JP2003016203A - System and method for preparing operating program, system, method and server device for vending operating program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to easily and inexpensively prepare the operating program of an owned robot and to easily and efficiently vend the prepared operating program. SOLUTION: The user remotely operates the same robot as a robot, which is owned by that user, on a site on a network equipped with an operating program developing means through the network. Thus, the operation of the robot is programmed and after the obtained operating program is downloaded to the information terminal of the user, it is transplanted to the robot owned by that user. In such a case, the operating program prepared by the user is registered on the site and vended.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a commercially available robot that performs various operations by, for example, a built-in operation program, and particularly, an operation program creation for a user to create an operation program for causing the robot to perform a new operation. The present invention relates to a system, an operation program creating method, an operation program selling system for selling the created operation program, an operation program selling method, and an operation program selling server device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, quadruped walking independent entertainment robots and small biped walking entertainment robots have been developed and are generally sold directly at stores or through a network. For example, a small-sized bipedal walking robot controls 24 joints of the whole body in a coordinated manner, so that in addition to basic movements such as walking and turning, a movement to get up, a movement to balance with one foot, a dance,
It is possible to perform various applied motions such as the motion of approaching the ball and kicking.

Recently, it has become popular to purchase a robot of this kind and turn it into a pet. A user can purchase a robot through a network, for example, and each robot is equipped with an operation program for performing various operations in advance, so that it can perform an operation in response to the user's movements and surrounding movements. There is.

[0004]

By the way, as the pet robot as described above is further improved in technology in the future, the more the number of movable parts increases and the more complicated the motion becomes, the more the robot should be made to perform. The variety of operations that can be performed increases, and it is necessary to develop hundreds of types of operation programs to support it, but it is extremely difficult to do it only by the manufacturer or dealer side because the development burden is too large. There is a problem.

For example, when it is considered to make a robot perform a dance, there are various genres of dance, and a dance of a certain genre requires different motions depending on music. It is impossible for a manufacturer to develop an operation program corresponding to these operations so as to cover all the operations, which is an enormous amount of time and labor. Moreover, even if a considerable number of motion programs are developed and prepared, some users may want the robot to perform another motion that is not in them, which is not possible at all. There's a problem.

Therefore, a user who purchases the robot may create an operation program of an operation desired to be performed by the robot and port it to his or her own robot. However, in order to create an operation program, there is a problem that it is not possible to easily create an operation program individually, because it is necessary to have equipment for that purpose or to have knowledge and skill to create the program.

Further, if an operation program is created by an individual, if the operation program can be sold, the created operation program can be effectively used, and the number of kinds of operation programs available to general users naturally increases. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the development load of the operation program on the side of the maker or the store, which is extremely convenient. But,
In order to sell an operation program developed by an individual, there is only means such as selling individually through a bulletin board on the network, and there is no sales route for selling easily and efficiently.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. A first object is that a user can easily and inexpensively create an operation program for a robot owned by the user. It is to provide an operation program creating system and an operation program creating method, and a second object is to provide an operation program selling system, an operation program selling method and an operation program selling server device which sell the created operation program easily and efficiently. Is to provide.

[0009]

The means for solving the problems of the present invention comprises a remote operation means for transmitting on a network operation information instructed based on an image displayed by the display means, A robot that is remotely controlled by remote control means according to motion information transmitted via the network; and image capturing means for displaying image information obtained by capturing the motion of the robot on the display means via the network. A program creating means for creating an operation program by programming the operation of the robot remotely operated by the remote operating means; a registration means for registering the operation program created by the program creating means; An operating program selling means for selling the operating program being sold through the network. It is characterized in.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the operation program selling means presents the operation program registered in the registration means on a web page opened on the network to execute the operation program It is characterized by selling.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a download means for storing the operation program created by the program creating means in the storage means provided in the remote operation means via the network is provided. Is characterized by.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the registration means registers the operation program created by the program creating means, and the robot corresponding to the created operation program. The moving image data of the robot is also stored, and the operation program selling means provides the moving image data of the robot corresponding to the purchaser of the operation program via the network.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for creating a motion program by programming the robot remotely operated according to the motion information transmitted by the remote control means via the network and the motion of the remotely operated robot. It is characterized by comprising: creating means and registration means for registering the operation program created by the program creating means for sale.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the registration means registers the operation image data of the robot corresponding to the operation program created by the program creating means together with the operation program. And

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the step of transmitting the operation information instructed on the network based on the image displayed by the display means, and the operation information transmitted by the remote operation means via the network. A step of remotely operating the robot; a step of displaying image information obtained by imaging the operation of the robot on the display means via the network; and a program of the operation of the remotely operated robot to create an operation program. It is characterized by comprising a step of creating, a step of registering the operation program created by the program creating means, and a step of selling the registered operation program via the network.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the remote operation means outputs the operation information instructed on the network based on the image displayed by the display means, and the operation transmitted by the remote operation means via the network. A robot remotely operated according to information, an image capturing means for displaying image information obtained by imaging the operation of the robot on the display means via the network, and an operation of the robot remotely operated by the remote operating means. And a download means for storing the operation program created by the program creation means in the storage means provided in the remote operation means via the network. Is characterized by.

According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a program porting means for porting the operation program downloaded to the storage means to the robot in the eighth aspect.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a step of outputting motion information instructed on the network based on the image displayed by the display means, and a remote control of the robot according to the motion information transmitted via the network. A step of displaying image information obtained by imaging the operation of the remotely operated robot on the display means via the network; and creating an operation program by programming the operation of the remotely operated robot. And a step of downloading the created operation program to the storage means provided on the remote control side via the network.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an operation program creating system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operation program creating system includes an information terminal 1 such as a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a personal computer) in a user's home 100, and a service company 300 that assists a user in creating an operation program for a robot and sells the creating program. The installed server device 4 is used as a network 200 such as the Internet.
It is configured by connecting with. User to service company 3
When an order to purchase the robot 3 is placed in 00, the service company 300 uses the server device 4 to set and store the operation program in the robot 3 and deliver it to the user home 100. In the user's house 100, another operation program or the like can be ported to the robot 3 owned by the user via the storage medium 2 using the information terminal 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the information terminal 1 (personal computer) shown in FIG. Information terminal 1
Is a control unit (CPU) 11 that executes programs stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 and an auxiliary storage unit 14 to control each unit, and a RAM (Random memory) that is a working memory of the control unit 11. Access memory) 12, ROM 13 storing various programs and various data necessary for the operation of control unit 11 as described above, and communication control unit 18 described later to download programs and various data from network 200, The auxiliary storage unit 14 including a large-capacity hard disk that stores programs and various data read from the drive unit 17, the display unit 15 such as a CRT or LCD that displays characters and images under the control of the control unit 11, and the user's An input unit 16, such as a keyboard or a mouse, for inputting various instructions and data, A drive device 17 for reading and writing data from and to various storage media 2 (same as that shown in FIG. 1) such as a ppy disk (registered trademark) disk, memory card and CD-ROM, and accessing the network 200 or the like through a telephone line to transfer data Input image data from the communication control unit 18 that transmits and receives, a scanner (not shown),
Alternatively, the input / output unit 19 for outputting print data to a printer (not shown) is connected to each bus 20. The information terminal 1 is also equipped with a browsing browser that opens a web page established on the network 200.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the server device 4 shown in FIG. The server device 4 is a web server 41 for sending and receiving various data as a home (web) page on the network, which is an electronic store in this example, a hard disk 45a for storing various data handled by the web server 41, An electronic mail server 42 for exchanging electronic mails, this electronic mail server 4
Hard disk 4 that stores mail data handled in 2
5b, a management / processing server 43 that manages the server device 4 and performs various processes associated therewith, and a hard disk 45 that stores various management data handled by the management / processing server 43.
c, a teaching controller 44 that creates an operation program for causing the robot 3 of FIG. 1 to perform a new operation, and a hard disk 45 that stores various data handled by the teaching controller 44 and the created operation program.
d are respectively connected to the bus 46, and the hard disks 45a to 45d form a large-capacity storage unit 47.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the teaching control device 44 shown in FIG. The teaching control device 44 executes a program stored in the ROM 443 to control each unit, and a RAM 441 which is a working memory of the control unit 441.
2. The above-mentioned ROM 443 that stores various programs and data necessary for the operation of the control unit 441, the hard disk that stores the operation program of the robot created by the encoding processing unit 451 and the image data input from the image input unit 450. 45d, a display unit 445 such as a CRT or LCD that displays an image from the image input unit 450, and communication control that transmits and receives data necessary for creating an operation program from the network 200 and also transmits and receives data related to the sales of the operation program. The unit 446, a teaching processing circuit 447 that controls the operation of the robot 60 in order to actually move the robot and creates the movement as it is as an operation program, and a drive control unit 448 that controls the operation of the robot 60 in accordance with a command from the teaching processing circuit 447. , The movement of the robot 60 Imaging device 4, the image signal by imaging
49, an image input unit 450 for inputting an image signal from the image pickup apparatus 449 to adjust the format and the like, and an image pickup apparatus 449.
An encoding processing unit 451 that encodes the image signal based on the image signal from the above and an instruction from the teaching processing circuit 447 to create an operation program is connected to the bus 452. The operation program created by the encoding circuit 451 is temporarily stored in the RAM 442 and also stored and stored in the hard disk 45d.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the outer shape of the robot 3 (or 60) shown in FIG. 1 (or FIG. 4). The robot 3 has a head 32 rotatably coupled to the upper portion of the body 31, an arm 33 rotatably coupled to upper portions of both side surfaces of the body 31, and a leg rotatably coupled to the lower portion of the body 31. The part 35, the hand 34 rotatably coupled to the tips of the arms 33, and the foot 3 rotatably coupled to the tips of the legs 35.
It is mainly composed of 6. C on the head 32
A CCD mounting portion 321 having a CD mounted thereon, a speaker mounting portion 322 having a speaker mounted at the mouth portion, and the like are provided. Further, although not shown, a microphone is also mounted at a portion that touches the ear, and internal information of the robot. A display unit 37 such as an LCD for displaying, etc. is attached to the front of the body 31. Furthermore, the robot has a smell sensor that hits the nose,
Various sensors such as a pressure sensor can be attached to each part such as a palm.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control system of the robot 3 shown in FIG. The control system of the robot 3 is RO
A control unit (CPU) 61 that controls the movement of the robot 3 in accordance with an operation program stored in the M62, a ROM 6 that stores programs that cause the robot 3 to perform various operations.
2. RA for storing operation programs read from the storage medium 2 such as a memory card via the drive device 65
Auxiliary storage unit 63 such as M, an input / output terminal unit 64 for inputting / outputting data to / from the outside, a drive device 65 for reading / writing data from / in the storage medium 2, CC of the CCD mounting unit 321 described above.
D, an input control unit 67 for inputting image and voice data, sensor data and the like input from each input unit 66 such as a speaker of the speaker mounting unit 322, a microphone and various sensors, and an operation command from the control unit 61 are shown in FIG. An output control unit 68 that operates output units such as the hands 34 and feet 36 of the robot 3 and outputs sound from a speaker in response to a voice command from the control unit 61, a speaker that touches the hands 34, feet 36, or mouth of the robot 3 Output section 69, a display section for displaying various data such as messages from the robot 3 (see FIG. 3).
37, which are the same as the display section of the above), are connected to the buses 71, respectively.

Here, the configuration of the hard disk 45d is
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. The hard disk 45d has a storage area as shown in FIG. 13, and in FIG. 13, the storage area of each row stores data regarding the same robot. That is, the standard storage unit 45d1, the basic program storage unit 45d2, and the registration data storage unit 45d3 are provided as the storage area of each row. The standard storage unit 45d1 stores robot type data, which will be described later, and the basic program storage unit 45d.
2 is a motion program of basic movements that must be programmed for any robot of that type,
The operation program created by the user is stored in the registration data storage unit 45d3.

FIG. 14 is a detailed configuration diagram of the registration data storage unit 45d3 shown in FIG. Registration data storage unit 45
In d3, robot type name data (storage unit d3-1
Memorized in. ), Registration date data (also storage unit d3-
2), motion name data (also storage unit d3-3), standard data (also storage unit d3-4), created operation program data (also storage unit d3-5), motion image data (also storage unit d3-). 6) is stored. For example, type C is used as a type name, XX year, YY day is registered as a registration date, dance is used as an action name, and the capacity of a program and the format of program data are used as a standard. The operation data of the robot controlled by the operation program data created as the operation image data (the operation of dancing in this case) is stored.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The user operates the information terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1 in step S1 of FIG. 7 to access the server device 4 of the service company 300 from the communication control unit 18 via the network (Internet) 200. Receiving this, the server device 4 transmits the site data from the web server 41 to the network 200 in step S2.
To the information terminal 1 via. As a result, the site of the service company is displayed on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1, and the site data of each page in the site of the service company is browsed and displayed by the user's operation of the information terminal 1. FIG. 8A shows site data for the user who wants to buy, rent, or move the robot among the site data of the service company.

When the user first presses the button 81 to buy a robot from the screen shown in FIG.
The screen shown in (b) is displayed for the type A robot and the type B robot, that is, image data of the robot, type description, operation (basic operation) performed by the robot, selling price, rental price, etc. are made. By clicking the "See Next" arrow at the bottom right (move the mouse, move the cursor over it and click), the screen shown in Fig. 8 (c) appears, and the robots of types C and D are displayed. , By clicking the "See Next" arrow at the bottom right of the screen, other types of robots are displayed one after another. The arrows between steps S1 and S2 in FIG. 7 represent these processes. However, in step S3 of FIG. 7, the image of the robot desired to be purchased is selected by clicking with the cursor on the above screen. Since this click information is transmitted from the communication control unit 18 to the web server 41 of the service company 300 via the network 200, the web server 41 sends more detailed data of the selected robot in step S4 to the hard disk 45.
a is read from the network a
To the information terminal 1 via.

Here, since the user has selected the type C robot, the data of the type C robot is sent from the web server 41 to the information terminal 1 and the display unit 15 is displayed.
A screen as shown in FIG. 8D, that is, a description of the basic operation and a description of the additional program is displayed. The user knows from the screen of FIG. 8 (d) that the type C robot can perform basic motions from the beginning, but must add motion programs to perform other motions. Therefore,
In this example, the user orders the additional operation by clicking the underlined part "Add another operation for a fee" on the screen to display the screen shown in FIG. . Next, in step S5, the image button 83 of 1) Sit in chair / Stand from chair on the screen of FIG. 8E is clicked.

This click information is transmitted to the web server 41 via the network 200, and the web server 41
In step S6, the corresponding moving image data, that is, moving image data in which the robot C sits on or stands up from the chair is read from the hard disk 45d and transmitted to the information terminal 1. In response to this, in step S7, the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1 displays a moving image in which the robot to be purchased sits on or stands up from the chair.

After that, the display section 15 is returned to the screen shown in FIG. 8E again by clicking the return button of the browsing browser. Then, the user may perform the same operation if he wants to see another moving image. Here, when the user clicks the order button 84 with the cursor in step S8 in order to order the operation of sitting on the chair and standing up from the chair, the click information is transmitted to the web server 41, so the web server 41 In step S10, the information terminal 1 provides information necessary for purchase such as settlement financial institution and acceptance of orders.
Send to. In step S9, the user performs a corresponding process while looking at the information necessary for the purchase displayed on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1, and obtains the processed information from the web server 4
Send to 1. After that, in step S11, the service company 300 transplants the additional program to the robot ordered by the user, and in step S12, the product is transferred to the user's home 10.
Ship to 0.

Next, a case where the user clicks the button 82 for moving the robot from the screen of FIG. 8A with the cursor will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 and 10. Also in this example, the procedure up to step S13 and step S14 is the same as step S1 and step S in FIG.
The procedure is the same as the procedure up to 2, but the button 82 indicating that the user wants to move the robot is clicked while the screen of the service company site is displayed on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1 as shown in FIG. 8 (a). Then, the step of producing the screen as shown in FIG. 11A is included in step S13 of FIG.

Then, in step S15, as shown in FIG.
On the screen as shown in (a), an image of the desired robot is selected by clicking with the cursor. Since this information is transmitted to the web server 41 of the service company 300,
The web server 41 transmits the data of the selected robot to the information terminal 1 in step S16. Here, since the user has selected a type C robot, for example, data relating to the type C robot is sent from the web server 41, and a screen as shown in FIG. 11B is displayed on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1. Is displayed.

The user can use the screen shown in FIG.
Whether to play by moving this robot or to create an operation program is selected. In this example, in step S17, a button 111 for creating an operation program is clicked with a cursor to select it. Since this selection information is transmitted to the web server 41 of the service company 300 in step S17,
The web server 41 transmits to the information terminal 1 the data of the method for creating the selected robot, in this example, the operation program of type C, in step S18.

As a result, in step S19, a screen as shown in FIG. 11C is displayed on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1. The user sees the explanation on this screen and performs an operation for downloading the program data for creating the operation program, that is, the creation program data.
Although this operation information is transmitted to the web device of the service company 300, control is transferred to the teaching control device 44, and the teaching control device 44 reads the creation program from the hard disk 45d and sends it to the information terminal 1. The information terminal 1 downloads the received creation program to the auxiliary storage device 4. At the same time, the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1
Since a start button for creating an operation program is displayed in, the user clicks the start button for creating an operation program with a cursor in step S20.

As a result, a screen for selecting the conditions for starting the operation of the robot in step 1 for creating a program as shown in FIG. 11D is displayed on the display unit 15. When, for example, a sound is selected as the condition for starting the operation on the screen of step 1, this selection information is displayed as the teaching control device
Screen is sent to the teaching controller 4
4 is sent, and the screen of step 2 as shown in FIG. The user selects, for example, a clap sound on this screen. This selection information is the teaching control device 44.
Screen is sent to the teaching controller 4
4 is sent and the screen of step 3 is displayed as shown in FIG.

The user selects the start button 112 on this screen.
Click with the cursor to clap and press the end button 11
Enter claps while clicking 3 with the cursor. The clapping sound is input to the inside of the information terminal 1 by being collected by a microphone (not shown) connected to the input / output unit 19 of the information terminal 1. The input voice information is digitized and transmitted from the communication control unit 18 to the teaching control device 44 of the service company 300.

Here, the user's button operation on the display screen of the information terminal 1 corresponds to the corresponding processing and operation setting processing in step S21, and these processing information is transmitted to the teaching control device 44 via the network 200. In response to this, the teaching control device 44, in step S22, responds to the button operation by the user,
A program is created / stored based on the teaching process, and necessary information is transmitted to the information terminal 1.

When the user selects the creation of the operation program of the type C robot on the information terminal 1 as described above,
The teaching controller 44 is a type C robot 60.
(See FIG. 4). Since the teaching control device 44 images the type C robot 60 with the imaging device 449 and transmits the image from the communication control unit 446 to the information terminal 1 of the user's home 100 via the image input unit 450 in step S22, the information terminal 1 The following screen is sent from the teaching control device 44 to the screen No. 1 and becomes the screen of step 4 as shown in FIG. When the user sees this screen and clicks on the arm a part of the robot as the moving part with the cursor c to decide, this information is sent to the teaching control device 44, and the next screen is sent from the teaching control device 44. Then, the screen of step 5 as shown in FIG. 11 (h) is displayed. The user looks at this screen, decides how much the arm a of the robot should be moved by dragging the cursor c to the position to be moved, and sets the time required for the arm a to move to the above position from the keyboard. To do. Information on these moving parts, moving positions, and required time is provided from the information terminal 1 to the teaching control device 4
4 is transmitted.

As a result, the teaching control device 44 controls the drive control unit 448 to move the arm a of the robot 60 to the set position for the set time. The operation of the robot 60 is photographed by the imaging device 449 and transmitted from the communication control unit 446 to the information terminal 1 via the image input unit 450. Therefore, the robot 6 is displayed on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1.
A moving image in which 0 moves the arm a is displayed.

Next, the user selects whether to finish creating the operation program or set the next operation. Here, when the setting of the next operation is selected, this selection information is transmitted to the teaching control device 44, so that the next screen is sent from the teaching control device 44, and FIG.
The screen of step 6 as shown in (i) is displayed. On the screen of step 6, a still image with the arm a at the final position where the arm a is moved and a guide text for creating a program are displayed as step 5.

When the user sees this screen and decides by clicking the portion of the foot b of the robot 60 with the cursor c as a moving portion, he / she decides whether to move simultaneously with the previous movement or after the previous movement. Since this selection information is transmitted to the teaching control device 44, the next screen is sent from the teaching control device 44 and the screen of step 7 as shown in FIG. 11 (j) is displayed.

The user decides on the screen of step 6 how much the foot b of the robot 60 should be moved, by dragging the cursor c to the position to be moved, and the time required for the foot b to move to the position. From the keyboard. Since this selection information is transmitted to the teaching control device 44, the teaching control device 44 causes the robot 6 to operate.
Since the moving image in which 0 moves the foot b is sent to the information terminal 1, the moving image in which the robot 60 moves the foot b is displayed on the display unit 15.

The processes of steps 4 to 7 are performed in step S21 on the information terminal 1 side and in step S22 on the server device 4 side. Also, from step 4
When selecting the position to be moved by the robot 60 of No. 7, if the selected position is the mouth, a voice is generated. If it is an ear, you can create a program by setting various operations such as voice recognition operation.

Next, on the screen of step 7, the user selects whether to finish creating the operation program or set the next operation. Here, when the user selects to end the creation of the operation program in step S23, this selection information is transmitted to the teaching control device 44, so the next screen is sent from the teaching control device 44 in step S24. , A screen as shown in FIG.
This screen is operated according to the program created in (1). (2) Download the created program.
(3) It is a screen that allows the user to select one of registering the created program and selling it to the applicant.

When the user clicks and selects, for example, (1) Try to operate according to the created program with the cursor, this reproduction click information is transmitted to the teaching control device 44 in step S25. Since the control unit 441 of the teaching control device 44 gives the operation program stored in the hard disk 45d to the teaching processing circuit 447, the teaching processing circuit 447 controls the drive control unit 448 according to the given program to operate the robot 60. A series of operations of the robot 60 is photographed by the image pickup device 449, and is transmitted from the communication control unit 446 to the information terminal 1 via the image input unit 450 in step S26. As a result, in step S27, a moving image in which the robot 60 moves, for example, the arm a or the foot b is displayed on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1.

When the user sees the motion of the robot 60 by the motion program created by himself and is satisfied with this, on the screen as shown in FIG. 11 (k) which is displayed again, the program created in (2) is created. When "Download" is clicked on with the cursor to select, this download click information is displayed in step S28.
Sent to.

Control unit 441 of teaching control device 44
In step S29, the operation program stored in the hard disk 45d is read and transmitted from the communication control unit 446 to the information terminal 1. The user uses the information terminal 1 in step S3.
The operation program received at 0 is stored in the storage medium 2 by the drive device 17, and the storage medium 2 is attached to the drive device 65 of the robot 3. The control unit 61 of the robot 3 reads the operation program from the storage medium 2 by the drive device 65,
This is stored in the auxiliary storage unit 63. As a result, the created operation program is transferred to the robot 3. After that, the control unit 61 of the robot 3 can move the hands and feet according to the new operation program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 63 to newly perform the operation intended by the user.

Note that the downloaded operation program is not transferred to the robot 3 via the storage medium 2 and any other method may be used.

Further, when the user wants to sell the created operation program, the user can make (3) on the screen as shown in FIG. 11K displayed again on the display unit 15 of the information terminal 1. When the selected program is registered by clicking with the cursor, the registered click information is registered in the teaching control device 44 in step S31.
Sent to. Teaching control device 44 receiving this
Reads the operation program created by the user, which is stored in the hard disk 45d, and writes it in the registration data storage area set in the hard disk 45a of the web server 41 as shown in FIG. After that, the web server 41 performs a registration process, that is,
The price of the operation program is determined, the profit distribution ratio contract accompanying it is sent to the information terminal 1 of the user, and the operation program sales contract is concluded with the user. Generally, the more complicated the operation program, the higher the price.

The above-mentioned operation program registration processing is performed by the user's corresponding processing in step S32 in the information terminal 1 and the registration processing in step S33 by the service company 300. By this processing, the price of the operation program to be sold, The distribution ratio of profit between the user and the service company is set.

With the details of the registration data storage area, various operation programs created by the user can be specified for each of the various robots for sale, and the robots are sold.
At that time, the information terminal 1 of the user who wants to purchase the motion image data of the robot corresponding to the motion program being sold.
It is also possible to ensure that the user can select the desired motion program by sending the motion picture to the robot and actually seeing the motion picture of the robot.

When a general user browses the site provided by the web server 41 provided by the service company 300 and purchases a robot or purchases an additional operation program, the operation program registered by the user is also added. It can be purchased as a motion program.

According to the present embodiment, the robot of the same kind prepared by the teaching control device 44 provided by the service company 300 is moved by a remote operation via the network 200 of the information terminal 1 of the user's house 100 to newly become a robot. By creating an operation program for performing various operations with the support of the teaching control device 44, the user does not have to prepare equipment for creating the operation program and can easily and inexpensively create the operation program of the owned robot. You can

When the created operation program is registered in the web server 41 of the service company 300, the operation program created by the user is sold at the site provided by the web server 41, so that the user creates the operation created by himself. The program can be sold easily and efficiently.

Therefore, by having the user open and sell the operation program for executing the poses and operations provided by the user for the purchased robot through the network,
Purchased users will continue to enjoy the fun of making their robots perform their own original motions, and will continue to enjoy the fun of publishing and selling it, as well as purchasing new motions by motion programs created by other users. You can get it. In addition, the manufacturer can continuously obtain an intermediary fee for selling the operation program, and since feedback information from the robot can be obtained, it is possible to promote hardware improvements such as addition of movable parts and expansion of movable range. it can. Teaching by remote control of the robot is simple, so the robot motion patterns can be further enhanced and the motion pattern database can be expected to expand. Along with that, a huge effect of reducing the development cost of operation patterns can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be carried out in various other modes in specific configurations, functions, actions, and effects without departing from the scope of the invention. it can. For example, a robot
It doesn't have to be human or animal in shape,
It may be a care robot that cares for or assists a physically handicapped person, and in this case, it does not have to be a human or animal shape. Further, it may be a robot that performs some work such as assembling an object, and in this case as well, it does not have to be a human or animal shape.

[0058]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the created operation program can be sold easily and efficiently, and the operation program of the robot owned by the user can be easily and inexpensively owned. Can be created.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment of an operation program creating system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example when the information terminal shown in FIG. 1 is a personal computer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a server device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the teaching control device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows the robot 3 (or 6) shown in FIG. 1 (or FIG. 4).
0) A perspective view showing an example of the outer shape.

6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the robot shown in FIG.

7 is a flowchart showing a procedure for purchasing a robot at the service company shown in FIG.

8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit shown in FIG. 2 when a robot is purchased at the service company shown in FIG.

9 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating an operation program using the teaching control device of the service company shown in FIG.

10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating an operation program using the teaching control device of the service company shown in FIG.

11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit shown in FIG. 2 when an operation program is created using the teaching control device of the service company shown in FIG.

12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit shown in FIG. 2 when an operation program is created using the teaching control device of the service company shown in FIG.

13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a storage area for standards, basic programs, and registration data provided in the hard disk for the web server shown in FIG.

14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a detailed configuration of a registration data storage area shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Information terminal 2 storage media 3,60 robot 4 server equipment 41 Web server 42 email server 43 Management / Processing Server 44 Teaching control device 45a-45d hard disk 100 user home 200 networks 300 service companies 447 Teaching processing circuit 448 Drive control unit 449 Imaging device 450 Image input section 451 encoding processing unit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. Remote control means for transmitting motion information instructed on the network based on an image displayed by the display means, and remote control according to the motion information transmitted via the network by the remote control means. A robot, an image capturing means for displaying image information obtained by capturing the motion of the robot on the display means via the network, and a motion of the robot remotely controlled by the remote controlling means Program creating means for creating a program, registration means for registering the operation program created by the program creating means, operation program selling means for selling the operation program registered in the registering means via the network, An operation program sales system comprising: 2. The operation program selling means sells the operation program by presenting the operation program registered in the registration means on a web page opened on the network. Operation program sales system described in. 3. The download means for storing the operation program created by the program creation means in the storage means provided in the remote control means via the network, according to claim 1 or 2. Operating program sales system. 4. The registration means registers the operation program created by the program creation means, and
The moving image data of the robot corresponding to the created operation program is also stored, and the operation program selling means,
4. The operation program selling system according to claim 1, wherein moving image data of a robot corresponding to a purchaser of the operation program is provided via the network. 5. A robot that is remotely operated by remote operation means in accordance with operation information transmitted through the network; a program creating means that creates an operation program by programming the operation of the remotely operated robot; An operation program sales server device comprising: a registration unit that registers the operation program created by the program creation unit for sale. 6. The operation program sales according to claim 5, wherein the registration means also registers the operation image data of the robot corresponding to the operation program created by the program creating means together with the operation program. Server device. 7. A step of transmitting, on a network, motion information instructed based on an image displayed by the display means, and the robot is remotely controlled according to the motion information transmitted via the network by the remote control means. A step of displaying image information obtained by imaging the operation of the robot on the display means via the network; and a step of programming the operation of the remotely operated robot to create an operation program, An operation program selling method comprising: a step of registering an operation program created by the program creating means; and a step of selling the registered operation program via the network. 8. Remote control means for outputting motion information instructed on the network based on the image displayed by the display means, and remote control according to the motion information transmitted via the network by the remote control means. A robot, an image capturing means for displaying image information obtained by capturing the motion of the robot on the display means via the network, and a motion of the robot remotely controlled by the remote controlling means A program creating unit for creating a program; and a download unit for storing the operation program created by the program creating unit in a storage unit provided in the remote control unit via the network. Operation program creation system. 9. The operation program creating system according to claim 8, further comprising program porting means for porting the operation program downloaded to said storage means to a robot. 10. A step of outputting, on a network, motion information instructed based on an image displayed by a display means, a step of remotely operating a robot according to the motion information transmitted via the network, said remote Displaying the image information obtained by imaging the operation of the operated robot on the display means via the network; creating a motion program by programming the motion of the remotely operated robot; A step of downloading the created operation program to a storage means provided on the remote operation side via the network, the operation program creating method comprising: