JP2000218578A - Spherical robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spherical robot permitting bidirectional communication between human being and information. SOLUTION: In a spherical robot provided with a spherical shell having a hollow part and a main unit part arranged in the spherical shell for driving it rotated, the main unit part has a sensor part 30A for acquiring information from the outside, information output part 30B for outputting information relating to the outside, memory part 37 previously storing information output by the information output part 30B corresponding to information input from the sensor part 30A, and a control part 201 for determining information output from the information output part 30B based on information input from the sensor part 30A and information stored in the memory part 37.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spherical robot which enables two-way communication between a human and a robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, most of robots are used as industrial robots mainly for production automation.
In the future, for example, it has been proposed that a highly secure mobile robot can coexist with a human at home. Therefore, a spherical robot having a highly safe moving mechanism has been proposed as such a mobile robot.

FIG. 7 is a cutaway perspective view showing an example of a conventional spherical robot. The spherical robot A will be described with reference to FIG. The spherical robot A of FIG. 7 includes a spherical shell 1, a main body 2, and the like, and the main body 2 is disposed in the spherical shell 1. The main body 2 has a frame 3, motors 4a and 4b, a power transmission unit 5, wheels 13a and 13b, and the like. Wheels 13 a and 13 b are arranged at a lower portion of the main body 2, and the wheels 13 a and 13 b are in contact with the inner surface of the spherical shell 1. When the wheels 13a and 13b rotate, the spherical shell 1 rotates and the spherical robot A moves.
The wheels 13a, 13b are connected to the motors 4a, 4b, respectively, via a power transmission unit 5 composed of, for example, gears.
a and 13b rotate independently.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the main body 1 of the spherical robot A in FIG. 7, and the spherical robot A will be described with reference to FIG. 8 includes a control unit 101, a power supply unit 102, a driving unit 10
3, the switch 105 and the like. The control unit 101 controls the operation of the spherical robot A, and has a sequential drive control unit 101a and a data unit 101b. The sequential drive control unit 101a controls the drive unit 10 based on the data stored in the data unit 101b.
3 is controlled.

[0005] The drive unit 103 controls the operation of the visible light LED, motor, speaker, and the like attached to the main unit 2 in accordance with a command from the sequential drive control unit 101a. The power supply unit 102 supplies drive power to the control unit 101 and the drive unit 103. The power supply unit 102 is provided with a power supply such as an alkaline battery, and can be turned on and off by a switch 105.

Here, when the spherical robot A operates, a program stored in advance in the data section 101b of FIG. 8 is executed by the sequential drive control section 101a, and the drive section 103 drives the motor 103 according to the program. , A visible light LED, a speaker and the like are operated. Then, for example, the wheels 13a and 13b of FIG. 7 rotate inside the spherical shell 1 and travel using the change in the position of the center of gravity of the spherical robot A. The visible light LED emits light or a sound is output from a speaker to transmit predetermined information to a human.

[0007]

As described above, the conventional spherical robot A operates according to a predetermined program. Therefore, the spherical robot A performs only the predetermined operation stored in the data unit 101b. On the other hand, when the spherical robot A is applied to a home robot or the like that stores humans in response to instructions and actions of humans and fellow robots, the spherical robots A can transmit and receive signals to and from the outside. It is necessary to have a function.

However, as described above, the conventional spherical robot A has only a simple control system for the drive unit 103, and therefore has sufficient functions when used as a home robot, for example. There is no problem.
That is, the conventional spherical robot A has the data unit 101b
However, there is a problem that various operations and a two-way communication function are required, for example, a home robot or the like cannot be used.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem and to provide a spherical robot which enables two-way communication between humans and information.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spherical shell having a hollow portion, and a spherical shell disposed in the spherical shell for driving the spherical shell to rotate. In the spherical robot having a main body, the main body includes a sensor unit for acquiring information from the outside, an information output unit for outputting information to the outside, and information input from the sensor unit. Corresponding to, a storage unit that previously stores information output by the information output unit, and the information output unit based on information input from the sensor unit and information stored in the storage unit. And a control for determining the information output from the robot.

According to the configuration of the first aspect, the spherical robot acquires external information by the sensor unit, and based on the information acquired by the sensor unit and the information stored in the storage unit, outputs the information by the information output unit. Determine the information to be output. That is, the spherical robot acquires external information and determines an operation based on the information. Thus, for example, when a human provides predetermined information to a spherical robot, the spherical robot outputs certain information according to the information.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the information output unit includes a spherical robot having a speaker for outputting a sound outside the spherical shell. Achieved. According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, the information output unit includes the speaker, and outputs a sound from the inside of the spherical shell to the outside of the spherical shell. Therefore, when sound is output from the speaker, the sound is transmitted by vibrating the spherical shell, so that the sound is output uniformly in all directions.

[0013] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the storage unit is removably disposed with respect to the main body unit and rewritten by communicating with the outside. This is achieved by a spherical robot according to claim 1, which is provided as possible. According to the configuration of the eighth aspect, the storage unit for storing the data for determining the operation of the spherical robot is detachably arranged, and the contents can be rewritten by the communication function. Therefore, when the storage unit is replaced or the data is changed, the operation of the spherical robot also changes.

[0014]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention,
Although various technically preferable limits are given, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these modes unless otherwise specified in the following description.

FIG. 1 is a front view and a rear view showing a preferred embodiment of a spherical robot according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a top view and a side view, respectively. Referring to FIGS. Will be described. The spherical robot 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a spherical shell 21, a main body 30, and the like. The main body 30 is disposed inside the spherical shell 21. Spherical shell 21
Consists of, for example, two hemispheres 21a and 21b,
The main body 21 disposed inside the spherical shell 21 is disposed so as to be removable. Further, the spherical shell 21 is formed of a material such as a resin having a molecular structure of a polyolefin-based material that transmits light in an ultraviolet region to an infrared region. Accordingly, light beams output from the infrared light emitting unit 32 and the visible light emitting unit 35 described later can be transmitted through the spherical shell 21 and output to the outside of the spherical shell 21.

The main body 30 has a rotation drive unit 31, an infrared light emitting unit 32, a speaker 33, a microphone 34, a visible light emitting unit 35, a light receiving unit 36, a storage unit 37, and the like. The rotation drive unit 31 includes wheels 31a, 31a, motors 31b, 31
b etc. The wheels 31 a are provided, for example, at a lower portion of the main body 30 and are in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the spherical shell 21. Also, the wheels 31a, 31a in FIG.
Are connected to the motors 31b and 31b, respectively.
The wheels 31a, 31a rotate independently by the operation of the motors 31b, 31b, and operate the spherical shell 21. That is, when the wheels 31a, 31a rotate in the same direction at the same speed, the spherical shell 21 rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the wheels 31a, 31a and advances, and the wheels 31a, 31a rotate in the opposite directions, respectively. Then, the spherical robot 20 turns on the spot. When the wheels 31a and 31a rotate in the same direction and the rotation speeds are different,
Bend in one direction. Furthermore, when the spherical robot 20 performs a predetermined operation by the rotation drive unit 31, it is possible to output, for example, information indicating movement to a human.

The infrared light emitting section 32 is, for example, an infrared light LE.
D (Light Emitting Diode), which is provided, for example, on the front side and the back side of the main body 30. The infrared light emitting section 32 emits infrared light in the front direction and the rear direction of the main body 30, and outputs or inputs information by using the infrared light. On the other hand, the main body 30 is provided with a light receiving section 36 composed of, for example, a phototransistor or a photodiode, and can acquire information by receiving infrared rays from the outside.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the infrared light emitting section 32 outputs infrared rays to a remote controller installed outside to output information. On the other hand, the infrared light output from the remote controller is
By receiving light, external information can be obtained. Further, the infrared light emitting section 32 outputs infrared rays from the front direction, for example, and the reflected light is detected by the light receiving section 36, so that external information such as obstacles can be obtained.

A speaker 33 is provided in the main body 30 shown in FIGS.
And a microphone 34 are provided. The speaker 33 generates sound toward the outside, and the microphone 34 collects external sound. Therefore, sound information can be transmitted from the spherical robot 20 to the human through the speaker 33, and sound information can be transmitted from the human to the spherical robot 20 through the microphone 34. Further, when the sound is output from the speaker 33, the sound is emitted to the outside through the spherical shell 21, so that the sound is uniformly diverged in all directions, and the directivity of the sound can be improved.

The main unit 30 includes, for example, a ROM (Read
A memory 37 including a readable / writable flash memory and a memory card is detachably attached, and the memory 37 includes, for example, a first memory 37a and a second memory 37b. The operation information of the information output unit 30B including the motor 31b, the speaker 33, and the like is stored in the first storage unit 37a. On the other hand, the second storage unit 37b stores information necessary for determining information input from the sensor unit 30A including the microphone 34, the light receiving unit 36, the magnetic sensor 38, and the like. As described later, the storage unit 37 is rewritable using a communication function, and can change stored information for operation and information for determination at any time. Therefore, the information output from the information output unit 30B changes as needed when the storage units 37a and 37b are replaced or rewritten by the communication function.

The visible light emitting section 35 is made up of, for example, a photodiode or a phototransistor, and can transmit information to the outside by irradiating visible light to the outside and emitting or not emitting light or blinking. The main body 30
Inside, a magnetic sensor 38 such as a Hall sensor as shown in FIG. 4 is provided. Magnetic sensor 38
Is to acquire information by detecting a magnetic field generated by a magnetic generator such as a magnet or a coil installed outside.

FIG. 5 shows the main body 3 of the spherical robot 10.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration configured in a block 0. An internal system of the spherical robot 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 includes an intelligent control unit 201, a power supply unit 202, and a drive control unit 20.
3. It has a sensor control unit 204, a communication unit 206, and the like. The intelligent control unit 201 is the spherical robot 20
It controls the entire operation, and includes, for example, a generally known microcomputer or FPGA (Fie
ld Programmable Gate Arra
y). Intelligent control unit 20
Numeral 1 is for performing arithmetic processing on sensor information from the sensor control unit 204 at high speed and in parallel.

The power supply unit 202 supplies electric power necessary for the spherical robot 20 to operate, and includes, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel cadmium battery, a primary battery such as an alkaline dry battery or a manganese dry battery. It is provided detachably. An externally operable switch 205 is connected to the power supply unit 202, and the switch 205 controls on / off of the power supply unit 202. The drive control section 203 includes an infrared light emitting section 3 provided in the main body section 20.
2. Visible light emitting unit 35, motor 31b and speaker 3.
3 is for controlling the operation of the sensor unit 30A constituted by 3. The drive control unit 203 causes the information output unit 30B to perform a predetermined operation according to a command from the intelligent control unit 201.

The sensor control unit 204 includes a microphone 34, a light receiving unit 36, and a magnetic sensor 38 provided in the main body 20.
Performs processing of the information received. In particular,
For example, it has a function of converting a sound signal input from the input microphone 34, an optical signal input from the light receiving unit 36, and a magnetic field signal input from the magnetic sensor into electric signals and transferring the electric signals to the intelligent control unit 201. .

The communication unit 206 transmits and receives information to and from the outside by wire or wireless communication, and has a communicator 206a for communicating with the outside, for example, comprising an antenna, wiring, and the like. The communication unit 206 is a storage unit 3
7 can be transmitted and received, and the received information or the recorded information can be stored and read by the storage unit 37. Further, the communication unit 206 has a function of recognizing whether or not the storage unit 37 is attached.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the exchange of data when the spherical robot 20 operates. Referring to FIG. 6, an example of the operation of the spherical robot 20 will be described, particularly focusing on input of external information and output of information. explain. First, the operation of the spherical robot 20 such as the visible light emitting unit 35 is stored in the storage unit 37 in advance.
Information output unit 3 such as the blinking speed of the motor and the rotation speed of the motor 31b
Operation information relating to 0B is stored. Therefore, the sensor unit 30 such as the microphone 34, the light receiving unit 36, the magnetic sensor 38, etc.
When information is input from A, the information is sent to the intelligent control unit 201 via the sensor control unit 204.

The intelligent control unit 201 determines the operation of the spherical robot 20 based on the information input from the sensor control unit 204 and the information obtained from the storage unit 37 via the communication unit 206. Then, the intelligent control unit 201 transfers the determined drive command to the drive control unit 203, and the drive control unit 203 operates the information output unit 30B based on the drive command to output information to the outside.

According to the above embodiment, a mobile robot (spherical robot) 20 having a self-standing walking mechanism built in a spherical shell 21.
, The contents can be updated by exchanging the operation software storage unit 37 or by communication, and adding a function of translating light, sound, magnetism, and other sensors and information to movement, sound, or light, so that it can be used in homes and offices. Can realize two-way communication with humans and fellow robots. That is, since the spherical robot 20 has a sensor function, a bidirectional communication function with humans and fellow robots can be realized.

When sound is output from the speaker 33 provided in the main body 30, the whole of the spherical shell 21 vibrates and transmits the sound to the outside of the spherical robot 20, so that the sound is uniform in all directions. , The directivity is improved, and uniform information transmission becomes possible. Furthermore, the storage unit 37 inside the spherical shell 21 can easily change the stored content by a communication function or exchange, and the variation of the operation of the spherical robot 20 can be easily increased. Since the first storage unit 37a that stores information on the operation of the spherical robot 20 and the second storage unit 37b that stores, for example, sound contents, are separated, the respective storage areas may be enlarged. And the number of operation variations that can be stored can be increased.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates an infrared light emitting section 32 and the like as the sensor section 30A. In addition, for example, an ultrasonic sensor using vibration on the surface of the spherical shell 21 is used, and the spherical shell 21 itself is used as the sensor section. May be. Further, image information can be input by arranging an imaging element such as a CCD camera in the main body 30 so that the spherical shell 21 is formed of a transparent member. can do. On the other hand, as the information output unit 30B, the operation is performed by the operation of the spherical robot 20 by driving an LED or a motor. However, if a liquid crystal display device is mounted on the spherical robot 20, it is possible to output image information to the outside. it can.

Further, in FIG.
It is composed of two storage units, a storage unit 37a and a second storage unit 37b. The information stored in the storage unit 37 is subdivided to store, for example, a storage unit for storing sound, a storage unit for storing light, and an operation. For example, three storage units may be used. In this case, when the information stored in each storage unit is changed, variations of the information output from the spherical robot 20 can be increased by a combination of the storage units. On the other hand, if the storage unit 37 is a single storage unit, the operation of replacing the storage unit 37 can be performed efficiently. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the spherical shell 21 is illustrated as a solid one, but by using a deformable material such as rubber, for example, safety and strength against cracking can be increased.

In FIG. 5, the communication unit 206 is a second communication unit.
Although the information for determining the operation determination is obtained via the storage unit 37b, the information for determining the operation determination may be externally obtained via the communicator 206a.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Providing a sensor unit for inputting external information to the spherical robot and an information output unit for outputting information to the outside enables bidirectional communication of information between a human and the spherical robot.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of a spherical robot of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of the spherical robot of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a portion around an infrared light emitting unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a peripheral portion of the magnetic sensor in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a system diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the spherical robot of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram showing an operation example of the spherical robot of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional spherical robot.

FIG. 8 is a system diagram showing an example of a conventional spherical robot.

FIG. 9 is a system diagram showing an operation example of a conventional spherical robot.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference numeral 20: spherical robot, 21: spherical shell 30: main body, 30A: sensor, 30B: information output unit, 31: rotary drive unit, 32: infrared light emitting unit ,
33 ... speaker, 34 ... microphone, 35 ... visible light emitting section, 36 ... light receiving section, 37 ... storage section,
38: magnetic sensor, 201: intelligent control unit (control unit).

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A spherical robot having a spherical shell having a hollow portion and a main body disposed in the spherical shell for rotating and driving the spherical shell, wherein the main body is externally A sensor unit for acquiring information, an information output unit for outputting information to the outside, and information stored in advance by the information output unit corresponding to information input from the sensor unit. And a control unit for determining information output from the information output unit based on information input from the sensor unit and information stored in the storage unit. A spherical robot. 2. The spherical robot according to claim 1, wherein the information output unit includes a visible light emitting unit that emits visible light to the outside. 3. The spherical robot according to claim 1, wherein the information output unit includes an infrared light emitting unit that emits infrared light to the outside. 4. The spherical robot according to claim 1, wherein the information output unit has a speaker for outputting a sound outside the spherical shell. 5. The spherical robot according to claim 1, wherein the information output unit includes a rotation drive unit that performs a predetermined operation inside the spherical shell according to a command from the control unit. 6. The spherical robot according to claim 1, wherein the sensor unit has a magnetic field sensor for detecting a magnetic field output from outside the spherical shell and acquiring external information. 7. The sensor unit has a light receiving unit for acquiring external information by detecting reflected infrared light output from the outside of the spherical shell or output from the information output unit. The spherical robot according to claim 3, wherein 8. The spherical robot according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is disposed so as to be detachable from the main unit, and is rewritable by communicating with the outside.