JP5429462B2 - Communication robot - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication robot, and more particularly to, for example, a communication robot that takes a communication action with one or a plurality of communication objects by executing an action module including a series of action programs.

  The present applicant has proposed a communication robot in Patent Document 1. For example, the communication robot disclosed in Patent Literature 1 receives information transmitted from an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag possessed by a plurality of users (communication targets), thereby identifying a user existing in the vicinity or in the vicinity. Then, this communication robot identifies the nearest user from the radio wave intensity when each RFID tag transmits, takes a communication action, and sets the history of the executed communication action as the communication target that executed the communication action. Record in association.

JP2007-320033 [B25J 13/08]

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, by leaving a communication action history, it is possible to avoid talking to a user again about the contents once spoken to a certain user. However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, since it is only possible to switch on / off whether information presented in the past is presented or not, it is assumed that the communication robot is executing various communication actions suitable for the communication target. Is hard to say.

  Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a novel communication robot.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a communication robot capable of executing various communication actions suitable for a communication target.

  The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. Note that reference numerals in parentheses, supplementary explanations, and the like indicate correspondence relationships with embodiments described later to help understanding of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention in any way.

A first invention is a communication robot that takes a communication action with one or a plurality of communication objects by executing an action module consisting of a series of action programs, individually identifying the communication objects, and Identification information acquisition means for acquiring the personal identification information of the target, user familiarity storage means for storing the user familiarity of the communication target in association with the personal identification information of the communication target, and personal identification acquired by the identification information acquisition means first reading means for reading user intimacy corresponding to information from the user familiarity storing means, and sensing the current response of the communication target, collected sensing information, each consisting of a plurality of parameters associated with the sensing closeness Sensing information acquiring means, sensing familiarity determining means for determining a sensing closeness communication target based on the sensing familiarity corresponding to each parameter of the sensing information obtained by sensing the information acquisition means for, read out by the first reading means user intimacy that is, by comparing the sensing closeness that is determined by sensing the closeness determining means, determining the smaller value of among them as a communication familiarity when to communicate action against communication target Communication closeness determining unit, behavior module execution information storage means for storing behavior module execution information in association with the communication familiarity to, communication determined by the communication closeness determining means Second reading means for reading the action module execution information corresponding to the density from the behavior module execution information storage means, and with reference to the behavior module execution information read by the second reading means, behavior module executing means for executing an action module It is a communication robot equipped with.

  In the first invention, the communication robot (10) takes communication behavior by executing a behavior module consisting of a series of behavior programs, and obtains identification information acquisition means for acquiring personal identification information of a user to be communicated (102). In the user closeness storage means (108), the user closeness set by the communication robot for each user is stored in association with the personal identification information of the user. The first reading means (S27) specifies a user corresponding to the personal identification information and reads the user familiarity of the user from the user familiarity storage means. The sensing information acquisition means (S29) acquires the user's sensing information, and the sensing familiarity calculation means (S31) calculates the sensing familiarity based on the sensing information. Then, the communication closeness calculating means (S33) calculates the communication closeness based on the user closeness and the sensing closeness. The behavior module execution information storage means (110, 112) stores behavior module execution information when executing the behavior module in association with the communication familiarity. The behavior module execution means (S39) executes the behavior module with reference to the behavior module execution information read from the behavior module execution information storage means according to the communication familiarity.

  According to the first aspect, the behavior can be executed according to the communication familiarity. Therefore, various communication actions suitable for the communication target can be executed.

A second invention is a communication robot that takes a communication action with one or a plurality of communication objects by executing an action module composed of a series of action programs, individually identifying the communication objects, and Identification information acquisition means for acquiring the personal identification information of the target, user familiarity storage means for storing the user familiarity of the communication target in association with the personal identification information of the communication target, and personal identification acquired by the identification information acquisition means Based on the sensing information obtained by the first reading means for reading out the user intimacy corresponding to the information from the user intimacy storage means, sensing information obtaining means for obtaining the sensing information to be communicated, and sensing information obtaining means. A sensing intimacy calculating means for calculating a sensing intimacy of a communication target, based on the user intimacy read by the first reading means and the sensing intimacy calculated by the sensing intimacy calculating means. Correspondence to communication familiarity calculated by communication familiarity calculation means for calculating communication familiarity when taking, behavior module execution information storage means for storing behavior module execution information in association with communication familiarity, and communication familiarity calculation means The behavior module execution information to be read is read from the behavior module execution information storage means, the behavior module execution information is read by referring to the behavior module execution information read by the second readout means. Action module executing means for performing, setting information storage means for storing setting information as to whether or not to add the user intimacy of the communication target after taking the communication action in association with the type of communication action related to the action module, action after the behavior module is executed by the third reading means, behavior module execution means for reading the setting information corresponding to the communication behavior according to the behavior module executed from the setting information storage means by the module execution means, read out by the third reading means refers to the setting information, when it is determined that adding the user intimacy communication subject by determining means, and determination means for determining whether to add the user intimacy communication target, user familiarity storing means Remembered It is a communication robot provided with the familiarity addition means which adds the said user familiarity of the said communication object .

  In the second invention, the determining means (S41) determines whether or not to add the user intimacy of the user who became the communication target after the execution of the behavior is completed. When adding the user intimacy, the updating means (S43) adds 1 to the user intimacy of the user who became the communication target, and updates the user intimacy storage means (108).

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to execute a communication action suitable in a timely manner by sequentially changing the user familiarity.

  A third invention is dependent on the first or second invention, and the action module execution information includes an utterance content when a communication action is taken.

  In the third invention, the action module execution information storage means (110, 112) includes, for example, an utterance content database (110), and this utterance content database includes an utterance when the communication robot (10) takes a communication action. The contents are stored in association with the communication intimacy.

  A fourth invention is dependent on any one of the first to third inventions, and the action module execution information includes a dialogue distance with the communication target when the communication action is taken.

  In the fourth invention, the action module execution information storage means (110, 112) includes, for example, an utterance situation database (112), and the utterance situation database includes a user when the communication robot (10) takes a communication action. Is stored in association with the communication intimacy.

  A fifth invention is dependent on any one of the first to fourth inventions, and the action module execution information includes a ratio of time for making eye contact with a communication target with respect to time for taking communication action.

  In the fifth invention, the action module execution information storage means (110, 112) includes, for example, an utterance situation database (112), and the utterance situation database includes communication for the time when the communication robot (10) takes communication action. The proportion of time for eye contact with the subject is stored in association with the communication familiarity.

  A sixth invention is dependent on any one of the first to fifth inventions, the communication object has a unique wireless tag, and the identification information acquisition means includes tag information acquisition means for acquiring tag information of the wireless tag. The user closeness storage means stores the user closeness of the communication target in association with the tag information of the wireless tag.

  In the sixth invention, each user to be communicated wears a wireless tag (12), and the identification information acquisition means (102) acquires tag information such as RFID. The user closeness storage means (108) stores user closeness set by the communication robot for each user in association with tag information.

  According to the present invention, the communication closeness is calculated based on the user closeness and sensing closeness of the user who is the communication target, and the behavior is executed according to the communication closeness. Can be executed.

  The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the communication robot of one Example of this invention, and a user. It is an external view which shows an example of the communication robot shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the communication robot shown in FIG. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the table memorize | stored in user information DB. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the table memorize | stored in speech content DB. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the table memorize | stored in speech state DB. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of a communication robot. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement of the execution process of the behavior according to the familiarity of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a communication robot (hereinafter simply referred to as “robot”) 10 of this embodiment takes a communication action by executing an action module composed of a series of action programs.

  As shown in FIG. 1, there are a user A, a user B, and a user C to be communicated in the vicinity of or around the robot 10, for example, the user A, the user B, and the user C are respectively connected to a wireless tag. (RFID tag) 12 is carried or attached. Each of the wireless tags 12 superimposes tag information (personal identification information) such as a unique RFID on a radio wave of a predetermined frequency and transmits (transmits) at regular time intervals. Although FIG. 1 shows the case where there are three users, it is sufficient that the number of users is one or more.

  The hardware configuration of the robot 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 10 includes a carriage 30, and two wheels 32 and one slave wheel 34 that autonomously move the robot 10 are provided on the lower surface of the carriage 30. The two wheels 32 are independently driven by a wheel motor 36 (see FIG. 3), and the carriage 30, that is, the robot 10 can be moved in any direction, front, back, left, and right. The slave wheel 34 is an auxiliary wheel that assists the wheel 32. Therefore, the robot 10 can move in the arranged space by autonomous control. However, the robot 10 may be fixedly arranged at a certain place.

  A cylindrical sensor attachment panel 38 is provided on the carriage 30, and a large number of infrared distance sensors 40 are attached to the sensor attachment panel 38. These infrared distance sensors 40 measure the distance from the sensor mounting panel 38, that is, an object (such as a human being or an obstacle) around the robot 10.

  In this embodiment, an infrared distance sensor is used as the distance sensor, but an ultrasonic distance sensor, a millimeter wave radar, or the like can be used instead of the infrared distance sensor.

  A body 42 is provided on the sensor mounting panel 38 so as to stand upright. Further, the above-described infrared distance sensor 40 is further provided at the front center upper portion of the body 42 (a position corresponding to a person's chest), and measures the distance mainly to a human in front of the robot 10. Further, the body 42 is provided with a support column 44 extending from substantially the center of the upper end of the side surface, and an omnidirectional camera 46 is provided on the support column 44. The omnidirectional camera 46 photographs the surroundings of the robot 10 and is distinguished from an eye camera 70 described later. As this omnidirectional camera 46, for example, a camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD or a CMOS can be adopted. In addition, the installation positions of the infrared distance sensor 40 and the omnidirectional camera 46 are not limited to the portions, and can be changed as appropriate.

  An upper arm 50R and an upper arm 50L are provided at upper end portions on both sides of the torso 42 (position corresponding to a human shoulder) by a shoulder joint 48R and a shoulder joint 48L, respectively. Although illustration is omitted, each of the shoulder joint 48R and the shoulder joint 48L has three orthogonal degrees of freedom. That is, the shoulder joint 48R can control the angle of the upper arm 50R around each of three orthogonal axes. A certain axis (yaw axis) of the shoulder joint 48R is an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction (or axis) of the upper arm 50R, and the other two axes (pitch axis and roll axis) are orthogonal to the axes from different directions. It is an axis to do. Similarly, the shoulder joint 48L can control the angle of the upper arm 50L around each of three orthogonal axes. A certain axis (yaw axis) of the shoulder joint 48L is an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction (or axis) of the upper arm 50L, and the other two axes (pitch axis and roll axis) are orthogonal to the axes from different directions. It is an axis to do.

  In addition, an elbow joint 52R and an elbow joint 52L are provided at the respective distal ends of the upper arm 50R and the upper arm 50L. Although illustration is omitted, each of the elbow joint 52R and the elbow joint 52L has one degree of freedom, and the angle of the forearm 54R and the forearm 54L can be controlled around the axis (pitch axis).

  A sphere 56R and a sphere 56L corresponding to a human hand are fixedly provided at the tips of the forearm 54R and the forearm 54L, respectively. However, when a finger or palm function is required, a “hand” in the shape of a human hand can be used. Although not shown, the front surface of the carriage 30, the portion corresponding to the shoulder including the shoulder joint 48R and the shoulder joint 48L, the upper arm 50R, the upper arm 50L, the forearm 54R, the forearm 54L, the sphere 56R, and the sphere 56L, A contact sensor 58 (shown generically in FIG. 3) is provided. A contact sensor 58 on the front surface of the carriage 30 detects contact of a person or another obstacle with the carriage 30. Therefore, when the robot 10 is in contact with an obstacle during its movement, the robot 10 can detect it and immediately stop driving the wheels 32 to suddenly stop the movement of the robot 10. Further, the other contact sensors 58 detect whether or not the respective parts are touched. In addition, the installation position of the contact sensor 58 is not limited to the said site | part, and may be provided in an appropriate position (position corresponding to a person's chest, abdomen, side, back, and waist).

  A neck joint 60 is provided at the upper center of the body 42 (a position corresponding to a person's neck), and a head 62 is further provided thereon. Although illustration is omitted, the neck joint 60 has a degree of freedom of three axes, and the angle can be controlled around each of the three axes. A certain axis (yaw axis) is an axis directed directly above (vertically upward) of the robot 10, and the other two axes (pitch axis and roll axis) are axes orthogonal to each other in different directions.

  The head 62 is provided with a speaker 64 at a position corresponding to a human mouth. The speaker 64 is used for the robot 10 to communicate with a person around it by voice or sound. A microphone 66R and a microphone 66L are provided at a position corresponding to a human ear. Hereinafter, the right microphone 66R and the left microphone 66L may be collectively referred to as a microphone 66. The microphone 66 captures ambient sounds, in particular, the voices of humans who are subjects of communication. Furthermore, an eyeball part 68R and an eyeball part 68L are provided at positions corresponding to human eyes. The eyeball portion 68R and the eyeball portion 68L include an eye camera 70R and an eye camera 70L, respectively. Hereinafter, the right eyeball part 68R and the left eyeball part 68L may be collectively referred to as the eyeball part 68. The right eye camera 70R and the left eye camera 70L may be collectively referred to as an eye camera 70.

  The eye camera 70 captures a human face approaching the robot 10, other parts or objects, and captures a corresponding video signal. The eye camera 70 can be the same camera as the omnidirectional camera 46 described above. For example, the eye camera 70 is fixed in the eyeball unit 68, and the eyeball unit 68 is attached to a predetermined position in the head 62 via an eyeball support unit (not shown). Although illustration is omitted, the eyeball support portion has two degrees of freedom, and the angle can be controlled around each of these axes. For example, one of the two axes is an axis (yaw axis) in a direction toward the top of the head 62, and the other is orthogonal to the one axis and goes straight in a direction in which the front side (face) of the head 62 faces. It is an axis (pitch axis) in the direction to be performed. By rotating the eyeball support portion around each of these two axes, the tip (front) side of the eyeball portion 68 or the eye camera 70 is displaced, and the camera axis, that is, the line-of-sight direction is moved. Note that the installation positions of the speaker 64, the microphone 66, and the eye camera 70 described above are not limited to those portions, and may be provided at appropriate positions.

  As described above, the robot 10 of this embodiment includes independent two-axis driving of the wheels 32, three degrees of freedom of the shoulder joint 48 (6 degrees of freedom on the left and right), and one degree of freedom of the elbow joint 52 (two degrees of freedom on the left and right). It has a total of 17 degrees of freedom, 3 degrees of freedom for the neck joint 60 and 2 degrees of freedom for the eyeball support (4 degrees of freedom on the left and right).

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the robot 10. Referring to FIG. 3, robot 10 includes a CPU 80. The CPU 80 is also called a microcomputer or a processor, and is connected to the memory 84, the motor control board 86, the sensor input / output board 88 and the audio input / output board 90 via the bus 82.

  Although not shown, the memory 84 includes a ROM, an HDD, and a RAM. The ROM and HDD store programs and data for controlling the behavior of the robot 10. Here, the behavior indicates the communication behavior of the robot 10 realized by the behavior module, and a plurality of behavior modules are stored in the ROM and HDD in association with each behavior. The RAM is used as a work memory or a buffer memory.

  The motor control board 86 is constituted by, for example, a DSP, and controls driving of each axis motor such as each arm, neck joint, and eyeball unit. That is, the motor control board 86 receives control data from the CPU 80, and controls two motors (collectively indicated as “right eyeball motor 92” in FIG. 3) that control the angles of the two axes of the right eyeball portion 68R. Control the rotation angle. Similarly, the motor control board 86 receives control data from the CPU 80, and controls two angles of the two axes of the left eyeball portion 68L (in FIG. 3, collectively referred to as “left eyeball motor 94”). ) To control the rotation angle.

  The motor control board 86 receives control data from the CPU 80, and includes a total of four motors including three motors for controlling the angles of the three orthogonal axes of the shoulder joint 48R and one motor for controlling the angle of the elbow joint 52R. The rotation angle of two motors (collectively indicated as “right arm motor 96” in FIG. 3) is controlled. Similarly, the motor control board 86 receives control data from the CPU 80, and includes three motors for controlling the angles of the three orthogonal axes of the shoulder joint 48L and one motor for controlling the angle of the elbow joint 52L. The rotation angles of a total of four motors (collectively indicated as “left arm motor 98” in FIG. 3) are controlled.

  Further, the motor control board 86 receives control data from the CPU 80, and controls three motors that control the angles of the three orthogonal axes of the neck joint 60 (in FIG. 3, collectively indicated as “head motor 100”). Control the rotation angle. The motor control board 86 receives control data from the CPU 80 and controls the rotation angles of the two motors (collectively indicated as “wheel motor 36” in FIG. 3) that drive the wheels 32. In this embodiment, a motor other than the wheel motor 36 uses a stepping motor (that is, a pulse motor) in order to simplify the control. However, a DC motor may be used similarly to the wheel motor 36. The actuator that drives the body part of the robot 12 is not limited to a motor that uses a current as a power source, and may be changed as appropriate. For example, in another embodiment, an air actuator may be applied.

  Similar to the motor control board 86, the sensor input / output board 88 is configured by a DSP and takes in signals from each sensor and gives them to the CPU 80. That is, data relating to the reflection time from each of the infrared distance sensors 40 is input to the CPU 80 through the sensor input / output board 88. The video signal from the omnidirectional camera 46 is input to the CPU 80 after being subjected to predetermined processing by the sensor input / output board 88 as necessary. Similarly, the video signal from the eye camera 70 is also input to the CPU 80. Further, signals from the plurality of contact sensors 58 described above (collectively indicated as “contact sensors 58” in FIG. 3) are provided to the CPU 80 via the sensor input / output board 88. Similarly, the voice input / output board 90 is also configured by a DSP, and voice or voice in accordance with voice synthesis data provided from the CPU 80 is output from the speaker 64. In addition, voice input from the microphone 66 is given to the CPU 80 via the voice input / output board 90.

  Further, the wireless tag reader 102 is connected to the CPU 80 via the bus 82. The wireless tag reader 102 receives a radio wave on which tag information transmitted from the wireless tag 12 (RFID tag) is superimposed via an antenna (not shown). The wireless tag reader 102 amplifies the received radio wave signal, separates the identification signal from the radio wave signal, demodulates (decodes) the tag information, and supplies the tag information to the CPU 80. As described above, the wireless tag 12 is attached to a human (user A, user B, user C) that exists near or around the robot 10, and the wireless tag reader 102 removes the wireless tag 12 within the communicable range. To detect. Note that the wireless tag 12 may be an active type or a passive type that is driven in accordance with a radio wave transmitted from the wireless tag reader 102.

  The CPU 80 is connected to the communication LAN board 104 via the bus 82. The communication LAN board 104 is configured by a DSP, for example, and provides transmission data given from the CPU 80 to the wireless communication device 106, and the wireless communication device 106 transmits the transmission data to an external computer via a network. The communication LAN board 104 receives data via the wireless communication device 106 and gives the received data to the CPU 80.

  Further, the CPU 80 is connected to a plurality of databases (hereinafter referred to as DB) via the bus 82. Specifically, the CPU 80 is connected to the user information DB 108, the utterance content DB 110, and the utterance situation DB 112.

In the user information DB 108, as shown in FIG. 4 , the RFID (tag information) of the wireless tag 12 attached to the user and the user intimacy (user intimacy) are associated with the name of the user to be communicated. Stored in the table. Here, the user familiarity is a numerical value indicating the familiarity set by the robot 10 for each user, and is represented by an integer from 0 to 3. The larger the numerical value, the higher the familiarity. The user can be registered in advance in the user information DB 108 by the developer of the robot 10 operating the external computer, and when adding a new user, the user familiarity of the new user is “0”. It is. Then, as will be described in detail later, when the robot 10 performs a specific communication action (behavior) on the user, the user intimacy of the user is added.

  For example, in this user information table, it can be seen that the wireless tag 12 attached to the user A has an RFID “AAAA” and the user closeness of the user A is “2”. Further, the wireless tag 12 attached to the user B has the RFID “BBBB”, and the user closeness of the user B is “3”. Further, the wireless tag 12 attached to the user C has an RFID of “CCCC”, and it can be seen that the user closeness of the user C is “1”.

  In the utterance content DB 110 and the utterance situation DB 112, information (behavior module execution information) related to the execution of the behavior module is stored in association with the familiarity (communication familiarity) when the robot 10 executes the communication behavior (behavior). Yes. Therefore, the utterance content DB 110 and the utterance situation DB 112 correspond to action module execution information storage means.

  Here, the communication intimacy is a numerical value indicating the intimacy when the robot 10 executes communication behavior (behavior), and is expressed by an integer from 0 to 3, and the greater the numerical value, the higher the intimacy. As will be described in detail later, the communication familiarity is calculated based on the user familiarity and the sensing familiarity of the user to be communicated, and the robot 10 executes the behavior module read according to the communication familiarity. The action module is executed with reference to the information.

As shown in FIG. 5 , in the utterance content DB 110, utterance content (utterance content information) when the robot 10 executes behaviors such as “Talk (greeting)”, “Guide (way guidance)”, and “Bye”. ) Is stored in a table in association with the communication familiarity of the robot 10, such as when the communication familiarity is 1, the communication familiarity is 2, and the communication familiarity is 3. In the table, “YES” or “NO” is stored for each behavior as to whether or not to add 1 to the user intimacy of the user who became the communication target after executing the behavior.

  For example, in the utterance content information table, when the “Talk (greeting)” behavior is executed, when the communication familiarity is 1, the robot 10 speaks “for the first time” and the communication familiarity is 2. robot 10 speaks as "Hello", it can be seen that the robot 10 in case communication intimacy degree of 3 utters "Hello, also thanks for coming." Also, when executing the “Guide” behavior, if the communication familiarity is 1, the robot 10 speaks “Would you like to guide you through the shopping center?” And the communication familiarity is 2. It is understood that the robot 10 utters “Where should I guide you?”, And when the communication familiarity is 3, the robot 10 utters “Since you guide anywhere, please listen if you like”. Further, when the behavior of “Bye” is executed, the robot 10 speaks “Bai Bai” when the communication familiarity is 1, and the robot 10 “come back” when the communication familiarity is 2. When the communication intimacy is 3, the robot 10 speaks “Thank you for coming today, please come again”. Furthermore, it is understood that the user familiarity of the user who is the communication target is incremented by 1 after the execution of the “Bye” behavior.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6 , in the utterance situation DB 112, information relating to the utterance situation when the robot 10 executes the behavior (utterance situation information) is stored in a table in association with the communication familiarity. For example, the table shows the communication distance of the robot 10 when the robot 10 executes the behavior, and the ratio of the time when the robot 10 makes eye contact to the time when the robot 10 takes the communication action. Is stored in association with.

  For example, in this utterance status information table, “If the communication familiarity of the robot 10 is 1, the dialogue distance with the user when the robot 10 speaks is 3.0 m, and the robot 10 It can be seen that the proportion of time for maintaining eye contact is 10%, and when the communication familiarity of the robot 10 is 2, the dialogue distance with the user when the robot 10 speaks is 2.0 m, It can be seen that the percentage of time that the robot 10 maintains eye contact with the user when speaking is 40%, and when the communication familiarity of the robot 10 is 3, the communication with the user when the robot 10 speaks The dialogue distance is 0.8 m, and the percentage of time that the robot 10 maintains eye contact with the user when speaking is 70%. There it can be seen.

  However, the configuration of the tables shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 is merely an example, and the configuration of the tables may be any configuration as long as the technical idea of the present invention can be realized.

  As described above, the program for realizing the communication behavior (behavior) of the robot 12 is executed as a modularized “behavior module”. The execution order of the behavior modules is set as “action module state transitions”, which are short-term transitions or transitions of the behavior modules, realizing communication behavior that maintains a consistent context or a harmonious situation in the long term Is done.

  In this embodiment, when the robot 10 executes a communication action (behavior), the wireless tag reader 102 detects the wireless tag 12 within the communicable range, and the user wearing the wireless tag 12 (user A, user A, The user to be communicated is specified from the users B and C).

  When the user to be communicated is specified, the robot 10 acquires the sensing information of the user. Here, the sensing information is obtained by sensing the current reaction of the user 10 to be communicated with the robot 10, and in this embodiment, the sensing information includes “distance with the user”, “tactile sensor”, “ It consists of four parameters, “facial expression of user” and “position of line of sight of user”. Then, the robot 10 determines whether the familiarity is “0”, “1”, “2”, or “3” in each of these parameters.

  In “user interaction distance”, the infrared distance sensor 40 detects the interaction distance between the robot 10 and the user, and the detection result indicates whether the familiarity is “0”, “1”, “2”, or “3”. to decide. For example, if the conversation distance is equal to or less than a predetermined close distance (for example, about 0.5 m), the intimacy is set to “3”, and if the conversation distance is equal to or less than a predetermined individual distance (for example, about 1.2 m), 2 is set, and if it is less than a predetermined social distance (for example, about 3.5 m), the familiarity is set to “1”, otherwise, the familiarity is set to “0”.

  In the “tactile sensor”, whether or not the user touches the robot 10 is detected by the contact sensor 58, and whether the familiarity is “0” or “3” is determined based on the detection result. For example, when the head of the robot 10 has been stroked by the user in the past one minute, the familiarity is set to “3”, otherwise, the familiarity is set to “0”.

  In “user facial expression”, the facial expression of the user is detected based on the facial image captured by the omnidirectional camera 46 or the eye camera 70, and the closeness is “0” or “3” depending on the detection result. To determine. For example, if the ratio of the facial expression (smile) of the user laughing to the interaction time between the robot 10 and the user is 70% or more, the intimacy is set to “3”, otherwise The intimacy is set to “0”.

  Further, in “the line of sight of the user”, the position of the line of sight of the user is detected based on the face image taken by the omnidirectional camera 46 or the eye camera 70, and the closeness is “0” or “1” depending on the detection result. "," 2 "or" 3 ". For example, if the ratio of the time when the user's line of sight is directed to the face of the robot 10 with respect to the interaction time between the robot 10 and the user is 70% or more, the familiarity is set to “3”, and the ratio of the time is 50 If the percentage is greater than or equal to%, the familiarity is set to “2”, if the time ratio is 25% or greater, the familiarity is set to “1”, and if not, the familiarity is set to “0”.

  Then, the largest numerical value among the numerical values of the familiarity of each parameter is set as the sensing familiarity. Here, the sensing familiarity is a numerical value indicating the familiarity calculated based on the user's sensing information, and is represented by an integer from 0 to 3. The larger the numerical value, the higher the familiarity. For example, the intimacy at the “dialogue distance with the user” is 2, the intimacy at the “tactile sensor” is 0, the intimacy at the “facial expression of the user” is 3, When the familiarity at the line-of-sight position is 1, the sensing familiarity is 3.

  When the sensing familiarity is calculated, the robot 10 sets the smaller numerical value as the communication familiarity among the numerical value of the sensing familiarity and the numerical value of the user familiarity of the user read from the user information DB 104. For example, when the user familiarity is 2 and the sensing familiarity is 3, the communication familiarity is 2.

  Then, the robot 10 reads out the program data of the behavior module corresponding to the behavior from the memory 84, the utterance content information read out from the utterance content DB 110 according to the communication familiarity, and the communication familiarity from the utterance situation DB 112. The behavior specified in the behavior module is performed by giving the utterance status information read according to the behavior.

  Specifically, the CPU 80 of the robot 10 executes the entire process according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the process is started, the CPU 80 first determines whether or not there is a stop command in step S1. Here, for example, it is determined whether there is an end instruction from an external computer, or whether an end button for stopping the robot 10 is pressed.

  If “YES” in the step S1, an end process is executed in a subsequent step S3, and the operation process of the robot 10 is ended. In this end process, each part of the body of the robot 10 may be returned to the home position.

  On the other hand, if “NO” in the step S1, that is, if there is no stop command, the first behavior specified by the state transition of the behavior module is selected in a step S5. Here, for example, information on the state transition of the behavior module (transition information) is transmitted from the external computer to the robot 10 by the developer of the robot 10, and the robot 10 that has received this transition information corresponds to the first behavior according to the transition information. The action module data to be read is read from the memory 104.

  Subsequently, in step S7, it is determined whether the behavior conforms to the communication familiarity. That is, it is determined whether or not the behavior is a behavior registered in the utterance content DB 110. If “YES” in the step S7, a behavior execution process (see FIG. 8) according to the familiarity is started in a step S9, and the process proceeds to the step S13.

  On the other hand, if “NO” in the step S7, a behavior executing process not following the familiarity is started in a step S11. That is, the behavior module corresponding to the behavior is read from the memory 104, the communication behavior defined in the behavior module is performed, and the process proceeds to step S13.

  In a succeeding step S13, it is determined whether or not execution of all the behaviors specified by the behavior module state transition is completed. If “YES” in the step S13, that is, if execution of all the behaviors designated by the state transition of the behavior module is completed, the process returns to the step S1 and the process is repeated.

  On the other hand, if “NO” in the step S13, that is, if the execution of all the behaviors is not yet completed, the next behavior specified by the behavior module state transition is selected in a step S15. When the process of step S15 is completed, the process returns to step S7 to repeat the process.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of behavior execution processing according to the familiarity in step S9 shown in FIG. CPU80 of the robot 10 will acquire personal identification information in step S21, if the execution process of the behavior according to closeness is started. Here, the CPU 80 detects an input from the wireless tag reader 102.

  In a succeeding step S23, it is determined whether or not the personal identification information has been acquired. If “NO” in the step S23, for example, if there is no user wearing the wireless tag 12 in the vicinity of or around the robot 10, for example, “EXPLORE (surrounding the surrounding environment)” "A predetermined behavior for investigating the surrounding environment is executed, and the process returns to step S21 to repeat the process.

  On the other hand, if “YES” in the step S23, for example, if the tag information of the wireless tag 12 can be acquired, the user (user) who has acquired the personal identification information in the subsequent step S27 with reference to the user information DB 104. A, a user B, a user C) are identified as users to be communicated. For example, here, when one wireless tag 12 is detected, the user wearing the wireless tag 12 is targeted for communication, and when a plurality of wireless tags 12 are detected, the wireless tag 12 is attached. A user who has the highest user familiarity among a plurality of users who are working is set as a communication target.

  In step S29, sensing information of the user as a communication target is acquired, and in step S31, the sensing familiarity is calculated based on the sensing information. Here, the robot 10 detects four types of sensing information: “dialogue distance with the user”, “tactile sensor”, “expression of the user's face”, and “position of the user's line of sight”. Then, in each of the four parameters, it is determined whether the familiarity is “0”, “1”, “2”, or “3”, and the largest value among the numerical values of the familiarity of each parameter is determined. And

  Next, in step S33, the communication familiarity is calculated based on the user's own user familiarity read from the user information DB 104 and the sensing familiarity calculated in step S31. Here, for example, the robot 10 sets the smaller numerical value as the communication familiarity among the numerical value of the sensing familiarity and the numerical value of the user familiarity of the user read from the user information DB 104.

  In step S35, the utterance content information corresponding to the communication familiarity is read from the utterance content DB 110, and in step S37, the utterance situation information corresponding to the communication familiarity is read from the utterance situation DB 110.

  In the subsequent step S39, the behavior is executed with reference to the utterance content information and the utterance status information. Here, the program data of the behavior module corresponding to the behavior is read from the memory 84, and the utterance content information read from the utterance content DB 110 in step S35 and the utterance status information read from the utterance status DB 112 in step S37 are included in the program data. The action specified in the action module is performed.

  In step S41, it is determined whether or not the user familiarity of the user is added after the execution of the behavior. If “YES” in the step S41, that is, if “YES” is registered in the table of the execution information DB 110, the user familiarity of the user who became the communication target in the step S43 is incremented by 1, and the user information DB 108 Update. When the process in step S43 is completed, the behavior execution process according to the familiarity is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S13 (see FIG. 7). On the other hand, if “NO” in the step S41, that is, if “NO” is registered in the table of the execution information DB 110, the behavior executing process according to the familiarity is finished as it is, and the step S13 (FIG. 7) is finished. Go to Reference).

  As described above, in this embodiment, the communication target user is specified from the personal identification information for individually identifying the user, and the communication closeness of the robot 10 is calculated based on the user closeness and sensing closeness of the user. Is done. Then, the robot 10 executes the behavior module with reference to the behavior module execution information read from the execution information DB 110 according to the communication familiarity. Therefore, various communication actions suitable for the communication target can be executed.

  Further, in this embodiment, 1 is added to the user familiarity of a user who becomes a communication target after completion of execution of a specific behavior, and the user information DB 108 is updated. Therefore, the user closeness of the user can be changed sequentially, and a communication action suitable for time can be executed.

  In this embodiment, the wireless tag reader 102 detects the wireless tag 12 and identifies the user by the tag information of the wireless tag 12, but personal identification information for individually identifying the user can be acquired. If there is, it is not necessary to be limited to the tag information of the wireless tag 12. For example, a camera may be provided in place of the wireless tag reader 102, and users may be individually identified by face recognition based on the captured image. In such a case, the user information DB 108 stores the face image data of the user, facial feature data (personal identification information), and user intimacy in a table in association with the name of the user to be communicated. Become.

  In this embodiment, the CPU 80 of the robot 10 is connected to the user information DB 108, the utterance content DB 110, and the utterance situation DB 112, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, any of these databases may be provided so as to be accessible on an external network. In such a case, the communication LAN board 104 receives data via the wireless communication device 106 and gives the received data to the CPU 80.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the familiarity of the parameter calculated based on the sensing information is a discrete value, for example, “0”, “1”, “2”, or “3”, and the familiarity of each parameter The largest numerical value among the numerical values is the sensing familiarity, but it is not necessary to be limited to this. For example, the parameter intimacy may be a value including a decimal point such as 0.5. In such a case, of the user familiarity value and the sensing familiarity value, the smaller value is not used as the communication familiarity, but the user familiarity value and the sensing familiarity value are not included. The larger value should be the communication intimacy.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Communication robot 12 ... Wireless tag 60 ... Infrared distance sensor 66 ... Omnidirectional camera 78 ... Contact sensor 84 ... Speaker 86 ... Microphone 90 ... Eye camera 80 ... CPU
82 ... Bus 84 ... Memory 86 ... Motor control board 88 ... Sensor input / output board 90 ... Voice input / output board 102 ... Wireless tag reader 104 ... Communication LAN board 106 ... Wireless communication apparatus 108 ... User information DB
110… utterance content DB
112 ... Utterance situation DB

Claims (6)

A communication robot that performs a communication action with one or a plurality of communication objects by executing an action module including a series of action programs,
Identification information acquisition means for individually identifying the communication target and acquiring personal identification information of the communication target;
User familiarity storage means for storing the user familiarity of the communication target in association with the personal identification information of the communication target,
First reading means for reading out user familiarity corresponding to the personal identification information acquired by the identification information acquiring means from the user familiarity storage means;
Sensing information acquisition means for sensing the current reaction of the communication target, and acquiring sensing information composed of a plurality of parameters each associated with a sensing familiarity ;
Sensing familiarity determining means for determining the sensing familiarity of the communication target based on the sensing familiarity corresponding to each parameter of the sensing information acquired by the sensing information acquiring means,
Compared with user intimacy read by the first reading means, and a sensing closeness that is determined by the sensing closeness determining means, communication numerical smaller among them against the communication target Communication intimacy determination means to determine as communication intimacy when taking action,
Behavior module execution information storage means for storing behavior module execution information in association with the communication intimacy;
The Communication closeness determining means second reading means for reading the action module execution information corresponding to the communication familiarity determined from the behavior module execution information storage unit by, and behavior module execution information read by said second reading means A communication robot comprising behavior module execution means for executing the behavior module. A communication robot that performs a communication action with one or a plurality of communication objects by executing an action module including a series of action programs,
Identification information acquisition means for individually identifying the communication target and acquiring personal identification information of the communication target;
User familiarity storage means for storing the user familiarity of the communication target in association with the personal identification information of the communication target,
First reading means for reading out user familiarity corresponding to the personal identification information acquired by the identification information acquiring means from the user familiarity storage means;
Sensing information acquisition means for acquiring sensing information of the communication target;
Sensing familiarity calculation means for calculating the sensing familiarity of the communication target based on the sensing information acquired by the sensing information acquisition means;
Communication familiarity calculating means for calculating a communication familiarity when taking the communication action based on the user familiarity read by the first reading means and the sensing familiarity calculated by the sensing familiarity calculating means ,
Behavior module execution information storage means for storing behavior module execution information in association with the communication intimacy;
Second reading means for reading action module execution information corresponding to the communication closeness calculated by the communication closeness calculating means from the action module execution information storage means;
Action module execution means for executing the action module with reference to the action module execution information read by the second reading means;
A setting information storage means for storing setting information as to whether or not to add the user closeness of the communication target after taking the communication action in association with the type of communication action related to the action module;
Third reading means for reading setting information corresponding to the communication action related to the action module executed by the action module executing means from the setting information storage means;
After the behavior module is executed by the behavior module execution means, a determination to determine whether or not to add the user intimacy of the communication target with reference to the setting information read by the third reading means means, and when it is determined that adding the user closeness of the communication target by said determining means comprises a familiarity adding means for adding the user closeness of the communication target stored in the user familiarity storing means, Communication robot.   The communication robot according to claim 1, wherein the action module execution information includes an utterance content when the communication action is taken.   The communication robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the action module execution information includes a dialogue distance with the communication target when the communication action is taken.   The communication robot according to claim 1, wherein the behavior module execution information includes a ratio of time for making eye contact with the communication target with respect to time for taking the communication behavior. The communication object has a unique wireless tag,
The identification information acquisition means includes tag information acquisition means for acquiring tag information of the wireless tag,
The communication robot according to claim 1, wherein the user closeness storage unit stores the user closeness of the communication target in association with tag information of the wireless tag.

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