WO2020129992A1

WO2020129992A1 - Robot, charging station for robot, and landmark device

Info

Publication number: WO2020129992A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/049459
Authority: WO
Inventors: 要林; 淳哉林; 克則藁谷; 博教小川; 航平川崎; 智彰横山
Original assignee: ＧｒｏｏｖｅＸ株式会社
Priority date: 2018-12-17
Filing date: 2019-12-17
Publication date: 2020-06-25
Also published as: JPWO2020129992A1; JP2024045110A; JP7414285B2

Abstract

The present invention improves the accuracy with which a robot identifies a charging station. The charging station comprises: a charging space that has a power supply terminal; a charging control unit that charges a secondary battery built in the robot when the power supply terminal is connected to the robot in the charging space; a light emission instruction reception unit that receives, from the robot, a light emission signal designating a light emission mode; and a light emission control unit that changes a light emission mode of a light source according to the designated light emission mode. The robot comprises: an operation control unit that selects a motion; a drive mechanism that executes the selected motion; a light emission instruction transmission unit that transmits the light emission signal; and a light recognition unit that recognizes external light. The light recognition unit of the robot specifies external light corresponding to the designated light emission mode, and the operation control unit determines the moving direction of the robot by using a light emission point of the external light as a location point of the charging station.

Description

Robots, charging stations and landmark devices for robots

The present invention relates to a robot that autonomously selects an action according to an internal state or an external environment, and a charging station for charging the robot.

Humans keep pets for healing. On the other hand, many people give up their pets for various reasons, such as not being able to secure sufficient time to care for them, having no living environment for keeping pets, having allergies, and having a difficult bereavement. If there is a robot that plays the role of a pet, healing may be given to those who cannot keep the pet (PATENT DOCUMENTS 1 and 2).

The movement of the robot is a prerequisite for the robot to have a presence as a companion like a pet. The robot is expected to have a function of searching for a charging station and receiving appropriate charging without the assistance of the user (see Patent Documents 3 and 4).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-323219 International Publication No. 2017/169826 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-125641 JP, 2004-151924, A

The charging station shown in Patent Document 3 displays a predetermined mark to inform the robot of its location. The robot identifies the charging station by visually recognizing this mark (see paragraphs [0093][0094] and the like). Further, the charging station of Patent Document 3 also notifies the robot of the location of the charging station by generating sound waves or radio waves (see paragraphs [0099][0100] and the like).

The charging station is expected to be installed in a wide variety of environments. Therefore, even if the charging station displays a predetermined mark, the robot cannot always find the mark. For example, in a room where a mark similar to that of a charging station is drawn on the wall, the robot can misidentify the position of the charging station. The same applies to radio waves and the like, and the robot may mistakenly recognize another signal similar to the signal from the charging station as the signal from the charging station.

The present invention is an invention completed based on the recognition of the above problems, and its main purpose is to provide a technique for increasing the accuracy with which a robot identifies a charging station.

A charging station according to an aspect of the present invention includes a charging space having a power supply terminal, a charging control unit that charges a secondary battery built in the robot when the robot and the power supply terminal are connected in the charging space, and a light source. A light emission instruction receiving unit that receives a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode from the robot, and a light emission control unit that changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the specified light emission mode.

A robot according to an aspect of the present invention includes an operation control unit that selects a motion of the robot, a drive mechanism that executes the motion selected by the operation control unit, and a light emission instruction transmission unit that transmits a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode. , A light recognition unit that recognizes external light.
The light emission instruction transmission unit transmits a light emission signal when charging the secondary battery built into the robot, the light recognition unit identifies the external light corresponding to the specified light emission mode, and the operation control unit determines the external light. The movement direction of the robot is determined by using the light emission point as the location point of the charging station.

A landmark device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a light source, a light emission instruction receiving unit that receives a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode from a robot, and a light emission control that changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the specified light emission mode. And a section.

A guidance system in an aspect of the invention includes a robot, a landmark device, and a charging station.
The robot includes a light recognition unit that recognizes external light, a motion control unit that selects a motion of the robot, a drive mechanism that executes the motion selected by the motion control unit, and a light emission that transmits a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode. And an instruction transmitting unit.
The light emission instruction transmission unit transmits a light emission signal when charging the secondary battery built into the robot, the light recognition unit identifies the external light corresponding to the specified light emission mode, and the operation control unit determines the external light. The movement direction of the robot is determined with the light emission point as the movement target point.
The landmark device includes a light source, a light emission instruction receiving unit that receives a light emission signal from the robot, and a light emission control unit that changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the light emission mode designated by the light emission signal.
The charging station has a charging space having a power supply terminal, a charging control unit that charges a secondary battery of the robot when the robot and the power supply terminal are connected in the charging space, a light source, and a light emission signal that receives a light emission signal from the robot. An instruction receiving unit and a light emission control unit that changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the light emission mode specified by the light emission signal are provided.
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the robot transmits a first light emission signal that specifies the first light emission mode. The light emission control unit of the landmark device changes the light emission mode of the light source in accordance with the first light emission mode designated by the first light emission signal. The light recognition unit of the robot identifies the external light according to the first light emission mode, and the operation control unit of the robot determines the moving direction of the robot with the light emission point of the external light according to the first light emission mode as the movement target point.
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the robot transmits a second light emission signal that specifies the second light emission mode when the robot reaches the location point of the landmark device. The light emission control unit of the charging station changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the second light emission mode designated by the second light emission signal. The light recognition unit of the robot identifies the external light according to the second light emission mode, and the operation control unit of the robot determines the next movement direction of the robot with the light emission point of the external light according to the second light emission mode as the movement target point. To do.

A guidance system in another aspect of the invention includes a first robot, a second robot and a charging station.
Each of the first robot and the second robot has a light recognition unit that recognizes external light, an operation control unit that selects a motion of the robot, and a drive mechanism that executes the motion selected by the operation control unit. A light emission instruction transmission unit that transmits a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode, a light source, a light emission instruction reception unit that receives a light emission signal from another robot, and a light emission mode of the light source according to the light emission mode specified by the light emission signal And a light emission control unit for changing.
The light emission instruction transmission unit transmits a light emission signal when charging the secondary battery built into the robot, the light recognition unit identifies the external light corresponding to the specified light emission mode, and the operation control unit determines the external light. The movement direction of the robot is determined with the light emission point as the movement target point.
The charging station has a charging space having a power supply terminal, a charging control unit that charges a secondary battery of the robot when the robot and the power supply terminal are connected in the charging space, a light source, and a light emission signal that receives a light emission signal from the robot. An instruction receiving unit and a light emission control unit that changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the light emission mode specified by the light emission signal are provided.
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the first robot transmits a first light emission signal designating the first light emission mode. The light emission control unit of the second robot changes the light emission mode of the light source of the second robot according to the first light emission mode designated by the first light emission signal. The light recognition unit of the first robot identifies the external light according to the first light emission mode, and the operation control unit of the first robot uses the light emission point of the external light according to the first light emission mode as the movement target point. Determines the moving direction of the robot.
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the first robot transmits a second light emission signal that specifies the second light emission mode when the first robot reaches the location point of the second robot. The light emission control unit of the charging station changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the second light emission mode designated by the second light emission signal. The light recognition unit of the first robot identifies the external light according to the second light emission mode, and the operation control unit of the first robot uses the light emission point of the external light according to the second light emission mode as the movement target point. Determines the next movement direction of the robot.

According to the present invention, the robot can easily identify the location point of the charging station.

The above-mentioned object and other objects, features and advantages will be further clarified by the preferred embodiments described below and the following drawings accompanying it.

It is a figure for explaining the outline of a charging system. It is a front external view of a robot. It is a side view of a robot. It is a sectional view showing roughly the structure of a robot. It is a hardware block diagram of the robot in a basic configuration. It is a functional block diagram of a robot system in a basic configuration. It is a side view showing a state where the robot wears an outer cover. It is a front view showing the state where the robot wears the outer skin. It is a rear view showing a state where the robot wears an outer cover. It is an external view of the station in this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the station in this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the robot in this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of a landmark device. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process in which a robot searches for a station. It is an expansion perspective view of a light-emitting part. It is a schematic diagram of the light emission part when it sees from the front. It is a schematic diagram of the light emission part when it sees from a side. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the position adjustment method of the robot by a short-distance guidance signal (short-distance infrared rays and ultrasonic waves). 9 is a time chart for explaining a control method when a plurality of robots desire to return to a station. It is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of guiding a robot to a station by a landmark device. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the method of guiding a robot to a station with a robot. It is an external view of the station in a modification. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of identifying a position and a traveling direction of a robot.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the charging system 10.
The charging system 10 includes a charging station 500 capable of simultaneously charging two robots 100. Hereinafter, the charging station may be simply referred to as “station”. The robot 100 is a wheel-running autonomous robot. The robot 100 includes two front wheels and one rear wheel. The left and right front wheels are driven wheels, and the rear wheels are driven wheels made of casters (details will be described later).

Station 500 directs the nests (beds) of multiple robots 100. Two charging spaces 502 (a left space 502L and a right space 502R) are arranged side by side and close to each other so that the two robots 100 can be charged next to each other in a friendly manner. The robot 100 returns to the nest for charging, and faces the front while charging to appeal to the surroundings. The robot 100 enters backwards into either of the two charging spaces 502. That is, the caster becomes the head when entering.

The charging space 502 is provided with a base 504 on which casters ride. When the caster reaches the target position on the base 504, the power supply terminal of the station 500 and the charging terminal of the robot 100 are stably connected and charging is possible.

The robot 100 transmits a light emission signal designating a “light emission mode” such as a blinking cycle to the station 500, and the station 500 causes the light emission unit to emit light in the instructed light emission mode. The “light emitting mode” in the present embodiment is defined as a combination of one or more of a blinking cycle of a light emitting unit (light source), a light emitting amount, a light emitting color, and a light emitting pattern.

The light emission pattern may be information designating the distribution of the lighting time and the lighting time, such as "lighting for 0.5 seconds, turning off for 1.5 seconds, lighting for 1.0 second, turning off for 0.5 seconds". , "Information of three types of light sources of red light source, yellow light source, and violet light source, the red light source and the yellow light source are turned on" may be specified. Hereinafter, the light generated by the station 500 will be referred to as “guide light”. The robot 100 detects the guide light and specifies the light emission point of the guide light as the location point of the station 500.
Hereinafter, a basic configuration of the robot 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, and then a method of identifying the location point of the station 500 by the robot 100 will be mainly described.

[Basic configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the robot 100. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a side view.
The robot 100 is an autonomous action type robot that determines an action based on an external environment and an internal state. The external environment is recognized by various sensors such as a camera and a thermo sensor 115. The internal state is quantified as various parameters expressing the emotion of the robot 100. The robot 100 sets the indoor area of the owner's home as an action range. Hereinafter, a person involved in the robot 100 is called a “user”. Of the users, the owner or administrator of the robot 100 is called the “owner”.

The body 104 of the robot 100 has a rounded shape as a whole, and includes an outer skin 314 formed of a soft and elastic material such as urethane, rubber, resin, or fiber. The robot 100 may be dressed. The total weight of the robot 100 is about 5 to 15 kilograms, and the height is about 0.5 to 1.2 meters. Due to various attributes such as appropriate weight, roundness, softness, and good feel, the effect that the user can easily hold the robot 100 and that he/she wants to hold the robot 100 is realized.

The robot 100 includes a pair of front wheels 102 (left wheel 102a, right wheel 102b) and one rear wheel 103. The front wheels 102 are driving wheels and the rear wheels 103 are driven wheels. The front wheels 102 do not have a steering mechanism, but the rotation speed and rotation direction of the left and right wheels can be individually controlled. The rear wheel 103 is a caster and is rotatable to move the robot 100 back and forth and left and right. The rear wheel 103 may be an omni wheel. By making the rotation speed of the right wheel 102b larger than that of the left wheel 102a, the robot 100 can turn left or rotate counterclockwise. By making the rotation speed of the left wheel 102a larger than that of the right wheel 102b, the robot 100 can turn right or rotate clockwise.

The front wheel 102 and the rear wheel 103 can be completely housed in the body 104 by the drive mechanism (rotating mechanism, link mechanism). A pair of left and right covers 312 is provided on the lower half of the body 104. The cover 312 is made of a flexible and elastic resin material (rubber, silicone rubber, or the like), constitutes a soft body, and can accommodate the front wheel 102. The cover 312 is formed with a slit 313 (opening) that opens from the side surface to the front surface, and the front wheel 102 can be advanced through the slit 313 and exposed to the outside.

Most of the wheels are hidden by the body 104 even when the vehicle is running, but when the wheels are completely housed in the body 104, the robot 100 cannot move. That is, the body 104 descends and sits on the floor F as the wheels are retracted. In this seated state, a flat seating surface 108 (ground contact bottom surface) formed on the bottom of the body 104 contacts the floor surface F.

The robot 100 has two arms 106. Although there is a hand at the tip of the arm 106, it does not have a function of grasping an object. The arm 106 can perform simple operations such as raising, bending, waving, and vibrating by driving an actuator described later. The two arms 106 can be individually controlled.

A face area 116 is exposed in front of the head of the robot 100. The face area 116 is provided with two eyes 110. The eye 110 is a device capable of displaying an image with a liquid crystal element or an organic EL element, and expressing a line of sight or a facial expression by moving a pupil or an eyelid displayed as an image. A nose 109 is provided in the center of the face area 116. The nose 109 is provided with an analog stick, and can detect the pushing direction in addition to all the directions of up, down, left and right. Further, the robot 100 is provided with a plurality of touch sensors, and a user's touch can be detected on almost the entire area of the robot 100, such as the head, torso, buttocks, and arms. The robot 100 is equipped with various sensors such as a microphone array and an ultrasonic sensor capable of specifying the sound source direction. It also has a built-in speaker and can emit simple voice.

A horn 112 is attached to the head of the robot 100. A omnidirectional camera 113 is attached to the horn 112 so that the entire upper portion of the robot 100 can be imaged at one time. The horn 112 also has a built-in thermo sensor 115 (thermo camera). Further, the horn 112 is provided with a plurality of modules (not shown) for performing communication using infrared rays, and these modules are annularly installed toward the surroundings. Therefore, the robot 100 can perform infrared communication while recognizing the direction. Further, the horn 112 is provided with a switch for emergency stop, and the user can perform an emergency stop of the robot 100 by pulling out the horn 112.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing the structure of the robot 100.
The body 104 includes a main body frame 310, a pair of arms 106, a pair of covers 312, and an outer cover 314. The body frame 310 includes a head frame 316 and a body frame 318. The head frame 316 has a hollow hemispherical shape and forms the head skeleton of the robot 100. The body frame 318 has a rectangular tube shape and forms a body skeleton of the robot 100. The lower end of the body frame 318 is fixed to the lower plate 334. The head frame 316 is connected to the body frame 318 via the connection mechanism 330.

The body frame 318 constitutes the axis of the body 104. The body frame 318 is configured by fixing a pair of left and right side plates 336 to the lower plate 334, and supports the pair of arms 106 and the internal mechanism. The battery 118, the control circuit 342, various actuators, and the like are housed inside the body frame 318. The bottom surface of the lower plate 334 forms the seating surface 108.

The body frame 318 has an upper plate 332 on its upper part. A cylindrical support portion 319 having a bottom is fixed to the upper plate 332. The upper plate 332, the lower plate 334, the pair of side plates 336, and the support portion 319 form a body frame 318. The outer diameter of the support portion 319 is smaller than the distance between the left and right side plates 336. The pair of arms 106 is integrally assembled with the annular member 340 to form an arm unit 350. The annular member 340 has an annular shape, and the pair of arms 106 are attached so as to radially separate the center line thereof. The annular member 340 is coaxially inserted into the support portion 319 and placed on the upper end surfaces of the pair of side plates 336. The arm unit 350 is supported by the body frame 318 from below.

The head frame 316 has a yaw axis 321, a pitch axis 322, and a roll axis 323. The head frame 316 swings around the yaw axis 321 to achieve a swinging motion, and the swinging around the pitch shaft 322 achieves a nod motion, a look-up motion and a look-down motion around the roll shaft 323. The operation of tilting the neck to the left and right is realized by the rotation (rolling). The position and angle of each axis in the three-dimensional space may change according to the driving mode of the connection mechanism 330. The connection mechanism 330 includes a link mechanism and is driven by a plurality of motors installed on the body frame 318.

The body frame 318 houses the wheel drive mechanism 370. The wheel drive mechanism 370 includes a front wheel drive mechanism and a rear wheel drive mechanism that move the front wheel 102 and the rear wheel 103 into and out of the body 104, respectively. The front wheels 102 and the rear wheels 103 function as a “moving mechanism” that moves the robot 100. The front wheel 102 has a direct drive motor in the center thereof. Therefore, the left wheel 102a and the right wheel 102b can be driven individually. The front wheel 102 is rotatably supported by the wheel cover 105, and the wheel cover 105 is rotatably supported by the body frame 318.

The pair of covers 312 is provided so as to cover the body frame 318 from the left and right, and has a smooth curved surface shape so that the outline of the body 104 is rounded. A closed space is formed between the body frame 318 and the cover 312, and the closed space is a storage space S for the front wheels 102. The rear wheel 103 is housed in a housing space provided in the lower rear part of the body frame 318.

The outer skin 314 covers the body frame 310 and the pair of arms 106 from the outside. The outer cover 314 has a thickness that allows a person to feel elasticity, and is formed of a stretchable material such as urethane sponge. As a result, when the user holds the robot 100, he or she can feel appropriate softness and take a natural skinship like a human being makes a pet. The outer cover 314 is attached to the main body frame 310 in such a manner that the cover 312 is exposed. An opening 390 is provided at the upper end of the outer cover 314. The opening 390 is inserted through the horn 112.

A touch sensor is arranged between the body frame 310 and the outer cover 314. A touch sensor is embedded in the cover 312. Each of these touch sensors is a capacitance sensor and detects a touch in almost the entire area of the robot 100. The touch sensor may be embedded in the outer cover 314 or may be provided inside the main body frame 310.

The arm 106 has a first joint 352 and a second joint 354, and an arm 356 between both joints and a hand 358 at the tip of the second joint 354. The first joint 352 corresponds to the shoulder joint, and the second joint 354 corresponds to the wrist joint. A motor is provided in each joint to drive the arm 356 and the hand 358, respectively. The drive mechanism for driving the arm 106 includes these motors and their drive circuit 344.

FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the robot 100.
The robot 100 includes an internal sensor 128, a communication device 126, a storage device 124, a processor 122, a drive mechanism 120, and a battery 118. The drive mechanism 120 includes the connection mechanism 330 and the wheel drive mechanism 370 described above. The processor 122 and the storage device 124 are included in the control circuit 342. Each unit is connected to each other by a power supply line 130 and a signal line 132. The battery 118 supplies power to each unit via the power supply line 130. Each unit sends and receives a control signal via a signal line 132. The battery 118 is a lithium-ion secondary battery and is a power source of the robot 100.

The internal sensor 128 is an assembly of various sensors built in the robot 100. Specifically, it is a camera, a microphone array, a distance measuring sensor (infrared sensor), a thermo sensor 115, a touch sensor, an acceleration sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, an odor sensor, or the like. The touch sensor corresponds to most of the area of the body 104 and detects a user's touch based on a change in capacitance. The odor sensor is a known sensor that applies the principle that electric resistance changes due to adsorption of molecules that are the origin of odor.

The communication device 126 is a communication module that performs wireless communication with various external devices. The storage device 124 includes a non-volatile memory and a volatile memory, and stores a computer program and various setting information. The processor 122 is a means for executing a computer program. The drive mechanism 120 includes a plurality of actuators. In addition to this, a display and speakers are also installed.

The drive mechanism 120 mainly controls the wheels and the head. The drive mechanism 120 can change the moving direction and moving speed of the robot 100, and can also move the wheels up and down. When the wheels are lifted, the wheels are completely stored in the body 104, and the robot 100 comes into contact with the floor surface F at the seating surface 108 and becomes seated. The drive mechanism 120 also controls the arm 106.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the robot system 300.
The robot system 300 includes a robot 100, a server 200, and a plurality of external sensors 114. Each constituent element of the robot 100 and the server 200 includes a computing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and various coprocessors, a storage device such as a memory and a storage, hardware including a wired or wireless communication line connecting them, and a storage unit. It is realized by software stored in the device and supplying a processing instruction to the arithmetic unit. The computer program may be configured by a device driver, an operating system, various application programs located in their upper layers, and a library that provides common functions to these programs. Each block described below is not a hardware-based configuration but a function-based block.
Some of the functions of the robot 100 may be realized by the server 200, and some or all of the functions of the server 200 may be realized by the robot 100.

A plurality of external sensors 114 are installed in advance in the house. The server 200 manages the external sensor 114 and provides the detection value acquired by the external sensor 114 to the robot 100 as needed. The robot 100 determines a basic action based on the information obtained from the internal sensor 128 and the plurality of external sensors 114. The external sensor 114 is for reinforcing the sensory organs of the robot 100, and the server 200 is for reinforcing the processing capacity of the robot 100. The communication device 126 of the robot 100 may periodically communicate with the server 200, and the server 200 may be responsible for the process of identifying the position of the robot 100 by the external sensor 114 (see also Patent Document 2).

(Server 200)
The server 200 includes a communication unit 204, a data processing unit 202 and a data storage unit 206.
The communication unit 204 is in charge of communication processing with the external sensor 114 and the robot 100. The data storage unit 206 stores various data. The data processing unit 202 executes various processes based on the data acquired by the communication unit 204 and the data stored in the data storage unit 206. The data processing unit 202 also functions as an interface for the communication unit 204 and the data storage unit 206.

The data storage unit 206 includes a motion storage unit 232 and a personal data storage unit 218.
The robot 100 has a plurality of motion patterns (motions). Various motions such as swaying the arm 106, approaching the owner while meandering, and staring at the owner with his/her neck bent are defined.

The motion storage unit 232 stores a “motion file” that defines the motion control content. Each motion is identified by a motion ID. The motion file is also downloaded to the motion storage unit 160 of the robot 100. Which motion is executed may be determined by the server 200 or the robot 100.

Most of the motions of the robot 100 are configured as compound motions including a plurality of unit motions. For example, when the robot 100 approaches the owner, it may be expressed as a combination of a unit motion of turning toward the owner, a unit motion of approaching while raising a hand, a unit motion of approaching while shaking the body, and a unit motion of sitting while raising both hands. .. Such a combination of four motions realizes a motion of “approaching the owner, raising his hand on the way, and finally shaking his body to sit down”. In the motion file, the rotation angle, angular velocity, etc. of the actuator provided in the robot 100 are defined in association with the time axis. According to the motion file (actuator control information), various motions are expressed by controlling each actuator over time.

The transition time when changing from the previous unit motion to the next unit motion is called "interval". The interval may be defined according to the time required to change the unit motion and the content of the motion. The length of the interval is adjustable.
Hereinafter, the settings relating to the behavior control of the robot 100, such as when and which motion to select, output adjustment of each actuator in realizing the motion, are collectively referred to as “action characteristics”. The behavior characteristic of the robot 100 is defined by a motion selection algorithm, a motion selection probability, a motion file, and the like.

The motion storage unit 232 stores, in addition to motion files, a motion selection table that defines motions to be executed when various events occur. In the motion selection table, one or more motions and their selection probabilities are associated with an event.

The personal data storage unit 218 stores user information. Specifically, master information indicating intimacy with the user and physical/behavioral characteristics of the user is stored. Other attribute information such as age and gender may be stored.

The robot 100 has an internal parameter called intimacy for each user. When the robot 100 recognizes an action that is favorable to itself, such as hugging itself or calling out, the intimacy with the user increases. The degree of intimacy with a user who is not related to the robot 100, a user who works violently, or a user who rarely encounters is low.

The data processing unit 202 includes a position management unit 208, a recognition unit 212, an operation control unit 222, an intimacy management unit 220, and a state management unit 244.
The position management unit 208 specifies the position coordinates of the robot 100. The state management unit 244 manages various internal parameters such as the charging rate, the internal temperature, and various physical states such as the processing load of the processor 122. In addition, the state management unit 244 manages various emotion parameters indicating the emotion (loneliness, curiosity, desire for approval, etc.) of the robot 100. These emotional parameters are always fluctuating. The movement target point of the robot 100 changes according to the emotion parameter. For example, when loneliness is increasing, the robot 100 sets the place where the user is as the movement target point.

-Emotional parameters change over time. In addition, various emotion parameters also change due to a response action described later. For example, the emotional parameter indicating loneliness decreases when the owner "hugs", and the emotional parameter indicating loneliness gradually increases when the owner is not visually recognized for a long time.

The recognition unit 212 recognizes the external environment. The recognition of the external environment includes various recognitions such as recognition of weather and season based on temperature and humidity, and recognition of shade (safety zone) based on light intensity and temperature. The recognition unit 156 of the robot 100 acquires various environmental information by the internal sensor 128, performs primary processing on the environmental information, and transfers the environmental information to the recognition unit 212 of the server 200.

Specifically, the recognition unit 156 of the robot 100 extracts a moving object, in particular, an image region corresponding to a person or an animal from the image, and a feature indicating a physical feature or a behavioral feature of the moving object from the extracted image region. A "feature vector" is extracted as a set of quantities. The feature vector component (feature amount) is a numerical value that quantifies various physical and behavioral features. For example, the width of the human eye is digitized in the range of 0 to 1 to form one feature vector component. The method of extracting the feature vector from the captured image of a person is an application of a known face recognition technique. The robot 100 transmits the feature vector to the server 200.

The recognition unit 212 of the server 200 is imaged by comparing the feature vector extracted from the image captured by the built-in camera of the robot 100 with the feature vector of the user (cluster) registered in the personal data storage unit 218 in advance. It is determined which person the user corresponds to (user identification process). Further, the recognition unit 212 estimates the emotion of the user by recognizing the facial expression of the user as an image. The recognition unit 212 also performs user identification processing on moving objects other than people, such as cats and dogs that are pets.

The recognition unit 212 recognizes various kinds of response actions performed on the robot 100 and classifies them into pleasant and unpleasant actions. The recognition unit 212 also recognizes the owner's response to the action of the robot 100, and classifies the action into an affirmative/negative response.
The pleasant/unpleasant behavior is determined depending on whether the user's behavior is pleasant or uncomfortable as a living thing. For example, hugging is a pleasant act for the robot 100, and being kicked is an unpleasant act for the robot 100. The affirmative/negative reaction is determined by whether the user's response action indicates the user's pleasant or unpleasant feeling. Hugging is an affirmative reaction indicating the user's pleasant feeling, and being kicked is a negative reaction indicating the user's unpleasant feeling.

The operation control unit 222 of the server 200 cooperates with the operation control unit 150 of the robot 100 to determine the motion of the robot 100. The operation control unit 222 of the server 200 creates a movement target point of the robot 100 and a movement route therefor. The operation control unit 222 may create a plurality of movement routes and select any one of the movement routes.

The motion control unit 222 selects a motion of the robot 100 from a plurality of motions in the motion storage unit 232. A selection probability is associated with each motion for each situation. For example, a selection method is defined in which when the owner makes a pleasant action, the motion A is executed with a probability of 20%, and when the temperature is 30 degrees or more, the motion B is executed with a probability of 5%. ..

The intimacy degree management unit 220 manages the intimacy degree for each user. As described above, the degree of intimacy is registered in the personal data storage unit 218 as a part of personal data. When the pleasant behavior is detected, the intimacy degree management unit 220 increases the intimacy degree with respect to the owner. The intimacy decreases when an offensive behavior is detected. Moreover, the intimacy of owners who have not been visually recognized for a long period of time gradually decreases.

(Robot 100)
The robot 100 includes a communication unit 142, a data processing unit 136, a data storage unit 148, an internal sensor 128, and a drive mechanism 120.
The communication unit 142 corresponds to the communication device 126 (see FIG. 4) and is in charge of communication processing with the external sensor 114, the server 200, and the other robot 100. The data storage unit 148 stores various data. The data storage unit 148 corresponds to the storage device 124 (see FIG. 4). The data processing unit 136 executes various processes based on the data acquired by the communication unit 142 and the data stored in the data storage unit 148. The data processing unit 136 corresponds to the processor 122 and a computer program executed by the processor 122. The data processing unit 136 also functions as an interface for the communication unit 142, the internal sensor 128, the drive mechanism 120, and the data storage unit 148.

The data storage unit 148 includes a motion storage unit 160 that defines various motions of the robot 100.
Various motion files are downloaded from the motion storage unit 232 of the server 200 to the motion storage unit 160 of the robot 100. The motion is identified by the motion ID. A state in which the front wheel 102 is stowed, the arm 106 is lifted, the two front wheels 102 are reversely rotated, or only one of the front wheels 102 is rotated to rotate the robot 100, and the front wheel 102 is stored. In order to express various motions such as trembling by rotating the front wheel 102, stopping and turning when leaving the user, the operation timing, operation time, operation direction, etc. of various actuators (drive mechanism 120) are It is defined in time series in the motion file.
Various data may be downloaded from the personal data storage unit 218 to the data storage unit 148.

The data processing unit 136 includes a recognition unit 156 and an operation control unit 150.
The operation control unit 150 of the robot 100 cooperates with the operation control unit 222 of the server 200 to determine the motion of the robot 100. The server 200 may determine some motions, and the robot 100 may determine other motions. Although the robot 100 determines the motion, the server 200 may determine the motion when the processing load of the robot 100 is high. The base motion may be determined in the server 200 and the additional motion may be determined in the robot 100. How the server 200 and the robot 100 share the motion determination process may be designed according to the specifications of the robot system 300.

The operation control unit 150 of the robot 100 instructs the drive mechanism 120 to execute the selected motion. The drive mechanism 120 controls each actuator according to the motion file.

The motion control unit 150 can also perform a motion of lifting both arms 106 as a gesture of "hugging" when a user with high intimacy is nearby, and when the user gets tired of "hugging", the left and right front wheels 102 are moved. By alternately repeating the reverse rotation and the stop while the robot is housed, it is possible to express a motion to hate the hug. The drive mechanism 120 drives the front wheel 102, the arm 106, and the neck (head frame 316) in accordance with an instruction from the operation control unit 150 to cause the robot 100 to express various motions.

The recognition unit 156 of the robot 100 interprets external information obtained from the internal sensor 128. The recognition unit 156 can perform visual recognition (visual part), odor recognition (olfactory part), sound recognition (auditory part), and tactile recognition (tactile part).

The recognition unit 156 extracts the feature vector from the captured image of the moving object. As described above, the feature vector is a set of parameters (feature amounts) indicating the physical features and behavioral features of the moving object. When a moving object is detected, physical characteristics and behavioral characteristics are extracted from an odor sensor, a built-in sound collecting microphone, a temperature sensor, and the like. These features are also quantified and become feature vector components. The recognition unit 156 identifies the user from the feature vector based on a known technique described in Patent Document 2 or the like.

Of a series of recognition processing including detection, analysis, and determination, the recognition unit 156 of the robot 100 selects or extracts information necessary for recognition, and interpretation processing such as determination is executed by the recognition unit 212 of the server 200. .. The recognition processing may be performed only by the recognition unit 212 of the server 200, or may be performed only by the recognition unit 156 of the robot 100. As described above, both sides perform the above-described recognition processing while sharing roles. Good.

When a strong impact is applied to the robot 100, the recognition unit 156 recognizes this by the touch sensor and the acceleration sensor, and the recognition unit 212 of the server 200 recognizes that “a violent act” is performed by a user in the vicinity. When the user holds the horn 112 and lifts the robot 100, it may be recognized as a violent act. When the user facing the robot 100 utters a voice in a specific sound volume region and a specific frequency band, the recognition unit 212 of the server 200 may recognize that a “calling action” has been performed on itself. Further, when a temperature around the body temperature is detected, it is recognized that the "contact action" has been performed by the user, and when an upward acceleration is detected in the state of contact recognition, it is recognized that the "hugging" has been performed. Physical contact may be sensed when the user lifts the body 104, or the hug may be recognized when the load applied to the front wheel 102 is reduced.
In summary, the robot 100 acquires the action of the user as physical information by the internal sensor 128, and the recognition unit 212 of the server 200 determines the comfort/discomfort. The recognition unit 212 of the server 200 also executes a user identification process based on the feature vector.

The recognition unit 212 of the server 200 recognizes various responses of the user to the robot 100. Some typical response actions among various response actions are associated with pleasantness or discomfort, affirmation or denial. In general, most of the pleasant behaviors are affirmative reactions, and most of the offensive behaviors are negative responses. Pleasure/discomfort is related to intimacy, and positive/negative reactions influence behavior selection of the robot 100.

The intimacy degree management unit 220 of the server 200 changes the intimacy degree with respect to the user according to the response action recognized by the recognition unit 156. In principle, the degree of intimacy with respect to the user who has performed a pleasant act increases, and the degree of intimacy with respect to the user who has performed an unpleasant act decreases.

Given the above basic configuration, the implementation of the robot 100 in the present embodiment will be described next, focusing on the features and purposes of this implementation, and the differences from the basic configuration.

[Implementation of search function of station 500]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the robot 100 is wearing the outer cover 314. 6A is a right side view, FIG. 6B is a front view, and FIG. 6C is a rear view.
The appearance of the robot 100 is substantially symmetrical.

An accommodation opening 377 for accommodating the rear wheel 103 is provided below the rear portion of the body frame 318 of the robot 100. A pair of charging terminals 510 are provided to the left and right of the accommodation port 377. The base end of the charging terminal 510 is located inside the body frame 318, and is connected to the charging circuit via a wire (not shown). The tip of the charging terminal 510 is in the shape of a disk having a slightly large diameter, and has a button shape.

The outer cover 314 is configured by sewing the outer cover body 420 and the elastic mounting portion 422 together. Both the outer cover body 420 and the elastic mounting portion 422 are made of a flexible material. The outer cover body 420 includes a bag-shaped portion 424 that covers the head frame 316, a pair of hand portions 426 that extends downward from the left and right side surfaces of the bag-shaped portion 424, and an extension portion 428 that extends downward from the front surface of the bag-shaped portion 424. And an extending portion 430 extending downward from the back surface of the bag-shaped portion 424. An opening 432 for exposing the face region 116 is provided on the front surface side of the bag-shaped portion 424.

The elastic mounting portion 422 constitutes the bottom portion of the outer cover 314, and connects the front and rear extending

parts

428 and 430 of the outer cover main body 420 below. The elastic mounting portion 422 is provided with an opening 434 at a position corresponding to the accommodation port 377. A pair of holes 436 are formed below the rear portion of the elastic mounting portion 422. The hole 436 has a narrow width shape like a button hole, but since the elastic mounting portion 422 is flexible, it can be widened in the width direction. A pair of charging terminals 510 are inserted into these holes 436. After the charging terminal 510 is inserted into the hole 436, the hole 436 returns to its original narrow shape due to the elastic force. This prevents the head of the charging terminal 510 from being caught around the hole 436 and the outer cover 314 from coming off. That is, the charging terminal 510 is a terminal for charging and also a member for fixing the outer cover 314.

An infrared sensor 172 and a pair of microphones 174 are provided as an internal sensor 128 on the rear cover 107 (tail) of the robot 100. That is, the infrared sensor 172 is provided in the center of the rear cover 107, the left microphone 174L is provided on the left side, and the right microphone 174R is provided on the right side. These face the rear of the robot 100 with the rear cover 107 open and the rear wheel 103 exposed. The infrared sensor 172 and the pair of microphones 174 are used for guidance control when the robot 100 enters the station 500.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the station 500.
Note that, for convenience of description, the rear side of the robot 100 in the approach direction (front side of the approach direction) is "back side", the front side of the approach direction (rear side of the approach direction) is "front side", and "front side" in the station 500 for convenience of description. Sometimes expressed as.
The station 500 incorporates the server 200 and includes members for decoration such as a base 504, a main body 512, and a pair of rear panels 508 (left panel 508L, right panel 508R). The station 500 provides a charging function and a server function in a single housing.

The base 504 has a rectangular shape in plan view, and charging spaces 502 are provided on the left and right. The base 504 includes a power supply terminal 530. By connecting the power supply terminal 530 and the charging terminal 510 of the robot 100, electric power is supplied from the station 500 to the robot 100.

A main body 512 is erected at the center of the upper surface of the base 504. The main body 512 has a housing 514 whose upper half is enlarged. The pair of rear panels 508 are arranged on the front left and right sides of the housing 514, respectively. The back panel 508 is detachably attached to the main body 512 via a fixing member 509. The fixing member 509 is an arm-shaped member, and one end thereof is detachably fixed to the back surface of the back panel 508 and the other end is detachably fixed to the back surface of the housing 514.

On the left and right sides of the housing 514, short distance guiding parts 252 (left guiding part 252L, right guiding part 252R) are provided below the respective rear panels 508. In addition, a middle distance guiding unit 254 is installed in the center of the housing 514.

The short-distance guiding unit 252 includes a short-distance infrared generator that generates infrared rays at an emission angle of about 30 to 60 degrees and an ultrasonic wave generator that generates ultrasonic waves. The transmission distance of infrared rays (hereinafter referred to as “short-range infrared rays”) by the short-range infrared ray generating device is about 1 meter at maximum. The mid-range guiding unit 254 also includes a mid-range infrared transmitter that emits infrared rays. The transmission distance of infrared rays (hereinafter, referred to as “middle-range infrared rays”) by the medium-range infrared ray generator is about 4 meters at maximum.

ㆍMid-range infrared rays are set to have a higher light intensity (power) than short-range infrared rays. In the present embodiment, the short-distance guiding unit 252 and the medium-distance guiding unit 254 have different configurations, but the short-distance guiding unit 252 and the medium-distance wireless generation device may be configured integrally.

　The short-distance infrared rays and ultrasonic waves generated by the short-distance guidance unit 252 are collectively referred to as a "short-distance guidance signal". In addition, the middle-range infrared rays generated by the middle-range guiding unit 254 are also referred to as “middle-range guiding signal”. The short-distance guidance signal and the medium-distance guidance signal are collectively called "guidance signal".

A light emitting unit 256 is installed on the top of the housing 514. The light emitting unit 256 includes a plurality of light sources by LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and notifies the robot 100 of the position of the station 500 by visible light (guide light).

The robot 100 according to the present embodiment will be described assuming that the robot 100 periodically returns to the charging space 502 of the station 500 and is regularly charged by the station 500. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the robot 100 repeats an action pattern of charging for 45 minutes (rest) after 45 minutes of activity. Hereinafter, the process in which the robot 100 returns to the charging space 502 is referred to as “return process”. Further, when the robot 100 enters the charging space 502 and the charging terminal 510 and the power feeding terminal 530 are connected or can be connected to each other is referred to as “stocking”.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the station 500 in this embodiment.
The robot 100 of the present embodiment acquires a large number of captured images (still images) by periodically capturing an image of the surroundings with the omnidirectional camera 113. The robot 100 forms a memory (hereinafter referred to as “image memory”) based on the captured image.

Image memory is a collection of multiple keyframes. The key frame is distribution information of feature points (feature amount) in the captured image. The robot 100 of the present embodiment uses a graph-based SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology using image features, more specifically, a SLAM technique based on ORB (Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF) features to form keyframes. It is formed (see Patent Document 5).

The robot 100 periodically forms a key frame while moving to form an aggregate of key frames, in other words, an image memory as an image feature distribution. The robot 100 estimates the current point by comparing the key frame acquired at the current point with a large number of key frames already held. That is, the robot 100 performs “spatial recognition” by comparing the captured image that is actually visually recognized with the captured image (memory) that is visually recognized once, and matching the present situation with the past memory. The image memory formed as a set of feature points is a so-called map. The robot 100 updates the map while moving while estimating the current position.

The basic configuration of the robot 100 is premised on recognizing the position by the external sensor 114 instead of the key frame. The robot 100 of the present embodiment will be described as recognizing a place based only on a key frame.

The station 500 incorporates the server 200 and the charging device 506. The communication unit 204 of the station 500 is shared by the server 200 and the charging device 506. The data used by the robot 100 such as a map is also shared by the plurality of robots 100. The map storage unit 170 generates a common (single) map by acquiring a key frame from each robot 100.

In the present embodiment, a “guidance system (of the robot 100 )” is formed by the station 500 including the server 200 and the charging device 506 and one or more robots 100. The guidance system may further include a landmark device 280. The landmark device 280 supports the return process of the robot 100. The role of the landmark device 280 will be described later with reference to FIG. When there are a plurality of robots 100, any of the robots 100 can also serve as the landmark device 280. A method of causing the robot 100 to function as the landmark device 280 will be described later with reference to FIG.

(Server 200)
Each function of the server 200 is realized by loading a program for realizing the function into the memory and instantiating (instantiating) the program. Various processing by the robot 100 is supplemented by the processing capacity of the server 200. The server 200 can be used as a resource of the robot 100. How to use the resources of the server 200 is dynamically determined according to a request from the robot 100. For example, in the robot 100, when it is necessary to continuously generate complex motions according to detection values from a large number of touch sensors, the processing of the processor 122 in the robot 100 is preferentially assigned to motion selection/generation, The recognition unit 212 of the server 200 may perform the processing for image recognition of the surrounding situation. In this way, various processes of the robot system 300 can be distributed between the robot 100 and the server 200. Each function of the server 200 is materialized independently for each robot 100. For example, the server 200 may prepare the recognition unit 212 for the robot 100B separately from the recognition unit 212 for the robot 100A.

The server 200 assists the robot 100 existing in the installation location (charge area) of the server 200. For example, the server 200 is installed in the user's home and is used for the robot 100 existing therein. The robot 100 generates a map for movement, and the map is shared by the plurality of robots 100 existing in the user's home. The robot 100 uses SLAM to form a map. The feature points (keyframes) forming the map include those having a static structure such as a wall that does not move and those having a dynamic structure that moves such as a chair or a toy. Therefore, the map is not the kind of information that can be used permanently once created, but the information that needs to be updated at all times. Therefore, the map can be updated efficiently by the plurality of robots 100 sharing the map.

The position management unit 208 of the data processing unit 202 includes a map management unit 168. The map management unit 168 manages a map based on image storage. The map management unit 168 repeats updating the map shared by the plurality of robots 100.

The data storage unit 206 further includes a map storage unit 170. Since the data storage unit 206 collectively stores the information of the plurality of robots 100, the plurality of 100 can share various data of the 206. The map storage unit 170 stores maps.

(Communication unit 204)
The communication unit 204 includes an event receiving unit 246, a light emission instruction receiving unit 248, a warehousing request receiving unit 250, and a warehousing permission transmitting unit 258.
The event receiving unit 246 receives, from the robot 100, event information (environment information) indicating various events recognized by the robot 100. The recognition unit 212 of the server 200 analyzes the event information. The intimacy degree management unit 220 and the state management unit 244 change the intimacy degree, the emotional parameter, and the like based on the event information. The motion control unit 222 selects the motion of the robot 100 based on the event information.

The light emission instruction receiving unit 248 receives a light emission signal from the robot 100. The light emission signal is a signal that specifies the light emission mode (light emission) of the guide light. The warehousing request receiving unit 250 receives a warehousing request signal from the robot 100. The warehousing request signal is a signal that the robot 100 requests warehousing (returning) to the station 500. The warehousing permission transmission unit 258 returns a warehousing permission signal indicating the warehousing permission to the robot 100 in response to the warehousing request signal.

(Charging device 506)
The charging device 506 includes a light emission control unit 224, a warehousing determination unit 262, a charge control unit 264, a light emitting unit 256, and a guiding unit 266.
The light emitting unit 256 is a light source that generates guide light. The light emission control unit 224 controls the light emission mode of the light emitting unit 256. The warehousing determination unit 262 determines whether warehousing is possible when the warehousing request signal is received. The charging control unit 264 charges the robot 100 that has been stored. The guide unit 266 corresponds to the medium-range guide unit 254 and the short-range guide unit 252. The short distance guiding unit 252 includes a left guiding unit 252L and a right guiding unit 252R.

In this embodiment, the light emitting unit 256 is normally lit. The robot 100 recognizes the location point of the station 500 by detecting the guide light from the light emitting unit 256. The robot 100 can actively confirm whether the light is the guide light or the light other than the guide light by designating the light emitting mode of the guide light (details will be described later). Instead of the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 256 may be always turned off, and the light emitting unit 256 may be configured to emit light when a light emission signal is received.

The robot 100 approaches the station 500 with the guide light as a mark. Subsequently, the robot 100 detects the medium-range infrared rays (medium-range guidance signal) from the medium-range guidance unit 254, and aligns the charging space 502. When the robot 100 further approaches the station 500, it enters the charging space 502 based on the short-distance guidance signal (short-distance infrared rays and ultrasonic waves) from the short-distance guidance unit 252. When the charging terminal 510 and the power feeding terminal are connected, the charging control unit 264 charges the battery 118 of the robot 100.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the robot 100 according to this embodiment.
The robot 100 further includes a light emitting unit 138 (light source). The light emitting unit 138 emits light when the robot 100 functions as a landmark device. The light emitting unit 138 is provided at an arbitrary location such as the horn 112 of the robot 100. The eyes 110 of the robot 100 may emit light.

The data processing unit 136 further includes a captured image acquisition unit 146, a light emission control unit 158, and a battery remaining amount monitoring unit 176.
The captured image acquisition unit 146 acquires a captured image from the omnidirectional camera 113. The captured image acquisition unit 146 regularly acquires captured images. The light emission control unit 158 controls the light emission mode of the light emitting unit 138. The battery remaining amount monitoring unit 176 monitors the battery remaining amount (charging rate) of the battery 118.

The recognition unit 156 further includes an image feature acquisition unit 152, a light recognition unit 154, a distance measurement unit 162, and a position determination unit 166.
The image feature acquisition unit 152 generates a key frame by extracting the image feature amount from the captured image. The light recognition unit 154 recognizes the light emission from the station 500 or the landmark device 280. In the present embodiment, the light recognizing unit 154 recognizes external light by the omnidirectional camera 113, but may recognize external light based on a separately provided optical sensor. The distance measuring unit 162 calculates the distance and the relative angle between the robot 100 and the station 500 based on the medium-range infrared rays, the short-range infrared rays, and the ultrasonic waves. The position determination unit 166 determines with respect to the station 500 whether or not the current position of the robot 100 satisfies the “position condition”. The position condition is a condition for movement restriction when the robot 100 functions as a landmark device.

The robot 100 can estimate the direction in which the station 500 exists by using the map generated based on the key frame even when the robot 100 is away from the station 500. When the robot 100 is in a position where the station 500 can be visually recognized, the location point of the station 500 can be more surely specified by the guide light. When the robot 100 approaches the station 500, the robot 100 detects the medium-range guidance signal and further the short-range guidance signal. In this way, the robot 100 can estimate the accurate position of the station 500 based on the plurality of guiding means as it approaches the station 500. As a result, the certainty of the return process of the robot 100 can be increased.

The communication unit 142 includes a light emission instruction transmission unit 140, a light emission instruction reception unit 144, a warehousing request transmission unit 260, and a warehousing permission reception unit 268.
The light emission instruction transmission unit 140 transmits a light emission signal to the station 500 or the landmark device 280. The light emission instruction receiving unit 144 receives a light emission signal from another robot 100. The warehousing request transmission unit 260 transmits a warehousing request signal. The warehousing availability receiving unit 268 receives the warehousing availability signal.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of the landmark device 280.
The landmark device 280 includes a light emitting unit 282 (light source), a light emission control unit 284, and a light emission instruction receiving unit 286. The light emission instruction receiving unit 286 receives the light emission signal. The light emission control unit 284 causes the light emitting unit 282 to emit light according to the light emission mode instructed by the light emission signal.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process in which the robot 100 searches for the station 500.
The light recognition unit 154 of the robot 100 searches for the guide light when starting the return process. The light recognition unit 154 identifies the position of the station 500 by detecting the guide light. However, depending on the environment in which the station 500 is installed, light that is not guided light but is similar to guided light (hereinafter referred to as “similar light”) is detected, and the robot 100 misidentifies the position of the station 500. There is a possibility.

The light emission instruction transmission unit 140 of the robot 100 transmits a light emission signal designating a specific light emission mode when a plurality of guide lights are detected, in other words, when similar lights are detected (S10). The light emission instruction transmission unit 140 may specify only a predetermined light emission mode by a light emission signal, or may select any one of a plurality of types of light emission modes and transmit the light emission signal. ..

The light emission instruction receiving unit 248 of the station 500 receives the light emission signal. The light emission control unit 224 of the station 500 sets the light emission mode specified by the light emission signal in the light emission unit 256, and causes the light emission unit 256 to emit light (S12). The light recognition unit 154 of the robot 100 searches the captured image for external light corresponding to the specified light emission mode (S14). The light recognition unit 154 identifies the external light emitted in the designated light emission mode as the guide light. The operation control unit 150 of the robot 100 sets the light emission point of the guide light as the movement target point, and the robot 100 moves toward the station 500 (S16).

According to such a control method, the robot 100 can reliably recognize the guide light by designating the light emission mode by the light emission signal. The station 500 can notify the robot 100 of the position of the station 500 by generating guide light corresponding to the light emission signal. By transmitting various light emission signals, the robot 100 does not misidentify similar light as guide light.

The station 500 may generate the guide light in a special light emission mode that cannot be obtained by the pseudo light. For example, station 500 may constantly flash the guided light at 10 Hz. Since it is unlikely that there is pseudo light that blinks at 10 Hz, the robot 100 may be able to identify the position of the station 500 by detecting 10 Hz light without transmitting a light emission signal.

However, if the station 500 constantly flashes the guided light at 10 Hz, the user may find the guided light annoying. The station 500 can guide the robot 100 to the station 500 without burdening the eyes of the user by changing the light emission mode of the guide light only when the light emission signal is received from the robot 100.

When the robot 100 detects a plurality of external lights corresponding to the specified light emission mode, in other words, when the guide light cannot be specified even after transmitting the light emission signal, the light emission instruction transmission unit 140 sets another light emission mode. A designated light emission signal may be transmitted.

As described above, the map management unit 168 of the server 200 (station 500) generates a map from the key frame (image feature information) based on the captured image. The map management unit 168 sets the position of the station 500, which is the light emitting point of the guide light, as the reference point of the map. The map management unit 168 can grasp the current position of the robot 100 more accurately by comparing the light emitting point of the guide light recorded on the map with the light emitting point of the guide light actually viewed by the robot 100.

The light emission instruction transmission unit 140 of the robot 100 may transmit a light emission signal for position confirmation even when the current position on the map is lost. The map management unit 168 reconfirms the current location based on the guide light corresponding to the light emission signal. The term "lost the current location" as used herein means that "the similarity between the key frame assumed from image storage at the current location P1 of the robot 100 and the key frame obtained from the actual captured image is smaller than a predetermined threshold value ( The view that is actually seen is different from the view that should be seen)." Alternatively, the map management unit 168 may lose the map data stored in the built-in memory due to force majeure such as power-off.

The map management unit 168 transmits a lost signal to the robot 100 when the current position is lost. The light emission instruction transmission unit 140 transmits the light emission signal when receiving the lost signal. The light recognition unit 154 detects the guide light and notifies the server 200 of the direction in which the guide light is visible. The map management unit 168 refers to the map (image storage) and respecifies the current position of the robot 100 from the emission direction of the guide light. For example, when the guide light is seen to the left of the robot 100, it can be specified that the station 500 (reference point) is on the left of the robot 100. The map management unit 168 can recognize that the position where the reference point is viewed to the left in the map (image storage) is the current position of the robot 100.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the light emitting unit 256.
The light emitting unit 256 includes a central light source 380 (second light source) and two side light sources 382 (left light source 382L, right light source 382R) (first light source). The left light source 382L and the right light source 382R are formed on the first surface 386 as vertically long LED light sources. The central light source 380 is a horizontally long LED light source, and is formed on the second surface 384 which is on the back side of the first surface 386 by about 5 to 10 mm.

The height of the light emitting unit 256 is set to be approximately the same as the height of the horn 112 (all-sky camera 113) of the robot 100. This is to make it easier to capture the guided light from the omnidirectional camera 113. By setting the light emitting unit 256 to the same height as the horn 112 of the robot 100, it is less likely that the light recognizing unit 154 will mistakenly recognize similar light at a position far from the height of the horn 112 as guide light.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the light emitting unit 256 when viewed from the front.
FIG. 13 shows a state where the light emitting unit 256 is viewed from the robot 100 located on the front side (front side) of the station 500. The apparent distance between the left end of the central light source 380 and the right end of the left light source 382L is WL. Further, the apparent distance between the right end of the central light source 380 and the left end of the right light source 382R is WR. In a front view, WR and WL are equal. When the robot 100 faces the station 500, the central light source 380 and the two lateral light sources 382 are visually recognized by the robot 100 symmetrically.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the light emitting unit 256 when viewed from the side.
FIG. 14 shows a state in which the light emitting unit 256 is viewed from the robot 100 located on the front right side of the station 500. In other words, the state when the light emitting unit 256 is seen from the robot 100 when the station 500 is located on the right front side of the robot 100 is shown. The first surface 386 on which the left light source 382L and the right light source 382R are installed is on the front side of the second surface 384 on which the central light source 380 is installed. Therefore, when the robot 100 is located on the side of the station 500, the apparent positions of the central light source 380 and the side light source 382 are largely displaced.

First, when the robot 100 looks at the central light source 380 from the right side, the central light source 380 looks short. Further, the central light source 380 appears closer to the left light source 382L than in the front view (FIG. 13). Therefore, the distance WL becomes shorter than that in the front view. As a result, the robot 100 looks like WL<WR. When the light emitting unit 256 is viewed from the robot 100 located on the right front side of the station 500, the two lateral light sources 382 are not symmetrical with respect to the central light source 380.

If the central light source 380 and the side light source 382 are formed on the same surface, both the distances WR and WL are reduced by the same amount when the light emitting unit 256 is viewed obliquely. Although the central light source 380 is apparently short, the central light source 380 and the two lateral light sources 382 are visually recognized symmetrically. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the robot 100 to grasp the positional relationship between the robot 100 and the station 500 from the appearance of the guided light.

As shown in FIG. 12, by shifting the positions of the first surface 386 on which the side light source 382 is formed and the second surface 384 on which the central light source 380 is formed to the front and back, the robot 100 moves in the direction relative to the station 500. It becomes easier to see. Specifically, when the apparent width when viewed from the robot 100 is WL<WR (when the central light source 380 appears close to the left light source 382L), the robot 100 is located on the right front side when viewed from the station 500. Can recognize that. The distance measuring unit 162 of the robot 100 can also calculate the relative angle from the station 500 from the ratio of WR and WL. When the robot 100 is located on the left front side when viewed from the station 500, WL>WR.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for adjusting the position of the robot 100 using a short-distance guidance signal (short-distance infrared rays and ultrasonic waves).
In the returning process, the robot 100 searches for the guided light and heads to the charging space 502 while performing alignment based on the positional relationship between the central light source 380 and the side light source 382. When the robot 100 approaches the station 500, the robot 100 detects the medium-range infrared rays transmitted from the medium-range guidance unit 254, and further approaches the station 500 with the emission point of the medium-range infrared rays as the movement target point. At this time, the robot 100 approaches the station 500 in the forward direction and at a low speed. On the horn 112 of the robot 100, a plurality of infrared sensors (not shown) are installed in a ring shape toward the surroundings. Each of the plurality of infrared sensors detects medium-range infrared rays, and the distance measuring unit 162 calculates the distance and angle between the robot 100 and the station 500 based on the reception intensity of each infrared sensor.

When the robot 100 further approaches the station 500, the robot 100 turns so as to turn its back on the station 500. After that, the robot 100 moves backward toward the station 500. The infrared sensor installed in the horn 112 can detect medium-range infrared rays when it is far from the station 500, but temporarily cannot detect medium-range infrared rays when it is too close to the station 500. This is because the horn 112 is out of the irradiation range of medium-range infrared rays. The operation control unit 150 causes the robot 100 to turn when the infrared sensor of the horn 112 cannot detect mid-range infrared rays. Alternatively, the distance measuring unit 162 may measure the distance between the robot 100 and the station 500 based on the image captured by the omnidirectional camera 113. Specifically, when the size of the image region corresponding to the station 500 in the captured image (all-round image) becomes equal to or larger than the predetermined size, the operation control unit 150 may rotate the robot 100.

When the robot 100 faces backward, the infrared sensor 172 (see FIG. 6C) on the back surface of the robot 100 detects short-range infrared rays, and the left microphone 174L and the right microphone 174R detect ultrasonic waves. The distance measuring unit 162 recognizes that the robot 100 and the station 500 are particularly close to each other by detecting the short-range infrared rays.

The short-distance guiding unit 252 of the station 500 simultaneously generates short-distance infrared rays (high-speed signal) and ultrasonic waves (low-speed signal). Since the propagation speed of infrared rays is higher than that of ultrasonic waves, the microphone 174 detects ultrasonic waves later than the infrared sensor 172 detects short-range infrared rays. The distance measuring unit 162 calculates the distance and the angle from the robot 100 to the short distance guiding unit 252 based on the difference time between the detection time of the near infrared ray and the detection time of the ultrasonic wave. Since the short-distance guiding unit 252 simultaneously generates infrared rays and ultrasonic waves in a constant cycle, the robot 100 can continuously measure the distance and angle to the short-distance guiding unit 252. FIG. 15 shows how the robot 100 approaches the right space 502R formed around the right guiding portion 252R.

More specifically, depending on the distance and relative angle between the right guiding unit 252R and the robot 100, a difference time occurs between the time point when the right microphone 174R detects ultrasonic waves and the time point when the left microphone 174L detects ultrasonic waves. The distance measuring unit 162 calculates the distance from the left microphone 174L to the right guiding unit 252R based on this difference time. Distance measuring unit 162 similarly calculates the distance from right microphone 174R to right guiding unit 252R. The distance measuring unit 162 specifies the relative angle between the traveling direction (backward direction) of the robot 100 and the right guiding unit 252R based on the two distances (coordinates). The operation control unit 150 moves the robot 100 backward while finely adjusting the traveling direction of the robot 100 based on this relative angle.

The station 500 sends a warehousing permission signal, and then sends a weak current to the power supply terminal 530 of the charging space 502 to be warehousing. When the robot 100 is stored in the charging space 502, the charging terminal 510 is connected to the power supply terminal 530, and the distance measuring unit 162 determines that the storage is completed when a weak current is detected. The robot 100 transmits a confirmation signal when a weak current is detected, and the charging control unit 264 of the station 500 starts power supply when receiving the confirmation signal.

When the rear wheel 103 of the robot 100 rides on the station 500 and the charging terminal 510 of the robot 100 and the power supply terminal 530 of the station 500 approach each other, the microphone 174 gradually detects ultrasonic waves or infrared rays output from the short-distance guiding unit 252. become unable. This is because the heights of the short-distance guiding unit 252 and the microphone 174 are significantly different, and therefore, when the station 500 and the robot 100 are too close to each other, the microphone 174 deviates from the ultrasonic transmission range of the short-distance guiding unit 252. Is. The distance measuring unit 162 measures the time that has passed since the short-range infrared rays could not be detected. When the weak current cannot be detected within the predetermined reference time, the operation control unit 150 determines that the stocking has failed, advances the robot 100 to move away from the station 500, and re-executes the feedback process.

The operation control unit 150 may re-execute the return process by regarding the front wheels 102 as idling failure even when the front wheels 102 are idling. The robot 100 may be equipped with an inertial measurement unit (IMU: Inertial Measurement Unit). When the inertial measurement device detects the movement of the robot 100 even after the reference time has passed, there is a high possibility that the robot 100 has not been correctly stored. At this time also, the operation control unit 150 may re-execute the feedback process.

FIG. 16 is a time chart for explaining a control method when a plurality of robots 100 desire to return to the station 500.
The station 500 in this embodiment can charge two robots 100 (hereinafter, referred to as “robot 100A” and “robot 100B”) in two charging spaces 502 at the same time. However, the two robots 100A and 100B cannot return to the station 500 at the same time. In order to prevent the vicinity of the station 500 from being crowded, in the present embodiment, the stations 500 store the robots 100 in the station 500 one by one. When the robot 100A enters the left space 502L, the guidance unit 266 generates a short-distance guidance signal (short-distance infrared rays and ultrasonic waves) from the left guidance unit 252L, but generates a short-distance guidance signal from the right-near-right guidance unit 252R. Do not let The warehousing determination unit 262 determines in which of the two charging spaces 502 the warehousing is performed.

It is assumed that the robot 100A transmits a warehousing request signal to the station 500 at time t0 in FIG. At this time, the robot 100B is not stored in the station 500. The warehousing determination unit 262 of the station 500 permits the robot 100A to enter the left space 502L. The warehousing permission transmission unit 258 transmits a warehousing permission signal (hereinafter, referred to as “housing permission signal”) indicating the warehousing permission to the robot 100A at time t1. The robot 100A approaches the station 500 based on the guide light and the medium-range infrared rays. Further, the guiding unit 266 of the station 500 causes the left guiding unit 252L to generate a short-distance guiding signal. At time t2, the robot 100A enters the left space 502L according to the short-distance guidance signal. The power supply terminal 530 and the charging terminal 510 are connected, and the charging control unit 264 starts charging the robot 100A at time t3.

The warehousing determination unit 262 sets as a “rejection period” from time t0 when the warehousing request signal is received from the robot 100A to time t3 when the robot 100A starts charging. When the warehousing request signal is received from the other robot 100B during the refusal period, the warehousing determination unit 262 rejects the warehousing of the robot 100B. The warehousing permission transmission unit 258 transmits a warehousing permission signal (hereinafter, referred to as “housing refusal signal”) indicating refusal of warehousing to the robot 100B. When the warehousing is rejected, the robot 100B transmits a warehousing request signal again after a lapse of a predetermined time. The warehousing permission transmission unit 258 may again permit the warehousing of the robot 100B after the refusal period ends. According to such a control method, the plurality of robots 100 can be sequentially guided to the station 500.

The refusal period may be a period from time t1 to time t3, a period from time t1 to time t2, or a period from time t0 to time t2. When the warehousing is rejected, the operation control unit 150 of the robot 100B (or the operation control unit 222 of the server 200) may set within a predetermined distance from the station 500, for example, within 2 meters as the action prohibited section of the robot 100B. .. According to such a control method, the robot 100B can be controlled so as not to interfere with the return of the robot 100A.

The robot 100 is within a predetermined range formed around the station 500, for example, within a range of 1 meter, except when it sends a warehousing request signal or when it receives a warehousing permission signal and executes feedback processing. May not be set. The robot 100A may transmit a signal indicating “in return processing” to the robot 100B when the storage is permitted. The robot 100B may not enter the predetermined range including the station 500 when receiving this signal from the robot A.

Not limited to the refusal period, when the robot 100A is heading to the station 500, the robot 100B may exclude the course of the robot 100A (the straight line connecting the robot 100A and the station 500) from the actionable range. In this way, the robot 100B may be controlled so as not to interfere with the return of the robot 100A by moving away from the path of the robot 100A. The robot 100A may notify the robot 100B that the return process is in progress by an infrared communication device or the like included in the horn 112. Alternatively, the robot 100A may include a light emitting unit such as an LED on the horn 112. The robot 100A may turn on this LED during the return process. The robot 100B can confirm whether or not the robot 100A is in the return process by confirming the lighting state of the LED of the robot 100A. When the robot 100B recognizes that the robot 100A is in the process of returning, the robot 100B may be separated from the station 500 or may be separated from the course of the robot 100A. That is, the movement of the robot 100A that is returning for charging is prioritized, and the other robots move so that the robot 100A can return to the station 500 within the shortest distance.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of guiding the robot 100 to the station 500 by the landmark device 280.
In FIG. 17, there is a shield 516 between the station 500 and the robot 100. Therefore, the robot 100 cannot visually recognize the guide light from the station 500. The robot 100 can recognize the location point of the station 500 by using the map generated based on the key frame. Further, in the present embodiment, the landmark device 280 guides the robot 100 to the station 500, so that the robot 100 can return to the station 500 more reliably.

In FIG. 17, first, the light recognition unit 154 of the robot 100 searches for a guide light from an image captured by the omnidirectional camera 113. Since the station 500 is hidden by the shield 516, the light recognition unit 154 cannot detect the guided light. Next, the light emission instruction transmission unit 140 of the robot 100 transmits the light emission signal L0. Even if the station 500 can receive the light emission signal L0, the robot 100 cannot visually recognize (detect) the guided light because of the shield 516.

The light emission instruction transmission unit 140 of the robot 100 transmits a search signal when the guide light corresponding to the light emission signal L0 cannot be detected. The search signal may be an optical signal that blinks in a predetermined pattern, or may be a radio wave signal. Subsequently, the light emission instruction transmission unit 140 of the robot 100 transmits a light emission signal L1 (first light emission signal that specifies the first light emission mode) that specifies a new light emission mode. When the light emission instruction receiving unit 286 of the landmark device 280 receives the search signal, the light emission control unit 284 transitions to the light emission signal reception preparation state. When the light emission instruction receiving unit 286 receives the light emission signal L1, the light emission control unit 284 causes the light emission unit 282 to emit light according to the light emission signal L1.

The light recognition unit 154 of the robot 100 recognizes the light corresponding to the light emission signal L1 from the landmark device 280 (hereinafter referred to as “landmark light”). Since the landmark device 280 is not shielded from the robot 100, the robot 100 can recognize the landmark light. The operation control unit 150 of the robot 100 sets the light emission point of the landmark light as the current movement target point of the robot 100. The robot 100 moves to the location point of the landmark device 280 (S20).

When the robot 100 enters the vicinity of the landmark device 280, for example, within a range of 0.5 meters from the landmark device 280, the robot 100 emits a light emission signal L2 (a second emission mode that specifies a second emission mode). 2 light emission signal) is transmitted. The station 500 generates a guide light corresponding to the light emission signal L2. The robot 100 can visually recognize (detect) the guided light of the station 500 when it is near the landmark device 280. The robot 100 recognizes the guided light from the station 500 and then returns to the station 500 (S22). According to such a control method, even when the guided light cannot be recognized from the robot 100, it is possible to return to the station 500 by once approaching the landmark device 280.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of guiding the robot 100A to the station 500 by the robot 100B.
The robot 100B can also function as the landmark device 280. In FIG. 18, there is a shield 516 between the station 500 and the robot 100A. Therefore, the guide light cannot be visually recognized from the robot 100A. On the other hand, the robot 100B can visually recognize the guide light. The robot 100A transmits the light emission signal L0, but cannot detect the guide light. Therefore, the robot 100A transmits a light emission signal L1 (first light emission signal that specifies a first light emission mode) that specifies a new light emission mode.

The light emission instruction receiving unit 144 of the robot 100B receives the light emission signal L1. The light emission control unit 158 of the robot 100B causes the light emitting unit 138 to emit light in accordance with the light emission signal L1. The light emitted from the robot 100B functions as landmark light. The robot 100A detects the landmark light of the robot 100B and approaches the robot 100B (S30). The robot 100A transmits a light emission signal L2 (second light emission signal that specifies a second light emission mode) that specifies a new light emission mode near the robot 100B. The station 500 generates a guide light corresponding to the light emission signal L2. The robot 100A detects the guided light and returns to the station 500 (S32).

The prescribed peripheral area 520 shown in FIG. 18 indicates a range in which the guide light can be visually recognized. When the position determination unit 166 of the robot 100A determines that the robot 100A goes out of the specified peripheral area 520, it determines that the position condition is not satisfied, and sends a departure signal to the robot 100B. When the robot 100B receives the leaving signal, the operation control unit 150 of the robot 100B (or the operation control unit 222 of the server 200) limits the action range of the robot 100B to the specified peripheral area 520. When the robot 100A exits the specified peripheral area 520, the robot 100B can be made to function as a landmark device by keeping the robot 100B in the specified peripheral area 520.

The station 500 may always turn on the guide light. The position determination unit 166 of the robot 100 constantly detects the guide light of the station 500 by the omnidirectional camera 113, and determines that the position condition is not satisfied (outside the specified peripheral area 520) when the guide light is no longer visible. May be. The defined peripheral area 520 may be conceptually determined based on whether or not the guided light is visually approved, or may be explicitly set in advance as a predetermined area around the station 500 in the map.

<Summary>
The robot system 300 has been described above based on the embodiment.
According to this embodiment, the robot 100 recognizes the location point of the station 500 by using the guided light from the station 500 as a clue. The robot 100 can further distinguish the guide light and the similar light by transmitting a light emission signal. Even when the remaining battery level is low, the robot 100 can return to the station 500 without being wasted by similar light and wasteful movement (power waste). If the guide light and the normal light are emitted in a special light emission mode (a light emission mode that is not easily mistaken for similar light), the user may feel the guide light annoying. Such a problem can be solved by generating the guide light in a special light emission mode only when the light emission signal is received. Further, it is considered that it is not preferable to constantly generate radio waves from the charging station 500 in consideration of the influence on other electronic devices.

If the pseudo light and the guided light cannot be distinguished even after transmitting the light emission signal, the light emission signal designating another light emission mode may be retransmitted. Since the station 500 can change the light emission mode according to the light emission signal, the robot 100 can reliably identify the station 500.

The light emitting unit 256 of the station 500 has a plurality of light sources (a central light source 380 and a side light source 382). The unique light emitting shape formed by the central light source 380 and the two light emitting units 282 makes it easier for the robot 100 to identify the guide light. Further, by disposing the side light source 382 on the front side of the central light source 380, the robot 100 can recognize the relative angle between the robot 100 and the station 500 according to the appearance of the guided light. The robot 100 adjusts the moving direction based on the appearance of the guided light so as to return from a position near the front of the station 500.

In the station 500, the charging device 506 and the server 200 are integrally formed. By making the charging device 506 and the server 200 into a single housing, the entire robot system 300 can be made compact. It is desirable that the station 500 has a certain weight because it is necessary to receive the impact caused by the storage of the robot 100. By incorporating the server 200 in the station 500, the weight of the station 500 can be increased reasonably. The load of the server 200 also contributes to the stability of the station 500.

The station 500 in this embodiment can charge two robots 100A and 100B at the same time. Since the station 500 does not have to be prepared for each robot 100, the station 500 can be formed compactly. In addition, since the plurality of robots 100 are sequentially stored based on the storage request signal, it is easy to prevent the plurality of robots 100 from being congested near the station 500. If the robot 100B also attempts to return during the return processing of the robot 100A, the guidance signal for the robot 100A and the guidance signal for the robot 100B may coexist. The guidance unit 266 of the charging device 506 controls the left guidance unit 252L and the right guidance unit 252R so as not to generate guidance signals at the same time, thereby preventing the guidance signals from being mixed.

Robot 100A and robot 100B are stored in order. The robot 100B is kept waiting during the return processing of the robot 100A. When the robot 100A enters the warehouse, the robot 100B starts the return process. The robot 100A and the robot 100B politely enter the station 500 in order, and after the entry, the robot 100A and the robot 100B are adjacently charged. By the appearance that the robot 100A and the robot 100B are charged side by side (see FIG. 1), the cuteness unique to the second body designating the second light emission mode can be appealed to the user.

The robot 100 sets the light emitting point of the guide light of the station 500 as the reference point of the map. The robot 100 forms the map based on the key frame, but by using the light emission point of the guide light as the reference point, it is possible to more reliably recognize which point on the map (image storage) the current point corresponds to. The fact that the station 500 informs its own location point by the guide light not only facilitates the return of the robot 100 to the station 500, but is also useful for position recognition by the robot 100.

By installing the landmark device 280, the robot 100 can return to the station 500 by relying on the landmark light even when it is far away from the station 500. Properly arranging one or more landmark devices 280 in the room makes it easy to expand the action range of the robot 100. In other words, even if the robot 100 is located away from the station 500, the robot 100 can safely go out as far as it can see the landmark device 280.

When the robot 100A and the robot 100B exist, the robot 100B may function as a landmark device for the robot 100A. In this case, even if one of the robots 100A moves far away, the robot 100B can easily return to the station 500 because the robot 100B stays near the station 500. The robot 100A may limit the range of action so that the robot 100B is not separated from the robot 100B so that the robot 100B cannot be visually recognized.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modified examples, and constituent elements can be modified and embodied without departing from the scope of the invention. Various inventions may be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments and modifications. In addition, some constituent elements may be deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the above-described embodiments and modifications.

Although it has been described that the robot system 300 is configured by one robot 100 and one station 500 (charging device 506 and server 200), a part of the functions of the robot 100 may be realized by the server 200 of the station 500. Some or all of the functions of the server 200 may be assigned to the robot 100. One server 200 may control a plurality of robots 100, or a plurality of servers 200 may cooperate to control one or more robots 100.

A third device other than the robot 100 and the server 200 may take part of the function. The aggregate of the functions of the robot 100 and the functions of the server 200 described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 can be generally understood as one “robot”. How to distribute the plurality of functions required to implement the present invention to one or more pieces of hardware is determined in consideration of the processing capability of each piece of hardware and the specifications required for the robot system 300. It may be decided.

As described above, the “robot in the narrow sense” means the robot 100 that does not include the server 200, but the “robot in the broad sense” means the robot system 300. Many of the functions of the server 200 may possibly be integrated into the robot 100 in the future.

[Modification]
In the present embodiment, the light recognizing unit 154 of the robot 100 first searches for the guided light in the returning process. The robot 100 has been described as transmitting the light emission signal when the guided light cannot be recognized. As a modified example, the robot 100 may always transmit a light emission signal during the return process. The robot 100 may identify external light that responds to the light emission signal as guide light and start moving toward the station 500.

The battery level monitor 176 monitors the battery level of the battery 118. The operation control unit 150 of the robot 100 may start the feedback process when the battery level (charging rate) of the battery 118 becomes less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. The storage request transmission unit 260 of the robot 100 may transmit a storage request signal when the remaining battery level of the battery 118 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. The light emission instruction transmission unit 140 of the robot 100 may transmit a light emission signal when the battery level becomes low. The robot 100 may use the light emission signal as a storage request signal.

When the robot 100 enters the station 500, it may be connected to not only the charging device 506 but also the server 200 by wire. Specifically, the power supply terminal 530 may include not only a power line but also a data line. The same applies to the charging terminal 510 of the robot 100. When the charging terminal 510 of the robot 100 is connected to the power supply terminal 530, the server 200 and the robot 100 may send and receive data via a data line.

As described above, the robot 100 wirelessly transmits various data such as feature vectors and event information to the server 200. In addition, various data are wirelessly transmitted from the server 200 to the robot 100. Since wired communication has a higher data transfer rate than wireless communication, wired communication is more suitable for sending and receiving large amounts of data. The server 200 may acquire the image and audio data acquired by the robot 100 while the robot 100 is being charged. The robot 100 may store data such as a captured image in the data storage unit 148 of the robot 100, and upload the data stored during charging to the server 200.

The server 200 may download an updated version of the behavior control program for the robot 100 from an external server. The server 200 may send the behavior control program to the robot 100 while the robot 100 is being charged. The robot 100 may install the updated version of the action control program by updating the action control program during charging and automatically restarting before the completion of charging. According to such a control method, the operation of updating the behavior control program, which is peculiar to a computer, can be casually executed during charging, in other words, while the user does not pay much attention to the robot 100.

In the present embodiment, the robot 100 has been described as periodically performing the return process. The robot 100 determines the return timing according to the built-in scheduler.
Alternatively, the station 500 may include a return management unit (not shown). The return management unit may manage the return timing of the robot 100 as a scheduler. The station 500 may turn off the light emitting unit 256 during normal operation. The return management unit may automatically turn on the light emitting unit 256 when the return timing approaches. The robot 100 may start the return process when detecting the guide light. According to such a control method, the return timing of the robot 100 can be managed by the station 500. The station 500 can avoid simultaneous return of the plurality of robots 100 by shifting the return timing of the plurality of robots 100. The station 500 may generate yellow guide light when returning the robot 100A, and may generate green guide light when returning the robot 100B.

The robot 100 may transmit a specific signal when the guided light can be specified. The communication unit 204 of the station 500 may set the guide light to be always in a light emitting state when receiving the specific signal. When the light emission mode of the guide light is changed, for example, when the guide light is blinked, the user may be concerned about the guide light. By constantly returning to the light emitting state after receiving the specific signal, the period in which the user is concerned about the guide light can be shortened. The station 500 may turn off the guide light when the robot 100 enters.

The station 500 may change the emission color of the guide light when receiving the specific signal from the robot 100A. For example, the station 500 may normally emit the guide light in blue, and may emit the guide light in red during the return process of the robot 100A. By confirming the emission color of the guide light, the robot 100B can know whether the robot 100A is in the process of returning. The robot 100B may check the color of the guide light when starting the return process, and wait for the return process when the guide light is red. Not only the color of the guide light, but similar information may be notified in other light emission modes.

The station 500 may turn off the light emitting unit 256 in a normal time and turn on the light emitting unit 256 only when a light emitting signal is received. According to such a control method, the power consumption of the light emitting unit 256 can be suppressed. If the guide light is set to be always off, the user is less likely to feel the guide light visually. For example, when the station 500 is installed in the bedroom, it is considered desirable to turn off the guide light during normal times.

The return management unit may periodically send a return signal prompting the robot 100 to return. When the robot 100 receives the return signal, the robot 100 starts the return process. The return signal may include an ID that specifies the target robot 100. The return signal may be a radio wave signal or a visible light signal.

The return management unit may also transmit a return signal to the robot 100B when the robot 100A returns. According to such a control method, when the robot 100A returns to the station 500 (nest), the robot 100B becomes bored and returns to the station 500 (nest). You can direct.

The return management unit may send a return signal when the user is not around the station 500 or when the light intensity of the room is low (when there is no user or when it is assumed that it is midnight). According to such a control method, a time period during which the robot 100 does not need to interact with the user can be positively used as a charging opportunity for the robot 100. While it is expected that the robot 100 will be actively involved with the user, it is necessary to be appropriately charged by the station 500. In other words, when the user is not present, in other words, by setting the charging time to a time period in which the user is not required to be involved, it is possible to reduce the “time when the robot 100 is resting” seen from the user. In order for the user to feel the robot 100 is active, it is desirable to charge the robot 100 when it is not in view of the user.

The user may explicitly set the charging time of the robot 100 on a user terminal such as a smartphone. For example, it is assumed that the user sets the charging time from 10:00 to 10:10. The user terminal transmits this schedule data to the station 500. The return management unit of the station 500 registers schedule data. The return management unit may transmit a return signal at 10:00 and a departure signal to the robot 100 at 10:10. When the robot 100 receives the leaving signal, the robot 100 leaves the station 500 and resumes autonomous behavior even if the charging is not completed. According to such a control method, the user can control the charging time of the robot 100 using the user terminal. For example, when there is a visitor from 10:00, the user can control the robot 100 so as not to interfere with the visitor reception by setting the corresponding time as the charging time.

Not limited to the schedule, the user may send a return instruction from the user terminal to the station 500. The station 500 transmits a return signal to the robot 100 when receiving a return instruction from the user terminal. The robot 100 starts the return process when it receives the return signal. For example, even when the child is playing with the robot 100 until late at night, if the parent user secretly transmits the return instruction, the robot 100 starts the return process, and thus the robot 100 becomes sleepy, or You can give the child the impression that he/she wants to return to the station 500 (nest) because he is tired.

The robot 100 can know the positional relationship with the station 500 from the guide light (optical signal), the medium-range guide signal (medium-range infrared ray), and the short-range guide signal (short-range infrared ray and ultrasonic wave). The robot 100 approaches the station 500 based on the medium-range infrared rays when detecting the medium-range infrared rays. The robot 100 further approaches the station 500 according to the short-distance guidance signal when detecting the short-distance infrared rays and ultrasonic waves.

The robot 100 may measure the distance to the station 500 with a distance measuring sensor, ignore the medium-range infrared rays when the distance from the station 500 is within a predetermined distance, and continue the feedback processing according to the short-range infrared rays. Alternatively, the robot 100 may execute the feedback processing according to the one having the higher radio field intensity when both the medium-range guidance signal and the short-range guidance signal are detected.

In the present embodiment, the station 500 has been described as informing the robot 100 of its location point by the guide light (visible light). As a modification, the station 500 may notify the robot 100 at a long distance of its location point by transmitting radio waves (invisible light).

The robot 100 may transmit the light emission signal LA in the light emission mode A. The robot 100 may retransmit the light emission signal LB in the light emission mode B when the guide light according to the light emission mode A cannot be recognized. The light emitting mode A and the light emitting mode B may be the same. However, the light emission signal LB is a signal for the landmark device 280 that includes information designating the landmark device 280.

When receiving the light emission signal LB, the landmark device 280 generates landmark light according to the light emission mode B. The robot 100 may detect the landmark light and approach the landmark device 280. According to such a control method, the robot 100 gives the highest priority to the search of the station 500, and searches the landmark device 280 when the station 500 cannot be searched. The robot 100 can recognize that the approach target is not the station 500 but the landmark device 280 because the landmark device 280 reacts to the light emission signal LB.

The warehousing determination unit 262 may reject the warehousing request of the robot 100B when the robot 100B transmits a warehousing request signal to the station 500 when the robot 100A is within a predetermined range from the station 500. This is because the robot 100A may interfere with the storage of the robot 100B. At this time, the charging device 506 may send a departure signal to the robot 100A. The robot 100A may leave the station 500 when it receives the leave signal.

In the present embodiment, it has been described that the two charging spaces 502 are prepared for the two robots 100. The two robots 100 can be charged at the same time after being stored in the charging space 502 in order. As a modification, the substitution chamber method is effective even when the number of robots 100 is larger than the number of charging spaces 502. For example, when two robots 100 desire to be stored in one charging space 502 at the same time, the storage determination unit 262 permits the storage of one of the robots 100 and rejects the storage of the other robot 100. .. The two robots 100 may notify the respective battery remaining amounts to the station 500, and the warehousing determination unit 262 may prioritize the warehousing of the robot 100 having the smaller battery remaining amount.

In the present embodiment, the second robot 100 that specifies the second light emission mode has been described as not being able to enter the station 500 at the same time. However, as a modification, the second robot 100 that specifies the second light emission mode may be stored in the station at the same time. You may be able to enter 500. The station 500 may transmit a warehousing permission signal designating the left space 502L to the robot 100A and a warehousing permission signal designating the right space 502R to the robot 100B. Further, even during the return processing of the robot 100A, the robot 100B may move toward the station 500 when desiring to store.

The two robots 100 may be set in advance in which of the two charging spaces 502 they are to be stored. For example, the storage destination may be set based on the appearance color of the robot 100 and the color of the panel 508 provided in the charging space 502. The outer skin 314 of the robot 100A is dark brown, and the outer skin 314 of the robot 100B is light brown. Further, the color of the left panel 508L is dark brown and the color of the right panel 508R is light brown. At this time, the robot 100A may return to the left space 502L having the same color scheme. The robot 100B returns to the right space 502R. According to such a control method, the colors of the robot 100 and the rear panel 508 can be made uniform during charging, which contributes to improving the appearance of the robot system 300 and the two robots 100 during charging. The robot 100 may recognize (store) the color of its outer skin 314. The robot 100 may request the station 500 to guide toward the panel whose color is the same as that of the station 100 via the warehousing request transmission unit 260. For example, the warehousing request signal may be transmitted including the color ID, and 262 may select 502 corresponding to the color ID as the warehousing destination.

The operation control unit 222 of the server 200 may record the number of times of return to each of the left space 502L and the right space 502R for each of the plurality of robots 100. If the robot 100A stores the robot 100A in the left space 502L more frequently than the right space 502R in a unit period, the storage determination unit 262 of the station 500 may store the robot 100A in the left space 502L preferentially. As a result, the robot 100B is naturally easily guided to the right space 502R. According to such a control method, each of the robot 100A and the robot 100B gradually has its favorite nest (charging space 502), so that the commitment of the two robots 100 to the nest can be expressed.

The eye generation unit (not shown) of the robot 100 may express “sleep” by closing the eye image displayed on the eye 110 during charging. The eye generation unit expresses sleep by changing the eye image to an eye-closed image when the first sleep duration has elapsed since the robot 100 was stored. When the robot 100A and the robot 100B are being simultaneously charged, the charging control unit 264 of the server 200 may instruct the two robots 100 to perform a second sleep duration longer than the first sleep duration. .. The robot 100</b>A and the robot 100</b>B may move their line of sight so as to stare at each other during the simultaneous charging, or may move the arm 106 so as to touch each other. According to such a control method, it is possible to express a state in which the robot 100A and the robot 100B are aware of each other even when returning to the same station 500 (nest). With this expression, it is possible to impress 500 not as a device for charging two robots but as a nest of two brother robots.

As described above, the robot 100 is equipped with the thermosensor 115. The station 500 may include a thermal reference near the thermosensor 115 that produces a constant temperature. For example, if the thermal reference is 25 degrees, the station 500 may correct the detection sensitivity of the thermo sensor 115 by detecting 25 degrees of the thermal reference by the thermo sensor 115.

The light emission signal and the warehousing request signal may be transmitted as a wireless signal such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi. If the light emission signal and the like are wireless signals (radio wave signals), the robot 100 can receive the light emission signal and the like even when the robot 100 is in a position where the station 500 cannot be visually recognized.

Station 500 may include a speaker (not shown). The robot 100 may include a sound generation requesting unit (not shown). When the robot 100 cannot detect the guide light, the sound requesting unit of the robot 100 may send a sound request signal to the station 500. When the sound generation request receiving unit (not shown) of the station 500 detects the sound generation request signal, the sound generation control unit (not shown) of the station 500 causes the speaker to generate a sound of a predetermined frequency. It is desirable that the voice at this time be in a frequency band that does not make the user feel uncomfortable and that the voice can be easily estimated. It does not have to be an audible sound. The voice direction specifying unit (not shown) of the robot 100 may estimate the direction of the station 500 by a built-in microphone array. According to such a control method, the robot 100 can estimate the location point of the station 500 even when the station 500 cannot be visually recognized from the robot 100. In addition, since voice has a drawback that the sounding point becomes difficult to be recognized by being reflected on the wall, it is considered preferable to use it auxiliary when the guide light cannot be detected.

FIG. 19 is an external view of the station 550 in the modified example.
In the station 550 in the modified example, two ultrasonic wave generators 552 and infrared ray generators 554 are embedded in the base 504, instead of providing the short-distance guiding section 252 under the rear panel 508. The ultrasonic wave generation device 552RR, the ultrasonic wave generation device 552RL, and the infrared ray generation device 554R form a short-distance guide portion 556R on the right side. Similarly, the ultrasonic wave generator 552LL, the ultrasonic wave generator 552LR, and the infrared ray generator 554L form a short-distance guide portion 556L on the left side. The difference from the station 500 shown in FIG. 7 is that two ultrasonic wave generators 552 are provided for one short-distance guiding unit 556, which are an infrared sensor 172 and a microphone 174 provided on the back surface of the robot 100. It is provided at a low position so that the heights are almost the same. The functions of the

infrared ray generators

554R and 554L may be collectively performed by the intermediate distance guiding unit 254. That is, the

infrared generators

554R and 554L may not be provided, and only the infrared generators of the middle distance guiding unit 254 may be provided. When the infrared generator of the intermediate distance guiding unit 254 is used as the infrared generator of the short distance guiding unit 556, the infrared generating device of the intermediate distance guiding unit 254 controls in conjunction with the operation of the left and right ultrasonic generators 552. To be done.

The ultrasonic wave generator 552RR and the ultrasonic wave generator 552RL are provided at positions symmetrical to the virtual center line of the right space 502R. Also, ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the front. By providing two left and right ultrasonic wave generators 552, the distance between each ultrasonic wave generator 552 and the robot 100 can be calculated. Since the position of the ultrasonic generator 552 at the station 550 is fixed, the relative position of the robot 100 with respect to the station 550 can be specified. According to this modification, the relative position of the robot 100 with respect to the station 550 can be specified, and the orientation of the robot 100 with respect to the station 550 can be specified, so that more accurate guidance can be performed.

In the station 500 shown in FIG. 7, the right guiding portion 252R is arranged on the reference approach line of the taxiway, and since infrared rays have a certain directivity, it is possible to receive infrared rays within a certain range including the taxiway. It is located in the (fan-shaped spread range). Since the infrared rays spread, it becomes more difficult to grasp the exact position as the distance from the station increases. In the station 550 shown in FIG. 19, the position of the robot 100 can be specified as coordinates by providing ultrasonic generators on the left and right. Further, the orientation of the robot 100 with respect to the station 500 can be specified. As a result, the station 550 shown in FIG. 19 can be guided more accurately than the station 500 shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of identifying the position and the traveling direction of the robot 100.
The distance between the ultrasonic wave generator 552RR and the ultrasonic wave generator 552RL and the robot 100 is indicated by a dotted arc. The intersection point of the two dotted lines is the position P of the robot 100. To be precise, the position P is the position of either the left or right microphone 174 provided on the back surface of the robot 100. In this figure, it is assumed that the position P is the position of the left microphone 174L. The left microphone 174L receives ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic wave generation device 552RR and the ultrasonic wave generation device 552RL. The left microphone 174L receives the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic wave generator 552RR after the infrared sensor 172 receives the infrared light. The distance measuring unit 162 measures the distance A from the ultrasonic generator 552RR to the left microphone 174L based on the time difference between the two. Similarly, the left microphone 174L receives the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic wave generator 552RL after the infrared sensor 172 receives the infrared light. The distance measuring unit 162 measures the distance B from the ultrasonic generator 552RL to the left microphone 174L. An intersection of a circle having a radius A from the ultrasonic generator 552RR and a circle having a radius B from the ultrasonic generator 552RL is specified as the position coordinate L of the left microphone 174L (position P).

The position coordinate R of the right microphone 174R can be similarly obtained. If the position coordinates of the left microphone 174L and the right microphone 174R are known, the center of the line segment can be specified as the position coordinate of the robot 100. Furthermore, as described with reference to FIG. 15, the orientation of the robot 100 with respect to the ultrasonic wave generation device 552 can be calculated based on the time difference between the ultrasonic waves detected by the left microphone 174L and the right microphone 174R. In this modification, since there are two ultrasonic generators 552 on the left and right, the orientation of the robot 100 with respect to each ultrasonic generator is calculated, and by performing numerical processing such as averaging, the orientation can be calculated more accurately. ..

Also, in this modification, the positions of the left and right microphones 174 provided on the back surface of the robot 100 can be specified as position coordinates. The direction of the normal to the line segment connecting the two microphones 174 may be specified as the orientation of the robot.

The frequencies of the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generator 552RR and the ultrasonic generator 552RL are the same. The infrared generator 554R irradiates infrared rays at the same time as the generation of ultrasonic waves in the ultrasonic generator 552, and transmits information specifying the ultrasonic generator that generated the ultrasonic waves. For example, the infrared ray generation device 554R alternately and regularly generates an infrared ray indicating the ultrasonic wave generation device 552RR on the right side and an infrared ray indicating the ultrasonic wave generation device 552RL on the left side. Further, in synchronization with this, the ultrasonic wave generator 552RR and the ultrasonic wave generator 552RL alternately generate ultrasonic waves. The movement speed of the robot 100 during short-distance guidance is slower than that during normal movement. In the ultrasonic wave generation cycle, the distance that the robot 100 moves is extremely short. Therefore, even if ultrasonic waves are alternately generated by the ultrasonic wave generators 552RR and 552RL, the position of the robot 100 can be measured almost accurately. it can.

The frequencies of the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic wave generator 552RR and the ultrasonic wave generator 552RL may be different. In this case, even if the ultrasonic wave generation device 552RR and the ultrasonic wave generation device 552RL generate ultrasonic waves simultaneously and periodically, the microphone 174 can recognize which ultrasonic wave is generated.

This application claims priority on the basis of Japanese Patent Application No. XX××-×××××× filed on the date of xx××year×month×, and the entire disclosure thereof is here. take in.

Claims

A charging space having a power supply terminal,
When the robot and the power supply terminal are connected in the charging space, a charging control unit that charges a secondary battery built in the robot,
A light source,
A light emission instruction receiving unit that receives a light emission signal designating a light emission mode from the robot,
A light-emission control unit that changes the light-emission mode of the light source according to the designated light-emission mode.
The charging according to claim 1, wherein the light emission instruction receiving unit specifies, by the light emission signal, one or more of a light emission amount of the light source, a blinking cycle, a light emission color, and a light emission pattern as the light emission mode. station.
The light source includes a first light source and a second light source,
The charging station according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first light source is installed in front of the second light source when the charging station is viewed from the front.
The charging station according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the charging station has a plurality of charging spaces and is capable of simultaneously charging a plurality of robots.
A warehousing request receiving unit that receives a warehousing request signal requesting warehousing into the charging space from the first robot;
A warehousing determination unit that determines whether or not the first robot can be stored in the charging space;
A storage availability transmitting unit that transmits a storage availability signal indicating availability of storage to the first robot,
The warehousing determination unit rejects the warehousing of the first robot when the second robot is returning to the charging station and the second robot has not started charging in any charging space. The charging station according to claim 4, wherein:
Formed integrally with a server device that controls the operation of the robot,
The server device is
From the robot, an event receiving unit that receives event information recognized by the robot,
The charging station according to claim 1, further comprising: a motion control unit that selects a motion of the robot according to the event information.
A motion control unit that selects the motion of the robot,
A drive mechanism that executes a motion selected by the operation control unit;
A light emission instruction transmission unit that transmits a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode,
A light recognition unit for recognizing external light,
The light emission instruction transmission unit transmits the light emission signal when charging a secondary battery built in the robot,
The light recognition unit identifies external light corresponding to the designated light emission mode,
The autonomous action type robot, wherein the operation control unit determines a moving direction of the robot by using a light emitting point of the external light as a location point of a charging station.
A captured image acquisition unit that acquires a captured image;
An image feature acquisition unit that acquires image feature information by extracting feature points from the captured image,
A map management unit that generates a map based on the image feature information,
The autonomous action type robot according to claim 7, wherein the map management unit generates the map based on a light emitting point of the charging station.
The autonomous action type robot according to claim 8, wherein the light emission instruction transmission unit transmits the light emission signal when the current position on the map is lost.
A light source,
A light emission instruction receiving unit that receives a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode from the robot,
A light emission control unit that changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the designated light emission mode, the landmark device.
Including robots, landmark devices and charging stations,
The robot is
A light recognition unit that recognizes external light,
A motion control unit that selects the motion of the robot,
A drive mechanism that executes a motion selected by the operation control unit;
A light emission instruction transmission unit that transmits a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode,
The light emission instruction transmission unit transmits the light emission signal when charging a secondary battery built in the robot,
The light recognition unit identifies external light corresponding to the designated light emission mode,
The operation control unit determines the movement direction of the robot with the light emission point of the external light as a movement target point,
The landmark device,
A light source,
A light emission instruction receiving unit that receives a light emission signal from the robot,
A light emission control unit that changes a light emission mode of the light source according to a light emission mode designated by the light emission signal,
The charging station is
A charging space having a power supply terminal,
A charging control unit that charges a secondary battery of the robot when the robot and the power supply terminal are connected in the charging space,
A light source,
From the robot, a light emission instruction receiving unit that receives the light emission signal,
A light emission control unit that changes a light emission mode of the light source according to a light emission mode designated by the light emission signal,
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the robot transmits a first light emission signal designating a first light emission mode,
The light emission control unit of the landmark device changes the light emission mode of the light source according to a first light emission mode designated by the first light emission signal,
The light recognition unit of the robot identifies the external light according to the first light emission mode,
The operation control unit of the robot determines a movement direction of the robot with a light emission point of the external light according to the first light emission mode as a movement target point,
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the robot transmits a second light emission signal designating a second light emission mode when the robot reaches the location point of the landmark device,
The light emission control unit of the charging station changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the second light emission mode designated by the second light emission signal,
The light recognition unit of the robot identifies the external light according to the second light emission mode,
The guidance system, wherein the operation control unit of the robot determines a next moving direction of the robot with a light emission point of the external light according to the second light emission mode as a movement target point.
Including a first robot, a second robot and a charging station,
Each of the first robot and the second robot has a light recognition unit that recognizes external light,
A motion control unit that selects the motion of the robot,
A drive mechanism that executes a motion selected by the operation control unit;
A light emission instruction transmission unit that transmits a light emission signal that specifies a light emission mode,
A light source,
A light emitting instruction receiving unit that receives a light emitting signal from another robot,
A light emission control unit that changes a light emission mode of the light source according to a light emission mode designated by the light emission signal,
The light emission instruction transmission unit transmits the light emission signal when charging a secondary battery built in the robot,
The light recognition unit identifies external light corresponding to the designated light emission mode,
The operation control unit determines the movement direction of the robot with the light emission point of the external light as a movement target point,
The charging station is
A charging space having a power supply terminal,
A charging control unit that charges a secondary battery of the robot when the robot and the power supply terminal are connected in the charging space,
A light source,
A light emission instruction receiving unit that receives a light emission signal from the robot,
A light emission control unit that changes a light emission mode of the light source according to a light emission mode designated by the light emission signal,
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the first robot transmits a first light emission signal that specifies a first light emission mode,
The light emission control unit of the second robot changes the light emission mode of the light source of the second robot according to the first light emission mode designated by the first light emission signal,
The light recognition unit of the first robot identifies external light according to the first light emission mode,
The operation control unit of the first robot determines a moving direction of the first robot with a light emission point of external light according to the first light emission mode as a movement target point,
The light emission instruction transmission unit of the first robot transmits a second light emission signal designating a second light emission mode when the first robot reaches the location point of the second robot,
The light emission control unit of the charging station changes the light emission mode of the light source according to the second light emission mode designated by the second light emission signal,
The light recognition unit of the first robot identifies external light according to the second light emission mode,
The guidance system, wherein the operation control unit of the first robot determines a next moving direction of the first robot with a light emission point of external light according to the second light emission mode as a movement target point.
Both the first robot and the second robot are
A position determination unit that determines whether or not the current position of the robot with respect to the charging station satisfies a predetermined position condition,
When the position condition is not satisfied in the first robot, the operation control unit of the second robot sets a range within which the position condition is satisfied as an action range of the second robot. Item 12. The guidance system according to Item 12.
The function to select the motion of the robot,
A function for causing the drive mechanism to execute the selected motion,
A function for transmitting a light emission signal that specifies the light emission mode,
A function of recognizing a light emission point of external light according to the designated light emission mode,
When the external light emitted in the light emission mode designated by the light emission signal is recognized, the computer is caused to perform the function of determining the moving direction of the robot by using the light emission point of the external light as the location point of the charging station. A behavior control program for a characteristic autonomous robot.