JP2020047188A - Autonomous traveling cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an autonomous traveling cleaner that can detect obstacles and estimate its own position using a single camera with a narrow angle of view.SOLUTION: An autonomous traveling cleaner 100 includes: imaging means 160 for imaging surrounding objects; a drive mechanism 170 capable of changing an attitude of the imaging means 160 around one axis along at least a horizontal plane; an estimating unit 151 that performs self-position estimation based on image information obtained from the imaging means 160; and a drive control unit 152 that controls the drive mechanism 170 so as to improve accuracy of the self-position estimation performed by the estimating unit 151, thereby changing the attitude of the imaging unit 160.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous traveling cleaner that autonomously travels and cleans a floor surface.

  In recent years, based on information from the camera provided by the vacuum cleaner, based on its own movement and its positional relationship with the surroundings, it has performed self-position estimation to understand where it is in the room and acted on that information. Autonomous traveling vacuum cleaners that determine the contents have been proposed.

  Further, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for calculating, from an image obtained by a camera, a distance from a shooting point of the camera to an object included in the image.

Japanese Patent No. 3215616

  When estimating the self-position by one camera provided in the autonomous traveling cleaner and detecting an obstacle, for example, an image of a floor surface is detected to detect the obstacle, and the self-position is obtained from the obtained feature points. As a presumption, when the vehicle turns, it is easy to lose its position. On the other hand, if a camera with a wide angle of view is used to image the ceiling and obstacles on the floor at one time, the self-position can be estimated using the feature points existing on the ceiling and the self-position Although the loss can be avoided, the distortion of the obtained image becomes too large, the error of the self-position estimation becomes large, and the value of the distance to the obstacle includes a large error.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner capable of estimating its own position and imaging an obstacle on the floor with one imaging unit.

  In order to achieve the above object, an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to one aspect of the present invention is an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner that autonomously travels and performs cleaning, and includes an imaging unit that captures an image of an object present in the surroundings, A drive mechanism capable of changing the attitude of the imaging means around one axis along a horizontal plane, an estimating unit for performing self-position estimation based on image information obtained from the imaging means, and accuracy of self-position estimation performed by the estimating unit And a drive control unit that controls the drive mechanism to change the attitude of the imaging unit so that the height of the image pickup unit increases.

  Each of the processes performed by the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner may be realized by a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. Further, the present invention may be realized by any combination of a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the obstacle which exists on a floor surface can be detected accurately with one imaging means, and a self-position can be estimated accurately.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the autonomous traveling cleaner according to the embodiment from above. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the autonomous traveling cleaner according to the embodiment from below. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment from the side. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment together with a mechanical configuration and the like. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an autonomous traveling cleaner according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Each of the embodiments described below shows a specific example of the present invention. Therefore, the numerical values, shapes, materials, constituent elements, arrangement and connection forms of the constituent elements, the steps and the order of the steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and do not limit the present invention. Therefore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in the independent claims that represent the highest concept of the present invention are described as arbitrary components.

  In addition, each drawing is a schematic diagram, and is not necessarily strictly illustrated. In each drawing, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the following embodiments, an expression indicating a direction is used. For example, the orthogonal direction means not only completely orthogonal, but also substantially orthogonal, that is, including an angle difference of, for example, about several percent. The same applies to expressions using other directions.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the autonomous traveling cleaner according to the embodiment from above. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the autonomous traveling cleaner according to the embodiment from below. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment from the side. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 described in these figures is a robot-type vacuum cleaner that autonomously travels on a floor surface of a building having a ceiling and sucks dust on the floor surface, and includes a main body 110 and a main body. A drive unit 120 for moving the unit 110, a cleaning unit 130 for collecting refuse existing on the floor, a suction unit 140 for sucking refuse into the main body 110, a drive unit 120, the cleaning unit 130, the suction unit 140, and the like. The control unit 150 includes a control unit 150 for controlling, an imaging unit 160, a driving mechanism 170, a battery 180, and a storage unit 190.

  The main body 110 is a housing that houses the drive unit 120, the control unit 150, and the like, and has a configuration in which an upper part can be removed from a lower part. A bumper that is displaceable with respect to the main body 110 is attached to an outer peripheral portion of the main body 110. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the main body 110 is provided with a suction port 111 for sucking dust into the main body 110.

  The drive unit 120 causes the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 to travel based on an instruction from the control unit 150. In the present embodiment, one drive unit 120 is disposed on each of the left and right sides with respect to the center in the width direction of main body 110 in plan view. Note that the number of drive units 120 is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more.

  The drive unit 120 includes a wheel that travels on the floor, a traveling motor that applies torque to the wheel, and a housing that houses the traveling motor. The wheel is housed in a recess formed on the lower surface of the main body 110 and is mounted so as to be rotatable with respect to the main body 110. Further, the drive unit 120 may include an encoder or the like for detecting odometry information used for calculating the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100. In the present specification, the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 (the direction in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 travels) means not only the direction in which the vehicle is actually traveling, but also the direction in which it will travel.

  The drive system of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 according to the present embodiment is a two-wheel opposed type including the casters 129 as auxiliary wheels, and by independently controlling the rotation of the two wheels, goes straight, retreats, and turns left. , The autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can be freely driven, such as turning right.

  The cleaning unit 130 is a unit for sucking dust from the suction port 111, and includes a main brush (not shown) disposed in the suction port 111, a brush driving motor for rotating the main brush, and the like.

  The suction unit 140 is arranged inside the main body 110, and has a fan case and an electric fan arranged inside the fan case. The electric fan sucks the dust inside the dust box unit 141 and discharges the air to the outside of the main body 110 to suck dust from the suction port 111 and accommodate the dust in the dust box unit 141.

  The control unit 150 is disposed inside the main body 110, and has a memory and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a control program stored in the memory. Each processing unit realized by the control unit 150 will be described later.

  The imaging unit 160 is a so-called digital camera that images an object such as an obstacle existing around the main body 110 and outputs image information composed of digital signals. In the present embodiment, the imaging unit 160 includes a monocular optical system having a single optical axis, and the image information obtained from the imaging unit 160 includes information indicating the distance from the imaging unit 160 to the object. Not. The angle of view of the optical system included in the imaging unit 160 is selected from 90 degrees or less, and an optical system that cannot capture an entire circumference image of the upper space of the main body 110 is employed. As a result, distortion of an image obtained from the imaging unit 160, a difference in resolution depending on a position in the image, and the like are suppressed.

  The driving mechanism 170 is a mechanism that moves the attitude of the imaging unit 160 at least around one axis along a horizontal plane. In the case of the present embodiment, the drive mechanism 170 can change the attitude of the imaging unit 160 around the first rotation axis extending in the width direction (X-axis direction in the figure) of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 (dashed line in FIG. 3). Can also be changed around the second rotation axis (see the dashed line in FIG. 3) extending in the vertical direction. Note that the drive mechanism 170 may be able to change the attitude of the imaging unit 160 around a rotation axis extending in another direction. Further, the imaging means 160 and the driving mechanism 170 may be provided not only in a protruding manner on the top surface of the main body 110 as shown in FIG.

  The battery 180 (see FIG. 4) is a battery that is electrically connected to the electronic device of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 and supplies power to the electronic device.

  The storage unit 190 is a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which control programs executed by various processing units are stored. The storage unit 190 is realized by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or the like. The storage unit 190 stores correlation information 181 indicating the estimated size of the pixel in the real space with respect to the pixel position of the image generated by the imaging unit 160, and the size of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 (specifically, the size of the main body 110). Size information 182, which is information on (width), and a floor map 183, which is information indicating floor plan, are stored. Note that the lateral width of the main body 110 is the width of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 when viewed from above.

  In addition, examples of the various sensors included in the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 include the following sensors.

  The obstacle sensor 273 is a sensor that detects an obstacle, such as a surrounding wall or furniture, existing in front of the main body 110 and that hinders traveling. In the present embodiment, an ultrasonic sensor is used as the obstacle sensor 273. The obstacle sensor 273 has a transmitting unit 271 disposed at the center in front of the main body 110 and receiving units 272 disposed on both sides of the transmitting unit 271, and is transmitted from the transmitting unit 271 and reflected by the obstacle. The receiving unit 272 receives the returned ultrasonic waves, thereby detecting the distance and position of the obstacle.

  The distance measurement sensor 274 detects the distance between the main body 110 and an object such as an obstacle existing around the main body 110. In the present embodiment, the distance measurement sensor 274 is an infrared sensor having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and measures a distance based on a time until infrared light reflected on an obstacle returns. The distance measuring sensors 274 are arranged, for example, at the right front top and the left front top, respectively. The right distance measurement sensor 274 outputs light toward the diagonally right front of the main body 110. Further, the left distance measurement sensor 274 outputs light toward the diagonally left front of the main body 110. With such a configuration, when the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 turns, the distance measurement sensor 274 detects the distance between the contour of the main body 110 and a nearby object that is closest to the main body 110.

  The floor sensors 276 are arranged at a plurality of locations on the bottom surface of the main body 110 and detect the state of the floor. In the present embodiment, the floor sensor 276 is an infrared sensor having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit. Based on the amount of infrared light emitted from the light emitting unit and returning, for example, the floor surface is wet. Detect the floor condition.

  The dust amount sensor 277 includes, for example, a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and the light receiving element detects and outputs the amount of light emitted from the light emitting element. The amount of received light is made to correspond to the amount of dust based on the output information. Specifically, it is determined that the dust amount increases as the light amount decreases, and dust amount information indicating that fact is generated.

  The above-described obstacle sensor 273, distance measuring sensor 274, collision sensor, floor sensor 276, and dust amount sensor 277 are merely examples, and the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 may not include all sensors. Further, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 may include a sensor different from the above.

  For example, the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 may further include a collision sensor, an encoder, an acceleration sensor, and an angular velocity sensor.

  The collision sensor is a switch contact displacement sensor that is turned on when a bumper attached around the main body 110 comes into contact with an obstacle and is pushed into the main body 110.

  The encoder is provided in the drive unit 120 and detects each rotation angle of a pair of wheels rotated by the traveling motor. Based on the information from the encoder, the travel distance, turning angle, speed, acceleration, angular velocity, and the like of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can be calculated.

  The acceleration sensor detects acceleration when the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 travels.

  The angular velocity sensor detects an angular velocity when the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 turns.

  Information detected by the acceleration sensor and the angular velocity sensor is used as information for correcting an error caused by idling of the wheel.

  Next, each processing unit realized by the control unit 150 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment together with a mechanical configuration and the like. The autonomous traveling cleaner 100 includes an estimation unit 151, a drive control unit 152, and a type identification unit 153 as processing units executed by the control unit 150. In the present embodiment, the control unit 150 is described as one unit in one functional block. However, each processing unit may be divided into a plurality of functional blocks, and may be realized by a plurality of CPUs corresponding to the respective functional blocks. Good.

  The estimating unit 151 is a processing unit that performs self-position estimation based on image information obtained from the imaging unit 160. Although the method of self-position estimation is not particularly limited, in the case of the present embodiment, the estimation unit 151 estimates the self-position by using a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technique. More specifically, a plurality of feature points (landmarks) included in the image information acquired from the imaging unit 160, posture information indicating the posture of the imaging unit 160 obtained from the drive control unit 152, and incorporated into the drive unit 120. The estimation unit 151 integrates signals and the like from the encoder 121 to estimate the self-position and generate self-position information. The estimating unit 151 also estimates a self-position while traveling, and thereby generates a map using a traveling record that is a set of self-position information generated at a plurality of locations. Further, the position (area) of an obstacle such as a wall may be added to the map as information using information detected by various sensors.

  The drive control unit 152 is a processing unit that controls the drive mechanism 170 to change the attitude of the imaging unit 160 so that the accuracy of the self-position estimation performed by the estimation unit 151 increases. When an obstacle existing on the floor is detected based on image information obtained from the imaging unit 160, the posture of the imaging unit 160 is changed so that the floor angle is included in the angle of view. Hereinafter, the posture of the imaging unit 160 for self-position estimation may be referred to as “estimated posture”, and the posture of the imaging unit 160 for obstacle detection may be referred to as “detected posture”.

  Here, the estimated posture of the imaging unit 160 at which the accuracy of the self-position estimation becomes high varies depending on the surrounding environment of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100, but is included in, for example, one piece of image information obtained from the imaging unit 160. By using an estimated posture having a large number of feature points, the accuracy of self-position estimation tends to be high. Therefore, the drive control unit 152 controls the drive mechanism 170 to change the estimated attitude of the imaging unit 160 so that the angle of view includes many feature points.

  Although the method of determining the estimated attitude is not particularly limited, for example, the drive control unit 152 controls the drive mechanism 170 so that the attitude of the imaging unit 160 changes in a predetermined order or randomly, and sequentially captures images. The image information is obtained from the means 160. Then, when the feature point in the image information exceeds the first threshold value, the posture at which the image information was acquired may be determined as the estimated posture.

  When information indicating that ceiling illumination is included in the image information is acquired from the type identification unit 153, the orientation in which the image information is acquired may be determined as the estimated orientation. Furthermore, the posture at which the image of the ceiling illumination has acquired the image information at the center may be determined as the estimated posture.

  Further, the drive control unit 152 controls the drive mechanism 170 so that the imaging unit 160 can acquire a plurality of pieces of image information covering a whole celestial sphere or a range close to the celestial sphere. A posture in which the number of characteristic points exceeds the first threshold may be determined as the estimated posture. Further, the posture having the largest number of feature points within the angle of view of the imaging unit 160 may be determined as the estimated posture. As described above, by determining the estimated posture using the number of feature points included in the angle of view, the processing can be speeded up.

  In addition, the drive control unit 152 controls the drive mechanism 170 so that the optical axis of the imaging unit 160 is directed upward so that the floor surface does not enter the angle of view, in order to determine an estimated posture including many feature points. A plurality of pieces of image information having different regions may be obtained by the imaging unit 160. As a result, the number of pieces of image information acquired to increase the number of feature points included in the image information can be suppressed, and the processing required for determining the estimated posture can be further speeded up.

  Further, the drive control unit 152 may control the drive mechanism 170 so that the type specifying unit 153 (described in detail later) specifies ceiling illumination, and cause the imaging unit 160 to acquire image information. As a result, the number of pieces of image information acquired to increase the number of feature points included in the image information can be suppressed, and the processing required for determining the estimated posture can be further speeded up.

  On the other hand, the estimated posture of the imaging unit 160 at which the accuracy of the self-position estimation becomes high is, for example, an estimated posture in which the number of feature points that can be matched based on a plurality of pieces of image information obtained from the imaging unit 160 is large. The accuracy of the self-position estimation increases. Therefore, the drive control unit 152 changes the estimated attitude of the imaging unit 160 by controlling the drive mechanism 170 so that the angle of view includes many feature points that can be matched.

  Specifically, for example, the imaging unit 160 can acquire a plurality of pieces of image information in which areas overlap in a celestial sphere, a range close to the celestial sphere, a range where the floor surface does not fall within the angle of view, or a range including ceiling illumination. The driving mechanism 170 may be controlled as described above, and the posture in which the number of feature points that can be matched within the angle of view of the imaging unit 160 exceeds the second threshold may be determined as the estimated posture. Further, the posture having the most feature points that can be matched within the angle of view of the imaging unit 160 may be determined as the estimated posture.

  The type specifying unit 153 is a processing unit that specifies the type of the object captured from the image information obtained from the imaging unit 160. The method of specifying the type is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include an AI (artificial intelligence) technique. Specifically, a plurality of pieces of image information are acquired in advance in an environment (including a pseudo environment) in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 performs cleaning, and the image of the object in the image information and the type of the object corresponding to the image are used as data. It prepares, learns using a technique such as deep learning, and if an acquired image includes an image of an object, constructs a type identification model so as to output the type of the object. Furthermore, in addition to the image of the object in the image information and the type of the object corresponding to the image, the image position where the object is displayed is also prepared as data. It is also possible to construct a model that can also output the displayed image position. Furthermore, the actual distance between the object 110 and the object 110 can be estimated based on the image position. The type specifying unit 153 can exemplify a case where the type of an object is specified using the model. In addition, specifying the type of the object includes not only specifying the detailed type of the object but also specifying whether the object can be an obstacle to the traveling of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100. For example, a case in which an image of a window appearing in image information does not become an obstacle, and an image of a small carpet on the floor is specified as an obstacle can be exemplified.

  When detecting an obstacle that hinders the travel of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100, the type identification unit 153 detects the obstacle by identifying the type of the object based on the image information obtained from the imaging unit 160 in the detected attitude. I do. Further, the type specifying unit 153 determines an obstacle based on information on the angle of the imaging unit 160 in the detected attitude acquired from the drive control unit 152, odometry information obtained from the encoder 121 and the like, and the position of the identified obstacle in the image information. The distance to may be calculated.

  The travel control unit 154 controls the drive unit 120 based on, for example, the self-position of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 estimated from information detected by various sensors including the imaging unit 160 included in the autonomous traveling cleaner 100. , A processing unit that controls the traveling and steering of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100.

  The cleaning control unit 155 controls the suction unit 140 to perform cleaning of the floor, such as sucking in dust.

  Next, the operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment.

  First, the drive control unit 152 of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 controls the drive mechanism 170 to set the attitude of the imaging unit 160 to the detected attitude so that the floor to be cleaned is included in the angle of view (S101). Next, the type identification unit detects an obstacle in the image information acquired from the imaging unit 160 (S102). When there is an obstacle, the type identification unit 153 estimates the distance to the obstacle (S103). If no obstacle is detected, the estimated distance is set to the maximum detection distance (S104).

  Next, the drive control unit 152 controls the drive mechanism 170 so that the optical axis of the imaging unit 160 is directed upward so that the floor surface is not included in the angle of view (S105), and image information obtained by imaging a plurality of different regions is obtained. Is obtained from the imaging means 160, and the estimated posture is determined (S106). Note that an arbitrary method such as the above method can be adopted as a method of determining the estimated posture.

  Next, the self-position is estimated based on the feature points in the image information obtained from the imaging means 160 of the estimated posture (S106), and the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 moves on the floor while estimating the self-position. Creation and update of the map are performed as needed (S107). Here, the drive control unit 152 stores, in the storage unit 190, a region to be imaged in the determined estimated posture, the posture of the imaging unit 160, and the like, even if the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 moves on the floor. The estimated posture may be made to follow the traveling state of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 so that the same area falls within the angle of view. Thus, even if the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 moves, the accuracy of the self-position estimation can be maintained at a high level, and the self-position can be stably estimated with high accuracy.

  When the estimating unit 151 loses its own position during cleaning (S108), the drive control unit 152 controls the driving mechanism 170 to change the attitude of the imaging unit so as to increase the accuracy of the self-position estimation (S105). ), The estimated posture is determined again (S106).

  The self-position estimation (S106) and the map creation (S107) are continuously executed until the cleaning is completed (S109). When the cleaning of the predetermined area is completed (S109: Yes), the flow ends.

  As described above, according to the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 100 according to the present embodiment, one unit including an optical system having a relatively narrow angle of view (for example, an angle of view of 90 degrees or less, 30 degrees or more) and a small distortion is provided. The imaging unit 160 detects the obstacle in front, calculates the distance to the obstacle with high accuracy, and performs self-position estimation using the feature points included in the image information obtained from the imaging unit 160 having an appropriate estimated posture. It can be performed with high accuracy. Therefore, the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 can move smoothly without colliding with an obstacle, and can clean the obstacle and the corner of the floor surface cleanly.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, another embodiment that is realized by arbitrarily combining the components described in this specification and excluding some of the components may be an embodiment of the present invention. Further, the gist of the present invention with respect to the above-described embodiment, that is, modified examples obtained by performing various modifications conceivable by those skilled in the art without departing from the meaning indicated by the words described in the claims are also included in the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the above embodiment, after the obstacle is detected with the imaging unit 160 in the detection posture, the cleaning is performed while estimating the self-position, but the cleaning flow is not limited to this. The self-position estimation is performed by setting the imaging unit 160 to the estimated posture, and then the imaging unit 160 is set to the detection posture to perform the cleaning while recognizing the obstacle and estimating the distance to the obstacle. Alternatively, the self-position estimation may be performed by setting the imaging unit 160 to the estimated posture again.

  When estimating the self-position, the optical axis of the imaging unit 160 may be first directed vertically upward. In this case, the probability that the ceiling lighting is included in the angle of view of the imaging unit 160 increases, and the posture in which the ceiling lighting is located at the center may be used as the estimated posture.

  In addition, the estimated posture is determined based on the number of feature points included in one piece of image information and the number of feature points that can be matched, but the total reliability of the feature amount is the maximum, or the third threshold or more. The posture may be determined as the estimated posture.

  When it is desired to more accurately grasp the distance between the obstacle and the autonomous traveling cleaner 100, such as when riding on a carpet recognized as an obstacle to perform cleaning, the angle of view between the leading edge of the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 and the obstacle is different. The drive control unit 152 controls the driving mechanism 170 so that the autonomous traveling cleaner 100 approaches the obstacle according to the information on the distance estimated in advance to a position where the obstacle fits into the obstacle. May be controlled.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner for automatically cleaning a floor surface in a house or the like.

Reference Signs List 100 autonomous traveling cleaner 110 main body 111 suction port 120 drive unit 121 encoder 129 caster 130 cleaning unit 140 suction unit 141 box unit 150 control unit 151 estimation unit 152 drive control unit 153 type identification unit 154 travel control unit 155 cleaning control unit 160 imaging Means 170 Drive mechanism 180 Battery 181 Correlation information 182 Size information 183 Floor map 190 Storage unit 271 Transmitting unit 272 Receiving unit 273 Obstacle sensor 274 Distance measuring sensor 276 Floor surface sensor 277 Dust amount sensor

Claims (6)

An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner that runs and cleans autonomously,
Imaging means for imaging surrounding objects;
A drive mechanism capable of changing the attitude of the imaging means at least around one axis along a horizontal plane;
An estimating unit that performs self-position estimation based on image information obtained from the imaging unit;
An autonomous traveling cleaner comprising: a drive control unit that controls the drive mechanism to change the attitude of the imaging unit so that the accuracy of the self-position estimation performed by the estimation unit is increased. 3. The autonomous traveling according to claim 1, wherein the drive control unit controls the drive mechanism to change an attitude of the imaging unit so that an angle of view includes a large number of feature points included in the image information. 4. Vacuum cleaner. 2. The drive control unit according to claim 1, wherein the drive control unit controls the drive mechanism to change an attitude of the imaging unit so that the angle of view has a large number of feature points that can be matched based on the plurality of pieces of image information. Autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner. The drive control unit controls the drive mechanism so that an optical axis of the imaging unit is directed upward so that a floor surface does not enter an angle of view in order to increase the number of feature points included in the image information. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A type identification unit that identifies the type of an object imaged from the image information obtained from the imaging unit,
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drive control unit controls the drive mechanism to change the attitude of the imaging unit so that the type specifying unit specifies ceiling illumination. . 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the estimating unit loses its own position, the drive control unit controls the driving mechanism to change the attitude of the imaging unit so that the accuracy of the self-position estimation is increased. 7. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to claim 1.

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