provided with a speaker 17 corresponding to a mouth, an LED indicator (eye lamp) 19 that forms a facial expression by a combination of blinking and lighting timing. These output units can express the user feedback from the robot apparatus 1 in a form other than a mechanical movement pattern by a leg or the like, such as a sound or blinking of a lamp.
[0039]
The drive unit 50 is a functional block that implements a body operation of the robot device 1 according to a predetermined movement pattern commanded by the control unit 20, and is a control target by behavior control. The drive unit 50 is a functional module for realizing a degree of freedom at each joint of the robot apparatus 1, and includes a plurality of drive units provided for each axis such as roll, pitch, and yaw at each joint. Each drive unit performs a rotation operation around a predetermined axis, an encoder 52 that detects a rotation position of the motor 51, and adaptively controls a rotation position and a rotation speed of the motor 51 based on an output of the encoder 52. It is composed of a combination of drivers 53.
[0040]
Depending on how the drive units are combined, the robot device 1 can be configured as a legged mobile robot such as a bipedal walking or a quadrupedal walking.
[0041]
The power supply unit 60 is a functional module that supplies power to each electric circuit and the like in the robot device 1 as the name implies. The robot apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is of an autonomous driving type using a battery, and a power supply unit 60 includes a charging battery 61 and a charging / discharging control unit 62 that manages a charging / discharging state of the charging battery 61. .
[0042]
The charging battery 61 is configured, for example, in the form of a “battery pack” in which a plurality of lithium ion secondary battery cells are packaged in a cartridge type.
[0043]
Further, the charge / discharge control unit 62 grasps the remaining capacity of the battery 61 by measuring a terminal voltage and a charge / discharge current amount of the battery 61, an ambient temperature of the battery 61, and determines a start time and an end time of charging. decide. The start and end timings of charging determined by the charge / discharge control unit 62 are notified to the control unit 20 and serve as triggers for the robot apparatus 1 to start and end charging operations.
[0044]
The control unit 20 corresponds to a “brain” and is mounted on, for example, the head or the body of the robot apparatus 1.
[0045]
FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the control unit 20 in more detail. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 20 has a configuration in which a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 as a main controller is bus-connected to a memory, other circuit components, and peripheral devices. The bus 27 is a common signal transmission path including a data bus, an address bus, a control bus, and the like. Each device on the bus 27 is assigned a unique address (memory address or I / O address). The CPU 21 can communicate with a specific device on the bus 28 by specifying an address.
[0046]
A RAM (Random Access Memory) 22 is a writable memory composed of a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic RAM), and loads a program code executed by the CPU 21 or temporarily stores work data by the execution program. Used to save and so on.
[0047]
The ROM (Read Only Memory) 23 is a read-only memory that permanently stores programs and data. The program code stored in the ROM 23 includes a self-diagnosis test program executed when the power of the robot apparatus 1 is turned on, an operation control program for defining the operation of the robot apparatus 1, and the like.
[0048]
The control program of the robot apparatus 1 includes a “sensor input / recognition processing program” that processes sensor inputs from the camera 15 and the microphone 16 and recognizes the symbols as symbols, and performs storage operations (described later) such as short-term storage and long-term storage. An “action control program” that controls the action of the robot apparatus 1 based on a sensor input and a predetermined action control model, and a “drive control program” that controls the drive of each joint motor and the audio output of the speaker 17 according to the action control model. And so on.
[0049]
The non-volatile memory 24 is composed of a memory element that can be electrically erased and rewritten, such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM), and is used to hold data to be sequentially updated in a non-volatile manner. The data to be sequentially updated includes an encryption key and other security information, a device control program to be installed after shipment, and the like.
[0050]
The interface 25 is a device for interconnecting with devices outside the control unit 20 and enabling data exchange. The interface 25 performs data input / output with the camera 15, the microphone 16, and the speaker 17, for example. Also, the interface 25 inputs and outputs data and commands to and from each of the drivers 53-1 in the drive unit 50.
[0051]
The interface 25 includes a serial interface such as a RS (Recommended Standard) -232C, a parallel interface such as an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1284, a USB (Universal Serial I / E) serial interface, and a USB (Universal Serial I / E) serial bus. , A general-purpose interface for connecting peripheral devices of a computer, such as a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) interface, a memory card interface (card slot) for receiving a PC card or a memory stick, and the like. External device A program or data may be moved between the program and the program.
[0052]
As another example of the interface 25, an infrared communication (IrDA) interface may be provided to perform wireless communication with an external device.
[0053]
Further, the control unit 20 includes a wireless communication interface 26, a network interface card (NIC) 27, and the like, and performs near field wireless data communication such as Bluetooth, a wireless network such as IEEE 802.11b, or a wide area such as the Internet. Data communication can be performed with various external host computers via the network.
[0054]
By such data communication between the robot device 1 and the host computer, complicated operation control of the robot device 1 can be calculated or remotely controlled using a remote computer resource.
[0055]
B. Behavior control system for robot device
FIG. 3 schematically shows a functional configuration of the behavior control system 100 of the robot device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The robot apparatus 1 can perform behavior control according to the recognition result of the external stimulus and a change in the internal state. Furthermore, by providing a long-term memory function and associatively storing a change in an internal state from an external stimulus, behavior control can be performed according to a recognition result of the external stimulus or a change in the internal state.
[0056]
The illustrated behavior control system 100 can be implemented by adopting object-oriented programming. In this case, each software is handled in a module unit called an “object” that integrates data and a processing procedure for the data. Further, each object can perform data transfer and call (Invoke) by message communication and an inter-object communication method using a shared memory.
[0057]
The behavior control system 100 includes a visual recognition function unit 101, a hearing recognition function unit 102, and a contact recognition function unit 103 in order to recognize an external environment (Environments).
[0058]
The visual recognition function unit (Video) 51 performs image recognition such as face recognition and color recognition based on a captured image input via an image input device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera. Performs processing and feature extraction. The visual recognition function unit 51 is composed of a plurality of objects such as “MultiColorTracker”, “FaceDetector”, and “FaceIdentify”, which will be described later.
[0059]
The auditory recognition function unit (Audio) 52 performs voice recognition on voice data input via a voice input device such as a microphone to extract features or perform word set (text) recognition. The auditory recognition function unit 52 is composed of a plurality of objects such as “AudioRecog” and “AuthurDecoder” to be described later.
[0060]
The contact recognition function unit (Tactile) 53 recognizes a sensor signal from a contact sensor built in, for example, the head of the body, and recognizes an external stimulus such as “patched” or “hit”.
[0061]
An internal state manager (ISM: Internal Status Manager) 104 manages several types of emotions, such as instinct and emotion, by using mathematical models, and manages the above-described visual recognition function unit 101, auditory recognition function unit 102, and contact recognition function. The internal state such as instinct and emotion of the robot apparatus 1 is managed according to an external stimulus (ES: External Stimula) recognized by the unit 103.
[0062]
The emotion model and the instinct model have recognition results and action histories as inputs, respectively, and manage emotion values and instinct values. The behavior model can refer to these emotion values and instinct values.
[0063]
In the present embodiment, an emotion is composed of a plurality of layers according to the significance of its existence, and operates at each layer. From the determined plurality of operations, which operation to perform is determined according to the external environment or internal state at that time. In addition, actions are selected at each level, but by expressing actions preferentially from lower-order actions, instinctual actions such as reflex and higher-order actions such as action selection using memory are performed. Behavior can be consistently expressed on one individual.
[0064]
The robot apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a short-term storage unit 105 that performs short-term storage that is lost over time, and performs information control in response to a recognition result of an external stimulus or a change in an internal state. A long-term storage unit 106 for holding data for a relatively long time is provided. The classification of short-term memory and long-term memory depends on neuropsychology.
[0065]
The short-term storage unit (ShortTermMemory) 105 is a functional module that holds, for a short time, a target or an event recognized from the external environment by the above-described visual recognition function unit 101, auditory recognition function unit 102, and contact recognition function unit 103. For example, the input image from the camera 15 is stored for only a short period of about 15 seconds.
[0066]
The long-term storage unit (LongTermMemory) 106 is used to hold information obtained by learning, such as the name of an object, for a long time. For example, the long-term storage unit 106 can associate and store a change in an internal state from an external stimulus in a certain behavior module.
[0067]
The behavior control of the robot apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is performed by a “reflex action” realized by the reflex action unit 109, a “situation-dependent action” realized by the situation-dependent behavior layer 108, and a reflection behavior layer 107. It is broadly divided into "consideration actions" that are realized.
[0068]
The reflexive behavioral behavior layer (Reflexive Behavioral Behavior Layer) 109 is a behavioral hierarchy that governs extremely critical behaviors for the system. Behaviors that are critical for such a system include the following.
[0069]
(1) System boot behavior
(2) System shutdown action
(3) Reflex action to release a specific error, or reflex aircraft movement in response to a recognized external stimulus
[0070]
The reflex action is, for example, an action that directly receives a recognition result of external information input by a sensor, classifies the result, and directly determines an output action. For example, it also includes behaviors such as chasing and nodding a human face.
[0071]
Boot and shutdown actions require the use of all aircraft resources. On the other hand, the reflex action uses only the aircraft resources related to a specific error or the like.
[0072]
The situation-dependent behavior hierarchy (Suited Behaviors Layer) 108 is based on the storage contents of the short-term storage unit 105 and the long-term storage unit 106, and the internal state managed by the internal state management unit 104, based on the state where the robot apparatus 1 is currently placed. Control responsive actions.
[0073]
The situation-dependent action hierarchy 108 prepares a state machine (or a state transition model) for each action, classifies the recognition result of the external information input by the sensor depending on the action or situation before that, and The action is expressed on the airframe. The situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 also implements an action for keeping the internal state within a certain range (also called “homeostasis behavior”). When the internal state exceeds a specified range, the internal state is determined. The action is activated so that the action for returning to the range easily appears (actually, the action is selected in consideration of both the internal state and the external environment). Situation-dependent behavior has a slower reaction time than reflex behavior.
[0074]
The reflective behavior layer 107 performs a relatively long-term action plan of the robot apparatus 1 based on the contents stored in the short-term storage unit 105 and the long-term storage unit 106.
[0075]
Reflection behavior is behavior that is performed based on a given situation or a command from a human, with a reasoning or a plan for realizing it. For example, searching for a route from the position of the robot and the position of the target corresponds to a deliberate action. Such inferences and plans may require more processing time and calculation load (that is, more processing time) than the reaction time for the robot apparatus 1 to maintain the interaction. Reflective actions make inferences and plans while responding in real time.
[0076]
The reflection behavior hierarchy 107, the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108, and the reflex behavior unit 109 can be described as higher-level application programs independent of the hardware configuration of the robot apparatus 1. On the other hand, the hardware dependent layer control unit (ConfigurationDependentActionsAndReactions) 110 responds to a command from these higher-level applications (behavior modules called “schema”) to change the hardware (external environment) of the body such as driving joint actuators. Operate directly.
[0077]
C. Situation-dependent behavior control
The situation-dependent behavior hierarchy (Suited Behaviors Layer) 108 is based on the storage contents of the short-term storage unit 105 and the long-term storage unit 106, and the internal state managed by the internal state management unit 104, based on the state where the robot apparatus 1 is currently placed. Control responsive actions. In addition, as a part of the situation-dependent behavior layer 108, a reflex behavior unit 109 that performs a reflexive and direct body motion in response to the recognized external stimulus is included.
[0078]
C-1. Structure of the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy
In the present embodiment, the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 prepares a state machine (or a state transition model) for each behavior module, and recognizes external information input by a sensor depending on the previous behavior or situation. Categorize the results and express the behavior on the aircraft. The behavior module is described as a schema (schema) having a Monitor function for determining a situation according to an external stimulus or a change in an internal state, and an Action function for realizing a state transition (state machine) accompanying the behavior execution. The situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 is configured as a tree structure in which a plurality of schemas are hierarchically connected (described later).
[0079]
The situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 also implements an action for keeping the internal state within a certain range (also called “homeostasis behavior”). When the internal state exceeds a specified range, the internal state is determined. The action is activated so that the action for returning to within the range becomes easy (actually, the action is selected in consideration of both the internal state and the external environment).
[0080]
Each functional module in the behavior control system 100 of the robot 1 as shown in FIG. 3 is configured as an object. Each object can perform data transfer and call (Invoke) by a message communication and an inter-object communication method using a shared memory. FIG. 4 schematically shows an object configuration of the behavior control system 100 according to the present embodiment.
[0081]
The visual recognition function unit 101 is composed of three objects, “FaceDetector”, “MultiColorTracker”, and “FaceIdentify”.
[0082]
FaceDetector is an object that detects a face area from within an image frame, and outputs a detection result to FaceIdentify. The MultiColorTracker is an object for performing color recognition, and outputs a recognition result to FaceIdentify and ShortTermMemory (objects constituting the short-term memory 105). In addition, FaceIdentify identifies a person by, for example, searching for a detected face image in a hand-held person dictionary, and outputs the ID information of the person together with the position and size information of the face image area to the ShortTermMemory.
[0083]
The auditory recognition function unit 102 is composed of two objects “AudioRecog” and “SpeechRecog”. AudioRecog is an object that receives voice data from a voice input device such as a microphone and performs feature extraction and voice section detection, and outputs the feature amount and sound source direction of voice data in a voice section to SpeechRecog and ShortTermMemory. The SpeechRecog is an object that performs speech recognition using the speech feature quantity received from the AudioRecog, the speech dictionary, and the syntax dictionary, and outputs a set of recognized words to the ShortTermMemory.
[0084]
The tactile recognition storage unit 103 is configured by an object called “TactileSensor” that recognizes a sensor input from a contact sensor, and outputs a recognition result to a ShortTermMemory or an InternalStateModel (ISM) that is an object for managing an internal state.
[0085]
The ShortTermMemory (STM) is an object constituting the short-term storage unit 105, and holds a target or an event recognized from an external environment by each of the above-described recognition system objects for a short period of time (for example, an input image from the camera 15 for about 15 seconds). This is a functional module that stores the information only for a short period of time), and periodically notifies the STM client (Suited Behaviors Layer) of an external stimulus (Notify).
[0086]
The LongTermMemory (LTM) is an object constituting the long-term storage unit 106, and is used to hold information obtained by learning, such as the name of an object, for a long time. LongTermMemory can, for example, associatively store a change in an internal state from an external stimulus in a certain behavior module.
[0087]
The InternalStatusManager (ISM) is an object that constitutes the internal state management unit 104, manages several types of emotions such as instinct and emotions in a mathematical model, and manages the external stimulus (ES) recognized by each of the above-described recognition system objects. : Internal instincts and emotions of the robot apparatus 1 are managed according to the External Stimula.
[0088]
The switched behavior layers (SBL) are objects that constitute the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108. The SBL is an object serving as a client of the ShormTermMemory (STM client). When a notification (Notify) of information on an external stimulus (target or event) is periodically received from the ShormTermMemory, a schema (schema), that is, an action module to be executed is executed. Is determined (described later).
[0089]
The ReflexiveSwitchedBehaviorsLayer is an action hierarchy that controls extremely critical actions for the system. Behaviors that are critical for such a system include the following.
[0090]
(1) System boot behavior
(2) System shutdown action
(3) Reflex action to release a specific error, or reflex aircraft movement in response to a recognized external stimulus
[0091]
The reflex action includes, for example, an action of directly receiving a recognition result of external information input by a sensor, classifying the result, and directly determining an output action. For example, behaviors such as chasing and nodding a human face include reflex behavior. Boot and shutdown actions require the use of all aircraft resources. On the other hand, the reflex action uses only the aircraft resources related to a specific error or the like.
[0092]
The SituationBehaviorsLayer selects an action according to a situation such as an external stimulus or a change in an internal state. On the other hand, ReflexiveSuitedBehaviorsLayer behaves reflexively in response to an external stimulus. Since the action selection by these two objects is performed independently, when the action modules (schema) (described later) selected from each other are executed on the body, hardware resources of the robot 1 conflict with each other and cannot be realized. There are also things.
[0093]
An object called Resourcemanager arbitrates a conflict between hardware at the time of selecting an action by the Situationed BehaviorsLayer and the ReflexiveSuitedBehaviorsLayer. Then, the body is driven by notifying each object that realizes the body operation based on the arbitration result.
[0094]
The SoundPerformer, the MotionController, and the LedController are objects that implement the body operation. The SoundPerformer is an object for performing voice output, performs voice synthesis in accordance with a text command given from the Switched BehaviorLayer via the ResourceManager, and performs voice output from a speaker on the body of the robot 1. The MotionController is an object for performing the operation of each joint actuator on the airframe, and calculates a corresponding joint angle in response to receiving a command to move a hand, a leg, or the like from the Sited BehaviorLayer via the ResourceManager. The LedController is an object for performing a blinking operation of the LED 19, and performs a blinking drive of the LED 19 in response to receiving a command from the SituationBehaviorLayer via the ResourceManager.
[0095]
FIG. 5 schematically shows a form of the situation-dependent behavior control by the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy (SBL) 108 (including the reflex behavior unit 109). The recognition result of the external environment by the recognition systems 101 to 103 is given to the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 (including the reflex behavior unit 109) as an external stimulus. Further, a change in the internal state according to the recognition result of the external environment by the recognition system is also given to the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108. Then, the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 can determine a situation according to an external stimulus or a change in the internal state, and implement the behavior selection.
[0096]
FIG. 6 shows a basic operation example of the behavior control by the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 (SBL), the activity level of each behavior module (schema) is calculated based on an external stimulus or a change in the internal state, and the schema is determined according to the activity level. Select and perform action. For the calculation of the activity level, for example, by using a library, a uniform calculation process can be performed for all schemas (hereinafter the same). For example, a schema having the highest activity level may be selected, or two or more schemas exceeding a predetermined threshold may be selected and executed in parallel. Assume that there is no hardware resource conflict between the schemas).
[0097]
FIG. 7 shows an operation example when a reflex action is performed by the situation-dependent action hierarchy 108 shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in the figure, the reflexive action unit 109 (ReflexiveSBL) included in the context-dependent action hierarchy 108 calculates the activity level by directly using the external stimulus recognized by each object of the recognition system, An action is executed by selecting a schema according to the degree of the activity level. In this case, the change in the internal state is not used for calculating the activity level.
[0098]
FIG. 8 shows an operation example when emotion expression is performed by the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 shown in FIG. The internal state management unit 104 manages emotions such as instinct and emotion as a mathematical model. In response to the state value of the emotion parameter reaching a predetermined value, a change in the internal state is transmitted to the situation-dependent behavior layer 108. Notify (notify). The situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 calculates an activity level by using a change in the internal state as an input, selects a schema according to the degree of the activity level, and executes an action. In this case, the external stimulus recognized by each object of the recognition system is used for managing and updating the internal state in the internal state management unit 104 (ISM), but is not used for calculating the activity level of the schema.
[0099]
C-2. Schema (behavior module)
The situation-dependent action hierarchy 108 prepares a state machine for each action module, classifies the recognition result of the external information input by the sensor depending on the action or situation before that, and performs the action on the aircraft. Express. The action module describes an action of the body and implements a state transition (state machine) accompanying the action execution, and evaluates the execution of the action described in the action function according to an external stimulus or an internal state to determine a situation. It is described as a schema having a Monitor function to perform. FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a situation in which the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 is configured by a plurality of schemas.
[0100]
The context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 (more strictly, of the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108, a hierarchy that controls normal context-dependent behavior) is configured as a tree structure in which a plurality of schemas are hierarchically connected, and is used for external stimuli and Behavior control is performed by integrally determining a more optimal schema according to changes in the internal state. The tree includes a plurality of subtrees (or branches) such as a behavior model in which ethological situation-dependent behavior is formalized, and a subtree for executing emotional expression.
[0101]
FIG. 10 schematically shows a tree structure of a schema in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108. As shown in the figure, the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 starts from a root schema that receives a notification (Notify) of an external stimulus from the short-term storage unit 105 and moves from an abstract behavior category to a specific behavior category. A schema is provided for each hierarchy. For example, in a hierarchy immediately below the root schema, schemas of “Search”, “Eatestive”, and “Play” are provided. Below the “search”, a schema describing a more specific search action, such as “InvestigativeLocomotion”, “HeadinAirSniffing”, and “InvestigativeSniffing”, is provided. Similarly, a schema describing more specific eating and drinking behaviors such as “Eat” and “Dlink” is provided below the schema “Eative”, and “Scheme (Play)” is below the schema “Play”. A schema describing a more specific playing action such as "Play Bowing", "Play Greeting", or "Play Paying" is provided.
[0102]
As shown, each schema inputs an external stimulus and an internal state. Each schema has at least a Monitor function and an Action function.
[0103]
FIG. 11 schematically shows the internal structure of the schema. As shown in the figure, the schema includes an Action function that describes a body operation in the form of a state transition model (state machine) in which a state (or a state) changes according to occurrence of a predetermined event, and an external stimulus. The Monitor function that evaluates each state of the Action function according to the internal state and returns it as an activity level value, and the state machine of the Action function is any of READY (ready), ACTIVE (active), and SLEEP (waiting). And a state management unit that stores and manages the state of the schema as the state.
[0104]
The Monitor function is a function that calculates an activity level (Activation Level: AL value) of the schema according to the external stimulus and the internal state. When the tree structure shown in FIG. 10 is configured, the upper (parent) schema can call the Monitor function of the lower (child) schema with the external stimulus and the internal state as arguments, and the child schema has the AL value. Is the return value. The schema can also call the Monitor function of the child's schema to calculate its own AL value. As the root schema, the AL value from each subtree is returned, so that the optimal schema, that is, the action according to the change of the external stimulus and the internal state, that is, the behavior can be determined in an integrated manner.
[0105]
For example, as the root schema, a schema having the highest AL value may be selected, or two or more schemas having an AL value exceeding a predetermined threshold may be selected and executed in parallel (however, the action may be performed in parallel). When executing in parallel, it is assumed that there is no hardware resource conflict between the schemas.)
[0106]
FIG. 12 schematically shows the internal configuration of the Monitor function. As shown in the figure, the Monitor function includes a behavior induction evaluation value calculator for calculating an evaluation value for inducing a behavior described in the schema as an activity level, and a used resource calculator for specifying an aircraft resource to be used. It has. In the example shown in FIG. 11, when the Monitor function is called from the behavior state control unit (tentative name) that manages the schema, that is, the behavior module, the Monitor function virtually executes the state machine of the Action function, and the behavior induction evaluation value (that is, the activity induction evaluation value). Calculates the used resource and the used resource, and returns it.
[0107]
The Action function includes a state machine (or state transition model) (described later) that describes the behavior of the schema itself. When the tree structure shown in FIG. 10 is configured, the parent schema can call the Action function to start or suspend the execution of the child schema. In this embodiment, the Action state machine is not initialized unless it becomes Ready. In other words, the state is not reset even if interrupted, and the schema saves the work data being executed, so that interrupted re-execution is possible (described later).
[0108]
In the example shown in FIG. 11, the behavior state control unit (tentative name) that manages the schema, that is, the behavior module, selects the behavior to be executed based on the return value from the Monitor function, and calls the Action function of the corresponding schema. Or instruct the transition of the state of the schema stored in the state management unit. For example, a schema having the highest activity level as a behavior induction evaluation value is selected, or a plurality of schemas are selected according to a priority order so that resources do not conflict. Also, the behavior state control unit saves the state of the lower-priority schema from ACTIVE to SLEEP when a higher-priority schema is activated and a resource conflict occurs. Control the state of the schema, such as recovering.
[0109]
As shown in FIG. 13, the behavior state control unit may be provided in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 only once, and all schemas constituting the hierarchy 108 may be centrally managed.
[0110]
In the illustrated example, the behavior state control unit includes a behavior evaluation unit, a behavior selection unit, and a behavior execution unit. The behavior evaluation unit calls the Monitor function of each schema at a predetermined control cycle, for example, to acquire each activity level and used resources.
[0111]
The action selection unit performs action control and management of machine resources using each schema. For example, schemas are selected in descending order of the aggregated activity levels, and two or more schemas are simultaneously selected (within a range managed in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108) so that resources used do not conflict.
[0112]
The action execution unit issues an action execution command to the Action function of the selected schema, and manages the state of the schema (READY, ACTIVE, SLEEP) to control the execution of the schema. For example, when a schema with a higher priority is activated and a resource conflict occurs, the state of a schema with a lower priority is saved from ACTIVE to SLEEP, and when the conflict is resolved, the schema is restored to ACTIVE.
[0113]
Alternatively, the function of the behavior state control unit may be arranged for each schema in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the schema forms a tree structure (see FIG. 14), the behavior state control of the upper (parent) schema is performed by using the external stimulus and the internal state as arguments, and The Monitor function of the (child) schema is called, and the activity level and the used resource are received as return values from the child schema. The child's schema also calls the child's schema Monitor function to calculate its activity level and resources used. Then, the activity level and the used resources from each subtree are returned to the behavior state control unit of the root schema. , Action function to start or suspend execution of the child schema.
[0114]
FIG. 15 schematically shows a mechanism for controlling normal context-dependent behavior in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108.
[0115]
As shown in the drawing, an external stimulus is input (Notify) from the short-term storage unit 105 and a change in the internal state is input from the internal state management unit 109 to the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108. The context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 is composed of a plurality of sub-trees, such as a behavior model in which ethological situation-dependent behavior is formalized, and a sub-tree for executing emotional expression. In response to the notification of the external stimulus (Notify), the monitor function of each subtree is called, and the activity level (AL value) as a return value is referred to, and an integrated action selection is performed. Call the action function on the subtree that implements the action. The context-dependent behavior determined in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 is applied to the body operation (Motion Controller) through arbitration of hardware resource competition with the reflex behavior by the reflex behavior unit 109 by the resource manager. .
[0116]
In addition, in the context-dependent behavior layer 108, the reflex behavior section 109 executes reflex / direct body motion in response to an external stimulus recognized by each object of the above-described recognition system (for example, when an obstacle is detected). Avoid immediately by detection). Therefore, unlike the case of controlling the normal situation-dependent behavior (FIG. 10), a plurality of schemas for directly inputting signals from the respective objects of the recognition system are arranged in parallel without being hierarchized. .
[0117]
C-3. Structure of reflex behavior hierarchy
The reflection behavior hierarchy 109 is a behavior hierarchy that governs behavior that is extremely critical for the system, and has a state machine (or state transition model) for each behavior module. The behavior module is described as a schema (schema) including a Monitor function for performing a situation determination according to an external stimulus or a change in an internal state, and an Action function for implementing a state transition (state machine) accompanying the behavior execution ( Ibid.)
[0118]
FIG. 16 shows the internal configuration of the reflex behavior hierarchy 109. As shown in the figure, the configuration is made up of a plurality of schemas, and the configuration of each schema is as described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.
[0119]
In the example shown in the drawing, the reflex behavior hierarchy 109 includes, under the root schema, a schema for booting the system, a schema for shutting down the system, a reflex behavior for releasing a specific error, or a recognized external stimulus. A group of schemas for performing a reflexive body operation in accordance with the schema is arranged.
[0120]
When an external stimulus is input from a recognition function unit such as the visual recognition function unit 101, the auditory recognition function unit 102, and the contact recognition function unit 103, the root schema calls the Monitor function of each lower-level schema to determine the activity level. Receives the level and the resources used during schema execution as a return value, and executes the schema with the highest activity level.
[0121]
The boot action module and the shutdown action module need to use all the aircraft resources. On the other hand, the error handling / reflex action module uses only the machine resources related to a specific error or the like.
[0122]
C-4. Cooperative behavior of the context-dependent behavior hierarchy and reflex behavior hierarchy
According to the situation-dependent behavior layer 108, it is possible to selectively execute a situation-dependent behavior consisting of an external stimulus obtained by a sensor input and the internal state of the robot itself, depending on the behavior or situation before that.
[0123]
On the other hand, the reflex behavior layer 109 executes extremely critical behaviors for the system, such as booting and shutting down the system and clearing a specific error.
[0124]
The situation-dependent behavior and the reflex behavior are implemented as different control hierarchy levels in the robot behavior control system (see FIG. 9) and can be executed simultaneously or in parallel. However, in such a hierarchical system architecture, there is no way to communicate, that is, exchange information, between the behavioral layers. For this reason, if activities that interfere with each other are independently expressed in each behavioral hierarchy, a malfunction of the system is caused, and it is difficult to perform consistent performance as the whole system.
[0125]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, a so-called interface function for communicating log information describing the activity of the schema in one behavior hierarchy to the other behavior hierarchy is provided, and the schema of the schema is communicated via this interface in the other behavior hierarchy. The execution was monitored to perform collaborative or intense schema execution. As a result, the performance of the system is improved in terms of use of computer resources, user satisfaction, and the like.
[0126]
FIG. 17 illustrates a mechanism for realizing a cooperative operation that can be executed concurrently between the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 and the reflex behavior hierarchy 109.
[0127]
As shown in the figure, a log memory client (log memory module) 151 is provided in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108, and a log memory server (log memory module) is provided in the reflection behavior hierarchy 109. 152 are provided, and the server and the client are connected via a communication unit 153.
[0128]
Further, in the situation behavior dependent behavior hierarchy 108, a reflection behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 is arranged immediately below the root schema of the tree-structured schema group. The reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 has a dummy Action function, and the Monitor function maximizes its activity level in response to the execution of the schema in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109, as well as all the resources used (or The resource used in the reflection behavior hierarchy 109) is set as a return value. As a result, since the root schema always selects the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154, resource contention between the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 and the reflex behavior hierarchy 109 is avoided, and a system-critical schema is executed without any trouble. be able to.
[0129]
A mechanism for generating log information related to the execution of the schema is provided for each behavior hierarchy. A mechanism for exchanging log information between the behavior layers is implemented in a client-server format. In each action hierarchy, a mechanism for extracting log information from the log memory is provided.
[0130]
During system execution, a schema is appropriately selected and executed according to the above-described mechanism. Then, an activity log including information on the schema being executed is generated using a logging mechanism in each behavior hierarchy. The log information preferably includes, for example, the following data.
[0131]
(1) Schema identification information (layer ID, schema ID, schema name)
(2) Execution status (for example, READY, ACTIVE, SLEEP)
(3) Sub-execution status (for example, start (Start), end (End), success (Success), failure (Fail))
(4) Execution target
(5) Execution time
[0132]
FIG. 18 shows a configuration example of the log memory module. FIG. 19 shows a setting example of the memory configuration.
[0133]
Using the log information exchange mechanism between the action layers, that is, the communication unit 153, the log information generated in one action layer is transferred to the log memory of the other action layer.
[0134]
In the example illustrated in FIG. 17, the log memory module of each behavior layer operates as the client 151 and the server 152. The log memory module stores log information generated by executing a schema in the behavior hierarchy. When the external behavior hierarchy is connected as a client, the log memory module transfers the log information to the client. At the same time, the log memory module can be connected as a client to the memory module of the external behavior hierarchy. In this case, the log information generated in the external action hierarchy can be extracted and stored.
[0135]
Using a log information retrieval mechanism, each schema can access log information from a log memory module in the behavior hierarchy. Due to the communication function between the internal log memory module and the external behavioral hierarchy, the activity log includes information of both inside and outside the behavioral hierarchy.
[0136]
As described above, improper interference between the schemas (contention of used resources) causes a malfunction of the system, and must be avoided or limited.
[0137]
More specifically, the contextual behavior hierarchy 108 should not prevent the execution of system-critical behavior. For example, in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109, it is detected at the time of system boot (boot schema activity), at the time of shutdown (shutdown schema activity), and at the time of error avoidance processing or reflex behavior (error processing / reflex behavior schema). The schema of the contextual behavior hierarchy 108 should not be activated in the error situation being handled.
[0138]
The reflection behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 is disposed in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 immediately below the root schema of the tree-structured schema group. The reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 monitors the activity log in the log memory client 151 and determines the start / end of each schema in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109, that is, the boot schema, the shutdown schema, and the error avoidance schema. To detect. When the activity of the schema in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109 is detected, the reflex behavior monitoring schema 154 performs appropriate processing. For example, the execution of other schemas in the context 108 is restricted. Further, when the activity of the schema in the reflex action hierarchy 109 ends, the restriction imposed by the activity detection is released.
[0139]
In the reflex behavior hierarchy 109, the activity log is activated. That is, when the schema is executed, log information is generated.
[0140]
The log memory module in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 is connected as a client to the log memory module in the reflection behavior hierarchy 109. Accordingly, the log information generated in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109 is transferred to the log memory module in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108, that is, the log memory client 151.
[0141]
The reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 searches for a related schema log using identification information such as a hierarchy ID, a schema ID, and a schema name. A specific schema can be searched using both the hierarchical ID and the schema ID. Further, the activity levels of all schemas in the hierarchy can be obtained using only the hierarchy ID.
[0142]
Use the execution status and sub-execution status to retrieve the relevant activity of the selected schema. For example, execution start and execution end can be found by searching for (ACTIVE, Start) and (ACTIVE, (End, Success)), respectively.
[0143]
In the present embodiment, the execution of the schema is selected or restricted in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 based on the following criteria using resource contention and activity level.
[0144]
(1) Grant execution rights to all schemas that do not conflict with resources used
(2) When a conflict occurs, the execution right is granted to the schema having a higher activity level, and execution of all other conflicting schemas already being executed is stopped.
[0145]
Such a schema selection and execution policy is applied only in the behavior hierarchy, and only the schema in the behavior hierarchy is considered. Therefore, even if resource conflicts occur between schemas executed in different behavioral hierarchies, they cannot be detected, resulting in inappropriate interference between schema activities.
[0146]
In this embodiment, the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 can use a schema selection and execution policy based on resource contention and activity levels to limit the activity of other schemas within the context-sensitive behavior hierarchy 108. That is, the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 requests appropriate resources and excites the activity level sufficiently high. Regarding resource contention, the running schema is stopped, and another schema is prevented from being selected and executed.
[0147]
The reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 selects an appropriate resource according to the activity of the schema detected in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109. When a boot schema and a shutdown schema are selected and executed, the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 requests all machine resources. When the error avoidance schema or the reflex behavior schema is selected and executed, the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 requests only the machine resources related to the specific error or the like.
[0148]
The reflection behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 is disposed immediately below the root schema in the situation behavior dependence behavior hierarchy 108, so that it can significantly affect the selection and execution of other schemas in the behavior hierarchy. it can.
[0149]
The Monitor function of the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 maximizes its activity level in response to the execution of the schema in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109, and uses all the resources used (or used in the reflex behavior hierarchy 109). Resource) as the return value. As a result, since the root schema always selects the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154, resource contention between the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 and the reflex behavior hierarchy 109 is avoided, and a system-critical schema is executed without any trouble. be able to.
[0150]
In addition, the reflection behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154 can release the restriction on schema selection and execution imposed by the activity detection by releasing its own required resources and lowering the activity level. This removes resource contention and allows other schemas to continue normal activity.
[0151]
In this way, with the intervention of the reflex behavior hierarchy monitoring schema 154, it is possible to preferably avoid resource competition between a plurality of behavior hierarchies, and to cooperatively and organically execute in parallel without inappropriate interference. it can.
[0152]
In each behavior hierarchy, a schema can be selected and executed according to a unique policy. Further, resource management in each behavior hierarchy can be simplified.
[0153]
In addition, a new behavior hierarchy can be developed independently of the existing behavior hierarchy, and no special modification is required when installing this in the system.
[0154]
[Supplement]
The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments. However, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0155]
The gist of the present invention is not necessarily limited to products called “robots”. In other words, if it is a mechanical device that performs a motion similar to the movement of a human using electric or magnetic action, or another mobile machine, or an information processing system that controls the behavior of the mechanical device, for example, a toy The present invention can be similarly applied to products belonging to other industrial fields.
[0156]
In short, the present invention has been disclosed by way of example, and the contents described in this specification should not be interpreted in a limited manner. In order to determine the gist of the present invention, the claims described at the beginning should be considered.
[0157]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a situation-dependent action of integrally judging a situation where a robot is placed and selecting an appropriate action is reflected in response to a recognized external stimulus. It is possible to provide an excellent robot behavior control system that can appropriately perform a reflection-type behavior for realizing a body operation.
[0158]
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an excellent robot behavior control system capable of cooperatively and organically executing a situation-dependent action and a reflex action in a cooperative and organic manner without inappropriate interference. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of a robot device 1 used in the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control unit 20 in further detail.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of a behavior control system 100 of the robot device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an object configuration of the behavior control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a form of situation-dependent behavior control by a situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a basic operation example of behavior control by the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation example when a reflex action is performed by the situation-dependent action hierarchy shown in FIG. 5;
8 is a diagram illustrating an operation example when emotion expression is performed by the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating a situation in which the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 is configured by a plurality of schemas.
FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a tree structure of a schema in a context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108.
FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a schema.
FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a Monitor function.
FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of an action state control unit.
FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically illustrating another configuration example of the behavior state control unit.
FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing a mechanism for controlling normal context-dependent behavior in the context-dependent behavior hierarchy 108.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the reflex behavior hierarchy 109.
FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism of a cooperative operation between the situation-dependent behavior hierarchy 108 and the reflex behavior hierarchy 109.
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a log memory module.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a setting example of a memory configuration.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Robot device
15 ... CCD camera
16 ... Microphone
17… Speaker
18 ... Touch sensor
19 ... LED indicator
20 ... Control unit
21 ... CPU
22 ... RAM
23… ROM
24: Non-volatile memory
25 ... Interface
26 ... Wireless communication interface
27 ... Network interface card
28 ... Bus
29 ... Keyboard
40 ... input / output unit
50 ... Drive unit
51 ... motor
52 ... Encoder
53 ... Driver
100 ... behavior control system
101: Visual recognition function unit
102: Auditory recognition function unit
103 ... Touch recognition function unit
105: Short-term memory
106: Long-term storage unit
107: Reflection behavior hierarchy
108 ... Situation-dependent behavior hierarchy
109 ... Reflex action part

Claims (12)

An action control system for an autonomously operating robot,
A first behavior hierarchy for controlling the behavior of the robot;
A second behavior hierarchy that controls the behavior of the robot independently of the first behavior hierarchy;
A log memory module that is provided for each behavior hierarchy and records the execution status of the behavior in the behavior hierarchy,
A connection unit for communicating recorded contents between the log memory modules of each behavior hierarchy,
A behavior control system for a robot, comprising: The first behavioral hierarchy is a situation-dependent behavioral hierarchy that integrally determines a situation where the robot is placed and selects an appropriate behavior,
The second behavioral hierarchy is a reflexive behavioral hierarchy that governs behaviors that are critical to the system;
The robot behavior control system according to claim 1, wherein: In the first behavior hierarchy, the behavior in the first behavior hierarchy is controlled in accordance with the recorded contents of the log memory module on the second behavior hierarchy obtained via the connection unit.
The robot behavior control system according to claim 1, wherein: In the first behavioral hierarchy, based on the recorded contents of the log memory module of the second behavioral hierarchy obtained through the connection unit, the second behavioral hierarchy is in a standby state while the second behavioral hierarchy is active. Become,
The robot behavior control system according to claim 3, wherein: In the first behavioral hierarchy, based on the recorded contents of the log memory module of the second behavioral hierarchy obtained via the connection unit, an aircraft resource used in the second behavioral hierarchy is determined. Select actions that have been avoided,
The robot behavior control system according to claim 3, wherein: Each of the above-mentioned action levels is:
One or more behavior modules, comprising: a state machine describing the aircraft operation; and an activity evaluator that evaluates an activity level of the current aircraft operation state in the state machine and an aircraft resource used at the time of activation of the aircraft operation state. ,
Instruct the action evaluator of each action module to calculate an activity level and a used resource, select an action module to be activated according to each activity level and a used resource, and select the selected action module. An action state control unit that controls the action state of each action module by instructing the state machine to execute,
The robot behavior control system according to claim 1, further comprising: The behavior evaluator evaluates an activity level of the state machine according to an external environment of an airframe and / or an internal state of the robot.
The robot behavior control system according to claim 6, wherein: The behavior state control unit transitions the behavior module having the decreased activity level from the active state to the standby state, and transitions the behavior module having the increased activity level from the standby state to the active state.
The robot behavior control system according to claim 6, wherein: The behavior state control unit selects two or more behavior modules whose resources do not compete with each other according to the activity level.
The robot behavior control system according to claim 6, wherein: In each of the above-mentioned action levels, each of the above-mentioned action modules is configured in a tree structure form according to the realization level of the body operation,
The behavior state control unit disposed in the top-level behavior module of the tree structure is configured to instruct the behavior module to evaluate an activity level and a used resource toward the lower level of the tree structure, and to select a behavior module. , And instruct the execution of the state machine,
The robot behavior control system according to claim 6, wherein: The activity log of the behavior module in the second behavior hierarchy is monitored via the log memory module immediately below the root behavior module in the first behavior hierarchy, and the activity log in the second behavior hierarchy is monitored. A behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module for detecting start / end of each behavior module is provided.
The robot behavior control system according to claim 10, wherein: The behavior hierarchy monitoring behavior module excites its activity level sufficiently high in response to the activity of the behavior module on the second behavior hierarchy side detected via the log memory module, and Request resources,
The robot behavior control system according to claim 12, wherein:

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