KR102451123B1 - Method and apparatus for getting on and off an elevator which can be applicable to multi robots - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for getting on and off an elevator of a multi-robot.
An elevator getting on and off method of a plurality of mobile robots according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an information receiving step in which each of the plurality of mobile robots receives driving information and a service operation command from an integrated control system for elevator getting on and off; an entry step of first moving the plurality of mobile robots to a predetermined area in front of the elevator door, and determining whether to enter the elevator; When a plurality of mobile robots succeed in entering the elevator, the size of the inner area of the elevator is identified, the area is divided into N in consideration of the size of the mobile robot, and each divided area is prioritized and moved in turn, If there are obstacles in some of the areas, the area is not used. and an alighting step of performing alighting in the reverse order of the priority used when boarding when getting off the target floor.

Description

Elevator getting on and off method and device of multi-robot {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GETTING ON AND OFF AN ELEVATOR WHICH CAN BE APPLICABLE TO MULTI ROBOTS}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for getting on and off the elevator of multiple robots, and more specifically, the present invention is a method in which a plurality of robots can effectively use the elevator, unlike that one mobile robot performs getting on and off the elevator It relates to a method and apparatus for getting on and off the elevator of a multi-robot that allows a plurality of robots to sequentially board the elevator from the outside according to a set rule and get on and off the target floor in turn.

As the services provided by mobile robots are diversified and the number of individuals increases, studies related to task sharing, scheduling, and control for multiple robots that provide services indoors are being conducted. Elevator getting on and off is essential for service within a multi-story building, and in the case of multiple robots, an algorithm that can increase movement time and space efficiency is needed, away from local route planning and control that simply avoids obstacles.

According to Daniel Troniak, ET AL, "Charlie Rides the Elevator -- Integrating Vision, Navigation and Manipulation towards Multi-floor Robot Locomotion," among the prior art, technologies that a mobile robot uses an elevator for autonomous multi-floor navigation have been studied. have. Recognition of the motion position, moving to the elevator door, pressing the elevator call button, entering the elevator, pressing the control button associated with the target floor, and getting off the correct floor were divided into steps, which are the laser rangefinder, vision system, and robot arm. in need. This prior art focused on machine vision, operation and system integration, and since it is a technology for using an elevator for one robot, it is difficult to directly apply it to multiple robots.

According to Jeong-Gwan Kang, ET AL, "Navigation strategy for the service robot in the elevator environment," among the prior art, a driving strategy of a mobile robot for performing a delivery mission in a multi-story building was dealt with. It includes a button and floor number recognition method, and a grid map-based route planning algorithm inside the elevator. This prior art has mainly dealt with artificial neural network-based object recognition technology, and route planning inside an elevator, and is far from a multi-robot task scheduling point of view.

According to US8010230B2 in the prior art, the invention of a system, method and device in which a robot device automatically searches for and delivers goods, storing a map of a delivery route, collecting sensor data for environmental recognition, and wireless network and remote host center for monitoring includes Although the present prior art uses an elevator as an embodiment, it is difficult to view it as a method of using a general elevator in a manner that moves to a target floor by connecting to the elevator control box through a wired/wireless network.

According to Ali A. Abdulla, ET AL, "A robust method for elevator operation in semi-outdoor environment for mobile robot transportation system in life science laboratories," among the prior art, it relates to a method for stable elevator operation in an outdoor environment, and detection of an entry button , recognizing the floor button and reading the current floor information. HSL color representation, adaptive binary threshold filter, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and methods for minimizing the direct sunlight effect when using a Kinect vision sensor have been proposed. The present prior art is a method for robustly operating an elevator in an outdoor environment where a large number of noise and disturbance exist rather than an indoor environment, and the focus is different from a method for using an elevator by a number of robots in an indoor environment.

According to US8073564B2 of the prior art, a method and system for controlling a plurality of robots include at least one robot display window and a control window for each robot. This prior art relates to a universal user interface for controlling multiple robots, and has little relevance to elevator use technology.

According to Zhi Li, ET AL, "A mechanism for scheduling multi robot intelligent warehouse system face with dynamic demand," among the prior art, we propose a scheduling mechanism for the task allocation problem of multiple robots for intelligent warehouses. It is a heuristic-based approach for optimizing particle swarms, which has an advantage compared to conventional genetic algorithms. This prior art cannot be viewed as a problem regarding route planning and task assignment for elevator boarding and dismounting, as content for efficient work assignment of multiple robots limited to tasks related to general logistics robots, that is, storage, retrieval, and delivery.

In the above prior art, various studies such as not only driving but also elevator button recognition and current floor determination were made to use an elevator in indoor and outdoor environments for a single mobile robot, and task assignment for efficient collaboration of multiple robots There have been concerns about the problem, but there are no prior studies on how to get on and off the elevator for multiple robots.

1. US8010230B2, Robotic ordering and delivery apparatuses, systems and methods (Aug. 30, 2011) 2. US8073564B2, Multi-robot control interface (Dec. 6, 2011)

1. Daniel Troniak, ET AL, "Charlie Rides the Elevator -- Integrating Vision, Navigation and Manipulation towards Multi-floor Robot Locomotion," Proceedings of 2013 International Conference on Computer and Robot Vision, May 2013 2. Jeong-Gwan Kang, ET AL, “Navigation strategy for the service robot in the elevator environment,” Proceedings of 2007 International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems, Oct. 2007 3. Ali A. Abdulla, ET AL, “A robust method for elevator operation in semi-outdoor environment for mobile robot transportation system in life science laboratories,” Proceedings of 2016 IEEE 20th Jubilee International Conference on Intelligent Engineering Systems (INES), July 2016 4. Zhi Li, ET AL, “A mechanism for scheduling multi robot intelligent warehouse system face with dynamic demand,” Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, vol. 31, pp. 469-480, 2020

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for getting on and off the elevator of multiple robots, and more specifically, a plurality of robots are determined so that the plurality of robots can effectively use the elevator. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for getting on and off the elevator of multiple robots that divide the zones from the outside in order to get on and off the elevator in turn according to the rules.

However, the object of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

An elevator getting on and off method of a multi-robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an information receiving step in which each of a plurality of mobile robots receives driving information and a service operation command from an integrated control system for getting on and off the elevator; an entry step of first moving the plurality of mobile robots to a predetermined area in front of the elevator door, and determining whether to enter the elevator; When a plurality of mobile robots succeed in entering the elevator, the size of the inner area of the elevator is identified, the area is divided into N in consideration of the size of the mobile robot, and the divided areas are prioritized and moved in turn, If there are obstacles in some of the areas, the area is not used. and an alighting step of performing alighting in the reverse order of the priority used when boarding when getting off at the target floor.

Preferably, the integrated control system includes a multi-robot integrated control module, and in the multi-robot integrated control module, for integrated control of multiple robots, elevator partition area management, a stack or queue for multiple robots getting on and off ) to monitor the status of getting on and off the mobile robot.

Preferably, the entry step is performed by an elevator external boarding algorithm module in which the mobile robot rides from the outside of the elevator to the inside, and the elevator outside boarding algorithm module determines whether it is possible to move immediately from the current position to the position inside the elevator door when boarding. a first process of checking; a second process of generating a recovery event when movement is impossible, moving to a designated location outside the elevator door when riding, and re-performing the first process after the movement is completed; A third process of moving to a designated position inside the elevator door if it is possible to move; a fourth process of stopping, generating a recovery event, moving to a designated location outside the elevator door when boarding, and re-performing the first process after the movement is completed when an obstacle is detected during movement; a fifth process of notifying the multi-robot integrated control system that it is impossible to ride the elevator when the number of re-executions is two or more; When it arrives at the position inside the elevator door when boarding, it is characterized in that it comprises a sixth process of terminating the elevator external riding algorithm module and proceeding to the elevator internal riding algorithm module.

Preferably, the boarding step is performed by an elevator internal boarding algorithm module in which the mobile robot moves to a suitable position inside the elevator, and the elevator internal boarding algorithm module is located at a place where the mobile robot wants to board among the divided areas of the elevator ( waypoint), and if movement is possible, immediately move and end, and if movement is not possible, the first process proceeds to the second process; a second process of moving to a combination of horizontal and vertical values of the place to be moved; a third process of filling the target waypoint value with the obstacle in the stack when there is an obstacle while moving, and moving to the next target; and a fourth process of notifying the multi-robot integrated control system if it is impossible to move to all of the divided areas in the elevator.

Preferably, the step of getting off is performed by an elevator getting off algorithm module in which the mobile robot moves from a location inside the elevator to a location suitable for getting off,

The elevator internal getting off algorithm module checks whether the mobile robot can immediately move to the pose inside the elevator door when getting off, and if it can move, it moves immediately, proceeds to the elevator external get off algorithm module, and if movement is not possible, proceeds to the second process the first process; a second process of moving to the vertical value of the pose in the elevator door when getting off; and a third process of notifying a problem situation to the multi-robot integrated control system if the mobile robot moves to a pose inside the elevator door when getting off and cannot move.

Preferably, the getting off step is further performed by an elevator external getting off algorithm module in which the mobile robot gets off from the inside of the elevator, and the elevator outside getting off algorithm module is a first process of checking whether there is a robot that got off the current floor in advance. ; a second process of requesting a movement command to the front stack robot when there is a robot that has already gotten off; a third process of moving from the current position to the position outside the elevator door when getting off; and a fourth process of getting on the front stack robots in a reverse order when the corresponding robot is disembarked.

The multi-robot elevator boarding/unloading apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of mobile robots and an integrated control system, and the mobile robots are characterized in that the multi-robot elevator boarding/unloading method is executed.

A computer-readable recording medium according to another embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the program for executing the elevator getting on and off method of the multi-robot is recorded.

As described above, multi-story buildings are predominant in the indoor environment, and the use of elevators is essential to provide various services in such an environment. According to the present invention, if a method of efficiently using a finite elevator space by a plurality of service robots is applied together with a multi-robot integrated control system, the field of service for mobile robots will be expanded in the future and more efficient work will be possible, indoor and outdoor. It can be widely applied to the problem of access to a finite space without distinction.

Effects obtainable in the present invention are not limited to the aforementioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below.

1 shows the configuration of an elevator getting on and off device of multiple robots according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a conceptual diagram of five algorithm modules for performing the elevator getting on and off the multi-robot method according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a minimum area criterion when dividing an area in an elevator.
4 shows an example of region division in an elevator.
5 shows an example of an elevator stack.
6 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator outside boarding algorithm.
7 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator interior boarding algorithm.
8 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator getting off algorithm.
9 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator external getting off algorithm.
Figure 10 shows an embodiment of the elevator getting on and off algorithm of the present invention.
11 shows a method of getting on and off the elevator of a multi-robot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can apply various transformations and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, terms such as "comprises" or "consisting of" are intended to designate that the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification exist, and are intended to indicate that one or more other It is to be understood that this does not preclude the possibility of addition or presence of features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

1 shows the configuration of an elevator getting on and off device of multiple robots according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the multi-robot elevator boarding/unloading apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to include an integrated control system 100 and a plurality of mobile robots 200 . Multiple elevators are possible, but robots can only get on and off the elevators designated by the integrated control system.

The integrated control system 100 transmits driving information and service work command information including a target point to a plurality of robots, and receives the getting on and off status information from the robots to determine in which part of the division area of the elevator the robot is located. , it monitors whether there is a problem with boarding and alighting, and performs task assignment for elevator boarding and alighting of a plurality of robots.

Each of the plurality of mobile robots 200 receives driving information and service work command information from the integrated control system 100 , and when a target point included in the driving information is given, an efficient path regardless of the presence of obstacles (loads, etc.) A local route planner capable of generating and driving is mounted and driving is performed.

Hereinafter, a method for getting on and off the elevator of multiple robots according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

A plurality of robots 200 that will use the elevator receive driving information and service work commands from the integrated control system 100 and drive in the following steps when getting on and off the elevator.

Elevator entry step: Robots that will use the elevator first move to a certain area in front of the elevator door and determine whether to enter the elevator.

Elevator boarding step: If the elevator is successfully entered, the size of the area inside the elevator is identified, and the area is divided by considering the size of the mobile robot. Priority is given to the divided areas and moves in turn, and if there is an obstacle, the area is not used. The plurality of robots 200 extract information on the size of the inner area of the elevator to be boarded, the size of the mobile robot, and the size and number of divided areas from the driving information received from the integrated control system 100 to extract information about the interior of the elevator. You can also divide the area.

Getting off: When getting off, get off in the reverse order of the priority used when boarding. In this case, the method of setting priorities may be different between robots with the same target layer.

Figure 2 shows a conceptual diagram of five algorithm modules for performing the elevator getting on and off the multi-robot method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 2, the algorithm for performing the elevator getting on and off method of the multi-robot according to another embodiment of the present invention is largely composed of five modules.

First, there is a multi-robot integrated control module 101 that controls movements of a plurality of robots included in the integrated control system 100 . The robot integrated control module 101 transmits driving information and service work command information including a target point to a plurality of robots, receives the getting on and off status information from the robots, and confirms where the robot is located in the divided areas of the elevator, , it monitors whether there is a problem with boarding and alighting, and performs task assignment for elevator boarding and alighting of a plurality of robots.

Next, the four modules included in the mobile robot 200 are an elevator external riding algorithm module 101 that rides from the outside of the elevator to the inside, and an elevator internal riding algorithm module 102 that moves to a suitable location inside the elevator. , it is composed of an elevator internal getting off algorithm module 103 that moves from a position inside the elevator to a location suitable for getting off, and an elevator external getting off algorithm module 104 that gets off from the inside of the elevator to the outside.

In the multi-robot integrated control module 101, for integrated control of a plurality of robots, integrated control is performed using elevator area management and a stack or queue for getting on and off the plurality of robots. When the entire elevator area is A x B, horizontal and vertical sections should be separated into appropriate areas. To this end, as shown in FIG. 3 , a circle is made to surround the entire robot, and D corresponding to the corresponding radius is used as the minimum division area standard.

3 is a diagram illustrating a minimum area setting criterion when dividing an elevator area.

4 shows an example of area division in an elevator.

또는 마진을 포함한

를 통해 분할이 이루어진다. 분할된 영역의 수는 Na x Nb개가 된다. 아래 수학식 1은 Na, Nb의 값을 구하는 식이다.As shown in Fig. 4, the elevator area A x B is the minimum area division criterion.

or including margin

division is made through The number of divided regions becomes Na x Nb. Equation 1 below is an expression for obtaining the values of Na and Nb.

[Equation 1]

When the separation (segmentation) of the inner area of the elevator is completed, the multi-robot integrated control module 101 creates an elevator stack or queue, and inserts or removes the robot in the corresponding slot (division area) to perform elevator boarding and unloading.

There are a total of two methods for filling the elevator stack or queue: the row-based method and the column-based method.

5 shows an example of an elevator stack.

The row-based method fills in sequentially from the first row to the last row. As shown in Figure 5, the order of filling one row of the elevator stack is column 1, column Na, column 1+i, column Na-i, ... Repeat incrementing i until all columns are filled. In order to get off the robot filled in the middle of the stack, all the robots above are unloaded in advance, then the selected robot is unloaded, and the remaining robots that have been unloaded are filled in the stack again. manage

The column-based method fills in the edge column first and fills in the middle column at the end. As shown in FIG. 5 , row 1, column Na, column 1+i, column Na-i, ... is repeated while increasing i until all columns are filled. The order of filling a row in the elevator stack is sequentially from the first row to the last row.

6 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator outside boarding algorithm.

The elevator outside boarding algorithm is as follows.

1. Check whether it is possible to move immediately from the current location to the location inside the elevator door when boarding.

1.1 If it is not possible, a recovery event is generated and when boarding, move to the designated location (purple circle, preset) outside the elevator door, and perform 1 again after the movement is completed (if it is impossible to move due to an obstacle, a voice message asking you to move out is output)

1.2 If possible, go to the designated location inside the elevator door (green circle, preset)

2. When an obstacle is detected while moving

2.1 Stop, generate a recovery event, move to the designated location outside the elevator door (purple circle, preset) when boarding, and perform 1 again after the movement is completed

2.2 If the number of re-executions is more than 2, it notifies the multi-robot integrated control system that it is impossible to ride the elevator.

3. When you arrive at the location inside the elevator door when boarding

3.1 End the elevator outside boarding algorithm and execute the elevator inside boarding algorithm.

7 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator interior boarding algorithm.

The elevator interior boarding algorithm is as follows.

1. Check if the robot can move to the waypoint you want to ride.

1.1 Move immediately and exit if possible.

1.2 If not possible, go to 2-1.

2-1. Move to the horizontal value of the waypoint adjusted to move. (Example: To go to a priority 2 waypoint, you must go to a priority 4 waypoint.)

2-2. Move to the vertical value of the waypoint adjusted to move. (Example: Move from priority 4 waypoint to priority 2 waypoint.)

3. If there is an obstacle while moving, fill the target waypoint value with the obstacle in the stack and move to the next target.

4. If it is impossible to move to all places, the multi-robot integrated control system is notified.

8 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator getting off algorithm.

The algorithm for getting off inside the elevator is as follows.

1. Check if the robot can immediately move to the pose inside the elevator door (green circle) when getting off.

1.1 If possible, move immediately, and proceed to the elevator exit algorithm.

1.2 If not, go to step 2.

2. When getting off, move to the vertical value of the pose (green circle) inside the elevator door. (e.g. from a priority 2 waypoint to a priority 4 waypoint)

3. When the robot gets off, it moves to the pose inside the elevator door (green circle).

3.1 If not possible, report the problem to the multi-robot integrated control system.

9 shows a conceptual diagram of an elevator external getting off algorithm.

The algorithm for getting off the elevator is as follows.

1. Check if there are any robots who have already gotten off the current floor.

2. If there is a robot that got off in advance, it requests a move command to the front stack robot.

2.1 When N robots get off, the i-th robot moves as follows.

회만큼 좌측으로 이동, 짝수 번째 로봇은

회만큼 우측으로 이동한다.2.1.1 The odd-numbered robot is

Move to the left by the number of times, the even-numbered robot

Move to the right by one turn.

3. When getting off at the current location, it moves to the location outside the elevator door.

4. When the robot is disembarked, the front stacked robots get on in the reverse order.

Figure 10 shows an embodiment of the elevator getting on and off algorithm of the present invention. An example of four robots getting on and off the elevator will be described. It is assumed that the area of the elevator is divided into a total of 8 areas (slots).

Embodiments 1-6 of FIG. 10 describe a method for the robots 1-4 to ride.

As shown in Example 1 of FIG. 10 , robot 1 cannot directly enter the elevator WP1 from the side of the elevator door, so it must move to the middle point WP2 of the door. The contents of the elevator stack Level 1 stored in the multi-robot integrated control module 101 are empty. In order for the robot to recognize the middle point of the elevator door, it detects the door using the RGB-D sensor built into the robot, recognizes the door using a particle filter, recognizes the center position of the door, and is located at a certain distance from the door. You can move to the midpoint (WP2).

As shown in Example 2 of Figure 10, robot 1 moves to the midpoint (WP1) of the elevator door, moves to a specific point (WP2) in the elevator again, and moves back to the S1,1 area with high priority. Information indicating that the robot 1 moves to the point WP3 and tries to move to the S1,1 area, but detects that there is an obstacle already, and recognizes that it cannot go to the S1,1 area, and that the robot 1 is the obstacle in the S1,1 area. is transmitted to the multi-robot integrated control module 101, and moves out of the elevator. The multi-robot integrated control module 101 stores information indicating that the area S1,1 is an obstacle seat on Level 1 of the elevator stack. In addition, the information of the elevator stack Level 1, which stores information indicating that the S1,1 area is an obstacle seat, is transmitted to all robots so that they can share it.

As shown in Example 3 of FIG. 10, robot 1 recognizes that an obstacle is located in area S1,1 through the received elevator stack Level 1, and then moves to area S2,1 with higher priority. will attempt to move. Robot 1 moves to the middle point (WP1) of the elevator door, moves to a specific point (WP2) in the elevator again, and moves to the S2,1 area with the next highest priority. Robot 1 transmits information indicating that the area S2,1 is the seat of robot 1 to the multi-robot integrated control module 101 . The multi-robot integrated control module 101 stores information indicating that the area S2,1 is the seat of the robot 1 in the elevator stack Level 1. In addition, information of elevator stack Level 1 is transmitted to all robots so that they can share.

As shown in Example 4 of FIG. 10, robot 2 recognizes that an obstacle is located in area S1,1 and robot 1 is located in area S2,1 through the received elevator stack Level 1, Then, it tries to move to the S1,4 area with high priority. Robot 2 moves to the middle point (WP1) of the elevator door, moves back to a specific point (WP2) inside the elevator, and moves back to the inner point (WP3) to move to the next higher priority S1,4, S1, Move to area 4. Robot 2 transmits information indicating that the areas S1 and 4 are the seats of robot 2 to the multi-robot integrated control module 101 . The multi-robot integrated control module 101 stores information indicating that the areas S1 and 4 are the seats of robot 2 in Level 1 of the elevator stack. In addition, information of elevator stack Level 1 is transmitted to all robots so that they can share.

As shown in Example 5 of FIG. 10 , in the robot 3, an obstacle is located in the S1,1 area, the robot 1 is located in the S2,1 area, and the S1,4 area through the received elevator stack Level 1 Recognizing that robot 2 is located in the Robot 3 moves to the middle point (WP1) of the elevator door, moves to a specific point (WP2) in the elevator again, and moves to S2, 4 with the next highest priority. Robot 3 transmits information indicating that the areas S2 and 4 are the seats of robot 3 to the multi-robot integrated control module 101 . The multi-robot integrated control module 101 stores information indicating that the areas S2 and 4 are the seats of robot 3 in Level 1 of the elevator stack. In addition, information of elevator stack Level 1 is transmitted to all robots so that they can share.

As shown in Example 6 of FIG. 10 , the robot 4 has an obstacle located in the S1,1 area through the received elevator stack Level 1, the robot 1 is located in the S2,1 area, and the S1,4 area Recognizing that robot 2 is located in area S2,4 and robot 3 is located in area S2,4, it attempts to move to area S2,2 with the next higher priority. Robot 4 moves to the middle point (WP1) of the elevator door, moves to a specific point (WP2) in the elevator again, and moves to S2,2 with the next highest priority. Robot 4 transmits information indicating that the area S2,2 is the seat of robot 4 to the multi-robot integrated control module 101 . The multi-robot integrated control module 101 stores information indicating that the area S2,2 is the seat of robot 4 in Level 2 of the elevator stack. In addition, information of elevator stack level 1 and elevator stack level 2 is transmitted to all robots so that they can share.

Examples 7-9 of FIG. 10 describe a method for robot 1 to get off. Assume that 10,000 robots get off at a specific target floor of the elevator. The remaining robots will continue to ride. Robot 1-4 receives the information of elevator stack Level 1 and elevator stack Level 2, an obstacle is located in area S1,1, robot 1 is located in area S2,1, and S1, Recognizing that robot 2 is located in area 4, robot 3 is located in area S2,4, and robot 4 is located in area S2,2, in order for robot 1 to get off, robot 4 gets off at the specific target floor After doing this, you can see that robot 1 has to get on after getting off.

As shown in Example 7 of Figure 10, before getting off the robot 1, robot 4 first moves to a specific point (WP2) in the elevator, then moves to the midpoint (WP1) of the elevator door, and then moves to a certain space outside the elevator located in Information indicating that S2,2 is the seat of robot 4 in Stack Level 2 is deleted. The multi-robot integrated control module 101 transmits information of an elevator stack Level 1 and an elevator stack Level 2 to all robots so that the robots can share information.

As shown in Example 8 of FIG. 10, after robot 4 gets off, robot 1 moves to a specific point (WP2) in the elevator, then moves to the midpoint (WP1) of the elevator door, and then goes out of the next elevator. . In Stack Level 1, information indicating that S2,1 is the seat of robot 1 is deleted. The multi-robot integrated control module 101 transmits information of the elevator stack Level 1 to all robots so that the robots can share.

As shown in Example 9 of FIG. 10, after robot 1 gets off, robot 4 moves to a specific point (WP2) in the elevator, then moves to area S2,1, and S2,1 at Stack Level 1 is a robot Stores information indicating that it is the 4's digit. In Stack Level 1, information indicating that S2,1 is the seat of robot 4 is stored. The multi-robot integrated control module 101 transmits information of the elevator stack Level 1 to all robots so that the robots can share.

11 shows a method of getting on and off the elevator of a multi-robot according to another embodiment of the present invention. 11, the elevator getting on and off method of multiple robots according to another embodiment of the present invention is information receiving step (S100), robot entry step (S200), robot boarding step (S300), robot getting off step (S400) is comprised of

In the information receiving step ( S100 ), each of the plurality of mobile robots receives driving information and service work commands from the integrated control system to get on and off the elevator. The integrated control system includes a multi-robot integrated control module, and in the multi-robot integrated control module, for integrated control of multiple robots, using elevator partition area management, a stack or queue for getting on and off multiple robots. Monitor the status of getting on and off the mobile robot.

In the entry step (S200), a plurality of mobile robots first move to a predetermined area in front of the elevator door, and determine whether to enter the elevator. The entry step is performed by the elevator external riding algorithm module in which the mobile robot rides from the outside to the inside of the elevator. The elevator outside boarding algorithm module is a first process of checking whether it is possible to move immediately from the current location to the location inside the elevator door when boarding; a second process of generating a recovery event when movement is impossible, moving to a designated location outside the elevator door when riding, and re-performing the first process after the movement is completed; A third process of moving to a designated position inside the elevator door if it is possible to move; a fourth process of stopping, generating a recovery event, moving to a designated location outside the elevator door when boarding, and re-performing the first process after the movement is completed when an obstacle is detected during movement; a fifth process of notifying the multi-robot integrated control system that it is impossible to ride the elevator when the number of re-executions is two or more; In the case of arriving at the position inside the elevator door when boarding, it includes a sixth process of terminating the elevator external boarding algorithm module and proceeding to the elevator internal boarding algorithm module.

In the boarding step (S300), when a plurality of mobile robots successfully enter the elevator, the size of the inner area of the elevator is identified, the area is divided into N in consideration of the size of the mobile robot, and priority is given to each of the divided areas. Move in turn, but if there are obstacles in some of the divided areas, those areas are not used. The boarding step is performed by an elevator boarding algorithm module in which the mobile robot moves to a suitable location inside the elevator.

The elevator internal boarding algorithm module checks whether the mobile robot can move to the desired waypoint among the divided areas of the elevator, and if it is possible to move, it immediately moves and ends, and if it is impossible to move, it proceeds to the second process. 1 course; a second process of moving to the horizontal value of the waypoint adjusted to move; a third process of moving to the vertical value of the waypoint adjusted to move; a fourth process of filling the target waypoint value with the obstacle in the stack when there is an obstacle while moving, and moving to the next target; and a fifth process of notifying the multi-robot integrated control system if it is impossible to move to all of the divided areas in the elevator.

In the getting off step (S400), when getting off at the target floor, getting off is performed in the reverse order of the priority used when boarding. The step of getting off is performed by an elevator getting off algorithm module in which the mobile robot moves from a location inside the elevator to a location suitable for getting off.

The elevator internal getting off algorithm module checks whether the mobile robot can immediately move to the pose inside the elevator door when getting off, and if it can move, it moves immediately, proceeds to the elevator external get off algorithm module, and if movement is not possible, proceeds to the second process the first process; a second process of moving to the vertical value of the pose in the elevator door when getting off; and a third process of notifying the multi-robot integrated control system of a problem situation if the mobile robot moves to a pose inside the elevator door when getting off, and if it is impossible to move.

The step of getting off is further performed by the elevator outside getting off algorithm module in which the mobile robot gets off from the inside of the elevator to the outside.

The elevator external alighting algorithm module includes a first process of checking whether there is a robot that has already gotten off the current floor; a second process of requesting a movement command to the front stack robot when there is a robot that has already gotten off; a third process of moving from the current position to the position outside the elevator door when getting off; and a fourth process of getting on the front stack robots in a reverse order when the corresponding robot is disembarked.

On the other hand, the elevator getting on and off method of a plurality of mobile robots according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various electronic information processing means and recorded in a storage medium. The storage medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination.

The program instructions recorded in the storage medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the software field. Examples of storage media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magneto-optical media such as floppy disks. (magneto-optical media) and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of the program instruction include not only machine code such as generated by a compiler, but also a device for electronically processing information using an interpreter or the like, for example, a high-level language code that can be executed by a computer.

Although the above has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art may change the present invention in various ways within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. It will be appreciated that modifications and variations are possible.

Claims (12)

In the elevator getting on and off method of multiple robots,
An information receiving step in which each of the plurality of mobile robots receives driving information and a service operation command from the integrated control system to get on and off the elevator;
An entry step of determining whether the plurality of mobile robots move to a predetermined area in front of the elevator door, and whether to enter the elevator;
When a plurality of mobile robots succeed in entering the elevator, the size of the inner area of the elevator is identified, the area is divided into N in consideration of the size of the mobile robot, and each divided area is prioritized and moved in turn, If there are obstacles in some of the areas, the area is not used. and
When getting off at the target floor, it includes an alighting step of performing alighting in the reverse order of the priority used when boarding, or in a re-determined priority,
The entry step is
It is performed by the elevator external riding algorithm module in which the mobile robot rides from the outside to the inside of the elevator,
The elevator outside boarding algorithm module is
A first process of checking whether it is possible to move immediately from the current position to the position inside the elevator door when boarding;
a second process of generating a recovery event when movement is impossible, moving to a designated location outside the elevator door when riding, and re-performing the first process after the movement is completed; and
A third process of moving to a designated position inside the elevator door if it is possible to move;
includes,
The entry step is
a fourth process of stopping, generating a recovery event, moving to a designated location outside the elevator door when boarding, and re-performing the first process after the movement is completed when an obstacle is detected during movement; and
a fifth process of notifying the multi-robot integrated control system that it is impossible to ride the elevator when the number of re-executions is two or more;
Elevator getting on and off method of a multi-robot comprising a.
In the elevator getting on and off method of multiple robots,
An information receiving step in which each of the plurality of mobile robots receives driving information and a service operation command from the integrated control system to get on and off the elevator;
An entry step of determining whether the plurality of mobile robots move to a predetermined area in front of the elevator door, and whether to enter the elevator;
When a plurality of mobile robots succeed in entering the elevator, the size of the inner area of the elevator is identified, the area is divided into N in consideration of the size of the mobile robot, and each divided area is prioritized and moved in turn, If there are obstacles in some of the areas, the area is not used. and
When getting off at the target floor, it includes an alighting step of performing alighting in the reverse order of the priority used when boarding, or in a re-determined priority,
The step off is
It is performed by the elevator interior alighting algorithm module, which moves the mobile robot from the position inside the elevator to a position suitable for getting off
The elevator internal getting off algorithm module is
a first process of checking whether the mobile robot can immediately move to a pose inside the elevator door when getting off, and if it can move, it moves immediately, proceeds to the elevator external alighting algorithm module, and if movement is not possible, proceeds to a second process; and
a second process of moving to the vertical value of the pose in the elevator door when getting off;
Elevator getting on and off method of a multi-robot comprising a.
In the elevator getting on and off method of multiple robots,
An information receiving step in which each of the plurality of mobile robots receives driving information and a service operation command from the integrated control system to get on and off the elevator;
An entry step of determining whether the plurality of mobile robots move to a predetermined area in front of the elevator door, and whether to enter the elevator;
When a plurality of mobile robots succeed in entering the elevator, the size of the inner area of the elevator is identified, the area is divided into N in consideration of the size of the mobile robot, and each divided area is prioritized and moved in turn, If there are obstacles in some of the areas, the area is not used. and
When getting off at the target floor, it includes an alighting step of performing alighting in the reverse order of the priority used when boarding, or in a re-determined priority,
The step off is
The mobile robot is further performed by the elevator external getting off algorithm module to get off from the inside of the elevator,
The elevator external alighting algorithm module is
A first process of checking whether there is a robot that got off the current floor in advance;
a second process of requesting a movement command to the front stack robot when there is a robot that has already gotten off;
a third process of moving from the current position to the position outside the elevator door when getting off; and
After disembarking of the corresponding robot, the front stacked robots board the elevator in the reverse order, characterized in that it includes a fourth process of getting on and off the elevator.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the integrated control system is
Including a multi-robot integrated control module,
In the multi-robot integrated control module, for integrated control of multi-robots, multi-robot, characterized in that the elevator division area management, multi-robot boarding/unloading stack (stack) or queue (queue) is used to monitor the status of getting on and off the mobile robot. How to get on and off the elevator.
The method of claim 1, wherein the entry step
a sixth process of terminating the elevator external boarding algorithm module and proceeding to the elevator internal boarding algorithm module when arriving at the position inside the elevator door when boarding;
Elevator getting on and off method of a multi-robot comprising a.
According to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the riding step
It is performed by the elevator interior boarding algorithm module, in which the mobile robot moves to a suitable location inside the elevator,
The elevator interior boarding algorithm module is
a first process of checking whether the mobile robot can move to a waypoint among the divided areas of the elevator, and if it is possible to move, it immediately moves and ends, and if it is impossible to move, proceeds to the second process; and
a second process of moving to a combination of horizontal and vertical values of the place to be moved;
Elevator getting on and off method of a multi-robot comprising a.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the riding step
a third process of filling the target location value with the obstacle in the stack when there is an obstacle while moving, and moving to the next target; and
a fourth process of notifying the multi-robot integrated control system if it is impossible to move to all of the divided areas in the elevator;
Elevator getting on and off method of a multi-robot comprising a.
delete According to claim 2, wherein the step of getting off
A third process of notifying the problem situation to the multi-robot integrated control system if the mobile robot moves to a pose inside the elevator door when getting off, and if it is impossible to move;
Elevator getting on and off method of a multi-robot comprising a.
delete In the elevator getting on and off device of multiple robots,
Including a plurality of mobile robots and an integrated control system,
The multi-robot elevator getting on and off device, characterized in that the mobile robots execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 and 9.
A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the method of any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 and 9 is recorded.

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